Lens glue

[Hemlock_Mike]

I need to "glue" my new ND8 lens into a plastic holder. I DON'T want to use super glue - NO WAY. What do you guys use ??

Mike

 

[Kenom]

I use common 5 minute epoxy found at any hardware store. I really love the toothpaste cap filter idea.

 

[Hemlock_Mike]

Kenom --
I like that - beats duct tape !!
I'm making a filter holder to attach to the front of my LPM-1 power meter. I've decided to use magnets to hold the assembly in position for easy removal. Each filter / attenuator will look like a microscope slide with the filter mounted into a machined pocket.
I'll only need the smallest spot of glue with epoxy.

Thanks --

Mike

 

[stevetexas]

I used an o-ring that fit the filter VERY snugly, then superglued another larger o-ring around the first one, then sandwiched it all between 2 copper washers (one on each side)with a hole the same diameter as the filter. sort of looks like a flat hamburger to give you some idea...

I used a small amount of glue and fortunately didn't "haze" or get any glue on the filter. I'd assume that if you did, acetone wouldn't hurt the glass or alter it's filtering characteristics.

 

[pseudonomen137]

For a permanent setup I agree with epoxy. For removable things though there's this odd putty like stuff I got in the optotronics optics set, and later found at a local Home Depot. Apparently its marketed in some places as Blu Tack. And then again, for a semi-permanent setup there's always elmers washable glue... but that's a bit of a stretch (I like to use it for things like holding the collimator plates in place on CNIs. Those plates seem to get loose easily enough, but I don't want to epoxy them in any position permanently. A small bit of elmers school glue does the trick for me)

 

[Kenom]

just a quick lesson on making your own thermal epoxy.

I don't know if you've looked for thermal epoxy to purchase but the stuff is like gold and almost impossible to find. I havn't been able to find anything with the exception of actic silver thermal epoxy. (I use this stuff as it's the best.) But when you have run out of arctic silver and need to epoxy something down that needs to have thermal transmission characteristics here is a simple do it yourself recipe.

Find yourself a epoxy with a high viscosity. I myself use a 5 minute epoxy that I bought at my work from permatex. I wouldn't recommend using a 60 second epoxy as you have to mix in other stuff to give it the thermal properties.

You will also need a thermal paste or grease. The paste or grease you use is not really the issue other than it's thermal properties. Hence the reason I use arctic silver. Thermal efficiency is different than electrical efficiency. Silver works best then copper then aluminum. I've no idea the composition of the White thermal grease so can't comment on it's thermal properties.

Once you have both the thermal paste and the epoxy you will mix the epoxy according to the manufacturers instructions. 1 strip 1inch long of the activator and 1 inche long strip of the hardener (can't remember the two parts names right now as mine are in a tube you just depress.) Mix the two together and you will get a circle of epoxy about the size of a quarter. Now honestly if this is the size your going to have it is going to be waaay to much for most applications however I am using this as a size comparison so that you can get an idea of how to make this. Once you have your quarter sized mixture of epoxy you will mix in the exact amount of size worth of thermal paste. one quarter size + one quarter size. Mix the two together and you have Thermal epoxy for use on anything you want. I recommend using smaller sizes for use.

 

[pseudonomen137]

Interesting idea. I normally use the same stuff I think you're talking about:
http://svc.com/arsiltherad.html
I wonder how well the homebrew stuff would compare :-/

As for the white grease, I think its ceramic based stuff. Won't work as well as the metal ones like silver but its cheaper and will suffice for non-critical applications.

 

[Kenom]

I've used the homebrewed stuff to epoxy Luxeon led's onto a heatsink. It works very well for simple jobs like that and since I don't have the ability to test it's thermal properties I've no idea how effective it is.

 

[pseudonomen137]

Hehe, just two days ago I was using that arctic silver epoxy to stick some white K2 stars on a TEC. Fun stuff

 

[Kenom]

Now were off topic. LOL I just ordered my first Cree xr-e p4 for a dorcy metal gear mod. I will be using the Arctic Silver epoxy for that one instead of the homebrewed stuff.