Glue options plastic to wood/cardboard besides CA?
- Thread starter BigMacDaddy
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Sure... you can check out a bunch of the scratch build threads that I started but here are some pics...
Those are fantastic
The model rocket builder recommends Fabi-tac with a caveat. https://modelrocketbuilding.blogspot.com/search?q=Fabri+tac
I haven't tried it myself, but plan on using it in the near future.
I haven't tried it myself, but plan on using it in the near future.
It will work.
Thanks Chuck!
Thanks for that -- I also bought some of that but have not tried it yet...
Well, the SuperGold+ is only medium, not thick... in my experience the SuperGold is a bit slower to set than the regular stuff, maybe that applies only to the thin, dunno.
Using CA to glue in a nose cone seems somewhat risky in general. I might be inclined to use a bit of epoxy for that (or maybe Fabri-Tac, which I haven't tried yet).
Most of them literally.
Isn't Fabri-Tac acetome based? Acetome works well for ABS and polystyrene, but not for everything; am I wrong? Does it work with PLA? (I've tried myself and learned that CA works with PLA but not with ABS.)
Plue PLA is not reactive to acetone.
I have not had issues with CA glue on ABS (at least it seems to hold my 3D printed parts to cardboard or wood). 3d printed parts are relatively porous / rough so your mileage may vary (I have never tried to use it on a smooth pre-fabricated parts / Legos, for example).
For motor mounts in body tubes I also put some wood glue on top of the mount (I figure even if the wood glue does not stick to the plastic part well it will stick to the cardboard tube and create a ridge to help hold motor mount from moving up). I have heard that CA glue can get brittle over time so want some extra protection against motor mount letting go.
For motor mounts in body tubes I also put some wood glue on top of the mount (I figure even if the wood glue does not stick to the plastic part well it will stick to the cardboard tube and create a ridge to help hold motor mount from moving up). I have heard that CA glue can get brittle over time so want some extra protection against motor mount letting go.
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Fair enough. My experience was with a (injection?) molded object, a ruler, with a smooth, hard surface texture. It had cracked along about half the length down the middle. CA in the crack did nothing. Straight acetone, brushed onto both surfaces, fixed it right up.
Fabri-Tac has acetone but as far as I can figure that is not it's sole means of adhesion (i.e. it is some other kind of glue that also has some acetone.) Either way, though, its usefulness on plastic is probably dependent on the plastic's susceptibility to acetone.
Epoxy is my go-to for all these types of things, and as I may have mentioned earlier in this thread I have been designing grooves into my 3D parts to give the epoxy something to grab onto (even moreso than the basic rough surface of the print).
GlenP
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you have quite a variety of parts there, so there really is not a single method that would be applicable here, but in some cases, can you add a feature to the printed plastic that helps the parts snap-together. instead of simulated rivets, like actual rivets or dowels that snap fit into holes in a cardboard tube or the wood fin? In any case, that would help whatever glue you use to hold the parts together if you already have a strong snap-together joint. For example, dovetails in a wood joint don't really need glue to hold them together, so think of similar types of joints like mortoise-tenon or dowels. Epoxy dowels are a really good technique, but could you add some printed dowel type features to the parts when printed that will snap into holes you drill into cardboard or wood?
Another very simple example is capturing a plastic part using cardboard parts that fit together. Like the Alpha III fin can, it only needs white glue joints between cardboard parts to capture the fin can securely in place. Just about any plastic body tube component can be captured like that via cardboard tube joints and centering rings/couplers.
A similar approach can use a plastic part with a dowel, and a small plastic cap to capture a cardboard part, or a wood fin, with plastic-to-plastic glue joints.
Really awesome designs, some basic joinery techniques can avoid some of the mixed material glue joints. But, for others, there's always epoxy.
If cyanoacrylate vapors are anything like isocyanate vapors from 2-part paints then you'll need a full respirator with a remote air supply, like hobbyair. That would work but surely take the fun out of things. I've heard that carbon filters will work, but the useful life span is limited so you won't see this use listed. Like an hour or two of use or 4 days after the package is opened, storing in an airtight container, whichever comes first.
If it were me I'd try a combination of the carbon filter mask and setting up the airflow in your work area so it goes away from you and out of the room (like a fume hood over your workbench). Test it with smoke from a match or blown-out candle.
Grant_Edwards
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The Estes Generic E2X uses the same technique as the Alpha III to attach a plastic fin can using nothing but PVA paper-to-paper joins.
https://estesrockets.com/wp-content/uploads/Instructions/002008.pdf
It does work very nicely. I added a rear centering ring for a recent group build of Generic E2X's , but that was probably overkill.
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An interesting example is gluing the pod fins on the Super Mars Snooper with balsa/plastic/cardboard intersecting under stress when landing. I used TBII and wasn't enough.
Sooner Boomer
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My other go-to glue is RTV silicone glue. It will stick almost anything to anything else. BUT (and you had to know there was one!), be aware of the limitations of the glue! It never cures completely hard, it will always have some flex. It's not sandable. Some is not paintable.
I used the oderless gap-filling / thick CA glue again last night. Better results and no early adhesion (I think the other nose cone was just too tight a fit in the body tube). It is not quite as thick as the regular CA thick glue but seems to have worked well to connect fins and body tubes to 3D printed ABS parts (although proof will be when I launch).
This is an initial test of a V-1 Flying Bomb with offset engine. This design uses a 3D printed take-off tube to redirect ejection charge from one tube to another so that will be a good test -- both of the strength of the connection as well as how airtight it is (gap filling stress test?). Also the offset engine mount should put substantial stress on all the mounts so I will post the test results.
This is an initial test of a V-1 Flying Bomb with offset engine. This design uses a 3D printed take-off tube to redirect ejection charge from one tube to another so that will be a good test -- both of the strength of the connection as well as how airtight it is (gap filling stress test?). Also the offset engine mount should put substantial stress on all the mounts so I will post the test results.
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I’ve had very good results with Gorilla glue (original brown polyurethane) on Quantum tube, which might be ABS. It expands and fills gaps yet doesn’t seize when assembling components. I built an entire PML kit using it just to test it out and never had a glue joint failure. It actually seems to etch into the plastic. I cannot pop it off like an epoxy glob.
