Looking for info on working with more plastics

[Cannibal23]

hi everybody. was wondering if someone could share a little information on working with the type of plastics that are used ont he front of pc cases, keyboards and mice. what to use to glue it, good tools for cutting it without makeing a huge mess of it. tips on how to fix little screwups. things not to bother trying to do. basicly looking for the whole rundown. hopefully one of you knowlageable gentlemen can help me out on this one.

[Nagoshi]

Never had any experience in modding, but here are some things that could help you:

How to glue : Crazy glue is probably the best, or the glue that comes with these little plastic cars that you build yoruself.
How to cut : Dremel?
How to fix screwups : Sanding and putty, then primer and paint?
What to use as plastic : Frequenly hear people using PVC tubing as blowholes, so you may be able to do something with PVC.

Altho that is only things I have memored from the many worklogs I read here, someone may correct me there.

[Cannibal23]

ok i would say thats a good start of info. was worried that a drimel would screw up the edges of the plastic as im sure it cuts diffrent then plex. do you need special glue to attach pvc to this other type of plastic?

[Nagoshi]

I really odn't know, your best shot would be to read the HPs worklogs, since these case's front panels are made of plastic, so you could see how he actually modded his HP cases into something really cool.

And for the dremel, that's what I suggested, but since I never worked with a dremel personally, I dont know how else you could cut plastic.

[GT40_GearHead]

a dremel could be an overkill
if you rev it to much it will no longer cut, it will just melt and burn the plastic near the disk

[tybrenis]

Dremels are horrible for cutting plastic.

Sheet plastic should be cut on a table saw using a carbide tipped blade using the "triple chip" format to elimate melting.

A jig saw with a special plastic blade or metal blade will work for cutting plastic, but care must be taken to ensure the jigsaw doesn't throw around the plastic and crack it.

If you purchase a methylene chloride based solvent glue, it will be capable of gluing PVC to other plastics, such as acrylic (plexi) or polycarbonate (lexan)

Plastic can be routed using a carbide tipped bit.

If you have any specific questions don't hesitate to ask, I seem to serve as one of the resident plastics experts here (wait to see pictures of my thermoformer).

[Cannibal23]

Dremels are horrible for cutting plastic.
I seem to serve as one of the resident plastics experts here (wait to see pictures of my thermoformer).

yes thats right, you are. i have been meening to thank you for adding onto and continuing the tips / tricks for plex thread that i started in the other section. i tried the MEC on a few things arround and it looks like im going to be able to do what i want and bond plex to regular old plastic. the issue with cutting may be a tricky one though. its going to be for a mouse, so i think a jig saw may be a little over powerd for the job. so with the drimel does it always melt it, or is there a special cut off wheel that i might be able to get? anyone know?

[Illusion]

i used a dremel to cut this http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/6797/pict0158jr2.jpg
i had my dremel on high and it just melted its way through the plastic. if you set it to a lower speed it will cut but i did not realize it so i cut the whole thing out at 35000. it was like going through butter if butter gave off fumes that killed brain cells. but it was not bad all i needed to do was put in like 15 min to clean up the cut and it was fine. when you cut yours just try and cut at a low speed and if it does just melt through the plastic alittle that is what the made files for.
(man was i flying "high" after that :D if you know what i mean)

[Maz]

for the mouse, go ahead and use the dremel. just make sure you tap the blade to cut. go on the slowest speed and dont gouge into the plastic, let the blade rest on top while you continually tap the workpeice with it. if you do end up melting the plastic, a putty knife or a flathead screwdriver perpendicular to the cut pushing inwards onto the ridge of plastic should take it off nicely.

[Cannibal23]

awesome, thanks for the info Maz hearing suggestions from experiance is exactly what i needed to hear