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Home Forums 68kMLA Plastics bonding — #8
Post #8 by equill
Source Forum68kMLA
CategoryTroubleshooting
Post DateMon, 3 Dec 2007 - 15:11
Original URLhttps://68kmla.org/bb/threads/plastics-bonding.10680/
Post
Thanks for the info about MEK, Equill. For twenty years, it has been difficult to buy as an industrial chemical in the UK ... From the Health and Safety notes, I understand that MEK is still available in the UK (and presumably EU) as a *scientific* chemical (and *professional* industrial chemical). ...
After carefully paring off the moulded-on security icon with a sharp chisel, I carved a vertical rectangular hole in the case of my 512Ke, thereby obliterating the 'security lug' hole and as few signatures inside the bucket as possible. Into the hole I put the centre portion of the alternative battery cover, provided by Dove with the upgrade, and having ready-made provision to mount the SCSI DB-25F port. It was a force-fit, prevented from going right through the case by my also having left a rectangular flange of plastic around the shaped opening for the female DB-25 and locking pillars. The end result is a recessed well in which the female connector and pillars are flush with the outer case surface.

Then hied I me to Bunnings (a hardware supermarket chain) for some pure MEK, which is freely available in Australia as a PVC-U pipe cement primer for both electrical and plumbing use. It is used to clean/wet the ends of pipes before the more viscous cement is brushed on and the pipes are force-fitted into their unions. Into about 50mL of MEK in a glass jar with a screwcap and gasket I put the surviving fragments of the Dove battery door, and left the lot overnight. The solution was still quite freely-flowing, but completely opaque from the dissolved ABS. With a piece of 2-mm brass tube, crimped almost shut at one end to make a 'pipette', I ran ABS solution into the inside and through-case joints. Worked a treat. After four applications at intervals to allow the free MEK to evaporate, I could no longer see the joints. I'll give it a week to let the MEK dry thoroughly, and then see how the joint survives the insertion force of attaching a SCSI cable to the female SCSI port mounted on my improvised recess.

So, MEK is a good solvent for ABS plastic.

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