Working with plastic
Today, I have had another miserable day at the office. On the way home, I purchased some bolts at B&Q and then called in at the BEVoB (Battery Electric Vehicles of Bristol) meeting. After a pleasant taramasalata and pitta bread snack, I set about answering the serious question of the day: can I tap a thread into 6mm polycarbonate?
First, I made a couple of other, related tests: can I weld polycarbonate with MEK (methyl ethyl ketone)? Answer: yes, it works very well. The very strong polycarbonate softens instantly with the solvent, and the welds are strong enough to resist my attempts to break them with pliers. I drilled a 5mm hole in a sample of the plastic, and then used the M6 tap set to make a thread in it. All went very well and the bolt fits nicely. So that'll be the plan for fixing the lid of the UK101 onto the machine so that it has a chance of passing an electrical safety test.
First, I made a couple of other, related tests: can I weld polycarbonate with MEK (methyl ethyl ketone)? Answer: yes, it works very well. The very strong polycarbonate softens instantly with the solvent, and the welds are strong enough to resist my attempts to break them with pliers. I drilled a 5mm hole in a sample of the plastic, and then used the M6 tap set to make a thread in it. All went very well and the bolt fits nicely. So that'll be the plan for fixing the lid of the UK101 onto the machine so that it has a chance of passing an electrical safety test.