Plastic Sheets

[Wag]

Hey Guys

I'm looking for a rigid, sandable, paintable plastic sheet for a project. I think that a sheet of styrene will work just fine from what I gather, but I'm looking for something that is between 1/4" or 1/8" thick. Looking thru suppliers, this estreet Plastics seems to have some stuff but I'm not sure what I'm looking at:

http://www.estreetplastics.com/Styrene_Sheets_s/23.htm

Are the thicknesses listed some sort of strange guage size or are the sheets really the crazy thin?

Should I be looking somewhere else? Is there another rigid/sandable/paintable plastic that I should be looking at?

Any help would be great.

Thanks

Wag

[jdbnsn]

I had the same problem trying to translate their width system. I ended up looking around town and found a plastics distributor that supplied all of the local sign shop and such and they welcomed me in to look around and see what I was shopping for online. It turned out that the gauge of styrene I nearly bought online was so thin and flimsy it would have been useless for my application (I think it was .06 or something). I ended up just buying some scraps from them directly (scraps in their shop were 2 X 4 feet sheets) of ABS plactic. It is excellent in my opinion for heat forming, sanding, painting, but tough cutting with a table saw but it was dirt cheap. Best to use a metal blade or band saw for that stuff. If you want a closer look at ABS, take a glance at Water Cubed (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17231). It's the black plastic used for most everything.

[Wag]

Yeah, that stuff looks good. I'm planning on cutting it down to about an eight by seventeen inch panel and rounding the edges. I hadn't thought of sign places. I'll have to check into that locally.

Thanks!

[jdbnsn]

The sign shops themselves might be more expensive because they are passing the cost on to you plus markup. I'd try to find out if any of the sign shops have a local distributor and go make friendly with someone who works there.

[Collinstheclown]

Why don't you go with plexiglass? estreet is where I get all of mine.

http://www.estreetplastics.com/White_Plexiglass_Sheets_s/84.htm

You said something between 1/4" and 1/8" thick and 8" x 17" is what you were cutting it down to.
They have 3/16" thick sheets that are 12" x 24" for $11, which isn't realy expensive IMO.




-CollinstheClown

[crazybillybob]

I used styrene on my R2 project. I haven't seen it in very thick stock. The stuff that is used most for structural parts is rigid foam core PVC board (Trade name is sintra, or Versacel). All the plastic products are listed in decimal thickness (one divided by 8 = 1/8 or .125) The great thing about sintra is that you can chemically weld it together using standard plumbing glue (you know that stuff they use on white water lines) This makes strong joints... I've seen robots built with this method (large bots couple feet tall weighing 50+LBs). This can be picked up at your local sign shops. Some shops will give you drops (scraps that the cut off and are not useable for them) Others will sell them to you. The hardest ones to get stuff from is the national chain shops they have company polices against selling "bulk" items... I've been able to buy whole sheets from some of the local shops but I've had to assure the owner that I was not making signs with it...and I paid more per sheet then If I would have just went to the distributor and got them. On that note most local distributors have a minimum order ($100 is standard) You'll pay less per sheet, but you may need to buy more sheets.

Most of these plastics cut just like wood (ok there easier ti cut with a utility knife then wood) but you can cut them on power tools like wood. Cutoff wheels on the dremel ... not a good Idea! you'll just melt it and make it hard to cut. The Sintra and styrene plastics are way more forgiving then acrylic, they are easier to bend, mold, and they take impacts better they are less likely to crack when you drill them even with a dull drill bit.

Safety tip with all plastics. Guys If your working with plastics, remember when they start to burn (melting with a tool is a form of burning) they release chemical vapors that are bad for you!! work in a well ventilated area. Also the glues, solvents, etc used to chemically weld plastics release similar vapors some of which the state of California has found can cause cancer and/or brain damage... Work in a well ventilated area, and keep them away from children......

Don't let the safety tip scare you, these things are safe, just keep them in mind and be smart about where you work (just like when painting :) )

If you have questions about working with plastics drop me a line... I don't know everything but I've learned allot over the last few years (Paul is another modder that uses these type of plastics allot too!)


CrazyBillyBob

[Wag]

All the plastic products are listed in decimal thickness (one divided by 8 = 1/8 or .125)

Oh man... that helps a TON.

I decided to use acrylic anyway. Thats really good info tho, thanks CrazyBillyBob!

[fragged]

Without hijacking, can anyone name a dealer that provides UV reactive transperant plexi? I'm looking for red in particular but I'm yet to find any online; other than an xbox case which doesnt suit my needs

[Collinstheclown]

http://www.estreetplastics.com/Flourscent_Plexiglass_Acrylic_Sheet_s/108.htm

Fairly certain flourscent Has the effect your looking for. Some one correct me if I'm wrong.




-CollinstheClown