Acrylic fabrication questions? I can help!

I'm doing some replumbing right now and so I have things sitting around on the floor.

My blankity blank blank cats decide to start chasing each other all over the house.

The end result is a broken Deltec APF600 skimmer.

Deltec-Broken.jpg



Is it dead? or can it be revived?
 
i can see the picture from work but as long as the skimmer only has a straight cut it can def be fixed! i had my AFP600 knocked over by my cat(i wanted to kick her out!!! haha) and there was 1 straight long cut from the intake fitting down to the bottom of the return pipe and around it. I used weld on 3 and worked like a charm :) was runing for aditional 6mos before i sold it and i never heard anything back from the buyer :)
 
This has hairline cracks on the body above the return pipe. It's cracked all the way around the return pipe itself as well has cracked below the return pipe. Even has a chunk missing below the return pipe.

I'm thinking the only way to fix it is to put a big patch over everything and then redrill a hole. Make a new return pipe out of 1" PVC. Use a uniseal and run the thing in sump.

Unless anyone has any better ideas, that's probably what I'll do.

How do you bend a piece of acrylic to form the patch??
Will boiling water be hot enough?
 
I am planning on using a 2 part weld-on to encase magnets to make them reef safe. My question is, should I pour a small amount of weldon into the mold, let it harden, then place the magnet on top and add more weldon? This seems like the only way to prevent the magnet from sticking out of the acrylic housing.
 
Glad I found this thread!!! I am planning on making a sump for my 60 gallon tank. I already have a 20"x20"x16" acrylic tank that I would like to use. It has 2" eurobracing around the top. I need to install baffles and a couple of walls. My local acrylic shop has cut the acrylic exactly as I need. Now what weld-on should I use to attach these baffles and how do I glue them in? I can not glue just one edge at a time. There will be three sides that have to be glued. So how can I do this? Thanks Chris
 
Demeter,
Can't help with the film, it's essentially chemically inert so solvents are out. The film should come off even if heated on. If it won't - it got way too hot, it shouldn't melt on at 300F. The reality is IME that your going to have to pick off little pcs at a time or if it's a small pcs and not structural or glued - stick it in the freezer for an hour then peel off the film.

Coralfragger101,
IME, the affected area is going to have to be removed, a new bottom placed and new holes drilled. Boiling water is not hot enough, plastic needs to reach ~300F to be formable and placing that size patch will most likely cause the tube to craze (it is extruded)

Malifluous,
Yes, pour some resin down, let it harden, place your magnet, pour more resin over and around it.

CKreef,
IMO you're gonna have to do one wall at a time, use Weld-on 4 or equivalent. Glue one side, let it dry, flip it and glue the other side, let it dry, glue the bottom. If desired, glue gussets around the joints of areas that need to be water-tight or run a bead of Weld-on 40 instead of the gussets.

HTH,
James
 
james!
in the past i have used a cardboard box with a light bulb/s inside to heat the space to above 100+ deg . placed acrylic parts bonded with weld on 40 inside and let set for days and or a week.
in your opinion is this worth the trouble to get the extra strength out of the epoxy!
or is any heat on acrylic just a bad idea in general.
thanks for any advice!
 
So basically place the section Iam glueing where I want it. Then glue one wall at a time and then the bottom. Will these two weldon glues make a watertight seal? How can I make sure the parts im glueing will line up where i want them? TOOLS CLAMPS ETC??? Remember there is 2"eurobracing. Thanks Chris
 
mountaindew,
100F is not nearly hot enough to anneal. You'd need to get it to 180F or so do it. The 40 does not need to be annealed post gluing, the annealing just makes the bead stronger. Is it worth it? well, without annealing - you're looking at joint strength of ~2500+psi which is far more than we'll ever see in this hobby in any way. So annealing is good (for other reasons,) no question about that, but 100F is simply not hot enough to anneal, so in that respect - no, it's not working to do the job desired so not worth the effort IMO
FWIW, 40 is not an epoxy, it's an actual acrylic resin :)

Chris,
Make tape blocks similar to the ones shown in my gallery (http://www.reefcentral.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=32445&thumb=1)
Tape them down using double-faced tape, available at any hardware store as well as Staples, OfficeMax, etc. The step is on the blocks so you don't glue the blocks down when gluing the baffle.

HTH,
James
 
Thanks Great idea!!! That will make it much easier. Now which weldon do I use. I have used 16 before but that is it. Thanks Chris
 
The plasticutter and similar gadgetry are scrapers at best IMO and a half-decent chisel or hand plane would be better but JMO (I don't like the little gadgets but they do, admittedly, have their place)
I'd say use #4 and then run a bead of 40 around the joint or glue in gussets if you want to be water-tight.
FWIW, there are some hand planes out there which are simply outstanding at this sort of stuff, they can do very accurate shaping and planing. To use one well is an art in itself but even if not well versed - can still be a very functional tool for such projects.

Do you know anyone who does woodwork and might have a jointer you could use for a moment?

HTH,
James
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12659383#post12659383 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Acrylics
mountaindew,
100F is not nearly hot enough to anneal. You'd need to get it to 180F or so do it. The 40 does not need to be annealed post gluing, the annealing just makes the bead stronger. Is it worth it? well, without annealing - you're looking at joint strength of ~2500+psi which is far more than we'll ever see in this hobby in any way. So annealing is good (for other reasons,) no question about that, but 100F is simply not hot enough to anneal, so in that respect - no, it's not working to do the job desired so not worth the effort IMO
FWIW, 40 is not an epoxy, it's an actual acrylic resin :)


HTH,
James
Click to expand...

James thanks for the quick informative response.
the temps. i have been working around are the ones listed in weld on 40 data sheets.
BOND STRENGTH DATA
rt for 1 week =4000 psi
120 deg for 1 week = 5700 psi
150 deg for 1 week = 7000 psi
i have been using a box with vents and a couple light bulbs to keep the temp between 120 and 150 deg for a week . hoping to get that extra bonding strength it claims.
i am not trying to anneal the material to relieve strain, i have not got to that level of fabrication yet he he :).
mostly i just wanted to know if it was worth the extra step to get that 5700 psi to 7000 psi number the specs claim!
again thanks for the info
 
IMO, not worth the effort, but again, JMO. Look at the actual joint strength without any further work, they're claiming 4000psi which I can't/won't debate (I use 2500psi as a "real world" number.) Even if you only achieved half of that strength or 2000psi - that's till far and away more than we will ever see in a hobbyist sized tank. So IMO, just not worth the extra effort but then again - couldn't hurt and if you feel better about it then by all means do it. Peace of mind is huge in this hobby :)
FWIW, I'd put the extra effort and $$ into thicker and better materials before the above

Hope this makes sense,
James
 
James,
thanks again, i greatly value your advice!
i have done this with acrylic to pvc bonds "small parts" and was wondering if it was worth the effort.
i wont bother doing this unless i have extra time.
and i agree, "with the many times you said in this thread"
the higher the quality of material the better the project turns out.
i even noticed that high end acrylic brands take far less effort to clean then the cheaper stuff!
md
 
James,
Do you use a cnc mahine at your shop? If so, is this how you make the cut outs on the top sheet of acrylic? thanx, Marc
 
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