Re: [OT] New Stupid PIC Trick by Wagner Lipnharski .

The correct name is "Polycarbonate", also known as "Lexan". It is used to build bullet proof windows and protect place where possible vandalism is present, like for example the front of any soft drink vending machines front translucid material (picture inside). You can find polycarbonate mostly in signs shops and at companies who produce panels and displays. It is more expensive than cheap acrylic. Here goes a doubt. I tried to use plain acrylic to build some moving parts on a machine I was building, and noticed that plain acrylic just break easily, since it is very dry and rigid. As an experiment, I made a screw thread directly into the acrylic, turned a screw into it, and applied a single drop of PROLOK (Thread Lock) in few minutes the acrylic part was in pieces. The PROLOK just use the empty space at the screw thread, expanded and created such pression that just made the acrylic in pieces (it works pretty well in metal), it just cracked all around, centered at the hole. Then I purchased a clear material named "PLEXIGLASS" (and here goes the confusion with the name), it is not dry or very rigid, it bends easier than plain acrylic. Screw holes at this material is super-dee-duper, since if you make the hole a little bit smaller, when turning screws you can hear it squeezing and yelling itself into the hole, it looks like that the material will crack, but no, it stands pretty, pretty well, it expands and holds the screw very tied. I suspect the name PLEXIGLASS is also the same of Lexan or Polycarbonate (this is the technical name). Plexiglass (Lexan, whatever) works as a bullet proof material, since it doesn't break or crack, instead it deform with the bullet, and as the bullet pushes the material forward, the material just goes involving the bullet, and as much it involves the bullet and the bullet pushes it forward, more stronger it goes "bitting" the bullet, so increasing its strenght, so the bullet just transfer all its energy as heat into the lexan. It is a high impact material, even that you can practically drill a hole just using the drilling bit and your hand to turn it... One common difficult about those products is how to glue it. Several suggestions are done, in real no one did show to work nice and easy. I use screws all around. I hope someone could clarify the mess with the names. Today I can recognize one or another by its smell, dry acrylic is nasty, the good one smells like plastic. Richard Ottosen wrote: {Quote hidden}> > The base is clear acrylic ("Plexiglas"). It is commonly available as > window glazing at good hardware stores. > > A note about working with acrylic. For years every time I used this > plastic I would cuss because it would melt when I used a saber saw to > cut it. This occurred at any blade speed. I used a very fine blade to > minimize the tooth marks in the cut. > > WRONG! On this project I was having the same problem so I switched to > the coarsest toothed blade with the most set to the teeth. This is the > way to do it right. The the plastic does not melt and the tooth marks > are not a real problem since I sand the edge later anyway. > > If you have deep pockets the plastic to get is polycorbonate ("Lexan"). > It machines just like metal. For instance, when you drill it you get > curly cues similar to drilling metal. I have not found this at any > hardware stores. :-(( > > -- Rich > > Nathan Hendler wrote: > > > > That's pretty swift. What is the base made out of? Is that pretty easy > > to work with? I'm always looking for a good material to use as a base for > > projects. > > > > Thanks, > > Nathan Hendler > > Tucson, AZ > > > > On Tue, 4 Apr 2000, Richard Ottosen wrote: > > > > > I thought some of the PIC Listers might be interested in a recent > > > project I have completed. It has no "real" use other than being fun to > > > watch. I claim that it is art :-) See details at > > > http://www.idcomm.com/personal/ottosen/ > > > Look near the bottom of the page for a better description and picture. > > > > > > Oh, it does not use a PIC although it could. I used a Scenix for the > > > ease of development. I can PDF some of the drawings if anyone is > > > interested. > > > > > > -- Rich > > >