Bob, I use either a band saw or table saw (with a nice blade) to cut all my acrylic. Drilling and tapping acrylic as never been difficult for me. It just take time and patience. And, as you pointed out, operating your tools at the lowest rpm is key. Very similiar to cutting stainless steel with these type of power tools.
For a very informative write up on working with acrylic, check out the website posted in the side bar.
After asking this question I went out to my shop and tried a tap in a piece of 80-mil acrylic. I drilled very slowly and was able to make a hole without cracking. Then I ran my tap in. I used cutting oil and by going slowly reversing often and adding more oil along the way.
The tap cut a good thread and it did not crack. I wondered about this because in the past I've had a lot of trouble cutting and drilling acrylic.
make marine goop your friend ,and you need more screws 3 on the sides as close as possibles and put heat shrink on the screw and 2 on the top to have a balanced distribution of torque ,using acrylic is not recommended it will break .and one other thing you do not need that much of torque sand your plates so your gasket bonds really well.
Yes, Marine GOOP or Automotive GOOP is your friend.;)
Thanks for the recommendations but this is my first dry cell. To me, this means I would probably do things differently if I where to design, manufacture and sell a produce such as this dry cell. Currently, this is not my ambitions.
What are you using for gasket material between the plates?
partwerks 3 years ago
Ah, there we go...
Thanks guys.
Bob, I use either a band saw or table saw (with a nice blade) to cut all my acrylic. Drilling and tapping acrylic as never been difficult for me. It just take time and patience. And, as you pointed out, operating your tools at the lowest rpm is key. Very similiar to cutting stainless steel with these type of power tools.
For a very informative write up on working with acrylic, check out the website posted in the side bar.
cjpeaceful1 3 years ago
For whatever reasons, I cannot reply!
cjpeaceful1 3 years ago
That's good to know about the nylon washers. How do you cut your acrylic? I am also interested in how well the tap works in acrylic.
I really like that you can see into the cell. It looks very nice, and you get a good idea of what is happening with the fluids.
Good luck with the tap, I hope you find a way to do it without cracking. I wonder if it would help to heat the tap with an airgun first.
Bob
HHO4gas 3 years ago
After asking this question I went out to my shop and tried a tap in a piece of 80-mil acrylic. I drilled very slowly and was able to make a hole without cracking. Then I ran my tap in. I used cutting oil and by going slowly reversing often and adding more oil along the way.
The tap cut a good thread and it did not crack. I wondered about this because in the past I've had a lot of trouble cutting and drilling acrylic.
Let me know how you cut your acrylic
Bob
HHO4gas 3 years ago
make marine goop your friend ,and you need more screws 3 on the sides as close as possibles and put heat shrink on the screw and 2 on the top to have a balanced distribution of torque ,using acrylic is not recommended it will break .and one other thing you do not need that much of torque sand your plates so your gasket bonds really well.
najman100 3 years ago
Yes, Marine GOOP or Automotive GOOP is your friend.;)
Thanks for the recommendations but this is my first dry cell. To me, this means I would probably do things differently if I where to design, manufacture and sell a produce such as this dry cell. Currently, this is not my ambitions.
cjpeaceful1 3 years ago
Good info
jdcmusicman 3 years ago