16 Apr
2005
16 Apr
'05
3:49 p.m.
Tim Riker wrote:
3) Thoughts on repairing the chassis? I could bondo,
superglue, epoxy,
silversolder, etc. the pieces together, and add a plate behind it
attached with countersunk screws. Would not be very visible once the
panels are put back. I have the two side panels and the bottom panel,
but no top panel. Thoughts on which would work best?
I think your best bet is welding. I believe that welding aluminum
requires special equipment. A guy at my office does something called
TIG welding for his robotics projects. I think the weld can be sunk
into the material and ground smooth afterwards, giving a nice
appearance. It will probably be expensive to have this done, however.
A bolted on plate would work as well, though you'd probably want
something on both sides, and it would probably not look as nice.
Forget about adhesives -- I expect they'd be pretty worthless in this
situation. If it were my machine, I'd take it around to a few good
metal shops and see what they could do or would recommend.
--Bill