> On Mar 21, 2016, at 1:02 PM, Doug Ingraham <d...@dustyoldcomputers.com> wrote:
>
> A friend mentioned that there was a thread about the card guides in an 8a
> or 8e chassis but I was unable to locate it so I am posting this as a new
> thread as it has more relevance than just specifically those card guides.
>
> Nylon is hygroscopic. Hygroscopic means it has the ability to absorbs
> water. As nylon ages it drys out. When nylon dries out it shrinks and it
> becomes brittle. If a nylon part has not yet cracked or been damaged by UV
> it can be restored to almost like new simply by boiling it in water for 15
> to 20 minutes. Boiling will force water back into the material and it will
> expand and soften.
Neat.
> ...
> Unfortunately there are no adhesives that will adhere to nylon long term so
> it is not possible to repair broken nylon parts in a usable manner.
True. But can you weld it (with a heat gun and nylon filler -- the way is
routinely done with polyethylene)?
> Nylon
> while cheap and easy to injection mold was probably not the best choice for
> card guides. But then who would ever have expected these machines to still
> be coveted 40 years after manufacture.
One possible consideration (apart from cheap and easy to manufacture) is that
nylon is self-lubricating, a useful property for guides that have sliding
contact with the card.
Some 3d printers (not the very cheapest but still moderately priced ones) will
handle nylon.
paul
