Homebrew PCBs

Thanks for the descriptions. What are the internal 
dimensions of the tanks. From your web pages I can see 4 
smaller ones and one larger one for the copper 
electroplating. From your pictures the tanks look like they 
were made from 3 mm sheet. Did you consider putting an outer 
lip on the tops of the tanks ?


I found that using lots of spring clamps are VERY helpful 
when welding. I clamp a large piece of chipboard to the 
bench so it hung out about 40 cm, I then could do all my 
work on this board and easily clamp things from underneath 
using sliding G clamps.

Markus Zingg wrote:
> Hi Adam
> 
> 
>>I can see the 3 mm sheet being bent that way say upto 300 mm 
>>in length. I made a plastic bender because I was planing on 
>>doing larger tanks  450 mm length on 4.5mm thick PVC. You 
>>seem to have done things quite nicely with what you've got.
>>
>>What thickness material are you using ?
> 
> 
> 2mm and 4mm. 
> 
> 
>>Did you have to reinforce all the welding zones with blocks 
>>of wood before you started welding so that the "hobby glass" 
>>sheets didn't bend under the heat ?
> 
> 
> They too bend under heat. What I did was first (using the 9mm reducion
> nozzle) bend a long sheet (25x65cm) to a 'U' shape. I did this by
> first bending one side, placing the sheet on a table into a 90degree
> angle and let it cool out, then bend the second side. I thereafter
> palced a thick wood block on the table as a base (in order to prevent
> burning the table) and also created a little peace of wood that fit's
> into the 'U' measuring ~4.5cm x 3cm using 5mm think wood. I then could
> put the 'U' onto the side part (9x30cm) and place the wood into the
> 'U' to prevent it from loosing shape. I then used one hand to hold the
> 'U' down and also feed the plastic into the welder (of course this
> time unsing the welding nozzle) and the other to hold the hot air gun.
> It takes some practice but onece you figured it out it works not that
> bad. You somehow miss a third hand :))
> 
> 
>>I found that I had to make special wooden frame inserted 
>>into the tank so that during welding the pressure of the 
>>welding rod didn't collapse the sheets.
> 
> 
> See above, you probably did the same thing then.
> 
> 
>>From your past posts on the "hobby glass" I get the feeling 
>>this is ridged clear pvc sheeting. Try burning some and see 
>>how it compares to flame color/smoke smell to some real PVC. 
>>PVC is very difficult to get burning by its self and 
>>produces a harsh smelling smoke, (HCl fumes).
> 
> 
> I'm currently not at home, so can't try this right away. I happen to
> know how PVC smells when burning. Some 22 years ago I happend to learn
> tool maker as my first profession where we were building molds to
> fabricate plastic parts. I have a collection of the diverse plastic
> base materials somewhere. Have to grab that out and compare the
> flames/fumes of them with the glass I'm using.  
> 
> Markus
> 
> 
> Be sure to visit the group home and check for new Bookmarks and files:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs
> 
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> Homebrew_PCBs-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> 
>  
> 
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ 
> 
>