DIY Vacuumformer - 3dprinted and or lasercut

A DIY vacuumforming table (300mmX170mm useable area) using a 3Dprinted box and hoseconnector (35mm ID) in addition with some lasercut 3mm plywood. This solution does not need a dedicated heater you can use a heatgun to heat PETG sheets. I have included the CAD/STP file if you want to itterate further. With the STP file you might be able to export the wood parts to try and print those too, i have not tried that so that would be experimental.

"I hope it inspires others to go and create!"

I decided to stack my 3mm ply for extra rigidity, so the top and bottom DXF files for cutting are different. For increased rigidity i have also cut the frame part 4 times. If you have thicker ply you could use single sheets for top and bottom. To increase the vacuum i have put some foam on the edges of the box between the ply. 

Hardware:
This can be put together using a variety of solutions:

Sandwich style: 4X long M3 screws /threaded rod and nuts and or wingnuts on the bottom, sandwiching the whole assembly. This might provide the best vacuum i think.
Heatsets: I opted for 8 M3 screws with heatset inserts and drilled all the holes to accomodate the 8 insert. 
Screws: just screw 8 long enough M3 screws into the plastic. This might work but isnt as durable as the other options.

My first pull, it reproduces enough detail for me to see that my buck needs more smoothing work 😉:

For smaller forms there is also this excellent design by @@omerdemir_1616152

My design is inspired by this model by @MaxSiebenschlafer I needed a bigger size to pull a Tie Fighter helmet visor. If you prefer a smaller model or cannot print the size needed for this project, i would encourage you to use his design! For a better connection between the box and the vac i have created a remixed hoseconnector for his design: 

https://www.printables.com/model/323921-vacuum-forming-table

https://www.printables.com/model/1692474-vacuum-forming-table-clamping-hose-connector