Silicone Glue Hinge (based on the Goop Hinge)

[colorex]

- Silicone Glue Hinge -
(based on the Goop Hinge)​

So, after hearing all about the beauty and wonder of the Goop hinges, and finding that Goop is not available where I live, I decided to try something similar. Enter the Silicone Glue:

Note: It's the one to the left, and it's not hotglue.

I got that even before I got my Bixler, but I never used it. Until now. I was bored cleaning my room, found a piece of (150 x 40 mm) scrap foam, and quickly cut it in half and beveled both sides. I then put a piece of tape on the flat side to keep it together while drying. Then I put a tread of silicone glue in the crack, at least a 3mm thick thread of glue. I ran my finger lightly through the crack to level out the glue. I let it dry for about 3 hours, and then I was surprised at the results.

The glue shrinks a fair bit, and it got a bit bubbly. But it was very strong.

After a little working back and forth, I could flex it 90 degrees to one side

And 180 degrees to the other side. I flexed it back and forth about 150 - 200 times quickly (shaking it) and it stayed intact.

The hinge was really tight. Only a little light would come through, no air.

I stretched it a fair bit, around 3-4 mm, and in a few seconds it was tight again.

To conclude the experiment, I had to see how far it would stretch before it ripped. I stretched it by slowly applying force - lots of force. When I stretched the gap to 8 mm, the glue started to lose integrity. Small holes started to form. But it wasn't until 11 mm that the glue stretched enough to compromise the hinge. At 13 mm the hinge separated completely.

I mentioned that I used lots of force. That is relatively speaking. Never is a foam parkflyer going to put enough stress on a hinge like this as to break it. It could probably be used in more than 1000 mm applications without problems.

In conclusion, this is definitely a useful trick that's worth looking into when scratchbuilding a foamie!

-colorex

 

[jetpackninja]

Awesome engineering Andre- I have also heard of people doing hot glue hinges similar to these.
I haven't tried one yet though

 

[colorex]

Awesome engineering Andre- I have also heard of people doing hot glue hinges similar to these.
I haven't tried one yet though

HAHAHA I like to do scientific descriptions of stuff sometimes.

When I first read your comment I didn't think hotglue was possible. But after a second thought, it might be doable as long as there is enough space for a thin sheet of glue, long enough to allow bending. But I trust the flexibility of cold silicone better than hotglue. Hotglue gets hard when it dries.

 

[jetpackninja]

right- I think we have come to trust the goop over the hotglue. I think the flexibility of the hot glue changes too much with variations in temerature. The trick with any of these is to thin the layer out. We put a bead right down the line on the top of the hinge and then thin it out with a popsicle stick of a finger.

 

[colorex]

Of course. The main intention of this post was to compare goop hinges to silicone hinges. This is the reference point for silicone. I'll try hotglue tomorrow.

 

[chanyote66]

For some reason i still cannot bring myself to trust glue in that way. I have done this a few times and then before flight I decided to add a layer of Fiber tape.

I guess for light 3d planes and indoor flyers its more mandatory to save weight. I fly a 800g FPV wing that the extra 2-3g of tape wont hurt.

 

[colorex]

For some reason i still cannot bring myself to trust glue in that way. I have done this a few times and then before flight I decided to add a layer of Fiber tape.

I guess for light 3d planes and indoor flyers its more mandatory to save weight. I fly a 800g FPV wing that the extra 2-3g of tape wont hurt.

Of course it won't hurt to add tape on a big plane. But it is unbelievably strong despite the looks.

 

[Fishbonez]

Cool Thread Andre. I have heard a lot about the Goop method but did not understand what to do. I am a visual learner and I am going to keep this thread in my favorites so I can refere to it

 

[colorex]

Cool Thread Andre. I have heard a lot about the Goop method but did not understand what to do. I am a visual learner and I am going to keep this thread in my favorites so I can refere to it

Thanks, I'm glad I can help people learn new things One does never learn enough!

Personally I would only use these hinges on planes below 400gr. But for all those who haven't tried it yet, make a hinge with scrap foam. You'll certainly be surprised!

 

[Fishbonez]

I think you are correct but like you have said before if you are scratchbuilding a parkflyer or maybe a wing I think it will look very professional

 

[colorex]

I think you are correct but like you have said before if you are scratchbuilding a parkflyer or maybe a wing I think it will look very professional

Oh yeah! I think this is better with long and thin ailerons - not short and wide. The wide ones put much more force on the hinge. The long ones spread the force out.

 

[Fishbonez]

Might be a good way to repair hinges as well