I have experimented with Sintra and other expanded PVC's or PVCX (all very similar).



I was able to get quite a bit of free 1/4" scrap from a few sign shops for practice. I recommend you do the same as the learning curve is kind of steep.



First, only the 1/4" offers any significant weight savings over plywood. 1/2" plywood and 1/2" Sintra weigh the same - this info is available online if you care to look it up. For cage's of moderate size (racks are a different story) I think it is worthwhile to learn how to use the 1/4" because of this weight issue.



I experimented with two different solvents to test surface to edge bonds and surface to surface bonds. One solvent was standard PVC pipe cement, the other was one of the IPS Weld-On products. It was a water thin solvent that is injected along joints with a syringe. I'll have to look up the specific product and post another response.



In all cases the total surface area of the bond was held constant.



For surface to surface bonds (or overlap bonds) either solvent created an extremely strong joint within minutes. Strong enough that the bond was stronger than the sheet itself.



For surface to edge bonds the bonds were easily broken with my fingers, even if I allowed them 24 hours curing time. This is due to the porous nature of the PVCX interior.



There is one other type of Weld-On product worth trying. It's one of the ones that comes in the caulk type gun and, I believe, is used by Boaphile.



So to utilize the strength of surface to surface bonds one would have to do a lot of creative bending during cage construction. That was not something I wanted to get into.



What I experimented with next was adding a mechanical joint in conjunction surface to edge joint.



To make a long story short, what showed the most promise were small rivets. If I riveted two pieces of PVCX together and then used the low-viscosity solvent injected along the edge, I ended up with an incredibly strong joint.



Unfortunately I never got past the experimental phase of this.



The problem I had with rivets is that the smallest 1/8" rivets (at least those that were commonly available) caused the PVCX to flair slightly if they weren't centered perfectly. I think the 1/8" would work if you were very careful while drilling your piolet holes.



If you care to experiment with this, I recommend special ordering 3/32" rivets. Make sure they are all aluminum and just slightly longer than 1/4".



Other things to experiment with are:



1) Different types of prepping of the cut edges for edge to surface bonds.



2) One of the caulk-type solvent welds.



3) Thermal welds (expensive start up costs)



4) Structural joints such as dados or rabets.



I've got to run. I'll post more info later.





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Does anyone have any experience using Sintra plastic in cage fabrication? Sintra is an expanded PVC plastic sheet. I've been told that you can cut it and rout it with woodworking tools, as well as glue it and screw it. It's lighter than plywood and comes in various thicknesses and colors. I looked at some samples at a local plastic fabricating shop, and the stuff looks very similar to the material on my Boaphile Plastics cages. It prices out very reasonably. A custom cage out of black Sintra, 36x18x12 with a drop down acrylic front door would cost me less than 50 bucks in materials. I'm seeing all positives using this plastic, but if anyone has experienced less than satisfactory results, I'd like to hear about it....thanks in advance.

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