Acrylic tank and soldering irons

[maroonclown]

I bought a soldering iron recently, and I am going to use it to weld plastic together (it works). Could I just glue the acrylic together, then weld the edges with the soldering iron? Thanks to anyone that gives advice.

[wetworx101]

The problem with your idea is that when metal is melted and joined, the kinds used solidify into the same metal they started as (slight variations, but composition is generally the same). When plastic and acrylics are heated the the point you mention, they tend to change composition into a weaker material. Try it if you like, but the method you speak of may fail. Why not just pick up some Weldon 40 from the local plastics supplier and call it a day??

[maroonclown]

Thanks

[SaltyDawg]

When plastics heat up the molecular structer speads apart. This makes them thin and weak. When they cool back down they do not close back together. the molecules stay spread out.