TOOLING WITH ALDA For: Moldings short-run finished parts, prototype components, holding, fixturing, drill jigs, checking fixtures, injection, molds and extrusion dies, cast dies and molds for vacuum forming, punch-press dies, tracing and duplicating masters, building up and repairing hard-to-reach areas, mold repairs and alterations. Preparation: Preparation is possibly the most important process as with all engineering projects the best preparation results in optimum performance of the product. Depending on the application, the following procedures should be carried out. Contaminated components such as pumps, gear boxes, etc, should be sweated by heating to drive contamination to the surfaces. Fractures in castings need to be stabilized by drilling at the extremities to prevent propagation. A ‘vee’ should be formed along the fracture to approximately half the thickness of the casting for greater product contact at the fracture. All repair surfaces must be roughened, ideally by grit blasting or by grinding with a coarse wheel or disc. A file or wire brush may be used provided ‘white metal’ is revealed-this is essenial for a successful application. Fiberglass tape or expanded metal should be used to reinforce repairs or ridge voids which require to be repaired. All abrasive preparation should be followed by chemical cleaning to remove all traces of oil, grease, dust or dirt. The only product recommended for this is ALDA FAST CLEANER 2000. Application Notes: 1- The applicator provided should be used to press the material firmly onto the repair area to maximize surface contact and eliminate air entrapment. 2- Fiberglass tape or expanded metal used to reinforce a repair should be pressed firmly into the putty, forcing the putty through the voids achieving a totally encapsulated membrane. 3- With multi-layer repairs the cured surface of the previous layer should be lightly abraded and cleaned with Fast Cleaner 2000 prior to further applications. 4- In cold weather, i.e.5 C or below, warm the component to 20 C to ensure: I. Good adhesion and II. A realistics cure time Heat can be supplied by heat lamp or industrial heaters but direct flame should not be applied. 5- Smooth finishes can be obtained by the following methods: (a) by covering the uncured material with a polythene sheet and gently smoothing the surface by hand until the desired contours are achieved. The polythene sheet can be removed when the product is fully cured. (b) By using soap and water as a barrier between a clean applicator tool and the uncured material. 6- Drilling, tapping, turning or general machining can be achieved with conventional cutting tools. 7- To avoid bonding of Hi-tech compounds a ‘wet film’ silicone type release agent should be applied to the surface involded. Conventional grease can be applied with similar effect if the above is unavailable. 8- Cleaning of all hand tools should be carried out immediately after use with Fast Cleaner 2000.   PIPE REPAIR Force epoxy into the damaged area. Press PE Plastic plate over the filled area.  Reinforce repair area by trying the repair with the epoxy is cured.  Wrap the repair are with reinforcing mesh. Use steel clamps to reinforce repaires to large diameter pipes.     CRACK REPAIRS Drill Holes 3 mm. Large than the crack at either end of crack. Grind out the repair area for maximum adhesion. Fill the repair area with a putty knife with TITANIUM P. Reinforce the repair by applying tape over epoxy. Overcoat the epoxy/tape application with another coating of epoxy.     SHAFT REPAIR Dovetail the end of the worn area to lock the application into place. Finish undercutting by machining accordeon pattern. Fill the prepared area with necessary epoxy.   Machine the epoxy to the original dimensions of the shaft.  If necessary polish the shaft with abrasive paper. For more information you can send  e-mail us...