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Making parts from pop bottles

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DICKEYBIRD:
I posted this over on the HSM site but thought it may be useful to you fellows as well.

I needed a fan duct for a treadmill motor cooling fan on my little CNC lathe cobble job.  I've used this trick on many r/c model airplane canopies and engine cowls back before the metal disease got me.  Soda bottles (and many other containers) are made from P.E.T. (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic and shrinks really well with a heat gun.  Around 25%, I think.

The pics show the sequence.  I made a plug blank from scrap soft maple, turned the round end to match the o.d. of the treadmill motor, machined the square end to match the 80mm fan from an old PC power supply and carved a transition between the 2.  I then glued on a couple blocks to clear the brushholder lumps on the motor, stuffed it into a 2 liter pop bottle and hit it with my heat gun (about 400F I think.)  You shrink down the open end 1st to capture the plug and then heat it until it won't shrink any more.  You trim off the excess and split it down one side to get it off & voila!  Free (well almost free) custom-molded fan duct!

Since these pics were made, I found that the wimpy 18 cfm fan didn't have enough airflow so I picked up an 80 cfm fan cheap from eBay.  It's still 80mm square but is thicker so I'm going to add-on to my plug and do another one this weekend.

 I hope this trick may help somebody here solve a gnarley problem! :wave:

DICKEYBIRD:
Oh yeah, almost forgot.  If you wet-sand and then wash it down with thinner, it takes paint very well.

Divided he ad:
Hi Milton  :wave:  Long time no see!


This is a great idea. :smart:

I never thought of doing such a thing. Definitely one for the memory banks  :clap:




Glad you decided to share it  :thumbup:






Ralph.

crabsign69:
wow this never crossed my mind great idea. thanks for sharing  :beer:  :thumbup:

spuddevans:
That is a really great idea, thank you :clap: :thumbup: Consider it filed for future use.


Tim

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