Can this be vacuum formed, Mold help!

[Cartierusm]

I'm thinking of building a vacuum forming machine for a project, but want to make sure that the item I want to form can be done.

The area I'm concerned about is the channel going around the mold. As you can see in the CAD drawings the channel is 2" deep 1/4" wide. The mold is 2 1/4" high so the channel doesn't go through, but I'll have extra holes in all the round recesses and the channel. I plan on using a good vacuum pump and reservoir tank I already have.

I want to use 1/8" thick sheets, now I know the channel is 1/4", but will the plastic be able to suck down that far in a narrow channel?

Thanks in advance.

[spektr]

Two answers. 1)) Yes it will work.... BUT It wont work as a practical matter. when you form plastic you stretch it, it gets thinner. By the time you get anywhere close to the bottom of your slot, the material will have thinned so far it will probably fail and leak. 2))
It will not work, the depth to thickness ratio had been exceeded. A piece of material 1/8th thick is recommended to be used in slots wider than 1/4 inch.

[Cartierusm]

Thanks, that's what I thought.

[beastmoore]

Depending on what is important, you could reverse the mould so the 1/4" channel is a 1/4" male rib inside a female mould. The material surrounding this will still thin but you could use an assist plug