How to bend cellular polycarbonate at home. How to bend polycarbonate is important to know. Cellular polycarbonate and its features

If you were the first to start major renovation on your own plot near your house, you may have a number of questions. Which material to choose? What tools should you prepare? Where to begin?

And those who want to add polycarbonate panels to an arched structure or replace old ones are concerned with the question of how to bend the polycarbonate so as not to break it. You will learn about this from this article!

Why choose plastic?

• He has served for over ten years.
• Polycarbonate is not afraid of either frost of forty degrees or heat of one hundred and twenty degrees.
• Panels can be processed different ways and available tools. When cutting, the edges are not sharp and safe for humans.
• Plastic will protect you from street and highway noise and create a comfortable, quiet place for you to relax.
• It can be bent when heated or cold, creating structures of complex shapes. If everything is done correctly, the material will not crack.
• Polycarbonate allows 90 percent of sunlight to pass through.
• The panels are much lighter than glass and other building materials.
• The material can withstand heavy snow and wind loads.

1. Prepare your instrument. You will need a vice mounted on a table or bench.
2. Find out the minimum bend radius. This information is contained in the documents that come with the purchase of sheets. For example, a panel with a four-millimeter thickness should be bent no more than sixty centimeters. Honeycomb sheets can only be bent along the length of the cells so that they do not crack. The radius must be no less than the bending radius of the sheet.
3. Place the panels in a vice and secure. Lower their edges to the desired radius manually.

• There is no need to heat the sheet before the procedure. Its fluidity increases only when heated to one hundred and twenty-five degrees, which is difficult to achieve at home.
• If you want to create a structure for an arch, make sure that the length of the honeycomb runs along it. When laying panels vertically, you also need to set the length of the honeycomb.
• To cover flat, sloped roofs, lay the honeycomb lengthwise perpendicular to the slope of the surface, at an angle greater than three degrees.
• Do not forget to leave a temperature play when fastening - a small gap between the plastic and the thermal washer. Thanks to this, the material will not crack when expanding due to temperature changes.

HOW TO BEND POLYCARBONATE - THIS IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW Before answering the question: “How to bend polycarbonate?” Let's take a closer look at this material, its types and properties. Polycarbonates are modern polymer materials, popular in construction, in household work (when equipping recreation areas; as roofing material small buildings, canopies over balconies or verandas; at the dacha for the construction of greenhouses and gazebos). These polymers are widely used due to their properties. POLYMER PROPERTIES strength; lightness (lighter than ordinary glass); transparency. It should be noted here that this property is characteristic of monolithic polycarbonate. This type of material transmits up to 90% daylight, which cannot be said about cellular polycarbonate. The varieties of material will be discussed below; flexibility. The material can be bent at any angle, creating various shapes; processing the edges of the material is simple and can be done using improvised means; the material can withstand a wide range of frequencies: from minus 40 °C to plus 120 °C; thermal insulation; sound insulation; The most interesting property of polycarbonate is that it can be cold molded. Among polycarbonates, there are two types of material: Cellular (cellular) polycarbonate. Monolithic (cast) polycarbonate. Cellular polycarbonate consists of several layers of flexible material with a thickness of 16 to 42 mm, between which cavities are formed that resemble honeycombs. Monolithic polycarbonate is a solid sheet, without gaps or cavities. Often used instead of silicate glass. As noted earlier, polycarbonate is an excellent material for making roofs, walls and other products and structures that are light and transparent to light. This material has high strength, because even at a thickness of 12 millimeters it cannot be penetrated by a bullet. It’s good when you can use ready-made polycarbonate sheets, which are easy to drill and saw with conventional tools. But when a product or structural element has a curved shape, the question arises: how to bend polycarbonate? CORRECT WAYS TO BEND First, let's look at how to bend monolithic polycarbonate. This material is very easy to process, including very easy to bend even with your hands. All you need to do this is a vice to ensure the material is securely fastened, and some hand strength. Polycarbonate does not even need to be heated, because its fluidity does not increase up to a temperature of 120 °C. And when heated to more than 130 °C, polycarbonate can be bent in special vacuum or compression furnaces to obtain structures of complex shapes. You just need to take into account the minimum permissible bending radius, otherwise the sheet may collapse. And to the question: “How to bend cellular polycarbonate?” Let's answer simply - just as simply, with our hands. One condition is that a sheet of cellular polycarbonate can only be bent along the direction of the honeycomb, but not across it. In this case, the minimum permissible bending radius of the material should also be taken into account. The easiest way to find out is from the seller when purchasing polycarbonate sheets. There is a small nuance when covering “smooth” sloping roofs - work must be carried out so that the honeycombs are perpendicular to the direction of the angle of the roof. In conclusion, I would like to note physical properties material. Polycarbonate - when heated, changes state - first into a highly elastic state, and then into a viscous fluid state. These properties of the polymer are reversible, i.e., the material transitions from one state to another during molding multiple times, which means that the polymer is suitable for recycling and the subsequent manufacture of new products from the resulting raw materials.

Currently, the industry produces two types of polycarbonate: monolithic and cellular.

Monolithic polycarbonate (cast polycarbonate) is easy to process.

They find the widest application in construction. Before answering the question of how to bend polycarbonate, let’s determine how these differ.

Monolithic polycarbonate

This plastic appearance resembles glass. It can also easily be mistaken for plexiglass. To characterize its strength, it is enough to say that its 12 mm thickness is bulletproof. Sheets of this type of polycarbonate with a standard width and length of 2.05 × 3.05 m differ only in thickness. The minimum thickness is 2 mm, the maximum is 12 mm. Sheets with a thickness of 8, 10 and 12 mm are manufactured and supplied to individual orders.

Let us give formulas by which, knowing the thickness d, you can easily determine the weight of 1 m2 of material Qm and the weight of the entire piece Ql:

Qm=1.2×d, kg, and Ql=7.5×d, kg

Cellular polycarbonate and its features

Cellular polycarbonate is a sheet of plastic, lightweight, unlike monolithic, due to the presence of special voids.

This type has a standard width of 2.1 m and a length of 6 or 12 m. The weight of a 6 m long sheet is approximately 10 kg, and the weight of 1 m2 is approximately 800 g.

To understand what properties of polycarbonate will be discussed, it is enough to imagine the roof of houses, one of which is covered with slate, and the other with galvanized iron. can be bent at almost any angle, which is clearly visible at the joints of the material on the roof. If you try to connect two sheets of slate in the same way, then even without knowing anything about such a science as the strength of materials, it will be clear that nothing will come of this attempt.

Slate and roofing iron have completely different properties. One of these properties is the fluidity of the material. Roofing iron has this quality. When bending, it seems to be stretched on the outside of the bend, and compressed on the inside, while the strength of the material at the bend site remains virtually unchanged.

Neither slate nor glass have this property. Both monolithic and cellular polycarbonate are closer in properties to roofing iron than to glass. Their strength is sufficient so that polycarbonate, when subjected to bending to a specified maximum radius, provides resistance to tensile forces (from the outside) and compression, which would not exceed permissible standards.

A distinctive feature of polycarbonate is that it can be worked in a cold state. If, in order to bend glass, it must be heated, then for polycarbonate you only need to know the permissible bending radius in a cold state, which is indicated in the accompanying documentation. Having secured the carbonate sheet in a vice and maintaining the specified radius, it can be bent by hand.

After cutting cellular polycarbonate, it is necessary to remove chips from the internal cavities of the panel.

It should be borne in mind that cellular polycarbonate can only be bent along the length of the honeycomb.

It is very important that polycarbonate has a property such as fluidity that practically does not change with temperature changes environment. This indicator begins to change noticeably only at a temperature of 125 ° C, that is, at a fairly high temperature.

However, it will not be possible to bend any type of polycarbonate at the same angle as roofing iron at the joints of the sheets, even when it is heated. Consequently, the conclusion suggests itself that there is no point in heating cellular polycarbonate to reduce the bending radius.

Learn more about cellular polycarbonate

For point fastening of cellular polycarbonate to the frame, self-tapping screws and special thermal washers are used.

It was said that cellular polycarbonate should be bent only along the honeycombs, that is, if we are talking about an arched covering, then the length of the honeycombs should be along the arch.

In this case, it is necessary to take into account that the radius of the arch should not be less than that allowed by cellular polycarbonate. When the sheets are arranged vertically (for example, internal partitions), the length of the honeycomb must be placed in a vertical position. The covering of flat sloping roofs must be done so that the length of the honeycombs is perpendicular to the direction of the roof slope. In this case, it is desirable that the tilt be at least 3°. TO load-bearing structures

Cellular polycarbonate roofs must be secured using profiles.

About fastening cellular polycarbonate

When fastening, it is necessary to take into account that cellular carbonate, like any material, will change its dimensions when the temperature changes in accordance with its inherent and known expansion coefficients. Knowing the corresponding temperature fluctuations in the construction area, it is necessary to provide gaps between connecting elements (profiles) and sheet in case of expansion with increasing temperature, and select the profile size so that when negative temperature

he did not go beyond it. When taking into account temperature changes, it is also necessary to take into account the possible deflection of the sheet, for example, under snow load.

1. Installation diagram of cellular polycarbonate. Panels with a width of 500-1050 mm are inserted into the grooves of profiles corresponding to the thickness of the cellular polycarbonate. The longitudinal transverse fastening option is used for covering flat roof
2. when the rafters and sheathing (purlins) lie in the same plane. The distance between the rafters must correspond to the width, and the distance between the purlins must correspond to the load for which the honeycomb sheet is designed.

The option for fastening an arched structure assumes that the distance between the load-bearing elements corresponds to the width of the sheet, and the distance between the additional load-bearing sheathing should be calculated for the type of its structure and the expected wind loads.

A common type of fastening profile is a one-piece polycarbonate profile, the cross-section of which represents the letter H rotated by 90°. In this case, the cross-section of the connection inside the profile is a cell extending along its length, that is, along a piece of polycarbonate. The profile is not attached to the sheathing, but the sheets are secured with bolts.

The polycarbonate profile is fastened to the longitudinal supports of the frame using self-tapping screws equipped with thermal washers.

For the final sections, both for flat and arched coverings, an end one-piece U-shaped polycarbonate profile is used. Its lower part is located parallel to the coating sheets.

The detachable polycarbonate connecting profile consists of two parts - upper and lower.

The rigid lower part has a flat base with two stiffening ribs, which along the entire length of the profile have special protrusions for fastening the upper part. This base is attached to the sheathing with screws. Polycarbonate sheets are laid on both sides, and the entire length is covered with the upper part. This part also has stiffening ribs with mounting tabs that fit between the tabs on the bottom to form a secure connection.

A person who decides to independently undertake major repairs or construct small structures on his summer cottage (located outside the city or in an urban area) will definitely be faced with the need to solve several problems. For example, which one to choose construction material, what tool to use or how to bend polycarbonate (if the choice fell on it).

Advantages of polycarbonate

Polycarbonate is used by humans in various areas of their life. For example, it is used in the construction of greenhouses and gazebos on summer cottages, balconies, roofs, canopies, areas intended for recreation of adults and children. This popularity of the polymer is due to its presence large quantity undoubted advantages. These include the following properties:

1. Long service life exceeding ten years.
2. The material does not lose its qualities during wide use temperature conditions, the limits of which are forty-degree frost and heat of one hundred and twenty degrees.
3. Ease of processing. Thermoplastic can be cut and drilled using simple, improvised tools.
4. High sound insulation properties make it possible to use thermoplastic in the construction of sound insulation screens along highways passing through residential areas or for office partitions allowing each employee to create a quiet, comfortable, separate workplace.
5. The high degree of flexibility of thermoplastic panels allows the material to be bent at different angles, creating a variety of complex and simple shapes.
6. Transparency of the material. Polycarbonate is capable of transmitting about ninety percent of the sun's light.
7. Ease. Thermoplastic panels are much lighter than others similar materials, in particular glass. This makes it easier to work with material at high altitudes.
8. Strength. The material is able to withstand heavy loads coming from the severity of precipitation, which can accumulate on the surface of the slabs.
9. The material can be bent in a hot or cold state, which positively distinguishes the polymer from other materials with similar properties. Curved sheets do not crack, even if they are bent into oval shapes, but with a small degree of bending. This was made possible thanks to the excellent fluidity of the thermoplastic.
10. The structure of polycarbonate is such that when cutting sheets, their edges at the cut points are not sharp, which significantly reduces the possibility of a person getting hurt when working with the material.

Necessary steps for bending polycarbonate

To apply polymer material to create buildings of complex configuration, you will need to have knowledge that can answer the question: “How can you bend cellular or monolithic polycarbonate?” The required knowledge may include information about the properties of thermoplastic and advice on working with the material. Recommendations for polymer bending:

1. Preparing the tool that will be used to bend the polymer. Such a tool is a vice, which is installed and secured on a table or workbench used in the work of mechanics.
2. From the documents that come with the purchased material, you should find out what the minimum allowed bending radius of the panels is. For example, slabs 4 millimeters thick can be bent with a radius of more than 60 centimeters.
3. If the slabs are cellular thermoplastic, then they can only be bent along the length of the cells. Otherwise, the material may suffer mechanical damage.
4. The sheets should be secured in a vice, after which they can be safely bent even with “bare” hands.

If you decide to make a greenhouse, gazebo or light interior partition made of polycarbonate, you will be faced with a number of questions: which polymer is better to use, how and how to cut the sheet with the least loss, what is the easiest and most reliable way to attach polycarbonate to the frame. In this article we will tell you how to bend polycarbonate at home yourself.

Differences between monolithic and cellular polycarbonate

Polycarbonate is a popular building material that has a number of advantages: lightweight, durable, easy to cut, aesthetically pleasing, durable (shelf life reaches more than 10 years).

There are two types of polymer:

• cellular (cellular);
• monolithic (cast).

These types differ in design, scope and price.

Cellular and monolithic polycarbonate differ in scope and type of construction

Monolithic looks like glass, but is significantly stronger than glass. In structure it is a solid material; sheet thickness ranges from 2 to 20 mm. It is heavier and stronger than a cell phone. Some samples are bulletproof, therefore they are used in various protective structures and as elements of urban infrastructure. It is more expensive than its cellular counterpart.

Cellular polycarbonate consists of several thin sheets of plastic connected by honeycombs. It lags behind the monolithic polymer in strength, however, due to the presence of the main feature - cells - it is endowed with a number of advantages. It has additional heat and noise insulation and good light transmittance. It costs less to produce a honeycomb sheet source material, so it is cheaper in cost. It is used mainly in the construction of greenhouses, greenhouses, and as a roofing material.

Video “Mounting technology for cellular polycarbonate”

From this video you will learn how to prepare polycarbonate sheets for installation and make it waterproof.

How to bend polymer

Both of these types of plastic are similar in many properties to roofing iron. They withstand any precipitation, temperature changes, gusts of heavy winds, and do not break or crack. Despite this, polycarbonate sheets lend themselves perfectly to bending at home and even when bent they do not lose their qualities.

When working with polymer yourself, you need to know the following:

• cellular polycarbonate can only be bent along the cells to avoid mechanical damage;
• bending the sheet does not require heating the product; it bends perfectly at room temperature;
• if you need to obtain a 90° angle, choose monolithic polycarbonate (cellular polycarbonate does not bend at a right angle).

You should follow the rules for bending polycarbonate, otherwise you may damage the material

The ease of working with the material depends on:

• on the thickness of the sheets (the thinner the sheet, the easier it is to work with);
• from the maximum bending angle of a particular material (check this information with the seller or read the instructions when purchasing).

We offer a table of the minimum bending radius of cellular polycarbonate:

Sheet thickness, mm	Bending radius, mm
	1050
	1400
	1750
	3000
	4500
	5000
	6400

When creating the planned bend from the tools, you only need a vice in which you need to fix the pre-selected profile for bending the plastic sheet.

To give the plastic the desired shape, it should be bent by hand in accordance with a given radius. Do this work slowly, carefully, without using excessive physical effort.

And the last, important observation: given the high degree of fluidity of the polymer and its elasticity, the material can be returned to its original state after initial bending.