Designing Enclosure

[zuesowns]

The only thing you should be aware of is having an enclosure at ground level, if you can avoid that, it's such a hassle to clean and even view your reptiles.

I am thankful that my second enclosure I built had a high enough stand that I could view and maintain the enclosure without laying on the floor!

 

[Virides]

View attachment 199499View attachment 199497View attachment 199498

My Work will be getting a water Cutter in a few weeks, i'm thinking of using perspex doors and cutting the holes for hinges + Locks with the new machine so i don't crack the panels if i were to drill them. i know glass would be ok for the smaller sections but i'm a bit worried about the larger ones. especially with small kids playing in the house the last thing i need is to carry spare glass panels in the spare room for when (not if) the kids smash the glass.

unless y'all can suggest a door material better than glass or perspex?

As long as these are to be swing doors and not sliding doors, toughened glass would be a viable option here.

If you were interested in using our handles I can give you the hole distance requirements and buying in bulk we can come to a special order price for them - Virides - Stylish Enclosure Enhancements

 

[mysteryman]

being 1.8m tall i dont think i could put it on a stand and still get it in a doorway, but a good thought.

Virides - thanks for the offer i would love to buy some of those handles, will be in contact when the time comes.

 

[woody101]

Wow looking good mate cant wait to see it with the reps in it how long did it take to build ?

 

[jham66]

That is looking good Peter! All done in one weekend? Is it built in sections so you can carry it in piece by piece and construct in its final resting place? If not, then I hope there are no corners!!.... LOL never fun moving large items into or around houses!!

Can't wait for the next pics...

 

[mysteryman]

the whole thing is made in 2 halves, but they are still pretty heavy. the lounge room is straight through the garage door so access wont be a problem.

build time was half a day on saturday and a few hours monday night, i tried to work on sunday but the mrs pulled her mothers day rank on me. (keep in mind the built time didn't include cutting the pieces to size, bunnings did that for me)

i'd be more than happy to help others with their plans for making enclosures as i love working on cad and stuff like that. also with the water cutter coming soon i can cut panels to size much faster and easier than bunnings could

basically i started with my shape as per my original post and then added the material thicknesses in plus taking into account where panels would overlap and join. then i got all my cut sizes off the drawing and added the depth of 600mm. i have a nesting program so i put a list of all my panel sizes into it as well as the sheet size and it shows me the best way to cut it out of the sheets as well as telling me how many sheets i need.

i just handed the nesting pages to the guy at bunnings and away he went.

View attachment Cutting layouts.pdf

see pdf for example of my nesting program

just pm if anyone wants help with this sort of stuff

 

[Virides]

i'd be more than happy to help others with their plans for making enclosures as i love working on cad and stuff like that. also with the water cutter coming soon i can cut panels to size much faster and easier than bunnings could

It also means a far easier way to do dove tails and thus a much stronger joint.

 

[mysteryman]

ahhh virides i can tell u appreciate water cutters nearly as much as i do, we may have to work together on a few projects me thinks

 

[melluvssnakes]

Can't wait to see how this one turns out when it's occupents are in there.

 

[Virides]

ahhh virides i can tell u appreciate water cutters nearly as much as i do, we may have to work together on a few projects me thinks

Happy to help out

 

[Just_Plain_Nuts]

while we are on machine appreciation , i'll have a cnc machine please

 

[Virides]

while we are on machine appreciation , i'll have a cnc machine please

My wish list:

3D FDM Prototyping Printer
CNC Router
5D Waterjet/Laser

so who wants to lend me $1 500 000? lol

 

[mysteryman]

Verides, good news there is a water cutter supplier in melbourne selling a 3m x 6m machine for $240,000. So u might not need $1,500,000 after all

Imagine how many snake handles u could cut out of a sheet that size

 

[Virides]

Is it 5D?

5D being Left, Right, Up/Down, Pitch and Roll

 

[mysteryman]

add 35k for the 5 Axis head and u got it

 

[melluvssnakes]

Hey how is this set of enclosures going? Would love to see the finished project all set up properly

 

[mysteryman]

Still waiting on a spare minute to finish making the doors, water cutter has arrived and working well so completion should be soon

 

[jham66]

How will the water cutter go with cutting melamine? I know it will cut it neatly, but will the residual water cause a problem with the timber? Most of the stuff that Bunnings sell is MR not HMR Melamine (even though their signs stated otherwise, no signs now....) so I think it is OK with splashes, but not sure about cut surface exposure.

Are you cutting the glass with the water cutter? and sliding or hinged door??

Keen to see the pics too!

 

[Virides]

How will the water cutter go with cutting melamine? I know it will cut it neatly, but will the residual water cause a problem with the timber? Most of the stuff that Bunnings sell is MR not HMR Melamine (even though their signs stated otherwise, no signs now....) so I think it is OK with splashes, but not sure about cut surface exposure.

Are you cutting the glass with the water cutter? and sliding or hinged door??

Keen to see the pics too!

I have been told by our Water Jet provider that woods can be cut if they are coated to aid in reduced water damage. Dense woods like hardwoods (specifically tight grain) don't need to be coated. Alternatively the Melamime can be laser cut leaving a burnt edge.

 

[Samee]

Update (from my wife's phone)

Here guys have a squize at progress so far. I'm pretty stoked