Is 2mm acrylic too thin for enclosure walls?

[ratmilk]

I've been looking at this self assembly display case but it's only 2mm thick acrylic. The top and bottom are hollow black plastic.
Do you think it will be so thin that it'll warp over time? I'm expecting to have to glue the panels together with plastic weld so it doesn't go gappy when the lid's taken off.

 

[DaveM]

Hi ratmilk, that's probably very inexpensive; is there free shipping? I recommend buying one to see how you like it.
I think this 2mm case could work just fine if you're very gentle with it. I've put together a lot of acrylic cages, and for me the issue with thin sheets is that they're flexible. 2mm is very flexible and would put too much torquing stress on the glue-only joints that I make.
However, I see in this product you're showing, that the black plastic parts have grooves and will probably contribute a lot of rigidity to the structure. So, I think it's worth trying one, if it's cheap.

 

[ratmilk]

It's £26, so not bad. It's for a GBB. I'm looking for an enclosure in the UK that's aesthetically pleasing and big enough to give plenty of space for webbing whilst still fitting on my 22.5cm deep shelf. I'm thinking I could plastic weld the joints and put a line of electrical tape around the top for a little more structure?

 

[Dorifto]

Too flimsy imho. If you glue it then you can add some substrate, but if you don't glue the panels the pressure can bend the panels easily.

 

[DaveM]

Oh... £26 -- Sorry, I thought maybe you'd stumbled onto something much cheaper that had a chance of working. A 10 gal (37.85 L) glass tank in the US can cost around the $ equivalent of £10.
Now I say forget about that thing. Buy or build your own better one for less money.

 

[ratmilk]

Oh... £26 -- Sorry, I thought maybe you'd stumbled onto something much cheaper that had a chance of working. A 10 gal (37.85 L) glass tank in the US can cost around the $ equivalent of £10.
Now I say forget about that thing. Buy or build your own better one for less money.

I'm hoping to find something lightweight for the shelf so I can lift it down easily - but there is a chance that it'll be too weak to hold together properly with substrate.
I'm in the UK, not seen many really nice, clear enclosures without either a mesh lid or a bunch of air holes all over the front instead of just on two/three sides

 

[Dorifto]

For 26£ you can make your own glass enclosure.

This is a drawing for a 60x40x40 enclosure, but you can use it like a base.

 

[moricollins]

For 26£ you can make your own glass enclosure.

This is a drawing for a 60x40x40 enclosure, but you can use it like a base.

View attachment 348713

This probably won't be light enough to take off the shelf easily though ;-)

 

[DaveM]

For a light-weight option, you could think about an Exo Terra Faunarium or Breeding Box.
That won't be as pretty as Dorito's creation, but light and sturdy enough.

Another route to be able to lift the enclosure off the shelf is for you, ratmilk, to get stronger. Lift weights! Bulk up!
Then come back here and change your AB username to capybaramilk

 

[Dorifto]

This probably won't be light enough to take off the shelf easily though ;-)

If he make it out of plexyglass, then yes

 

[ratmilk]

Unfortunately, I'm all about aesthetics and don't have much space for doing DIY!
Tarantula Room enclosures are really cool but they're all cylindrical or cubes that don't have a high enough capacity to make it worth putting her through the stress of being rehoused.
I would consider building an acrylic enclosure from laser cut sheet material off ebay. Just a lot of effort innit also can't believe how expensive the plastic hasps and hinges are??

 

[The Snark]

I've got a sneaking suspicion that box isn't acrylic but that rigid and very brittle plastic. Plus, less - chance to warp and bend, minus - gets more brittle over time. Shatters almost like glass. Ah! Polystyrene. Generally, you want to avoid that stuff.
Here's a run down: https://www.displays2go.com/Article/The-Many-Forms-Clear-Plastic-5

 

[DaveM]

Unfortunately, I'm all about aesthetics and don't have much space for doing DIY!
Tarantula Room enclosures are really cool but they're all cylindrical or cubes that don't have a high enough capacity to make it worth putting her through the stress of being rehoused.
I would consider building an acrylic enclosure from laser cut sheet material off ebay. Just a lot of effort innit also can't believe how expensive the plastic hasps and hinges are??

I agree with you: the hasps and hinges are costly and probably where sellers recover their profit margin, but you don't really need those things. Most of my enclosures have tops that can be lifted off, but with lips so they can't slide sideways, and heavy enough that no T could ever lift them to escape. Because of the spider musculature, or rather the lack of extensor muscles, they are strong pulling, but not pushing.

 

[ratmilk]

I agree with you: the hasps and hinges are costly and probably where sellers recover their profit margin, but you don't really need those things. Most of my enclosures have tops that can be lifted off, but with lips so they can't slide sideways, and heavy enough that no T could ever lift them to escape. Because of the spider musculature, or rather the lack of extensor muscles, they are strong pulling, but not pushing.

I've been looking at those clear acrylic display boxes with the lip on the lid for weeks and basically want to make the same but with different dimensions and of course ventilation holes. You sound experienced, what thickness of acrylic would you recommend for a GBB enclosure 18" wide x 9" high x 8" deep?

 

[DaveM]

I think 0.236" / 6mm (or thicker) is a good thickness for you. It's important that the cuts on the edges of the sheet are as smooth / square / perfect as you can get them. Professionals use table routers or CNC routers, but my regular hand router worked well with a straight edge clamped to guide it or using a fence attachment that fits my router. The smoothness is important for the glue step. If your edges are smooth to the degree that they look slightly frosted but you can't see any gouges or saw marks with the naked eye, then you can use a #3 or #4 acrylic cement, which has very low viscosity and will be sucked into a mated joint by capillary action -- those joints look very nice and clear. If there are imperfections in your edges that would disrupt the suction, then you need to use a more viscous, gap-filling acrylic cement, maybe #16. There the trick will be spreading glue evenly across the whole edge and using just the perfect amount of glue so that it fills the gaps without squeezing out to make the joint look messy -- that's trickier, less likely to come out looking perfect, so it's worthwhile routing the cut edges, even if you only have a dremel tool with a router attachment. Saws, angle grinders, and cut-off wheels never cut cleanly enough. Some people fix sawed cuts by sanding with sandpaper attached to a flat surface -- there, it's most important not to round over any of the cut corners. For a final aesthetic finish, you can fire polish any exposed acrylic edges; this will make their frosted translucence turn truly clear again. Run a MAP torch along the edge. Since you're British, I mean the kind of torch that burns hydrocarbon fuel to emit a cone of fire, that plumbers used when soldering pipes -- not a flashlight I lived in London (Chelsea) for a short time. I miss it. You lucky bloke.

 

[viper69]

I've been looking at this self assembly display case but it's only 2mm thick acrylic. The top and bottom are hollow black plastic.
Do you think it will be so thin that it'll warp over time? I'm expecting to have to glue the panels together with plastic weld so it doesn't go gappy when the lid's taken off.

View attachment 348696
View attachment 348697 View attachment 348698

2mm—- piece of junk, happy warping

 

[Rhino1]

Honestly dude you will regret this, 2mm over 38cm will be sloppy af.
If your dead set keen on this enclosure then purchase some acrylic glue and lock all those corners together, that may give you a bit more rigidity

 

[Rhino1]

2mm—- piece of junk, happy warping

Lol that's so harsh