Selfmade plexiglass enclosures?

[Spinnenfritzi]

Has anyone of you made one before?
Do you connect the sides with glue?
How did you make the door and what did you use as a lock?

Which thickness is preferable? 4mm?
I have rather easy access to a lasercutter so maybee i can pull it off..

 

[kingshockey]

i've made a few protein skimmers before for my marine tanks if that counts. for the glue i just used regular aquarium silicone. your gonna need to make accurate cuts to the plexi and apply even beads of the silicone to glue things together along with even pressure to hold things in place as the glue cures. then trim excess at the joints/edges etc. i would look at hobby lobby for hinges and latches . i used a sheet of plexi(about as thick as a cig) from lowes or home depot and made my cuts with a cutter made for cutting plexi never used a laser cutter so i dont know how good it would work especially if that cutter creates heat. hope this helps good luck

 

[Introvertebrate]

Isn't there a type of adhesive that essentially melts the acrylic sides together, as if they're one piece? I think running a blow torch along the newly cut edges is a way to smooth them out. It's been a while since I Googled that stuff.

 

[SpookySpooder]

Isn't there a type of adhesive that essentially melts the acrylic sides together, as if they're one piece? I think running a blow torch along the newly cut edges is a way to smooth them out. It's been a while since I Googled that stuff.

IPS Weld-on AKA methylene chloride

Don't burn acrylic as the fumes are extremely toxic to your eyes skin and lungs

Btw any cyanoacrylate will work as well, but has the downside of curing opaque and foggy.

Silicone as well.

 

[Introvertebrate]

..............Don't burn acrylic as the fumes are extremely toxic to your eyes skin and lungs..............

Not burn. Melt.

 

[SpookySpooder]

Ok I thought you meant like melt it and then clamp the edges together and I was like nooooo

 

[viper69]

There are excellent videos of this on-line

 

[Introvertebrate]

I'm still more of a glass guy, for it's scratch resistance, but acrylic definitely has it's uses. I like to mix and match.

 

[Spinnenfritzi]

I'm still more of a glass guy, for it's scratch resistance, but acrylic definitely has it's uses. I like to mix and match.

i really like the lower weight and the overall aesthetic.
Another benefit is the smoother opening and closing which leads to fewer stress for the T.
The scratching has never been an issue to me.
At least with terrestrials.

 

[Introvertebrate]

.......................The scratching has never been an issue to me. At least with terrestrials.

It's not the T's scratching I'm worried about. I've got Ts that like to glue their boluses to the side of the enclosure. I'm afraid I might scratch the plastic in the process of scrubbing the boluses off.

 

[Spinnenfritzi]

It's not the T's scratching I'm worried about.

i thought so. it is just that i often hear that arboreals are more likely to start painting their walls

 

[DonaldJ]

i really like the lower weight and the overall aesthetic.
Another benefit is the smoother opening and closing which leads to fewer stress for the T.
The scratching has never been an issue to me.
At least with terrestrials.

You may want to consider polycarbonate, i.e., LEXAN. Much stronger than acrylic (think riot shields and bulletproof windows) and will not shatter like acrylic when under stress if you use mechanical fasteners. Cool stuff. I snagged some 1.5mm polycarbonate sheet and don't know what I'll do with it yet, maybe a circular enclosure. You can score it like acrylic but also cut it with some good shears but don't take my word for it. YouTube is your friend.

 

[DonaldJ]

I neglected to mention that polycarbonate can also be bent to make nice corners, no heat requred.