Hi, I was thinking of making some BC plates out of lexan, but I was wondering if anyone has tried this or if it would work. I think that if I use thick enough lexan it would work, but my mom didn’t think so.
Are you thinking about cutting it out of a solid block or attaching two straight pieces?
idk about strength but they would sure be nice for grinds;)
We’ve had the opportunity to play with some lexan (about tenth inch thick stuff) at our school. From what we’ve seen with the thin stuff is it’s pretty bendy, but I’m not sure if this would be the same for thicker lexan (like 1/4 or 1/2 inch thick).
My guess is it would flex too much when ridden, but it is still an interesting idea.
I’m not sure it’s a very good idea. It would be good for grinding, but if you keep grinding for too long it would start to melt and warp because of all the friction. Might as well give it a try though, how much could it cost?
Grindplates are made out of lexan and they don’t melt when you grind alot.
Hmmmmmm… good point. I say go for it.
Edit:Wouldn’t the axel turning cause a lot of friction? I’m pretty sure the constant turning would warm up the plates a bit.
k, i don’t think lexan is too much, I made a 1 pound battle bot out of it and it was pretty thick, id say at least 1/4 inch. the whole sheet was bendy, but I think ill try to find a sheet of 1/2 or 3/4 inch thick. im thiking of ataching to peices together to do it.
miles
ps. does anyone know where 2 buy lexan:p
Not at all, the plates are attached to the axle so the axle is not spinning inside them. All of that friction is in the bearings…
So are the space shuttle windows, they certainly dont melt during launch or reentry.
Lexan is very brittle, so they could not be made only out of lexan, they maybe could have lexan on the bottom or something (I don’t know why) but otherwise it seems like it would not work out well, they don’t make angle lexan as far as I know, and for a good reason.
I think you are thinking of acrylic (plexiglass), which is brittle and does shatter. Lexan, though, is (nearly) impossible to break. You can bend the crap out of lexan and it will just spring back too it’s original shape. I don’t think that breakage would be an issue with some lexan bc plates.
But getting an angled piece, as you said, would be very difficult. You can bend thinner lexan in a break without any issues, but 1/2" thick stuff probably needs some special treatment (like applying heat?) to get a nice angle on it.
Another approach may be to just take two flat pieces and use miracle glue to make your own angled piece, but then you are at the mercy of a breakage at the joint. Maybe they could be melted together instead? Someone needs to do some research and try to make some of these things, I think it’s an awesome idea!
Lexan, acrylic, perspex and plexiglas are all the same thing just with different names. To get it to bend properly you would need to evenly apply a lot of heat (I think about 150c) for a minute or so, but to do this it can’t be that thick because it would go all wierd at the bend. You could bend a thin piece and then glue some thicker bits to that. I would just use some thick brackets and glue the lexan to the bottom of it.
Using 1/2" lexan you could very easily use two flat sheets, glue (using plastic cement that melts the surfaces together) and also drill, tap & bolt the two faces together as well. It’ll be a strong enough material, if they break anywhere it’ll be the join.
Loose.
here is one problem: grip.
Lexan is flat plastic and if it gets wet, it will be slippery. Other than that it seems perfect. Maybe you could drill holes or something to give more grip.
Also, Lexan is not plexiglass or acrillic. Lexan is bulletproof and blastproof. It also will not melt.
griptape.
good point.
it’s called griptape!
how bendable is lexan? like 5mm of the stuff
Lexan can be bent with medium temperature, from a heat gun or torch. Just be sure that you dont heat it too much, otherwise it will boil and become fragile. I’m not sure how Lexan would work for BC plates… obviously it’s softer than metal or even carbon fiber.
Plexiglas is acrylic. Solvents can make it brittle. Lexan is polycarbonate. Think football helmets. It will melt since it is a thermoplastic. Either material should be drilled with drills that are designed for cutting plastic to avoid stress cracks. A local plastic supply house should have some Lexan and the equipment to bend it for you. It seems that once the lexan has some wear it would have high friction. Is that desirable or a detraction? The gluing idea sounds appropriate.