Chemical Forums

Specialty Chemistry Forums => Materials and Nanochemistry forum => Topic started by: tommoz on December 27, 2011, 02:26:22 AM

Title: How could I chemically treat a film to make it more flexible?
Post by: tommoz on December 27, 2011, 02:26:22 AM

I am working on a model and unfortunately the key part (a roll of film which acts like a conveyer belt) is not fitting well on the sprockets as it has too much memory (stiffness).

It could be a while until I find out what kind of plastic the film is made up of, but if anyone could share a simple homemade remedy I could use on this film to make it more flexible I would appreciate it.

Title: Re: How could I chemically treat a film to make it more flexible?
Post by: billnotgatez on December 30, 2011, 09:27:16 AM

can you lay it out or form it in the shape you want and heat it slightly to remove the old memory and give it a new memory.

Title: Re: How could I chemically treat a film to make it more flexible?
Post by: fledarmus on December 31, 2011, 03:14:57 PM

Dipping it in boiling water for a minute or two and then positioning it hot might help.

Without knowing what kind of plastic you have, treating it with chemicals could be a recipe for disaster. If the material is not crosslinked, anything which would soften it will probably also dissolve it, destroying your surface texture and probably your shape.