Laminate Acrylic

Has anyone come up with a way to layer or laminate two or more pieces of acrylic so...

1) They visually appear as one when viewed head on (ignoring the edges).
2) Using capillary method without the "blotches" or "puddles" forming.

Mechanical fasteners would give a MUCH better aesthetic look than what I've been able to come up with so far.

They don't HAVE to be physically connected, just stay sandwiched together.

Clamping on one (unseen) edge I think would begin to separate on the opposite end over time.

I'd rather not create some sort of frame if at all possible.

Nobody has any ideas on this?

A company I used to work for bonded two sheets of 2" acrylic together for glove boxes for the DOE. Two part clear acrylic polymer, vacuum after mixing. Lay it down very slowly while pumping mix between the sheets. Let set and cut off the edges. Practice helps. Not cheap but it can be done.

Art

You can do it with the correct glues, you need the thick acrylic glue , the 2 part stuff ,not anything like a capiliary type glue (the thin stuff)
The secret is 2 fold
1) the pex must be totally dust free - easily achived with an ionising gun and compressed air - must be clean of fingerprints etc
2) The secret to doing this with no bubbles is the way you put the glue on the bottom plate - it must be applied in a star pattern * , the more spokes of the star the better , this forces the glue from the centre of the piece outwards and allows air bubbles to escape.
Degussa Germany (big acrylic mnfgr) make a machine that allows embedments between 2 pieces of thick acrylic , it heats the surfaces till they soft , you put the item in , it clamps em together and the hot surfaces fuse , its cooled at a constant rate. VERY expensive machine and it only works with thick stuff...

I use chloroform! ensures that the acrylic is softened and then hardened. any pastic what come into contact will sticking. afther 15min the material is melted together.

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Originally Posted by Hans Simons

I use chloroform! ensures that the acrylic is softened and then hardened. any pastic what come into contact will sticking. afther 15min the material is melted together.

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Isn't that the stuff that knocks you out? How do you apply it without falling down in the middle of the job?

But really, if that works, it would be the answer a lot of us have been looking for... if we can obtain chloroform which is not commonly carried at stores around here.

I am about to start experimenting with UV cured adhesives which are optically clear. They are not solvent cements and I thought of this application as being one that would work. I have samples of adhesive on the way and have acquired a proper UV lamp of the correct wavelength. I will report my findings. This would, of course, be clear acrylic.

Robert, I'm a bit skeptical that you will get an adhesive to work consistently if your objective is a transparent adhesive. If doing in mass production perhaps a system could be developed but when doing only a few you can expect high reject rates and lots of frustration. If mechanical fasteners are at all an option I would think that is a lot more likely to be successful. If you can clamp one end and then use fasteners on the other that may be a possibility. You might need to look for a very decorative post and screw assembly - it might take a bit of time to hunt down some attractive hardware that is aesthetically pleasing. Maybe you could use some kind of 2 part rivet that is press-fit together so there would be no need for drive recesses.

There may be some UV cured optical adhesives that could work, but again, it will be expensive, messy, time consuming, and you would need to accept the fact that there will be rejects.

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Originally Posted by Richard Rumancik

Maybe you could use some kind of 2 part rivet that is press-fit together

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I found them, but unfortunately it's a 20,000 piece minimum (per length) order, and 5 week lead time.

I'll say this again.......I have found Max1 to be much more optically clear than Weldon.

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Originally Posted by Larry Bratton

I am about to start experimenting with UV cured adhesives which are optically clear. They are not solvent cements and I thought of this application as being one that would work. I have samples of adhesive on the way and have acquired a proper UV lamp of the correct wavelength. I will report my findings. This would, of course, be clear acrylic.

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won't the acrylic block the uv rays?

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Originally Posted by Ron Hartl

won't the acrylic block the uv rays?

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Acrylic is pretty transparent to the wavelengths of UV-A and UV-B...

Some acrylics have UV inhibitors built in. It depends on the adhesive as to whether it is effected or not. Most industrial adhesives are curable in the UV-A range of 365nb. Medical or dental adhesives are in the 400-450nm wavelength range.

[QUOTE=Steve Clarkson;1645270]I'll say this again.......I have found Max1 to be much more optically clear than Weldon.[/QUOTE

Max1 is a solvent cement isn't it? I am after eliminating the appearance that is created when the two pieces are cemented apparently caused by the welding or chemical reaction that occurs. It is clear, but it looks somewhat like a spiderweb,kinda cloudy effect and is not attractive. (not crazing, which is a different thing). I used some Acryfix 117 and it was a lot better than Weldon #3 or #4. I have two kinds of UV curable for acrylics coming in, got samples of both, one is from Dymax and the other one is from Devcon. Hoping this will be an alternative to the solvent types. We will see.
and....
I also learned this trick, contrary to all the information written about the time involved in annealing. One of the engineers at Acylite told me about a fabricator that he knew that did a quick anneal with a heat gun. I bought a heat gun and tried it. Mind you this was 3mm acrylic, it worked. I heated it up to just before it deflected, around 180 degrees or so, just hot enough to where you can't leave your hand on it. Then let it cool down slowly. We also tried setting our heat press at its lowest setting of 200 degrees. (deflection temp is 203F) Put the acrylic in with a piece of paper, top and bottom, set to maximum time, which is 100 seconds on ours and that also worked. I even bathed some of these pieces in DNA to see if it would craze and I got very little. Prior to doing this, I was having trouble with the acrylic crazing when the solvent cement was used. (the customer was very pleased with the resulting product)

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Originally Posted by Larry Bratton

I have two kinds of UV curable for acrylics coming in, got samples of both, one is from Dymax and the other one is from Devcon. Hoping this will be an alternative to the solvent types.

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Please let me know what you find.

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I also learned this trick, contrary to all the information written about the time involved in annealing. One of the engineers at Acylite told me about a fabricator that he knew that did a quick anneal with a heat gun. I bought a heat gun and tried it. Mind you this was 3mm acrylic, it worked. I heated it up to just before it deflected, around 180 degrees or so, just hot enough to where you can't leave your hand on it. Then let it cool down slowly. We also tried setting our heat press at its lowest setting of 200 degrees. (deflection temp is 203F) Put the acrylic in with a piece of paper, top and bottom, set to maximum time, which is 100 seconds on ours and that also worked.

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With the heat gun, did you let it cool slowly with pressure applied or under it's own weight?

I wonder if a toaster oven would work (if I can control the temperature properly).

Robert:
Here is some info on one of the adhesives I have coming. As you can see, this has been out there for several years.
http://news.thomasnet.com/companysto...Seconds-486788

I just let them cool under their own weight. I did not bring them to deflection temp but as close as I dared before it started to. I did not put the pieces in a draft or add any cooling air. Just let it cool slowly.
A toaster oven would get too hot probably and make a mess. The heat press puts pressure on when heated but we used very light pressure while it was in the machine. It doesn't take much with a heat gun to get it up to temp, but you don't want to hit it with full heat. I have a Porter Cable gun and I set it about a quarter of the way up. These were small pieces of 1/8" (3mm) about 4x6".

I need the final conclusion to this! I am looking for the same thing and have not been able to find a viable solution!

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Chloroform

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I can get it from my chemical supplier but I have a toxins license. It's not nice stuff but pretty safe to work with if you are careful.

What is your end use? Are these to special shapes etc? If it's just flat sheets you want laminate, companies such a Seal, 3M
make a double stick adhesive tape that is optically clear. I worked for a display photo finisher for many years we used this
to mount photos to plex. You would have to have a laminator to do this. I might suggest you visit a local "Display" Company or
one that creates Trade Show Graphics. To me it's worth the trip as if they don't have anything that works you may find a new client... ;)

For what it's worth...
A couple years back, just for grins, I wanted to see if my 25W ULS would cut 3/8" acrylic. Not having any on hand, I took a couple pieces of 0.2" clear acrylic (the GE stuff from Home Depot) and taped them together, then cut the sandwich with two surprising results: (1) it actually worked, albeit excruciatingly slowly, and (2) the pieces were welded together quite firmly at the cut edges.
Not sure of the actual application here, just a thought.

I must have missed this back in 2012. I have made hundreds of acrylic puzzles, with multiple layers of 1/8" usually black and clear. I cut some clear 2mm adhesive vinyl to the total thickness, and wrap it around the edges. You cannot really tell it's there and holds all layers together nicely without any glues. I cut with the plotter, but you can use a metal ruler and Olfa or Xacto.

Robert/ not sure I get exactly what you are trying to accomplish. Just laminating pcs of acrylic together or placing something between acrylic pcs then laminating ?? Acrifix 2r0190 works well. It is a 2 part reactive cement and is very forgiving. After mixing you can spin it in an applicator bottle to de gas it. Or, you can let it set covered and it will degas in a few minutes. Make a tape hinge on one side pour glue and slowly set top pc into the glue, let it run out the sides. After cured cut to final size.

We use this every day to glue large acrylic aquarium panels.

Loctite GO2 glue--- This stuff is the bomb for gluing clear plex together for 'visual' purposes--

I just cut and glued these pieces together just now to show you how well it works---
it's very forgiving, excess glue just squishes out nicely, zero bubbles and crystal clear--
The stuff is the consistency of honey, has a slight chemical smell I can't put my finger on- I mention the smell because
when this stuff dries it feels like silicone, only stiffer. But it doesn't smell like silicone. It doesn't melt the acrylic, it's
simply an adhesive. Those coconuts I've been engraving, this stuff glued 4 broken bottoms back on. I found this stuff
by accident when looking for glass glue. If you don't need an actual chemical bond, try this stuff! :)

just beware, pieces CAN MOVE AROUND before it sets up! Needs a day to set up, but it's worth the wait...

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