Microlighters

I was wondering what would be a good material to use to cut a new face plate for the pod in a trike? Aluminium would be an overkill, I guess. Rather something light, durable, splash-water-proof, strong enough to hold the instruments (planning on the MGL XTreme) and switches, easy to work with and reasonably priced. The current face plate is some sort of fibreglass covered with a self-adhesive foil.

Thanks!

Cheers,

V.

hey v

What about PERSPEX i know u get differnt colours not sure about the thickness though

The face needs to become part of the structure for strength. Remove the face from an Aquilla pod and it becomes very floppy. Perspex is a no-no as it cracks and breaks very easily. The original face is thermoformed and is strong due to it becoming 3 dimensional having a lip. 2mm Aluminium is the best alternative when you take cost into consideration. It's strong and becomes lighter due to the cut-outs for instruments and it can be painted. If you have an unlimited budget then carbon fibre will do the trick just fine.

V, aluminium not an overkill. I replaced the thermoplastic one with brushed stainless steel 0.5mm sheet, drew a template and had all the holes lazer cut.

That was for once and for all the end of cracking etc.

I bolted small aluminium angles to the back of the plate with SS hex bolts and that's bolted to the housing.

The sheet and lazer cutting cost R 120.00.

Thanks! Aluminium it is then! I'm going to start making cardboard templates now

Hi guys

I am in the market for a new pod face plate.Anyone know where I
can source the require aluminium sheets? Based in Centurion, PTA.

regards

kloot piloot wrote:V, aluminium not an overkill. I replaced the thermoplastic one with brushed stainless steel 0.5mm sheet, drew a template and had all the holes lazer cut.

That was for once and for all the end of cracking etc.

I bolted small aluminium angles to the back of the plate with SS hex bolts and that's bolted to the housing.

The sheet and lazer cutting cost R 120.00.

Hi kloot piloot,

Waar het jy die lazer cutting laat doen en materiaal gekoop, moet vir my 'n nuwe paneel maak.

Dankie
Jaco

Lazer wise, 012 804 6081, 410 Asitelene Str, Silvertondale. They also supply stainless steel sheet, alternatively buy sheet from VRN Metals in Waltloo, 012 803 2310.

Thanks for the suggestions. I fetched my new alu face-plate from the laser cutters (KMG Cape Town) today. I'm very impressed with the result, the cost and the help from their draughtsman who polished up my drawings.

Cheers,

V.

V wrote:Thanks for the suggestions. I fetched my new alu face-plate from the laser cutters (KMG Cape Town) today. I'm very impressed with the result, the cost and the help from their draughtsman who polished up my drawings.

Cheers,

V.

picture please

Grumpy wrote:picture please

Got a bit more soldering to do still ...

V wrote:I'm very impressed with the result, the cost and the help from their draughtsman who polished up my drawings.

Hi V

My dash is in need for some mods as well.

What was the total cost for plate, cutting etc. Did you pay for the plate per square used or did you have to buy a big piece and sit with the waste ??

Very nice V are you gonna paint it??

Hi Low Level,

Low Level wrote: What was the total cost for plate, cutting etc. Did you pay for the plate per square used or did you have to buy a big piece and sit with the waste ??

Paid a few Rands short of R250.00. That included the assistance of the draughtsman, the material (3mm aluminium - for some reason they couldn't do 2mm) and the cutting. I just got the ready item, not off-cuts or waste. (I did 'liberate' a few pieces from their waste-bin to try the brushing on.) Am not sure how they worked out the price, but I was happy.

I used qcad (free) to make my drawings. It saves in .dxf format that can be loaded into AutoCAD and any other mainstream CAD application. The draughtsman was also happy that he didn't have to start from scratch.

Cheers,

V.

Grumpy wrote:Very nice V are you gonna paint it??

Thanks. No, I brushed the surface. Painting aluminium is a pain (been there, done that on several Land Rovers . Also my cut-outs are a very tight fit and a layer of paint would cause havoc.

Cheers,

V.