In my desire to see how the trusses would turn out, I hurried the assembly of the prototype without the use of a jig. So I placed a printout of the truss on a piece of hardwood and clamped the pieces together using the printout as a guide and applied the solvent. What I discovered was that laserjet toner runs when it comes in contact with the solvent. Since I had clamped the pieces against the printout, it resulted in the other side of my truss turning black. So a jig is a definite must. However, I might consider trying to see if acetate is stable when in contact with the solvent. If so, I could create a printout on clear acetate and simply have the printed side facing down so the toner never comes in contact with the solvent. I don't think it will work as the acetate is probably some form of a hydro carbon just like the toner.
Another lesson was that it isn't necessary to score the styrene clear through the other side. In fact, that's absolutely not what you want to do because it will cause the edges to form a raised lip on the side where you score. This was definitely contrary to what I had expected to happen. I guess styrene has different properties than wood. After several attempts, I discovered scoring the styrene by a sub millimetre trench with the exacto knife was more than adequate. You just have to be patient when bending the styrene plastic so it will create a clean straight edge. Apply steady and constant pressure on the opposite side of the scored line until the plastic breaks away.
Lastly, the initial platform was created by cutting the styrene into 2" strips and gluing them together to form a longer strip. A problem can arise if not all the strips are exactly 2" wide. You have to sand the edges where the pieces connect to remove any obvious bumps. I discovered it was easier to glue three styrene sheets end to end and then cut out a 2" wide strip. This made for less sanding and cleaner looking edges.
Another lesson was that it isn't necessary to score the styrene clear through the other side. In fact, that's absolutely not what you want to do because it will cause the edges to form a raised lip on the side where you score. This was definitely contrary to what I had expected to happen. I guess styrene has different properties than wood. After several attempts, I discovered scoring the styrene by a sub millimetre trench with the exacto knife was more than adequate. You just have to be patient when bending the styrene plastic so it will create a clean straight edge. Apply steady and constant pressure on the opposite side of the scored line until the plastic breaks away.
Lastly, the initial platform was created by cutting the styrene into 2" strips and gluing them together to form a longer strip. A problem can arise if not all the strips are exactly 2" wide. You have to sand the edges where the pieces connect to remove any obvious bumps. I discovered it was easier to glue three styrene sheets end to end and then cut out a 2" wide strip. This made for less sanding and cleaner looking edges.
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