Gluing Help
Hi there,
Total newbie and trying to finish up a project for my students in the classroom before graduation. We are doing a class project like this: https://www.instructables.com/3D-Quilt-Codes-the-Tinkercad-Cypher/
The tiles are 8 mm thick. Would CA glue be the best for edge gluing each tile together? They are 60 mmx60 mm. My co-teacher is worried the CA glue is too thin and the edges not totally square and flat and suggested epoxy.
Also, I'm thinking of mounting the finished "quilt" onto an acrylic sheet but not sure how to approach that. Would gluing it down be best or screwing from the back of the acrylic sheet into the quilt?
Thank you! Totally lost here.
RE: Gluing Help
I use gel CA and it works fairly well, but on uneven small surfaces it will be problematic. 5 minute epoxy is probably a better choice.
If you are going to assemble the tiles on a backing, then a few drops of Gorilla glue to the back of each tile might work well - but you'll need to weight the tiles until the glue cures (it foams to fill gaps).
Here's one of the gelled CA's. https://www.amazon.com/Loctite-Ultra-Control-4-Gram-1363589/dp/B01EZTPXEO
RE: Gluing Help
CA is not good at Gap filling,
Epoxy may be more manageable.
consider a slow setting Epoxy if you have many modules to co relate, so that you have time to position the elements satisfactorily.
regards Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility. Location Halifax UK
RE: Gluing Help
What material are you trying to glue? Different adhesives for different materials - but the universal approach - epoxy, gorilla glue. What are you gluing to? Plastic squares on a cloth back (wouldn't want to use that quilt myself, but as a hanging wall decoration ... sure) - a hot glue gun would work fine (wont' take stress). For PETG I would use a solvent based glue... and there is an excellent glue article in the blog link that covers all of the bases.
RE: Gluing Help
You do not say which type of filament you are using, I am going to assume PLA.
That instructable was written by someone who does not understand 3D printing. Several of the sample tiles have unconnected parts and will not stay together off the print bed. The only way to display these will be to reassemble them on a backing sheet and fix them in place.
So forget edge glueing unless a pupil has been bright enough to realise the constriction and design accordingly (award a distinction), in this case acetone welding would be best; a light sanding to denib the edges followed by cyanoacrylate used sparingly would be second choice but neither of these is suitable for pupil use. The usual mistake with cyanoacrylate is to use too much, worse is using so much that an accelerator is needed.
To mount on a backing, depending on the backing material, a polyeurethane based contact adhesive would probably be easiest and OK for display purposes. If you use clear acrylic backing then be aware that many acrylic adhesives also work with PLA, test before buying classroom quantities.
Avoid two part adhesives in a classroom setting, you will waste 90% of it.
Also read: https://blog.prusaprinters.org/the-great-guide-to-gluing-and-assembling-3d-prints_44908/
Cheerio,
RE: Gluing Help
One glue for plastics that's commonly used on such things as model railroad buildings and accessories is Aileen's The Ultimate Multi-surface Adhesive.
This gives a strong but forgiving bond to most plastics.
You probably will not find this at hardware stores, but most any large hobby/craft place (such as Michael's in the States) will have it.
RE: Gluing Help
Ah, oops, thought I had put in there. I'm gluing PLA to PLA and then the whole PLA "quilt" to possibly an acrylic sheet. Some of the kids put their names on the back so that's why I need to keep it to be a clear sheet. I went through and fixed all the letter bits for my students' work that will fall off by adding a little connection. I'm gluing it myself, so the kids will not be in any contact with the adhesive.
Thank you everyone for your suggestions!
RE: Gluing Help
Acetone used in the capillary action way works great for PLA. Hot glue gun to stick to acrylic. Nothing sticks well to acrylic.
RE: Gluing Help
@big-buddha
There is a clear silicon based adhesive I recently tried. It sticks fairly well to PLA - but doesn't provide the strongest bond: gelled CA is better, or the Gorilla Glue (urethane base). The silicon will tolerate bending more than CA - so the parts won't be as prone to falling off a thin sheet of acrylic when it flexes; the Gorilla Glue is just tough stuff, and will probably hold better than both silicon and gelled CA.
BAZIC Silicone Glue : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SW927JM
I also tried a few of the more common clear hobby adhesives, none work very well holding PLA together. Among the ones that failed miserably:
- Aleene's Gel Glue, 8-Ounce, Clear (aka Clear Gel Tacky Glue)
- Tombow MONO Aqua Liquid Glue
- Tombow MONO Multi Liquid Glue