Polypropylene pipes are the most common material that is often used when installing a heating system. A pipe made of polypropylene is able to withstand the effects of high temperature coolants and well tolerates pressure of several atmospheres inside the pipeline.
The disadvantage of PPR pipes is that they are sold straight, and to create systems of complex configurations, a pipe with a certain bend is often needed, which has to be done manually.
However, experienced repairers often resort to bending pipes, and this does not cause problems with deformation or loss of strength.
During the construction of a complex heating system, it is necessary to create structures of complex configurations.
For example, in apartment buildings where each room has a separate riser and one radiator, the system is very simple. One pipe goes from the riser to the radiator, the second - back. Sometimes they are connected by a third. In this case, bending does not make sense. It is enough to put the correct connecting elements in the amount of 4 - 6 pieces.
Things are different in a private house, where heating has to be laid from scratch, starting from the boiler and leading pipes from the basement upstairs to all rooms. Sometimes it is difficult in this case to build a straight-line system that will be devoid of turns and changes in pipe laying height. It is possible to install two different pipes connected by a special coupling in all places of the bends, but this is laborious, costly and less efficient.
Another large area of application for bent polypropylene pipes is the underfloor heating system. The fact is that the pipes in this case are laid according to a predetermined scheme, resembling a tubular electric heater of a washing machine or a “coil” in the bathroom.
I haven't posted here in a while! And you can find a bunch of good reasons for this ... And the main reason is that he was doing what they say on the radio - the wrong "format"! And now, not in my opinion, but out of necessity, I started repairing the bathroom. Previously, repairs were made in 2005, this date is solely for the purpose of understanding what was then available from the available technologies and materials. I think some ideas are still relevant today! For this reason, I decided to post several articles, so to speak, in reverse order, i.e. during parsing...
This first article is devoted to the issue of bending plastic panels when sheathing rooms in the corners. I think that this issue may be well known to many, but there will also be those who simply did not think about such an option for resolving the issue, but went exclusively through the path that our industry offers and bought various corners provided for these purposes. In my opinion, the option I proposed, firstly, saves money (do not buy corners), secondly, it looks more aesthetically pleasing, and thirdly, it allows you to maintain the integrity of the structure. Maybe someone else will come up with positive qualities, I think these are quite enough!
And so, consider the plastic panel itself! (for demonstration I used clippings, fragments - in short, garbage)
To create an internal corner, it is enough to simply make a cut along the entire length of the panel from the "wrong side" of the required segment, which will further form the corner. The cut can be made with a simple construction knife. The panel is cut quite easily and simply.
As practice has shown, although a simple cut is enough, it is still better for a pair to completely “select material” from this segment - as in the photo below. This is due to the fact that when bent, the edges of the cut plastic can interfere with each other ... !!! Not required, but highly recommended!
You need to bend carefully, with smooth movements, gradually along the entire length so that the panel does not break in this place. A fairly large angle can be achieved.
For the outer corner, it is required to "select material", no longer from one segment. This is due to the fact that the cut edges are superimposed here and they begin to abut and do not allow the panel to bend.
If you do everything right slowly and carefully, then you can achieve these results !!!
EXTERIOR ANGLE
OUTSIDE CORNER
Attention, an even and good angle will turn out if the walls that you sheathe / paste over with panels also display normal angles !!!
If you heat the plastic correctly, then it can be easily bent, we will consider one of the options for a simple device for this below.
This fixture can be used to thermoform plastics up to about 1/8 inch thick. It bends well this way. polystyrene, polycarbonate and PVC.
The base of the entire fixture will be an MDF board, its size is unlimited, what size you need to bend, choose this size. For the heat shield of the heating element, an aluminum "U" shaped profile is well suited, it can be bought at any hardware store, the appropriate size is 10 * 10mm, 10 * 8mm. We fasten the profile along the edge of the base sheet to the screws.
For the heating element itself, we need a nichrome wire with a diameter of 0.2 to 1 mm.
According to the table "Calculation of nichrome wire for a heater", you can see the maximum amperage for heating the existing wire diameter to the temperature we need 400-600 degrees.
We stretch the wire inside the profile, to adjust the height and direction we use bolts with a cap for a flat screwdriver. The wire should not touch the plastic blank, the distance depends on the size of your profile and can be 1-3 mm. For a constant tension of the heated nichrome, we install a fairly stiff spring, for example, from a printer.
For the convenience of using the device, you can also install a switch, a connector for connecting a battery or power supply. It is very convenient to use a powerful adjustable power supply to smoothly regulate the incandescence (heating) of the wire. For example, this one: Adjustable power supply 4000W AC 220V adjustable 10-220v.
How to work: Place a sheet of material along the fold line over the hot wire and turn on the power. We hold still until we notice that the place of the bend softened and began to bend itself. We quickly shift the workpiece onto a flat table and bend it to the angle we need, hold it until it cools.
Quite often, when performing construction work, when the owner makes major repairs, they face many problems that need to be solved using improvised tools. For example, it is often necessary to give a plastic product a curved shape. Of course, you can go to the store and buy a finished product, but the search for the most suitable product is often delayed. Below we will try to figure out how to bend plastic at home.
The very concept of "plastics" combines a large number of natural or synthetic polymers, which, when heated, can easily deform and change shape. After the material hardens, it will again become solid. We will use this property of plastic when answering the question of how plastic can be bent.
You can bend plastic in several ways. The best of them, which allows not to break the material and create a bend at the required angle, is using a molding machine.
To bend plastic, you will need:
- molding machine;
- VAL board;
- silicone;
- industrial dryer.
Detailed instructions on how to bend plastic
If you need to bend polystyrene, you can prepare several fixtures. Make a mandrel from MDF (Fiberboard). Assemble the mold and, depending on the width and length of the plastic part, adjust it to the appropriate size. Go over the surface with sandpaper so that there are no distortions left.
Prepare the shell for the silicone plastic part on the molding machine. It will be required to fix the flat workpiece on the mandrel and preserve its surface from scratches and chips.
Insert the plastic part into the shell, then fix it in the MDF mandrel and put it on the molding machine. After the unit warms up and the plastic begins to settle on the mandrel, taking the required shape, you need to wait 5-7 minutes. Carefully remove the part from the machine while wearing a glove. Then place it on a metal surface to cool the material. Then remove the mandrel.
It is much easier to bend a plastic pipe. Take an industrial hair dryer or a gas burner, turn it on and aim at the place where you are going to make a fold. The distance from the heating device to the surface of the part must be at least 5 cm.
Rotate the pipes without stopping, otherwise it may catch fire. Heat it up until the material is soft, then bend it. Hold the pipe in this position for a while to allow the plastic to harden.
You can bend plastic slopes for windows or walls made of foamed PVC at the required angle by making frequent cuts along the radius. Then, having created the necessary shape, fix them with special glue. Thus, you will make a part with bends and extensions.
