Cementing acrylic to Delrin acetal sheet.

[David Pinckney]

How’s it going everybody?

I’m coming up with some ideas about how best to design a paludarium, with regard to the panels. I’m wondering if clear sheets of acrylic and black sheets of Delrin acetal can be cemented together, and if so whether it’s the acrylic cement or something else that you would use. The Delrin can withstand up to 180%F. So heat lamps & pads would be nothing to it. Plus, it’s black. So, all the light that hits it becomes heat. I don’t know if it would be toxic to animals though! Kind of a biggie, but it could be a great material.

I watched a video on YouTube of a man demonstrating how to put together acrylic terrariums, as well as an episode of Animal Planet’s “Tanked” were the concern about making sure that the cement gets distributed throughout the adjoining surfaces of the two sheets being adhered together was raised. As someone who has never worked with acrylic, I was left with the impression that this is a very difficult thing to accomplish. I have yet to do any price hunting, but after looking at the costs on TAP Plastics website I developed an appreciation for the price tags on transparent pet housing. It’s like the stuff is made of gold or something. My whole life I’ve bought cheap things that are packaged in plastics that I’m expected to just through away. So you’ll excuse me if I thought that I could avoid almost the entire price of a cage by doing the labor myself.

In light of the reality though, I am reluctant to fork out over a thousand bucks for basic materials, if I’m liable to just screw it all up as soon as I start working on it! Would someone like me be better off just handing over the spec sheet for what I want to a professional, or is this cementing business easier than it’s made out to be?

Cheers.

David