PET sheets

Outline 👣

Before the Start

Introduction 🖊

How to make PET sheets.

Goals 🎯

• What I think I already know
  • Never worked before with this technique.
• What I want to learn
  • Learn the basics to be able to make further experimentations.
  • Recycle leftover material from previous PET sheets into new sheets.
  • Use molds to make bowls. Experiment with further shapes.

Project Management

How I’m going to organize my work during the week.

Research

I followed the steps which Christie shared with me to make the PET sheets.

During the Process

Process 🏊‍♀️

Step 1 - Clean your mold

- Make sure the mold is clean 
- Use a blade paint scraper. 
- If things can not be scrapped off, you can use painstripper to soften and scrap off the left over plastic. 

Step 2 - Wax

- Use floor wax, rub wax in the mold thoroughly make sure it fills in all the scratches 
- Wait 15 minutes for it to dry 
- This fills in any cracks where the PET might attach to the metal 

Step 3 - Hair spray

- Add a layer or hairspray, go left to right then top to bottom like spray painting then use a cloth to rub it in 
- Wait 15 minutes for it to dry 
- This should help create a rapid release 

Step 4 - Repeat

- Repeat wax and hairspray
- You can repeat one more time if it sticks  

Step 5 - Heat the oven

- Set the oven temperature to 250 
- Clamp the oven closed 

Step 6 - Fill in with PET

- Add shredded PET sheets make sure you fill the pan at least one finger tip high 
- Use a block of wood to compress it 
- Look through the shreds to make sure there are no labels glue or other residu 

Step 7 - Melt

- Put the pan in the oven 
- Set a timer for 7 minutes 
- Turn on the air filter 

Step 8 - Prepare cooling

- ^repare a bucket in which the pan can be submersed completely 
- Fill it with water
- Have ice ready in the freezer 

Step 9 - take it out

- Alarm goes off 
- Add ice to the water 
- Wear silicone gloves  
- Wear a mask 
- Check to make sure the sheet is melted 
- If it’s bubbling it stayed to long or is too hot 
- If there are still flakes leave it a bit longer (2 minutes) 
- Repeat as needed
- Take it out drop it in the cooling bucket 

Step 10 - Take out

- When in the water make sure you submerge the sheet flatly
- Let water cover the top 
- Move the sheet diagonally to allow new water to flow around the pan 
- You should start hearing it crack 
    - Sometimes the sheet will just pop out 
    - Sometimes you need to pop it out like an ice tray set gentile pressure in the middle and on the sides
- If it is stuck in one area you can use a potato knife to gently push under the edges 
- If it’s cracked and stuck and you’ve given up drop it on the floor the thud will let it come out 

Retrospective 🤔

@19/09/22

• First sheets working perfectly. The right parameters are 200ºC and 7'.
• Experimenting with leftover material:
  • Just leftover: It takes longer for the material to melt since it has to crystalize again. When recycling PET, it crystalizes, and when re-melting it needs a longer time for the molecules to brack and get fluid again. It takes around 10’ to melt again. Does not let in a oot of light. The outlines dont need to be sand, the material is already polished.
  • Raw recycled PET + Retails: it takes 10’ to melt again. The outcome lets in more light rather than the previous test. The outlines are sharp and need to be polished.

@14/09/22

• The sheets burned. We figured out the oven thermosensors were not right working.
• We used cooking spray to test if it works to remove the material. It burned. Don’t use oils with the hoven as removal material. It is better to use natural wax.