Making plastic parts

Hmmm--I wonder how they get those little spiders,Scorpions, medalions
etc inside those polished acrylic deskweights???Jerry


Lou wrote:
Does anyone know of a material that starts as a liquid, but hardens as
a platic?
I want to make some custom plastic parts for my plane (no not for the
structure)
that will require making a mold and then pouring in the liquid.
Lou

Acyrilic casting resin - arts and crafts stuff...


Jerry Wass wrote:



Hmmm--I wonder how they get those little spiders,Scorpions, medalions
etc inside those polished acrylic deskweights???Jerry


Lou wrote:

Does anyone know of a material that starts as a liquid, but hardens as
a platic?
I want to make some custom plastic parts for my plane (no not for the
structure)
that will require making a mold and then pouring in the liquid.
Lou

On Mon, 03 Sep 2007 13:08:32 -0500, cavelamb himself
wrote:

Acyrilic casting resin - arts and crafts stuff...

Would this stuff be suitable for making a lens cover for a wingtip
strobe?


Jerry Wass wrote:



Hmmm--I wonder how they get those little spiders,Scorpions, medalions
etc inside those polished acrylic deskweights???Jerry


Lou wrote:

Does anyone know of a material that starts as a liquid, but hardens as
a platic?
I want to make some custom plastic parts for my plane (no not for the
structure)
that will require making a mold and then pouring in the liquid.
Lou

Drew Dalgleish wrote:
On Mon, 03 Sep 2007 13:08:32 -0500, cavelamb himself
wrote:


Acyrilic casting resin - arts and crafts stuff...


Would this stuff be suitable for making a lens cover for a wingtip
strobe?



Jerry Wass wrote:



Hmmm--I wonder how they get those little spiders,Scorpions, medalions
etc inside those polished acrylic deskweights???Jerry


Lou wrote:


Does anyone know of a material that starts as a liquid, but hardens as
a platic?
I want to make some custom plastic parts for my plane (no not for the
structure)
that will require making a mold and then pouring in the liquid.
Lou




Dunno, Drew.

I formed a few from Polycarbinate and Lexan with varying degrees of sucess.

But the heat from the bulb turned out to be the real killer.
Actually melted through in less than 1/2 hour.
Granted wind would cool them some, but I gave up and replaced them
with normal wing tip marker lights (glass covers).

I can't guess how well acrylic resin would survive.
But the heat will for sure be an issue...

Guess that's why it says Experimental on the side.

Richard

"cavelamb himself" wrote in message
...
Drew Dalgleish wrote:
On Mon, 03 Sep 2007 13:08:32 -0500, cavelamb himself
wrote:


Acyrilic casting resin - arts and crafts stuff...


Would this stuff be suitable for making a lens cover for a wingtip
strobe?



Jerry Wass wrote:



Hmmm--I wonder how they get those little spiders,Scorpions, medalions
etc inside those polished acrylic deskweights???Jerry


Lou wrote:


Does anyone know of a material that starts as a liquid, but hardens as
a platic?
I want to make some custom plastic parts for my plane (no not for the
structure)
that will require making a mold and then pouring in the liquid.
Lou




Dunno, Drew.

I formed a few from Polycarbinate and Lexan with varying degrees of
sucess.

But the heat from the bulb turned out to be the real killer.
Actually melted through in less than 1/2 hour.
Granted wind would cool them some, but I gave up and replaced them
with normal wing tip marker lights (glass covers).

I can't guess how well acrylic resin would survive.
But the heat will for sure be an issue...

Guess that's why it says Experimental on the side.

Richard

I was about to suggest thermoforming from either Lexan or Plexiglas, since I
thought that was how the lenses on Bonanzas and the like were made. So, now
you made me curious--how much surrounding airspace was available iside the
ones you made?

Peter

Peter Dohm wrote:

"cavelamb himself" wrote in message
...

Drew Dalgleish wrote:

On Mon, 03 Sep 2007 13:08:32 -0500, cavelamb himself
wrote:



Acyrilic casting resin - arts and crafts stuff...


Would this stuff be suitable for making a lens cover for a wingtip
strobe?




Jerry Wass wrote:



Hmmm--I wonder how they get those little spiders,Scorpions, medalions
etc inside those polished acrylic deskweights???Jerry


Lou wrote:



Does anyone know of a material that starts as a liquid, but hardens as
a platic?
I want to make some custom plastic parts for my plane (no not for the
structure)
that will require making a mold and then pouring in the liquid.
Lou



Dunno, Drew.

I formed a few from Polycarbinate and Lexan with varying degrees of

sucess.

But the heat from the bulb turned out to be the real killer.
Actually melted through in less than 1/2 hour.
Granted wind would cool them some, but I gave up and replaced them
with normal wing tip marker lights (glass covers).

I can't guess how well acrylic resin would survive.
But the heat will for sure be an issue...

Guess that's why it says Experimental on the side.

Richard


I was about to suggest thermoforming from either Lexan or Plexiglas, since I
thought that was how the lenses on Bonanzas and the like were made. So, now
you made me curious--how much surrounding airspace was available iside the
ones you made?

Peter




Almost 1/2 inch above the 12 watt (1 amp) bulb.

Remember that there are thermoforming plastics and thermoSETTING plastics.

That might make all the difference in the world here...

Richard

"cavelamb himself" wrote in message
...
Peter Dohm wrote:



I was about to suggest thermoforming from either Lexan or Plexiglas,
since I
thought that was how the lenses on Bonanzas and the like were made. So,
now
you made me curious--how much surrounding airspace was available iside
the
ones you made?

Peter




Almost 1/2 inch above the 12 watt (1 amp) bulb.

Remember that there are thermoforming plastics and thermoSETTING plastics.

That might make all the difference in the world here...

Richard

I'll try to get another look. What I had seem may have had more clearance,
or some source of ventilation; but I don't remember.

Actually, I did have a car a while back with one of those rear window brake
lights that eventually failed. For no obvious reason, the replacement bulb
(of the same physical size and generic part number) quickly burned through
the top of the plastic casing--despite having a peice of foil (which was
original equipment) directly above the bulb. That was also in the 1amp
range at 12-14 volts; but I believe that the clearance was closer to a
quarter inch.

A strobe should generate much less heat, especially localized heat, than an
incandescent bulb; but this is a good problem to keep in mind for nav
lights. Of course, LEDs have become an affordable and reliable alternative
that also eliminate much of the heating problem--especially if the current
source is remotely located.

Peter

On Mon, 03 Sep 2007 20:09:55 -0500, cavelamb himself
wrote:

Drew Dalgleish wrote:
On Mon, 03 Sep 2007 13:08:32 -0500, cavelamb himself
wrote:


Acyrilic casting resin - arts and crafts stuff...


Would this stuff be suitable for making a lens cover for a wingtip
strobe?



Jerry Wass wrote:



Hmmm--I wonder how they get those little spiders,Scorpions, medalions
etc inside those polished acrylic deskweights???Jerry


Lou wrote:


Does anyone know of a material that starts as a liquid, but hardens as
a platic?
I want to make some custom plastic parts for my plane (no not for the
structure)
that will require making a mold and then pouring in the liquid.
Lou




Dunno, Drew.

I formed a few from Polycarbinate and Lexan with varying degrees of sucess.

But the heat from the bulb turned out to be the real killer.
Actually melted through in less than 1/2 hour.
Granted wind would cool them some, but I gave up and replaced them
with normal wing tip marker lights (glass covers).

I can't guess how well acrylic resin would survive.
But the heat will for sure be an issue...

Guess that's why it says Experimental on the side.

Richard

Thanks Richard I sometimes think that i should install some strobes
on my plane in the name of safety then I price the wehlan stuff and
think I'm already safe enough. I'll maybe try some ground based
experiments myself.

"Drew Dalgleish" wrote in message
...

Thanks Richard I sometimes think that i should install some strobes
on my plane in the name of safety then I price the wehlan stuff and
think I'm already safe enough. I'll maybe try some ground based
experiments myself.

Drew ............

Perhaps this may suffice . . .

http://www.strobesnmore.com/

Rich S.

We use ECCO self-contained strobes on aerial ladders for firetrucks where I
work, and they seem to work well and I believe they are a lot cheaper than
Whelen. Check out their web page, perhaps you can find something that might
be useable on your airplane. In particular check out their 9001 series,
those look like they might be adaptable to an aircraft wingtip. They aren't
self contained though, you'd need an external strobe pack (power supply).
I don't remember the model number since I left the aerial ladder
department almost five years ago, but we use some strobes that are
completely self-contained, all you had to hook up was 12VDC and ground,
the power supply is built right into the mounting base. Those lights were
maybe 3 inches in diameter at the mounting base. I believe you could
probably figure out a way to put those in your wingtips too. Let me know
if those sound like something you'd be interested in and I'll try to find
out the model number and price when I go back to work Monday.

http://www.eccolink.com/ProductPages/Products.cfm

Scott Wilson