BBC Teach > Secondary Resources > Design and Technology KS3 > Explain This…
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Drape forming is ideal for creating curved or more complex shapes out of plastic.
Before we get started here's what you'll need:
Acrylic or a similar thermoplastic
Access to an oven or hot air gun
And some leather hot work gloves, an apron and goggles
The first step is to make your mould out of MDF or softwood.
The surface should be sanded smooth so that it doesn't leave any marks on the plastic.
You'll need to wear your hot work gloves for this so get them on now if you haven't already.
There are two options to heat the acrylic.
If you only need to heat a section you should use a hot air gun. Hold the gun over the area moving it slowly backwards and forwards to heat the whole area evenly. Keep doing this until the plastic is soft.
If you want to heat the entire sheet of plastic, then you can put it in to the oven at 160 degrees, until the sheet is completely softened. Now, turn off your heat source, take your softened plastic sheet and drape it over your mould.
Hold the plastic in position until it's cooled and hardened.
Then you can remove the hardened plastic and finish it for your final product.
Check out the 'Explain this… Finishing Plastic' video for more detail.
This short film explains the process of drape forming, which is used to create curved or more complex shapes out of plastic.
Clear acrylic is used in this example but the processes can be used with a wide variety of thermoplastics for RMT, engineering and graphics projects.
Suitable for teaching design and technology (D&T) at KS3/KS4 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 3rd/4th levels in Scotland.
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