Cooling Custom reservoir?

1. Using a regular drill tends to be ok (but not great) for blind holes, for through holes, the bit tends to grab the edge of the plastic as it's coming through and makes chips and cracks.
2. No, threading acrylic requires very little force. HOWEVER, it's very brittle, so though it's easy to turn the tap handle, you have to go extremely slow and gently or you risk the same cracking problems as drilling through holes.
3. Huh?
4. A table top saw as in a scroll saw? jig saw? band saw? All of them should do fine, but none of them will leave a very straight edge, but a bit of sanding should fix that.
5. No, it's not worth hiring a person to do this unless he is some freelancer who needs some cash badly. Professional shops will charge much more than just 30USD per unit. If you have a friend in an engineering college, he/she might have the resources to help out.

I mean if you're willing to shell out 90USD on a trio of res's might as well buy your own tools and do it yourself. You can spend ~50 on tools (a NPT tap, take your pick on a straight tap, a tap handle, two drill bits, sand paper, acrylic weld, random miscellaneous hardware).

Do you HAVE to have three res's? You can buy two Aquainlets for less than 90USD, which are mostly clear. Another thing you can do is use a fancy glass water bottle. I made one a while ago using a VOSS water bottle, though I forget where I put the pics so I can't show you what it ended up looking like. Bottles look like this: VOSS water bottle, I just drilled two holes in the cap and epoxied on two plastic barbs. Most fancy health food stores sell VOSS water, they come in huge 1 litre size and smaller half litre I think.

-Lemur 6

 

the only reason for 3 is because mcmaster sells the tubes in 12" length (shortest) and I thought it would be a good idea to make 3 of them in case some get screwed up.

here's another one ... is it ok to rivet acrylic to metal?

 

You mean like pop rivetting a flat plate over a metal plate (like if you were to do a case window)? I wouldn't try it unless you're popping the rivet on the metal side (so you're inserting into the plastic first), but if you wanna be adventuresome sure go ahead. Polycarbonate might be a little more resistant to rivetting since it's softer and gummier (doesn't chip like acrylic).

Rather than rivets, just a bolt and nut may work better (assuming this is for a case window).

-Lemur 6

 

A better option might be a clamp-type mount made from acrylic...if that would fit in with your design?

EDIT: Although, with the exposed bolts on the outside - might not be the easiest to implement. But, if time was taken - could be very cool.

 

this is the type I am shooting for.

the only reason I ask about rivets is that I was thinking of modifying 2 CD-ROM "metal casings" the ones with the screw holes for mounting into CD-ROM bays to rivet 2 of those (one on top, other on bottom) to the "end caps" (the plates on each end of the cylinder) so that I could actually mount the thing in CD-ROM bays.

Here is a TT version of the thing I am trying to do (to make it clear).

http://www.svc.com/cl-w0032.html

 

For drilling any hole over 1/4" get a special drill bit designed for plastic.
They have different cutting flute geometry and do not bite/grab as standard bits do.
For sawing you can use any tool you have, but once again, get the proper blade, standard woodcutting blades will not work as the material will just remelt behind the cut.
The jigsaw blades I used on my plexi project were very inexpensive and they come in different tooth profiles depending on the thickness of the material you are working.

Rivets would be a bad idea as I think the plastic would crack before the rivet could expand enough to grip tightly.

Most mid to large size cities should have several places that specialize in plastic fabrication.
You should talk to them about your project and see what they say.
The business I dealt with does custom aquariums (among other things) and they were a great source of information, tooling and inexpensive cut-offs.
Given the potential for catastrophic consequences should your bay-mount rez fail, I'd definitely consult with experts before moving forward.

 

the downside of a large city is actually finding a place ...

for cutting the acrylic, I was thinking of using a dremel with the standard cutting wheel. as for holes, I'd prolly need 3/8" holes ... and since it's acrylic, I could prolly drill them fast enough for it not to melt.

 

Try the Yellow Pages.
Look under "Plastics Fabrication" or somesuch.
Failing that, find a supplier of plastic sheet,rod, etc. -they'll know who can do it cause they sell supplies to them.

The problem with the drill bits is not melting the plastic, rather it's the tendency of regular bits to grab & crack the plastic instead of drilling through cleanly.
If you must use regular bits, start small and enlarge the hole incrementally till you reach the final size.

A Dremel is a terrible tool for cutting plastic properly (I'll admit to being biased- I think a Dremel is always the last choice for doing most jobs...). You'll spend way more time finishing the part after the cut (assuming success, of course) than necessary.
A band saw is ideal with a properly bladed jig saw being next best.

Seriously...don't risk your materials and project (not to mention life and limb) by using improper tools and methods.
It's just not worth it.