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Niggas in Space > DIY > TIL : Polycarbonates are harder to solder than tin .

TIL : Polycarbonates are harder to solder than tin .

  1. 2019-12-29 at 5:32 PM UTC
    #1
    vindicktive vinny Black Hole
    now you know too.
  2. 2019-12-29 at 5:39 PM UTC
    #2
    Octavian motherfucker
    No internet legacy for you.
  3. 2019-12-29 at 5:40 PM UTC
    #3
    Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Dark Matter [my scoffingly uncritical tinning]
    Why are you trying to solder plastic?
    The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
  4. 2019-12-29 at 6:01 PM UTC
    #4
    Fuck Your World African Astronaut
    why doesn't tin adhere to solder?
  5. 2019-12-29 at 11:10 PM UTC
    #5
    aldra JIDF Controlled Opposition
    Originally posted by Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Why are you trying to solder plastic?

    they typically burn more than they melt, and any joint is going to be weak and very ugly


    Originally posted by Fuck Your World why doesn't tin adhere to solder?

    tin is used in some solders
    The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
  6. 2019-12-29 at 11:38 PM UTC
    #6
    Fonaplats victim of incest [daylong jump-start that nome]
    You have to mold plastic.
    It is more of an art form than anything.
  7. 2019-12-29 at 11:40 PM UTC
    #7
    aldra JIDF Controlled Opposition
    What's the best way to make precise cuts in thin, hard plastics? I basically just want to cut a design into the front of my PC case. It's probably 2-4mm thick and I don't have access to a laser cutter or mill.

    I'm thinking of just using razors, ie. a stanley knife
  8. 2019-12-29 at 11:48 PM UTC
    #8
    CASPER Soldier of Fourchin
    Originally posted by aldra What's the best way to make precise cuts in thin, hard plastics? I basically just want to cut a design into the front of my PC case. It's probably 2-4mm thick and I don't have access to a laser cutter or mill.

    I'm thinking of just using razors, ie. a stanley knife

    Dremel with cutting bits and cutting oil. You can also heat a chisel or box cutter with a blowtorch as long as you’re willing to sand it at the end.
    The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
  9. 2019-12-30 at 12:17 AM UTC
    #9
    -SpectraL coward [the spuriously bluish-lilac bushman]
    Use drops of gasoline.
  10. 2019-12-30 at 12:19 AM UTC
    #10
    aldra JIDF Controlled Opposition
    Originally posted by aldra precise
  11. 2019-12-30 at 12:20 AM UTC
    #11
    aldra JIDF Controlled Opposition
    Originally posted by CASPER Dremel with cutting bits and cutting oil. You can also heat a chisel or box cutter with a blowtorch as long as you’re willing to sand it at the end.

    yeah good idea, I might score it with the box cutter first then blast the blade with a blowtorch to cut all the way through.

    I've always had trouble using the dremel to cut anything not from the edge because of how narrow the cutting blades are compared to the actual tool
  12. 2019-12-30 at 12:39 AM UTC
    #12
    CASPER Soldier of Fourchin
    yeah it ca be hard to get precise lines if youre working on something larger from the inside. but you can also use a piece of wood or metal as a ruler of sorts. i think theres a dremel attachment that makes it so you can press the nut of the cutting head against something, but still have the blade spin freely and not loosen up.

    i guess plastics can vary a lot in hardness and brittleness, but when i cut extra intakes on my computer case, i used a dremel. if its acrylic, i tried doing the melty thing but that shit is so robust, and the metal i was using cooled down so quickly it was a huge pain in the ass. if you end up trying to melt into anything, make you you pick something sharp ad chisel like at one end, but with enough heft in the body to absord a ton of heat (like a soldering bit i guess). bc once it hits the plastic, it cools really quick and its an absolute clusterfuck trying to reheat the thing to get it unstuck. A pair of broken old leather shears worked pretty well, strangely enough.
  13. 2019-12-30 at 5:39 AM UTC
    #13
    vindicktive vinny Black Hole
    Originally posted by Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Why are you trying to solder plastic?

    i broke my number plate again reversing into stuffs.

    i thought of using transparent water bottles as soldering plastic to solder it back together.
  14. 2019-12-30 at 5:40 AM UTC
    #14
    vindicktive vinny Black Hole
    Originally posted by aldra What's the best way to make precise cuts in thin, hard plastics? I basically just want to cut a design into the front of my PC case. It's probably 2-4mm thick and I don't have access to a laser cutter or mill.

    I'm thinking of just using razors, ie. a stanley knife

    electrically heated nichrome wire.
  15. 2019-12-30 at 6:29 AM UTC
    #15
    bigthink victim of incest
    Originally posted by aldra What's the best way to make precise cuts in thin, hard plastics? I basically just want to cut a design into the front of my PC case. It's probably 2-4mm thick and I don't have access to a laser cutter or mill.

    I'm thinking of just using razors, ie. a stanley knife


    youd have to be surgeon steady to make a free hand engraving look good. Those things wander quite a bit.

    Have you considered printing out your design on paper and using that as a pigment etching template?

    otherwise if you need it to be physically cut, id transfer the printed out design (paper) onto a heavier template made out of masonite/particle board of some type. clamp this to the case as a layout template.

    Without seeing the design i wouldnt be able to reccommend how to remove the material. If it's just letters id drill a bunch of holes really quick (with the layout jig clamped on) and clean the edges with a file until flush with jig.

    id avoid x-acto blades as theyre a nightmare with hard plastics
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