Heat forming styrene

[CanuckSigns]

I'm trying to produce some snap around pipe markers, we normally order these in already done, but I want to look into what's involved in producing them in house.

The appear to be flatbed printed styrene, around 0.040" thick. I assume after they are printed, they are heat formed into a coil around around some sort of form or something. Does anyone have any experience making these, or have done something similar in the past?

Thanks
Scott

 

[FireSprint.com]

We used to offer heat bending. It takes a little finesse with handling, timing, and temperature. Our offer was just a single angle though, no curves.

I wonder if you could heat the sheet up with a heat gun or infrared stand heater, then mold it between two cooler, curved surfaces sandwiched together. Maybe a sheet metal shop could make something for you, or even a couple of pieces of Lexan anchored into a curve.

**I have no real experience with making a curve, it just seemed like a neat project to think about...