Stressed skin acrylic, can this be done?

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Title:	Stressed skin acrylic, can this be done?
Posted on:	10/7/2012 1:50:30 PM
Category	Please choose
Author	Jislizard
Status	Open
Views	1871
Replies	(0)


I have been googling and You tubing since I saw this kickstarter project http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1876366096/the-biodome-garden-project/posts I like the idea of having a waist high aquaponics (or even dirt garden) but the likelihood of the dome being available is slim. Anyway, an unsuspecting friend works in a shop which engraves acrylic sports trophies. I was thinking that he wouldn''t mind cutting out hundreds of slightly different triangles on his machine. I figured that the panels would be accurate and fast. He could add the tabs for a stressed skin design as well as the holes for the bolts/cable ties. Possibly even engrave the various lengths onto each side. If he also has a machine that can heat and bend the tabs to the correct angle then the whole thing might go together quite nicely. I figured that a bead of silicon sealer between the panes would help to waterproof the dome, give it a bit of ability to expand and contract and give it a bit of flexibility. However I have a feeling that the weight of the acrylic would cause the bottom course to crumble or crack. One idea would be to use thinner acrylic for the top sheets and thicker for the base but I would be interested to hear if this idea is worth pursuing or whether it is already known to fail. Nice website and forum, I love the pictures of others'' domes! Mark

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