discussion Bending clear plastic rod

[Mickc1440]

Hi everyone, after some advice on the best way to form a right angle bend in a clear plastic rod. All help gratefully received

 

[pjgtech]

Is it a solid or hollow?
Used to bend a lot of copper pipe and we would use internal or external bending springs to help support the pipe and stop it crimping, so I assume the same principle could apply here, eg: modelling?
If its solid maybe apply some gentle heat and then slowly and carefully bend? If you can support it externally, eg: insert it inside a long thin spring or similar, that will help to stop it deforming as you bend it.
If its hollow, can you insert some sort of wire or rod inside the plastic tube to support the walls and stop it crimping while bending?
Cheers

 

[PaulTRose]

How big is the rod? What kind of plastic is it?

Problem is when it bends it will stretch and get thinner

And if you need to keep it clear then you run the risk in colouring it when you add heat

 

[wasdale32]

I assume that you want to bend an acrylic rod to support a plane or similar. Acrylic rods are thermoplastic and will soften with appropriate heat whereas polycarbonate is more likely to be thermosetting and will resist softening. Don't use a flame as the surface is very likely to char. You could try a heat gun or put the entire rod in the oven for a while to heat through fully ( wear gloves....). The two main issues you'll face are buckling at the bend ( especially if you try to put a true 90 degree bend ) and stress discoloration. Try to keep the radius of the bend as large as possible - there's probably a calculator online somewhere that tells you the optimum bend radius for the diameter of the rod.