Of the various forms of fastening and attaching pieces of delrin together, there are various prose and cons to each method. One of the benefits of heat staking is that it is a very fast process, just putting a peg in a hole and holding them together for 30 seconds under intense heat, and then you’re set. Another pro is that the two pieces are very securely fastened together, they wouldn’t wiggle, eventually fall apart or allow any movement, which is good for a solid and still project. Yet it can also be a drawback seeing as the two pieces are melded together and thus have no ability to move or be taken apart, unlike a hinge or another means of fastening, should it be necessary in the project. The whole thing would have to be remade. Another con is that the machine can occasionally melt the piece outside where its supposed to, sometimes resulting in distortion.
The pros and cons of piano wire fastening, by means of a drill and arbor press, are very similar to those of heat staking. The pro of this method is that the pieces conjoined in this manner have the ability to move and shift, allowing the piece to change position as necessary. Yet this can also be a draw back because if you’re looking to have a sturdy and supported frame, there is the chance that the frame would shift or move, rendering it the exact opposite of what you want. It is also a much more time consuming because you have to change the drill press twice so that you have half of the fastening in a snug fit and the other in a press fit, using the arbor press.
The pros for using bushings are that you can secure cylindrical or rectangular pieces in an efficient manner and they are easily removable or redo-able should one use a snug or loose bushing. A con is that if you want the pieces to have a tight fit, it is difficult to get the correct measurements because using a laser cutter is never exact or precise which may lead the pieces to be too loose or tight or not even fit at all. Thus it would not be a very secure means of fastening. One might need tight bushings for a sturdier fixture that isn’t meant to taken apart easily or often. One might need loose bushing for something that is easy to assemble and disassemble such as a prototype or something that needs a part to be changed out regularly.
Untitled spreadsheet – Sheet1-10yy18z (this is the table for the small peg plate)
Untitled spreadsheet – Sheet1-2-1f0f8es (this is the table for the rod and bushings)
The discrepancies of the dimensions specified by solid works and the dimensions I measured is due to the tolerance, or percent error in the making of parts, resulting in a difference between the model and the real part. This is due to the laser cutting the materials at a slight angle from the top of the material to the bottom of the material, also known as a kerf with a value of .0025 mm. Knowing this information means one must be cautious when using the measurements on solid works because they won’t always be accurate, resulting in a loose, snug or tight fit depending on the cut.
