[APD] RE: Etching (polycarbonate, tank lids)

["Eric Wahlig" <ewahlig at earthlink_net>]

Scott, you asked: "Ribs? Can you elaborate?"

These are the box channels that are spaced about 7 or 8 mm apart and run
the length of the sheet. The sheets come in 45 foot lengths by 4 feet wide
when you buy them in bulk from a manufacturer like GE. My guess is because
that length fits conveniently into a truck trailer.  I get the scraps and
small stuff cut roughly to the size I need  from a local greenhouse
builder. He sells it by the square foot but has a 4 square foot minimum.
So, the smallest piece he sells is 1 foot  section sawed off of a 45 foot
long piece and its 4 feet wide. Now a 1' x 4' section can be cut in half to
make 2 tank lids for a 15 or 20H tank but the ribs/channels are running
along the short dimension of 1 foot and this makes for a very flexible lid
as the cat found out when he jumped on it! It didn't break but splashed
water everywhere. Lets say I've got a 120 gal. tank. Then I want to get a
piece that is 4 feet long in the same direction as the channels run which
means I would get a 4 foot piece which would be 4' x 4' and cut it in half
along the channels (rip cut). If I got a 2' piece it would also fit the
tank because it would be 2' x 4' and cost half as much but it would be
structurally weaker as the ribs/channels would run across the short
dimension. I think you posted a link to a picture of this stuff a while
back; probably in the archives somewhere.

---Eric



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