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Topic: How could I chemically treat a film to make it more flexible?  (Read 4673 times)

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Offline tommoz

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How could I chemically treat a film to make it more flexible?
« 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.

Offline billnotgatez

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Re: How could I chemically treat a film to make it more flexible?
« Reply #1 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.


Offline fledarmus

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Re: How could I chemically treat a film to make it more flexible?
« Reply #2 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.


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