What glue is best for HPDE ( high density polyethylene ) ?
Pogo
I just need to glue a few flat pieces together, then cut them up and do some milling on the sandwiched pieces.
What about ABS Haircell plastic ?
Thanks for any and all help !
JCD
Gordon McComb
The short answer is you fon't glue/cement HPDE. Use mechanical fasteners
or heat welding.
Unless the ABS has some additives, it can all be cemented using ABS
solvent cement. Most home improvement stores carry it, or an all-purpose
that can be used with PVC and ABS-PVC cementing.
-- Gordon
Pogo
> Pogo wrote:
> >
> > What kind of glue is best for HPDE ( high density polyethylene ) ?
> > I just need to glue a few flat pieces together, then cut them up and do some milling on the sandwiched pieces.
> >
> > What about ABS Haircell plastic ?
> >
> > Thanks for any and all help !
>
>
> The short answer is you fon't glue/cement HPDE. Use mechanical fasteners
> or heat welding.
Yeah - that's what I was afraid of. Dang!
> Unless the ABS has some additives, it can all be cemented using ABS
> solvent cement. Most home improvement stores carry it, or an all-purpose
> that can be used with PVC and ABS-PVC cementing.
Great! I usually keep a can of that around ... the joys of DIY!
Thanks for the info
JCD
dan michaels
<_REMOVE_discard3@_REMOVE_THIS_waycoolgear.com> wrote:
> "Gordon McComb" <NOSPAMg...@NOrobotoidSPAM.com> wrote in messagenews:45DDEE...@NOrobotoidSPAM.com...
I don't know about gluing HDPE per se, as I just cut it and drill
holes for screws. OTOH, Goop works very well with ABS. I like it very
much, but Gordon doesn't like the fumes. Goop holds well, and doesn't
harden and the parts can usually be separated later. I also tried the
ABS solvents, and they make permanent joints since they melt and fuse
the plastic. I'm sure they're much worse ecologically [ie, on my
lungs] than goop.
Gordon McComb
> I don't know about gluing HDPE per se, as I just cut it and drill
> holes for screws. OTOH, Goop works very well with ABS. I like it very
> much, but Gordon doesn't like the fumes. Goop holds well, and doesn't
> harden and the parts can usually be separated later. I also tried the
> ABS solvents, and they make permanent joints since they melt and fuse
> the plastic. I'm sure they're much worse ecologically [ie, on my
> lungs] than goop.
It's the toluene that gets me, and many solvent-based cements have it.
Benzene isn't something I like being around.
HDPE *can* be glued using an acrylic cement (3M makes a couple but they
are not readily available). It's not easy, requires surface prep, and is
aided by controlled heat and pressure during curing time. Not something
most people can reliably do.
Goop probably wouldn't even bond to HDPE, and the solvent-based cements
would have no reaction. That's the beauty of HDPE, and why they use it
for cooking tops, arterial stents, and everything else.
-- Gordon
Pogo
> dan michaels wrote:
> It's the toluene that gets me, and many solvent-based cements have it.
> Benzene isn't something I like being around.
Hmmmm ... I milled some of the HPDE the other night for over 20 minutes and now I have a scratchy throat. I had a huge pile of shavings and fine dust all over the place when I was done. Is there any danger from this stuff when it gets hot or aerosolized ?
dan michaels
<_REMOVE_discard3@_REMOVE_THIS_waycoolgear.com> wrote:
> "Gordon McComb" <NOSPAMg...@NOrobotoidSPAM.com> wrote in messagenews:45DE11...@NOrobotoidSPAM.com...
> > dan michaels wrote:
> > It's the toluene that gets me, and many solvent-based cements have it.
> > Benzene isn't something I like being around.
>
> Hmmmm ... I milled some of the HPDE the other night for over 20 minutes and now I have a scratchy throat. I had a huge pile of shavings and fine dust all over the place when I was done. Is there any danger from this stuff when it gets hot or aerosolized ?
I may be overgeneralizing, but I'd say it's ALLLLL BADDDD. You
shouldn't mess with any of this stuff without using proper
ventilation, and also some respiratory shielding when working with any
of it. Anything generating "dust" is definitely bad for your lungs.
That's why all those old miners all got black lung disease or lung
cancer.
Regards Gordon's comments, I've never tried gluing HDPE, and the Goop
was used with ABS.
Gordon McComb
AFAIK, HDPE is fairly inert and non-toxic, but the small shavings are an
eye, mucous membrane, and lung irritant. I work with it only with full
protection. I also have a shop vac to suck stuff up as it's being
machined.
"Gets hot"? Are you smoking the stuff?
If you don't need the unique properties of HDPE, as a plastic PVC is
fairly easy to work with, as long as you use a fairly coarse mill bit (2
flute instead of 4). You need a spiral cut mill, to move the sharf up
and out of the cutway. The sharf is thick and heavy, and not likely to
be inhaled. I still wear eye protection AT ALL TIMES. I've used PVC to
create sand molds. Like butta!
-- Gordon
dan michaels
wrote:
> Pogo wrote:
>
> > "Gordon McComb" <NOSPAMg...@NOrobotoidSPAM.com> wrote in messagenews:45DE11...@NOrobotoidSPAM.com...
"smoking" doesn't sound good, for HDPE or much else.
As a point of information, isn't it expanded PVC [poly vinyl
"chloride"] that emits chlorine gas when LASER-cut?
Gordon McComb
> "smoking" doesn't sound good, for HDPE or much else.
>
> As a point of information, isn't it expanded PVC [poly vinyl
> "chloride"] that emits chlorine gas when LASER-cut?
That and some other nasty stuff. So never burn it.
-- Gordon
Pogo
Yeah - that's kinda what I was getting at when I asked about the HDPE getting hot. Still, that "smoking" comment had me rolling on the floor! ( Or was it the fumes ... ? )
With respect to the scratchy throat, I just got back from the do & it turns out there is a cold bug going around these parts right now. It's an organic problem ... not an aerosolized plastic one. Still, I *do* appreciate the reminders to wear appropriate lung protection when cutting/milling.
Now if I can just find me some brown HDPE and mill it into a cigar shape. Gordon, what's your mailing address again ? Hehehehehee ...
Pogo
> On Feb 22, 4:45 pm, "Pogo"
> <_REMOVE_discard3@_REMOVE_THIS_waycoolgear.com> wrote:
> > "Gordon McComb" <NOSPAMg...@NOrobotoidSPAM.com> wrote in messagenews:45DE11...@NOrobotoidSPAM.com...
> > > dan michaels wrote:
> > > It's the toluene that gets me, and many solvent-based cements have it.
> > > Benzene isn't something I like being around.
> >
> ....
> was used with ABS.
I tried using "Elmer's Ultimate High Performance Glue", in hopes that it would be something newer that no one had tried with HDPE. No joy! I let it cure for 24 hours, undisturbed, and this afternoon the 2 pieces practically fell apart from each other.
Something else I noticed a few months ago, for those interested, is that this HDPE stuff didn't sag as I had expected it to (and in this particular case, hoped for) when I heated it with one of those butane micro-torches. I was trying to bend a small flat piece at 90 degrees and finally decided that it was easier to just cut some metal or mill some plastic to make the little widget I had in mind.
Gordon McComb
> Something else I noticed a few months ago, for those interested, is that this HDPE stuff didn't sag as I had expected it to (and in this particular case, hoped for) when I heated it with one of those butane micro-torches. I was trying to bend a small flat piece at 90 degrees and finally decided that it was easier to just cut some metal or mill some plastic to make the little widget I had in mind.
For heat forming use ABS or styrene. ABS is an excellent all-purpose
plastic: higher melting point than PVC, machines and drills well, can be
readily heat formed, and works with solvent-based adhesives.
-- Gordon
Andrew Schwartz
Andy
"Pogo" <_REMOVE_discard3@_REMOVE_THIS_waycoolgear.com> wrote in message
news:66KDh.44$Aa3...@newsfe02.lga...
dan michaels
This isn't quite what pogo had in mind, but I saved up some old
Folger's plastic coffee containers made of HDPE, for possible use on
bots. They make very strong structures and are easy to work with. I
cut it with a knife. Turns out the color match was perfect for the RAD
base color scheme.
http://www.oricomtech.com/projects/rad-hack.htm
http://www.oricomtech.com/projects/proj3/skinny1.jpe
BTW, that's a piece of Gordon's 12"x12" expanded PVC used for the
deck. Also, very easy to work with.
Pogo
> ...
> This isn't quite what pogo had in mind, but I saved up some old
> Folger's plastic coffee containers made of HDPE, for possible use on
> bots. They make very strong structures and are easy to work with. I
> cut it with a knife. Turns out the color match was perfect for the RAD
> base color scheme.
Those coffee containers have possibilies! I like it!
I've been collecting the plastic 30 lb cat-litter containers. They're great for storage and are itching to be used as a bot body/cover .
> http://www.oricomtech.com/projects/rad-hack.htm
> http://www.oricomtech.com/projects/proj3/skinny1.jpe
>
> BTW, that's a piece of Gordon's 12"x12" expanded PVC used for the
> deck. Also, very easy to work with.
What does the "expanded" mean? I've noticed several kinds of plastics have this term included in it.
dan michaels
<_REMOVE_discard3@_REMOVE_THIS_waycoolgear.com> wrote:
> "dan michaels" <d...@oricomtech.com> wrote in messagenews:1172423395.4...@s48g2000cws.googlegroups.com...
Regular PVC is the hard and heavy plastic they use for water pipes,
while expanded PVC is a ightweight stiff foamy [not sure the proper
term] material. Easy to cut+drill. Easier to work with than acrylic
[plexiglass], and acrylic is supposed to have a static electricity
problem.
Andrew Schwartz
We offer an R2D2 frame made from this stuff:
http://www.alexkung.com/R2D2/cmain.htm
See # 20
Andy