Updated information on the Plastruct ABS cement:

I ran out and read the side of the label (I know a shock actually reading infromation on the product) Anyway the plastruct cemet is MEK (Methyl Ethyl Keytone) which at my local hardware store is $22 for a us quart (32 Oz). Plastructs is $5.00 for 4 oz. A large savings and I can reuse my old plastruct jar to keep the small amount I need at the work bench in.

Thought it might be interesting to everyone.

Yea, MEK is some good stuff.. however at my local homedepot they stopped selling MEK, they have this MEK Substitute. that also melts ABS. it's about 9.96 per qt. (acetone is about $7 per qt) I have been using MEK substitute... i wrote about it here
http://www.soliforum.com/topic/2646/tes … r-for-abs/
i like MEK for it's stickyness, it creats a more even slurry than acetone... my acetone slurry, it's not "ready to use" because abs settles on the bottom...  I really want people to start using this stuff.. it's sooo good.

Updated information on the Plastruct ABS cement:

I ran out and read the side of the label (I know a shock actually reading infromation on the product) Anyway the plastruct cemet is MEK (Methyl Ethyl Keytone) which at my local hardware store is $22 for a us quart (32 Oz). Plastructs is $5.00 for 4 oz. A large savings and I can reuse my old plastruct jar to keep the small amount I need at the work bench in.

Thought it might be interesting to everyone.

MEK and Acetone are both ketones. so they should both have a similar effect of melting the styrene in the ABS (acrylonytrile+butadiene+styrene)

raw acetone wicked into a tight joint will glue pieces together very well. you can mix ABS into the acetone if you need a bit thicker glue, for gap filling... but be careful as you could get too much acetone with a "gap filler" consistency glue and end up melting a hole in your model. lol! i have some babyfood jars with acetone in them that i stick scraps from prints in to dissolve till i need it. comes in handy and makes use of my scrap till someone comes up with a good way to recycle it back into filament. lol

The nice thing about it is that is free flowing like water, so you basically hold the 2 part together then apply the liquid on the seam, letting it flow on its own (down the seam (capillary action).  I use a hypo I was using to refill inkjet cartridges to apply the glue, it gives me better control and lets me get the needle in the tiniest of places.

CA glue or Cynoacrylate is an acrylic resin that polymerizes in the presence of water (or moisture).  This process produces a lattice like structure that holds the surfaces together. 

Acrylic glue or acetone, change the physical properties of the ABS plastic in order to form a fused bond between the two surfaces.  A completely different process that results in a stronger bond.

That said, I prefer ABS "slurry" because (A) it's cheaper (B) doesn't stick to my fingers as much (C) I don't neccesarily want a joint as strong as super glue, because having a stronger point in a piece often means a stress concentration at that point.

I ran out and read the side of the label (I know a shock actually reading infromation on the product) Anyway the plastruct cemet is MEK (Methyl Ethyl Keytone) which at my local hardware store is $22 for a us quart (32 Oz). Plastructs is $5.00 for 4 oz. A large savings and I can reuse my old plastruct jar to keep the small amount I need at the work bench in.

Thought it might be interesting to everyone.

Here is what I made just to print something large and see how the glue worked.  It kinda defeats the purpose of having a Raspberry Pi as the case is 10 times the size of the actual computer but I needed to print something large and after SI saw this on Thingiverse I had to give it a try.  I'll eventually smooth out the whole thing with Acetone and maybe paint it as you can see some of the joint lines.

For other colors, I guess you still have to make your own.  For this here is a thread on the benheck forums with some pics:

http://forums.benheck.com/viewtopic.php … mp;t=33302

Lastly, @Schieggster, I believe plastic models are typically polystyrene, but yes, Testors does specifically say their cement is good for ABS:

http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/tes/tes3502.htm

I want to know this too, I have some ideas I want to try, but I don't have my printer yet.  I was thinking of some tabs that would insert into both pieces with some Gorilla glue on them, so they stick good, then a nice finish to hide the merge lines.

From my experience with plastic models (80% positive it's ABS) the glue was an acetone based glue. This does melt the plastic together and makes a very strong bond. When put under stress, my models broke at the plastic bulk before they broke at the bond site.

if you don't want to mix your own glue, might I suggest something such as Testor's liquid cement (It's what I've used for ABS, when I ran out of Games Workshop glue).

So I have sen people here say glue (acetone with some plastic in a jar sprayed or briushed on) Solvent bonding? So hpow does this work? Do people have any good tips or ideas for seams/joints. Does say bonding to flush seams make for strong joint. same strength as the print?

I am looking to make a box 5 x 8 so I was going to print  5 by 4 of the box and join the 2 halfs. I was considering just a simple lap join tto line the parts up and glue. Or make the lap over hang enough and use screws and inserts and join them or make bosses on the outside and floor of the box and join them with screws,

Anyone have good tips or ideas for bonding larger parts together? What about results with threading into the ABS with screws? Any luck with pilot holes, sizes etc