ASSEMBLING THE INDIVIDUAL KINEMATIC COMPONENTS INTO A COMPLETED COUPLING IS USUALLY DONE BY SECURING THEM IN POSITION WITH A HIGH STRENGTH EPOXY GLUE.
THESE HIGH STRENGTH INDUSTRIAL QUALITY GLUES ARE USUALLY PACKAGED IN VERY LARGE VOLUMES THAT ARE NOT AT ALL PRACTICAL FOR SMALL PROJECTS.
FOR MIXING INDUSTRIAL GLUES THE PROPORTIONS OF CATALYST TO POLYMER IS QUITE SMALL SO THE MIXTURES ARE CRITICAL AND MUST BE CAREFULLY WEIGHED OUT.
WE CONVINCED THE MANUFACTURER OF OUR FAVORITE EXTREME STRENGTH EPOXY GLUE TO PACKAGE IT IN SMALL TUBES FOR OUR CUSTOMER'S CONVENIENCE. TO MAKE IT MORE PRACTICAL, THE CONSTITUENTS ARE FORMULATED SO THAT TWO STRIPES OF EQUAL VOLUME ARE LAID DOWN AND THOROUGHLY MIXED TO PRODUCE A GLUE. THIS WILL CURE IN ONE DAY, AT ROOM TEMPERATURE, TO HAVE THE EXCEPTIONAL SHEER STRENGTH OF 3000 POUNDS PER SQUARE INCH, OR 21KG PER SQUARE CENTIMETER. THE EPOXY GLUE CAN BE ORDERED AS PART #: EG3000.
WHEN MIXING THE EPOXY, SQUEEZE OUT THE TWO STRIPS OF AT LEAST ONE AND ONE HALF INCHES (38MM) LONG, EVEN IF YOU ONLY NEED A SMALL AMOUNT! THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE A SMALL ERROR IN SMALL AMOUNTS OF THE CONSTITUENTS WILL HAVE A DIRE EFFECT ON THE RESULTING PROPERTIES OF THE GLUE. ON THE OTHER HAND, A SMALL ERROR IN MUCH LARGER AMOUNTS OF THE TWO CONSTITUENTS WILL HAVE LITTLE EFFECT. YOU MAY REMEMBER FROM YOUR SCHOOL CHEMISTRY CLASS, THIS CONCEPT IS CALLED BARREL CHEMISTRY.
EPOXY GLUE IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH WATER EVEN WHEN IT IS FULLY CURED. KEEP THE LAYER OF GLUE BETWEEN THE KINEMATIC COMPONENT AND THE PLATFORM AS THIN AND UNIFORM AS POSSIBLE. USE ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL TO REMOVE ANY SURPLUS GLUE FROM AROUND THE KINEMATIC COMPONENTS WHILE THE GLUE IS STILL LIQUID. THIS WILL LIMIT THE EXPOSURE OF THE GLUE LINE TO THE ATMOSPHERE, REDUCING MOISTURE ABSORPTION.
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