HPA
General Forum => General Discussion => Topic started by: gravitywell on Mar 11, 2026, 01:27 AM
Hi all. I want to order some plastic to make parts, but I don't know how thick it is for vacuum forming. Nor do I know what type of plastic it is. I am assuming I can get it from Amazon cause I am way out here in the boonies. Any help, greatly appreciated.
I vacuum formed these slot car bodies from 0.020" if that helps. They are 4.375" long.
Hi, it all depends on what you want to form, if it is small in area but tall then you will need a thicker plastic, maybe .040". On the other hand if it is a large area but not very high then you would use thinner like .020"such as the car bodies shown. Nice job by the way. I use ABS plastic but I'm sure there are many other types that are used.
Dave
The white body is ABS, the clear is PETG.
As Dave mentions the deeper the pull the more it will thin the plastic. Finished thickness is also affected by how much you heat the sheet. If the sheet is heated until it sags a lot in the frame the final thickness is lower.