Windscreen ??

[veefan]

I'm looking to have a winscreen made for my Formula Vee. Anyone know of a company that makes them or sells Pieces of Lexan?

[Rick Kirchner]

Don't use lexan, it's not very formable. Use acrylic, availabe at your local home depot. Acrylic is a thermoplastic, and you can either try to shape it with a heat gun and a glass rod, or by placing it on some aluminum foil on a cookie sheet, getting it hot enough to be soft, and quickly bending it into place.

Wear gloves.

[veefan]

I purchased some Plexi Glass and it cracked after I spent a hour forming it. Is acrylic something different?

[Steve Demeter]

Plexiglass tends to crack rather easily.

What you want at Home Depot is the stuff they sell to replace glass windows. Gives a lot before it breaks.

I have tried forming Plexiglass in years past with the same results as you experienced.

The thinner the better when hand forming something also.

[Rick Kirchner]

Yes, pelxiglas is the brand name for acrylic. You have to get it hot enough.

http://www.solanopilots.com/eaahomeb...ts%20pages.htm

[Rick Iverson]

Aircraft Windshields was an original Lola windscreen vendor.

Aircraft Windshields Company
10871 Kyle Street
Los Alamitos CA 90720-2410
(562) 430-8108
ATTN: Lois

Iverson

[Modo]

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/def...parentcatid=-1

Lexan under polycarbonate.....also teflon-delrin-nylon-phenolic... bend Lexan like said above...if bubbles form do another, heat at low temp in oven for quite a while to remove moisture, then higher heat and bend....see Carroll Smith notes (wasn't Carroll looked) or was it a side note from the Spruce Goose.....for Tim below, I would go with 1/8th as minimum....did so for Reynard and it was close to wobbly although I brought it up higher....if done again I would use 3/16ths Lex

[veefan]

Thanks for all the info!

[Purple Frog]

From another angle...

There is no need to use Lexan, Plexiglass, etc. The windscreen should not extend up in the pilot's field of vision, so it could be easily crafted out of aluminum, fiberglass, etc.

Just a thought.

[Rick Kirchner]

The Frog, as usual, is correct. If you want it to be clear for appearance purposes, it's easier to form the item in aluminum and then drape the hot plexiglass over the aluminum than it is to painstakingly form the plastic.

Lexan really doesn't bend well. It's a thermosetting plastic, and once made, the shape is what you have. It doesn't change a lot under heat until it burns.

[EACIII]

I used an old visor to form a windscreen, it worked fine. And yes it was below my line of sight but keep the wind and rain off my hands.

Ed

[Purple Frog]

Damn. I love the old visor idea!

I just took one out and fit it inside the front edge of the Reynard cockpit surrond. Has potential. Gottta love Apexspeed.

[Tim FF19]

I used Lexan for the replacement windscreen on my T-342 Lola. We never formed it with heat, we just bent it into position and screwed it to the body. It looked perfect. When I removed it a few years later it returned to flat, not a hint of having ever been bent. If I remember right we used something thin like 1/16".

[Becker Motorsports]

On our citation fv we used the 1/16 lexan also, worked great. Suggest making a pattern from heavy brown paper, simply tape paper to the body, lay out the overall design, remove, cut out pattern and transfer to lexax. Including the mounting screw locations. Used button head screws to mount to body. Simple process,

[Rick Kirchner]

There's also a different point angle you can grind on the drill bits to make cracking less likely. Can't remember what it is, but I think it's defined in one of the Smith's books or in the Aircraft Spruce catalog.

[Charles Warner]

You can buy a special bit from Wicks/Spruce designed for this. Also, plastic bolts are available to preclude cracking.

[dereklola]

Make sure the holes are bigger than the bolt.

I've also put small O-rings under the bolts head and inside the oversized holes (hope that makes sense)

All to discourage cracking of course.

[Ricky Racer]

Not meant to hijack the thread, but I seem to remember a "spec" supplier for windshields for the old Trans-Am series located in the Chicago area if anyone knows who it might be. I later saw a show where the same company was forming Lexan in an oven with wood and aluminum bucks like making a body mold. Just thought it might be worthwhile to check with them if your windscreen has multiple curves or an unusual shape.

[Hawke]

I just made a replacement one for my Hawke.

Found the local plastic sign man, bought an off cut of polycarbonate, bent it cold on the bench, drilled it with normal bits, cut it with a power jig saw.

$10 and half an hour of work. Looks like new, and have enough left over for another two.

[DaveW]

I'm looking to have a winscreen made for my Formula Vee. Anyone know of a company that makes them or sells Pieces of Lexan?

McMaster-Carr sells Lexan (polycarbonate) sheet in various thicknesses, etc. 12x12x1/16" sheet is ~$4.

[R. Pare]

Lexan is quite formable - you just have to do it correctly. Here's a link to a guide on forming from a UK company :

http://www.gcip.co.uk/pdf/process.pdf

I'm sure a quick Google search will net a few more papers from other sources.

[Paul LeCain]

We always used Lexan. About 1/16" thick.

[Rick Kirchner]

That forming link is a gem. I've experienced the moisture capture/outgassing issue with acrylic, once heated it formed nice little bubbles inside the plastic.

[turnbaugh]

Make it out of carbon fiber. That would look cool and you can make any shape you want.

[Ravenbk]

Has anyone tried to use the windscreen off a motorcycle, like a Ducati or other sports bike?

[Amon]

My old Citation had a windscreen off an old BMW and it looked great.

Mark

[rmccown]

Hmm, never thought of that!

[Modo]

Put one of those above on the Van Dieman, helmet and goggles of old and you can have a smoke when the flag drops!! u know that screen above is lexan-poly not plexiglass

[VDF1]

I have a brother-in-law named R Pare... Thanks for that PDF, lots of good info!

I also have had good results just bending Lexan sheet.