SHAPING AN ALUMINIUM TRAY.
(For this exercise I had a partner to help me make the molds required to make the trays and also align together with mine in order to create two halves of a whole.)
Step 1: Material Prep
Create your desired shape with two panels of MDF and cut the shapes out, making sure both templates are exactly the same. Drill 4 holes along the corners of your templates. The resulting items will be your negative molds for this excercise. Using a scribe, mark out a square/rectangle of aluminium that fits within the 4 drilled holes of your template without blocking the holes. Cut out the shape using a sheet cutter. Grab 4 sets of nuts and bolts that match the circumference of your drilled holes and keep them in a place that is reachable.
You may wish to also create a series of wooden stakes that may help you reach narrower corners or sections of the shape you want to make.
Step 2: Lets get smashing!
Sandwich your aluminium between your negative molds and make sure your cut outs on them line up! Tighten the molds together using the nuts and bolts acquired earlier. Using a Nylon mallet, start smashing the centre portion of your cut out shape with whatever side of the hammer that fill out your shape more till a concave is achieved. When this is done. Starting from the widest edge of your template use a narrower item such as the narrow side of your mallet or a wooden stake to smooth out the edges of your shape and help ease it out into the concave created by your initial action. Continue along the edge until you reach the narrower end of your shape. If you feel that it is getting harder to stretch the metal between the molds, take the Nylon mallet or a wide wooden stake to increase the concave nature of your aluminium and continue until your entire desired shape is achieved in concaved form.
Step 3: Refinement
Using a series of different sized wooden stakes, you will be able to smooth out the concave created and removed any undesired bumpiness you may encounter making your blister. Also Check if you accidentally caused your concave to reach the limit bound by the thickness of your chosen mdf. If the crest of your concave is met as a flat edge, you may wish to take a beanbag to place under your molds and create a pocket under your concave, in order to fully realise it's shape.
Step 5: Refinement
Line up your blister with your partners and see if it lines up at this point. Seeing as though they are limited within the same negative mold they should match perfectly in shape, though you may wish to match the depth of your concaves. You may wish to trim the edges of your blister or leave it as is to show how well you managed to form the resulting shape.
(For this exercise I had a partner to help me make the molds required to make the trays and also align together with mine in order to create two halves of a whole.)
Step 1: Material Prep
Create your desired shape with two panels of MDF and cut the shapes out, making sure both templates are exactly the same. Drill 4 holes along the corners of your templates. The resulting items will be your negative molds for this excercise. Using a scribe, mark out a square/rectangle of aluminium that fits within the 4 drilled holes of your template without blocking the holes. Cut out the shape using a sheet cutter. Grab 4 sets of nuts and bolts that match the circumference of your drilled holes and keep them in a place that is reachable.
You may wish to also create a series of wooden stakes that may help you reach narrower corners or sections of the shape you want to make.
Step 2: Lets get smashing!
Sandwich your aluminium between your negative molds and make sure your cut outs on them line up! Tighten the molds together using the nuts and bolts acquired earlier. Using a Nylon mallet, start smashing the centre portion of your cut out shape with whatever side of the hammer that fill out your shape more till a concave is achieved. When this is done. Starting from the widest edge of your template use a narrower item such as the narrow side of your mallet or a wooden stake to smooth out the edges of your shape and help ease it out into the concave created by your initial action. Continue along the edge until you reach the narrower end of your shape. If you feel that it is getting harder to stretch the metal between the molds, take the Nylon mallet or a wide wooden stake to increase the concave nature of your aluminium and continue until your entire desired shape is achieved in concaved form.
Step 3: Refinement
Using a series of different sized wooden stakes, you will be able to smooth out the concave created and removed any undesired bumpiness you may encounter making your blister. Also Check if you accidentally caused your concave to reach the limit bound by the thickness of your chosen mdf. If the crest of your concave is met as a flat edge, you may wish to take a beanbag to place under your molds and create a pocket under your concave, in order to fully realise it's shape.
Step 5: Refinement
Line up your blister with your partners and see if it lines up at this point. Seeing as though they are limited within the same negative mold they should match perfectly in shape, though you may wish to match the depth of your concaves. You may wish to trim the edges of your blister or leave it as is to show how well you managed to form the resulting shape.
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