A Tea between friends :-) How was Your Day

[Titus]

Haven't been printing for a while now

[Izzy]

Print solid's is $150
My acrylic sheet was £14
The screws and fasteners were a few pounds
And the parts were printed.
Mine is also designed to allow my dovetail mounting system to still use the top edges to fit on as well.
Mine allows the cover to open up for access for atomic pulls without lifting the whole cover off, looks more compact and IMHO more stylish

[LePaul]

I should try to find his files on Thingiverse (or the like) and use the CNC machine to cut up some clear Lexan and put it together

[ivan.akapulko]

PrintedSolid sells an interesting enclosure....

https://printedsolid.com/collections/3d ... -kit-parts

150 for a few acrylic sheets? God, no.

[jonnybischof]

Well, if I were to order these sheets - cut to the proper size - I would pay more than 150$ here in Switzerland...
The price doesn't come just from the raw material (although, if you use the original "Plexiglas" brand from Germany, then the material will actually cost quite a bit) but also from the cutting service..

[LePaul]

That's what I keep debating.

I can buy ready to go, out of the box for a certain amount

...or I can eat up time finding acrylic (I'm pretty sure plexiglass will get gummy/stinky being cut by the CNC), converting metric to imperial on vCarve and Mach3....cutting...

Sometimes it's just worth the extra money to save what little free time I have (only have Sunday's off!)

[ivan.akapulko]

Сutting acrylic on the dimensions provided by the client in my city is around 5-7 thousand tenge. Ie, something in the region of 20 dollars. The acrylic is also worth a penny. In the end, the entire box cost me no more than $ 50.

[jonnybischof]

That's what I keep debating.

I can buy ready to go, out of the box for a certain amount

...or I can eat up time finding acrylic (I'm pretty sure plexiglass will get gummy/stinky being cut by the CNC), converting metric to imperial on vCarve and Mach3....cutting...

Sometimes it's just worth the extra money to save what little free time I have (only have Sunday's off!)

You got those materials wrong Paul

The usual no-brand "Acrylic" you can buy in DIY stores (in Europe at least) are cheap but also pretty much worthless if you want to do anything with them except lasercutting. CNC-milling the cheap stuff gets you a gummy, melty mess and bad results even if you're careful. Lasercutting is also different, but you can get good results if you know how to tweak the settings correctly.

On the other hand, the "real" Plexiglas GS brand stuff can be CNC cut very well, it hardly ever melts, but instead cuts cleanly and gives good results. Note that Plexiglas XT doesn't perform as well for CNC milling. The difference is that GS is cast, while XT is extruded. Afaik this is pretty much the same for other brand acrylic materials like Perspex (which is what you'll probably find in the USA, it's a US brand). Perspex is also a very good acrylic and worth every penny. "Perspex Frost" is the stuff the UM2 side panels are made of.

[Izzy]

Hi guys, I used 2mm acrylic sheet from my local DIY store, I use the back edge point of a good sharp knife and a steel ruler to score the edge a few times and then apply a quick flex to break it along the scored line, a quick run along with the edge of a 6" steel rule of small smooth file to remove the sharp edge and bob's the guy that sleeps with your aunt.
So the only tools I used were a 24"/600mm steel rule for a straight edge and for marking up, a small engineers square to check for right angles, a scoring knife and a 6"/150mm steel rule and a small file.
Sorry guys no CNC or machining here, just good old fashioned hand skills from an old engineer.

[LePaul]

I can't seem to find the UM2 acrylic plans on Thingiverse Perhaps he hid them to sell the kit?

[Izzy]

This is my view at the moment

Moored at Sivota in the Ionian Sea

When I get back from holiday I'll finish the design and publish it on YouMagine, for those that want a cheap easy option.

[LePaul]

Enjoy...and don't fall in!

I would advise not watching the movie "Titanic" or "Cast Away" (But do say hello to Wilson!)

[jonnybischof]

How about "The Perfect Storm"?

[Izzy]

The hunt for red October, i.e. My nose as I forgot some sun cream yesterday

[LePaul]

Ouch

Enjoy your vacation!

Hopefully we will hear from Anders soon!