Help required please, guys and gals!

[Knot Competent]

Some of you may have picked up that I manufacture vivariums. I'm in the process of a new design, the front frame of which (glassfibre) has a panel which needs to be stiffened. This will require a piece of material 18 - 24mm thick, 3 - 4" wide across the width of the viv, on the inside, to support the weight of the plastic double track and the two 6mm toughened glass sliding doors. The material will need to be totally waterproof, with no crannies for bacteria to hide in, and capable of being bonded to the glassfibre panel. I had thought of using three thicknesses of 6mm toughened glass, but wondered if any one of you had come across another suitable material? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

And the connection with woodwork? I make the plugs from which the moulds are made, from MDF and wooden fillets. OK, it's tenuous, so please move it if you wish!

Regards, John

 

[SketchUp Guru]

Any chance you've got some pictures of what you're working on? That might help me figure out a solution. In the meantime, could you use fiberglass cloth and epoxy to build up a stiffener? Maybe use a piece of alu bar stock. Drill a few holes in it to make places for epoxy to squeeze up through. Epoxy the bar in place with a fillet along the edges. Then lay in a bit of fiberglass cloth and epoxy that down to make a smooth surface.

 

[Knot Competent]

Wot, and have you laugh at my pathetic use of Sketchup? I'll try to attach a picture.
OK, that was a total failure. I've realised I just don't know how to put a picture in this text

Nope, can't cut and paste it as a jpeg either.

HELP!!

 

[SketchUp Guru]

I promise I won't laugh, he snickered. No. Really. I won't laugh. E-mail the picture to me and I'll put it up for you. If you need my e-mail address, let me know and I'll PM it to you.

 

[Knot Competent]

Dave, I can't work out how to get a .skp from my D drive to an e-mail. When I right-click on the file name it will let me sent it to a Yahoo e-mail (which I use.) Please may I have your e-mail address to try it.

 

[SketchUp Guru]

PM sent.

 

[SketchUp Guru]

Got your drawings and your photo. Does this look like what you have in mind? I haven't added the stiffener yet. I just want to confirm that I'm working on the right thing.

If this is correct, how is this attached to the rest of the vivarium?

 

[Knot Competent]

Yes, that's it, Dave. The body of the vivarium is essentially a five-faced cube with a few refinements, which has a front rim about 12mm wide which enables it to be bonded to the back of the front, if that makes sense.

It's the panel at the bottom across the full width (well, except for a space at each end for the rim of the body to bond) which needs to be stiffened. It would be easier, I think, if the stiffening was added after the two parts were bonded. Then it would fit tightly enough to take the weight of the glass down onto the base of the viv, which is in turn supported by the wooden rack it fits into. And if this viv was 6' long, the weight would be considerable.

Do you use Sketchup professionally, or are you just gifted?

 

[SketchUp Guru]

Hmmm..... so from my drawing and your photo I get that the box has a lip turned outward which is bonded to the inside of the front face of the front panel. Is that right?

How thick is the box material? Is the front the same? Is it too late to change the box? I can think of a number of ways to stiffen the front but then you add that it must be easy to clean and that creates problems.

How many of these will be produced? How do they get cleaned? Are they simply wiped out or washed with a spray washer?

Fitting something in between after the two pieces have been assembled is possible but you need some way to seal around it. It can't be too long or you won't be able to manuever it through the opening and fit it into place. That means you'll have a larger space to fill.

I've got another idea but it would require some doodling. I'll get it to you. In the meantime maybe someone smarter can give you some ideas.

As to the SU stuff, I wish I used it professionally. I doubt I'm gifted. I've always drawn on paper and found SU an easy thing to pick up.

 

[Knot Competent]

Yes to your first paragraph.

The thickness varies between about an eighth to three-sixteenths of an inch, body and front the same. No, it's not too late to change anything, but that's how it's built at present, and is very workable. The gel coat on the inside means it's easy to wipe clean, with a disinfectant spray.

How many? I'm hoping it'll be hundreds!