Personal Robotics
Plastruct Bondene
Squadron putty: This is useful
for filling gaps if you want to paint
your creation. Do not build up
huge volumes. Fill large gaps with
thin, styrene pieces and then use
the putty in a thin veneer. Thick
sections of putty will crack and
they take a long time to dry.
The green is for use on military
miniatures, while the white is a
neutral color.
Epoxy: Five minute epoxy is
good if you need a quick joint, but,
Squadron Putty
for ultimate strength, I like JB Weld
or one hour cure epoxy. Be warned
that epoxy will flow and JB Weld is
attracted to magnetic fields. You
can strengthen joints with other
materials, like thread or even cotton.
Cotton also helps keep epoxy
contained.
Thick and thin Cyanoacrylate
adhesive and accelerator: Special
care must be taken with
Cyanoacrylates. Urban legend has it
that they were developed by the
military as a chemical warfare
agent, to be squirted all over soldiers
and chemically formulated to bond
to flesh. What I do know is that they
are used in surgery and, this being
the case, gluing stuff to yourself
qualifies as a major bummer. I can
only imagine the horror of gluing your
eyes.
That being said, they are very
convenient and remarkably strong.
Thin formulations allow you to use
capillary action to bond large areas
together and thick formulations have
gap-filling properties. The accelerator
will cause instant bonding.
Despite its convenience, I rarely
use it for construction, saving it for
repairs. The one exception is gluing
servo horns to flat surfaces. When I
use accelerator, I do not spray it
everywhere, but, instead, dip a thin
stick into it and touch that to the joint.
Styrene adhesive and needle
applicator: Plastruct Bondene for
Styrene and ABS is my preferred
method of bonding Styrene plastics. I
like to use a needle applicator and
allow capillary action to carry the
adhesive through the joint. Care must
be taken not to touch your needle
applicator to the glued joint, thereby
clogging your applicator with melted
Styrene.
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NUTS & VOLTS
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Basic gluing wisdom: Make
sure your components are clean.
Contamination can foul or weaken
bonded joints. Epoxies work by making
a molecular intermediary between
materials, while Styrene adhesives
actually melt the materials with
solvents, creating a sort of “weld.”
Some plastics are cast with mold
release or other lubricants in them or
exhibit other “slippery” properties;
you will likely have to resort to
mechanical fasteners to join to them.
This is often the case with the
gearboxes and mechanical linkages
of toys and no amount of surface
preparation can help you.
88
Circle #30 on the Reader Service Card.
Brass tubing: Brass tubing can
be used for a variety of applications,
especially where plastics are not
JULY 2004