Looking for a really thin styrene sheet

[Steffen_T]

Hi all,
I am looking for a styrene sheet which is only 0.05mm or less thick. The thinest sheet I have found so far was 0.25mm thick which is already to thick for the project I need it for.
Does anybody have an idea were I could get something as thin as this?
Sincerely,
Steffen

[roddo]

Does it have to be styrene? Would shim steel do the job?

[jaykay]

I doubt you will find styrene in that thickness. I've never seen it below 0,25mm. Depending on how big a sheet you need you can start from there and sand it thinner but it will be very fragile and tend to break very easily.

One thing you could have a look at is this:
http://www.modulor.de/shop/oxid.php/sid ... id/169160L" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have that stuff and have used it to make clear headlight covers on my last 1:43 project.

[Slowpoke]

The thinnest I have is some "Evergreen" brand styrene that is 0.13mm thick. It is almost as thin as a piece of paper. It is pretty flexible and can be bent without breaking.


George

[JamesB]

You'll have to aproach the old system "it was not made for this purpose, but it suits.."
You'll find that material outside modeling. Most of vac formed plastic trays used for food frozen goods and the like are made of styrene. Way to know: if it melts with nitro thinner, then it's styrene. Because the other options are PVC and PET, and these are not affected by thinner.
In this moment I have in my hand a tray that I savaged yesterday from a set of frozen "empanadillas". Surely it all depends on the size of the bit you need: in this case it's 20x6cm. But the good news is that, according my caliper, they are just 0,12mm thick
If you tell me how much you need I can send you some bits.

[Steffen_T]

Hi!
thank you for the replies!
I know that this type of styrene exists. I have a few small pieces left. Sadly the man I got it from passed away two years ago. He was a modeler himself and very often used unusual materials, so James could be right. I think I will get my self some ice creme in the supermarket and will test if I can use the tray. And if it doesn't work I will order some of Jaykays acetat foil.
Steel would not work as I want to use a fan to heat and bend the material.
Many thanks for all the sugestions, especially to James for the kind offer!

[JamesB]

You're welcome, Steffen!
As a guide, these are usual products: cookies, frozen things to be fried which come in individual parts, youghourths(!!!!), particularly the ones packed by 125grams units (the big südmilch 500gram won't work!) and one I commented to ziggy the other day, a cold cake to be made by the customer: it includes a round 16cm EXCELLENT plastic sheet of, say, 0,3mm and a rounded fence of much less thickness.
Plastic glasses/cups are nowadays amde of PET or PVC.
the good thing of this stuff is that you don't need to heat it, as long as you need 1 degree curvatures. Good old rubbing/hand bending will help. I made nice simple barge boards with this, aras can tell .
if you want 2 degree curvatures, then you'll need heat... and it becomes a terribly wild thing to control

[lumpulus]

What's the project?