Acrylic Fabrication Q & A

[Lowell Lemon]

You can use a solvent weld to butt sheets end to end. The problem is the necessary polishing after the process since thickness varies in cell cast sheet. Then it would be best to anneal after assembly and polishing. You can rent oven time from a local powder coating company. It would be even better to anneal the whole tank after assembly.

Just putting it out there.

 

[UncommonSense]

You can use a solvent weld to butt sheets end to end. The problem is the necessary polishing after the process since thickness varies in cell cast sheet. Then it would be best to anneal after assembly and polishing. You can rent oven time from a local powder coating company. It would be even better to anneal the whole tank after assembly.

Just putting it out there.

This led me to do some research, and gives me a LOT more respect for the open ocean exhibit’s viewing panel at the Monterey Bay Aquarium!

— if you look carefully in-person, you can actually see the butt welded seams in the 54’x15’, 13” thick panel…

 

[TherealplexiG]

This led me to do some research, and gives me a LOT more respect for the open ocean exhibit’s viewing panel at the Monterey Bay Aquarium!

— if you look carefully in-person, you can actually see the butt welded seams in the 54’x15’, 13” thick panel…

Prolly crosslinked, not regular stuff.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Prolly crosslinked, not regular stuff.

There was an article on that panel when it was being installed. The company was Mitsubishi if I recall correctly. At the time it was the largest acrylic panel in the world and was seamed on site and people were ushered out of the area and the work tented to prevent proprietary methods from being viewed. I have looked at the panels as well and they were machined flat to each other before bond. Polymerized methods recommend a 2-to-3-degree bevel. It is amazing display of a million gallons of seawater!

 

[TherealplexiG]

There was an article on that panel when it was being installed. The company was Mitsubishi if I recall correctly. At the time it was the largest acrylic panel in the world and was seamed on site and people were ushered out of the area and the work tented to prevent proprietary methods from being viewed. I have looked at the panels as well and they were machined flat to each other before bond. Polymerized methods recommend a 2-to-3-degree bevel. It is amazing display of a million gallons of seawater!

Hello Lowell, how you doing?
Wanted to ask you and refresh about your edge method, so the feed past the cutter is offset to the cut right, for eg if im churning 1/16th off the edge would be offset to 1/16th, the cutting width?

Used to do the other way, batch routing with straight edge. Wanna give your style a try..

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Hello Lowell, how you doing?
Wanted to ask you and refresh about your edge method, so the feed past the cutter is offset to the cut right, for eg if im churning 1/16th off the edge would be offset to 1/16th, the cutting width?

Used to do the other way, batch routing with straight edge. Wanna give your style a try..

Correct. Like using a joiner.