PSA: DON'T USE LOCTITE ON ABS PLASTIC

"With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username" (with-a-g) 07/31/2014 at 18:54 • Filed to: learned the hard way

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Especially on "just-in time" parts fresh off the 3D printer heading out the door in 10 minutes.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 07/31/2014 at 18:55

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why?

Blondude > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 07/31/2014 at 18:55

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I'll Loctite my LEGO if I want to! You can't tell me what to do!

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > Luc - The Acadian Oppo 07/31/2014 at 18:56

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The plastic becomes brittle and weak almost immediately. Broke four screw bosses completely off within a couple minutes of applying loctite.

Mercedes Streeter > Blondude 07/31/2014 at 18:59

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grahamrh808 > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 07/31/2014 at 19:03

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Yup. Regular Loctite isn't meant for plastic, it will melt or otherwise compromise it. (Make it brittle, weak, etc.) I'm pretty sure Loctite does sell a plastic-specific version, but I could be wrong about that.

T5Killer > grahamrh808 07/31/2014 at 19:06

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I could swear I have seen it too.

sketchcat > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 07/31/2014 at 19:13

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ABS... hmm

FDM machine?

why not a solvent cement?

cyanocrylate has no shear strength, bad choice for screw bosses.

.the more you know.

tromoly > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 07/31/2014 at 19:23

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I'm curious, what was the reasoning behind using Loctite on plastic?

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > tromoly 07/31/2014 at 19:27

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There are about ten screws holding a few parts together in a portable device we put together for my work. We typically loctite the screws on anything that goes out to the field, since we've seen screws back out and come loose from repeated transportation. However, these aren't final production parts; they are just rapid prototypes off the 3D printer. We don't have the right policies and practices in place for this stuff yet.

Tekamul > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 07/31/2014 at 19:40

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no no no no

I had an intern who put picture on the metal screws holding on his acrylic cover for his senior project. Two corners full of cracks in minutes.

Expanding adhesives and soft materials don't mix.

monkeyracing > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 07/31/2014 at 21:13

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I think the point of the question was based around Loctite not being made for use with plastics, at least none I've ever used. EDIT: oh, it appears they do make a plastic specific product. #425.

While we're at it, certain plastics react badly to cyanoacrylate (Crazy Glue). I was repairing the input jack on a distortion pedal once and needed to get it back together in a hurry. I applied a drop of CA and the whole jack disintegrated into powder in under a minute. Impressive!

BaconSandwich is tasty. > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 07/31/2014 at 21:45

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Now you have me curious - what kind of 3D printer was it?

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > BaconSandwich is tasty. 07/31/2014 at 22:08

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Makerbot 2.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 07/31/2014 at 22:17

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Interesting. We've only ever used PLA plastic with ours.