Alternative Building Materials / Methods for Plasma Water Table

[Dustin407]

[QUOTE=NIC 77;955259 Let's keep thinking outside of the box.[/QUOTE]

This TS-1000 looks like a great solution for the problems we are seeing in the future.. Also what if there is some kind of chemical you can add into the resin while it is in the mixing stage (liquid) so that it is permanetly imbedded into the glass and resin to help stop the uv light and chemical repelants.. Many things are added to resin in boat construction can we add something along these lines that would not alter the kick off and not be harmful..??

Here is a link that I found to use UV cure/resin instead of two part epoxy.. This would reject all UV light because it is cured by uv but would also act as an epoxy. Im not sure if this is the correct stuff to use just some R&D to help our conversation.

http://www.artclayworld.com/Tips-Tec...structions.pdf

Also what if we dont use anything but fiberglass and resin. Lets let it take its natural course and deteriate over time how long would this take.... Boats last a very long time under harsh environments so my guess a plasma table fiberglass waterbed would have to at least last 3 years... So what build a new one after 3 years, I could make a fiberglass table in probably 12 hours ready to go... Or we could make a plug out of marine ply spray some mold release inside lay the glass resin inside pop it out when hard... Then you would have a mold for your next one however long it would last... What do you guys think about that....

[NIC 77]

This TS-1000 looks like a great solution for the problems we are seeing in the future.. Also what if there is some kind of chemical you can add into the resin while it is in the mixing stage (liquid) so that it is permanetly imbedded into the glass and resin to help stop the uv light and chemical repelants.. Many things are added to resin in boat construction can we add something along these lines that would not alter the kick off and not be harmful..??

Here is a link that I found to use UV cure/resin instead of two part epoxy.. This would reject all UV light because it is cured by uv but would also act as an epoxy. Im not sure if this is the correct stuff to use just some R&D to help our conversation.

http://www.artclayworld.com/Tips-Tec...structions.pdf

Also what if we dont use anything but fiberglass and resin. Lets let it take its natural course and deteriate over time how long would this take.... Boats last a very long time under harsh environments so my guess a plasma table fiberglass waterbed would have to at least last 3 years... So what build a new one after 3 years, I could make a fiberglass table in probably 12 hours ready to go... Or we could make a plug out of marine ply spray some mold release inside lay the glass resin inside pop it out when hard... Then you would have a mold for your next one however long it would last... What do you guys think about that....

Yes, good points.

I'm not sure the UV cured resin is UV resistant also. I can't find anywhere that says it's UV resistant after curing. Could it be like baking a loaf of bread, heat is good to bake the loaf, but after it's baked more heat makes it go crusty sooner?

I honestly don't know. Do you know for sure? It might be worth while sending a few e-mails to the manufacturers.

I think you're right about the so what? Mostly I think it's the colour deterioration that people worry about with the fiberglass anyway. It'd take alot of deterioration to start leaking.......

Fiberglass with UV resin and then painted with a marine fiberglass paint. I think that would work.

How long do you estimate an aluminum water table lasts?

[Dustin407]

How long do you estimate an aluminum water table lasts?

Well it would last a very long time if I would have seen the galvanic corrosion occuring at the bottom of the tank, but between the green tint in the water and only cleaning it once I didnt see it until after it was messed up... Mine is about 19 months old and is almost done... I have a new idea though that just came to me... The Alum. sides of the watertank is perfect but the bottom of it is not (basically where all the metal drops fall it is eating holes in the bottom). So what if we had removable tray that are built out of fiberglass that sit on top of the alum. bottom. That would stop the metal drops from resting on the alum. and would stop all galvanic corrosion. It would also allow you to pick up the fiberglass trays at the bottom with all the muck and **** and take them out to clean... ( they would look like an oven tray but out of fiberglass/epoxy) I already made up my mind to build these and still utilize my alum. watertable, its a quick fix for me and would be cheap and help in every way...

Here are some pics of my waterbed... During Construction and after...

[millman52]

If the slugs that drop to the bottom of the Alum tray have chilled pretty good by the time they make it there. I'd think properly prepared & primed aluminum & a good couple coats of one of the modern urethane automotive type paints would prevent the corrosion

[NIC 77]

Dustin,

How about a length of thin rubber mat? How hot do you figure it gets at the bottom of the water table? Hot enough to melt rubber? You might want to consider some options other than fiberglass as you already have a watertight table that is structurally sound.

If it does gets too hot at the bottom for rubber, how about a piece of heat resistant fabric of some kind? How about a welding blanket in the bottom of your tank? Put some weights on it to keep in in place.

I'm really just throwing out ideas here. I'm not an expert and I confess that I don't know as much about plasma as you do as I have yet to build my table.

Right now, I'm thinking my water table is going to be made out of plywood covered in fiberglass. I'd like to hear some more reasons why people might think it's a bad idea, and perhaps even some some suggestions for other alternatives.

I do think there are innovative ideas out there that are just waiting to be enacted. I'm guessing that most (all as far as I know) water tables have been built out of steel or aluminum because the people who typically make cnc plasma machines are good at working with steel and aluminum and it comes naturally to them to make the table in this way.

I could be wrong

[Boogiemanz1]

Wow, this post took off I think there are a number of solutions presented here As I stated earlier, I intend to build my tray with steel. I have a friend that does industrial coatings and their primary customer has them coat large oil field valves. We had intended to use an epoxy coating now I think I will bring up some of these parameters...........jb

[Dustin407]

All good ideas...

I know there is 100s of different types of materials and coatings that I could add to the bottom of the Alum. tank that would help stop corrosion. My main goal is to do this but also have trays that can be removed to dump out the gunk that will be collected in these trays overtime(cleaning process). So basically I would remove the slats that pop right out, then grab the tray which would be like 52" x 30" (3) or so clean the tray off and drop it back down onto the alum. This would help not only stop corrosion but accelerate the cleaning process tremedously, because these watertanks are a pain to clean...

[NIC 77]

Wow, this post took off I think there are a number of solutions presented here As I stated earlier, I intend to build my tray with steel. I have a friend that does industrial coatings and their primary customer has them coat large oil field valves. We had intended to use an epoxy coating now I think I will bring up some of these parameters...........jb

Heck yes, the two of you will probably be able to come up with some awesome ideas. Please share them!

All good ideas...

I know there is 100s of different types of materials and coatings that I could add to the bottom of the Alum. tank that would help stop corrosion. My main goal is to do this but also have trays that can be removed to dump out the gunk that will be collected in these trays overtime(cleaning process). So basically I would remove the slats that pop right out, then grab the tray which would be like 52" x 30" (3) or so clean the tray off and drop it back down onto the alum. This would help not only stop corrosion but accelerate the cleaning process tremedously, because these watertanks are a pain to clean...

Awesome idea. How about some baking sheets sitting on a rubber mat? That could cure the UV question for the bottom of the water table (for me anyway). What's the "gunk" like? Is it a fine silt or a coarse particulate? Could you use a fine mesh of some kind so the gunk comes out but the water stays in?

I use layer of aluminum foil in the bottom of my oven for this kind of thing. It makes the cleaning so much easier.