How To Bond Plywood Or Aluminum To HDU

Over the years many of our customers have asked for advice when bonding dissimilar substrates, such as plywood or aluminum, to Precision Board.

Bonding a dissimilar substrate to Precision Board is easy when the proper procedures are followed.

1. Dry fit the pieces you will be bonding together before applying any adhesive to be sure you have a proper fit.

2. Have all of your weights and clamps ready, especially if working with PB Fast Set – it dries fast!

3. Mist the surface with a spray bottle or a rag. PB Bond-240 and PB Fast Set require moisture to catalyze it and fully cure, which is critical for a strong joint. Both surfaces should be lightly sprayed with water, with any excess wiped away.

4. Apply the PB Bond-240 or PB Fast Set in ribbons parallel to the shortest dimension. Apply the ribbons in a 3/8″ diameter, 5″ – 8″ apart. The space between the ribbons will allow the dissimilar substrates to expand and contract without over-stressing the bond or the material. Over-stressing will cause delamination or cracking of the weakest substrate.

5. The next step is to add a 3/8″ ribbon around the perimeter, about 3/4″ from the edge. This serves to seal against water (both PB Fast Set and PB Bond-240 are waterproof), dirt and other debris from entering between the laminated pieces.

6. Finally, place the 2 pieces together and weigh down with a heavy object. Be sure to also toenail in screws in several locations to keep your work aligned. When using PB Bond-240, do not move for at least 4 hours. Total cure is achieved in 12 hours. PB Fast Set will be fully cured in 30 minutes.

You can also check out our video on bonding to see how to properly edge bond and laminate Precision Board.

Don’t forget, we offer free technical support, so if you have any questions or would like to try a free sample, give us a call at: (800) 845-0745!

Commercial Truck Composite Cab – How It’s Made

Since 1999, Daycab Company, in Rockwood, TN, has been using composites to retrofit class 8 commercial trucks with sleeper cabs to day cabs. Why would anyone be interested in having the sleeper cab removed, and a composite day cab installed you ask? Once a commercial truck gets to a certain age, many fleets will not run them and purchase new ones. The old trucks are then auctioned off, and are popular among local farmers, short haul companies and dealerships. The large abundance means they sell quite cheap.[divider_padding]

Peterbilt semi truck with sleeper original sleeper installed

Peterbilt with sleeper removed and void showing

Precision Board rough shaped and glued together

When first speaking with Zach Martin, Product Design Specialist and Machine Programmer at Daycab Company, I was surprised to hear that commercial trucks were quite desirable with the sleeper cabs removed. The reasons for this vary: farmers like non-sleeper cabs because loading in grain or other products at a station might have a height restriction that a sleeper can’t meet. Removing a sleeper also saves on weight, which could instead be used for carrying more cargo.

Machining for male mold #1

Machining of male mold #2

Machining of male mold #3

Short haul companies have the same issue as farmers with the weight of the sleeper and cargo, and because they work in more localized areas (farms, rock yards and landscaping companies), they require better visibility out the back.

Daycab logo being machined into male mold

Precision Board male mold machining process complete

Sealer and Vinyl Ester applied and being sanded

Precision Board Plus HDU is used to manufacture the part used to fill the void created once the sleeper cab is removed. In this case, a Peterbilt semi truck is going to be converted. With the cab removed and the void exposed, Precision Board Plus HDU is machined using a 5-axis CNC router. This male mold is then coated with a sealer, vinyl ester, and is sanded. Red hard gelcoat and fiberglass is applied, to start the female mold. Plaster, fiberglass and resin complete the final stages.

Red hard gelcoat and fiberglass/resin coat (start of female mold)

Plaster, fiberglass, and resin coating to finalize making of female mold

Production ready female mold completed and pulled from Precision Board male mold

Once the female mold is completed, gelcoat and fiberglass is shot to make the final production part. The part is completed by being trimmed on a CNC machine, and is then painted and installed on the Peterbilt truck, providing a great looking finished product.

Gelcoat and fiberglass/resin shot into female mold

Production part pulled from female mold

Part completed by being trimmed on a CNC machine

Daycab Company is owned by Marc Wagers and converts over 1500 commercial trucks a year. They offer pre-built kits, can ship anywhere, and also have their own install shop. Check out additional details on their website at daycabs.com.

Part painted and installed on truck

Final product: Peterbilt Day Hauler

Ten Tips For Working With Precision Board Plus HDU

1. Carbide cutters are not mandatory when cutting Precision Board Plus. Because it is non-abrasive, Precision Board Plus can be cut with anything that cuts wood, but much easier.

2. To maximize CNC efficiency and cutting time, and to minimize dust and increase chips, the Onsrud Router Bit Selector Guide provides guidelines for proper router bits, speeds and feeds.

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3. After you have primed Precision Board Plus using FSC-88WB Primer/Filler, it is best to dry using a large shop fan. Do not place in the sun, as this will cause it to dry too fast resulting in blisters. The FSC-88WB Primer/Filler training video can be seen here.

4. Be sure to prime and paint all sides of your Precision Board Plus sign. Because it does not have grain, it has no beam strength and can be pulled in the direction of the drying paint.

5. When sandblasting Precision Board Plus, use a larger grit for larger texture. Similarly, a finer grit allows for finer texture. Aluminum oxide is used most often.

6. If something happens to your sign during the build process, it is possible to fix the damaged surface. FSC-360WB Crack Filling & Repair Putty dries quickly and sands easily, and can really save the day in the event of a mistake.

7. Optimize your Precision Board Plus purchase by bonding and laminating the excess using PB Fast Set or PB Bond-240 adhesive.

8. PB Resin can provide an eye-catching, ultra-smooth protective finish to your sign. Be sure to only add enough lettering enamel to the clear PB Resin that will hide text on a printed page.

9. If you do not have time to route in wood grain, or to sandblast, TSF-45 or PB Hardcoat are excellent time saving alternatives for simulating wood grain. Apply both directly to raw Precision Board Plus, eliminating the priming step.

10. If you have a question, call us! We offer free technical support and are happy to assist in any way we can.

Production in spite of me

Yesterday was one of those days when almost nothing went right. Tools broke and had to be replaced, pieces were missing and had to be fabricated, and I simply got things wrong. Not much headway was made through the day in the shop. We all have days like that from time to time. At least the weather was perfect for those drives to town. I tried my best to whistle while I worked.

The good news however was in the router room the router kept chugging away doing things right. The file was massive, the detail was tight and the file ran a long time but it ran flawlessly. While I was frustrated in the shop and running back and forth to town the machine kept working, and working and working. It worked through the night while I caught up on my sleep. This morning when I came out to the shop it was done, perfectly. I had no worries. This is what I love about my MultiCam. Even the tools were put back in their holders. It doesn’t get better than that.

The file was one I created in EnRoute last week. Since I posted the mantle project here I changed things up a little and added a few more pieces for the bottom and top of the mantle. It now covered a full 4×8′ sheet of 1″ thick 30 lb Precision Board, wasting little material. Tomorrow we’ll glue the pieces into place and then build the rest of the new fireplace front around it.

Stay tuned for pictures of the progress…

-dan

Published with permission from precisionboard.blogspot.com. Source.

Mantle routing file

Yesterday the temporary floor which we worked on to build the ‘London roofline’ came down. I could then size up exactly how I would build the new fireplace facade. After looking things over I decided I would use a wood frame for the bulk of the construction and welded steel for the bits around the fireplace opening. All will be covered with a layer of sculpted concrete. I fastened a piece of plywood to the center portion of the fireplace and hung the family crest as a point of reference. Everything would be scaled to this. Then I framed in the mantle using 3/4″ plywood. I will glue the routed 30 lb Precision Board over this form.

I then used the wooden mantle form to create a 1/4″ plywood pattern in two halves. It is just a hair under 11 feet wide. I took a picture of this pattern to create the vectors I needed by simply tracing it out. My client requested ‘genuine’ Old English lettering for the pub name.

I did the Lettering in Illustrator but it could have been done in EnRoute. I then brought the vectors into EnRoute to begin creating the reliefs. Since my board (and router) are only eight feet long I needed to break the file into sections to route. I drew a box and brought the bottom corners in to the angle of the bend. I also did an 0.7″outline of the mantle shape to enlarge the mantle front enough to put a 1/2″ top and bottom piece of Precision Board on the mantle. I’ll carve those in place with the die grinder. I deleted the original smaller mantle shape and used the jigsaw tool to create the three pieces of the mantle front.

The text was then centered on the mantle.

I created the three flat reliefs at 0.4″ height. The I imported the horizontal sandblasted wood grain bitmap from my TEXTURE MAGIC collection. It stretched out to 12 feet without difficulty. I also stretched it out vertically to fit the mantle in a section of grain I liked. It was applied with a value of 0.2″

The lettering has a 0.3″ border. I first created a relief using this border vector. This was merged highest with the mantle pieces. Lastly the bevelled lettering is added to the relief.

The tool pathing was done with a 3/8″ ball nose bit for the rough pass and a 1/8″ ball nose bit for the final.

I’ll route the pieces in the next days, and then install next week.