So one of the thoughts I had was to use the steel posts we have on 8ft centers. We could then use u-bolts to attach short sections of unistrut to the poles. We could then either use the extended stick out of the u-bolts or use spring nuts in the unistrut itself to attach the material to the posts.
On the sheet steel we can put hem’s on the leading edges to keep the sharp edges at bay…
There’s a large sheet of lexan / polycarb in the old Mach Shop area. It’s behind the bolts / nuts / etc hardware drawers. It’s marked as belonging to Automotive (Motorsports?).
We have 27 of the posts that have a round base, 12 more with a square base. Each post is 2 1/2 inches in diameter and 7 foot long.
As far as other dimensions go, the total distance from the Fire Wall (down by the Colchester Lathe) to the end of Plastics is about 70 feet. We should keep a 5 foot aisle between the Fire Wall and the Colchester for a safety exit. Then we should keep another 5 foot aisle by the Bandsaw to separate Machine Shop and Plastics, another safety exit. These two entrances /exits will limit access to our area, no short-cuts.
Even if we used 4x8 ft sheets of plexiglass as a barrier and stood them up on end, the posts would have to be separated every 4 feet down the line. We have more than enough steel posts in house to do this. If you want these steel posts better separate them out onto a pallet and place the committee name on them before they disappear.
How about if we purchase a sheet of Plexiglas and fence post brackets and create a mock up of one section? Maybe get a sheet of plywood or metal as well and we could try some variations. The materiel sheets can always be used for something else.
How about a 1 foot open gap at the bottom, 4x8 sheets of steel on their side, and 2x8 sheets of polycarbonate above? This gives room for ventilation, puts steel in the highest impact risk zone, and plastic viewing window from 5 to 7 feet above the ground.
Who will clean these? Will they be far enough away to avoid coolant and oil splashe
Have to clean from time to time during shop events maybe.
However, there’s an opportunity here as well. We should take the scariest looking chucks of metal we can find and embed them into the Plexi. On Halloween we can add some strawberry jam …
To buy the sheet metal to go from the bandsaw to the end of the colchester is about $230. That’s providing we go 4x8 on the sheets, laying long side down. The anchors & u bolts are $55. The plexiglass is the variable I haven’t looked too far into, I figure if we buy local, we will save a lot on shipping. Round about pricing online is about 100$ a sheet 4x8.
As far as cleaning them, I’d agree on the cleaning events. Perhaps after some committee meetings. They wouldn’t be hard to take down & put back up.
If we do it out of sheet metal, maybe do something like other fund raisers with bricks: Buy a brick and have your name inscribed. Say divide the cost of a sheet by 3 and have your name plasma cut, 5 names per sheet. Then it pays for itself and and raises money for Machine Shop.
Allied Plastics has been great to work with in the past when I’ve needed to buy for Committees. They’re not far from the space.
If I am recalling the discussion from the meeting correctly:
The basic idea was to have the first two feet from the floor to be free space for ventilation. No need for grills or chain mail down low as persons are not likely to crawl under a two foot barrier in order to short cut through the space. Then elevation from two foot to four foot be sheet metal supported by either tracks or drop in retention slots on the vertical poles bolted to the floor, either 9 on 8 foot centers or 18 on four foot centers, if needed to prevent floppiness of the sheets. Then the elevation from four foot to six foot would be plexiglass to afford the see thru barrier. This allowed a certain simplicity as 4x* foot pieces of plexiglass could be cut in half long wise to cover in only 4 sheets, same idea with the sheet metal.
The plexiglass would be readily removable to clean away from the machines, if hosing was a best way to clean. The metal sheets could also be readily removed for back of machine maintenance, but those would not usually be cleaned. Seems that only 4 - 4’x8’ sheets of each material and some attachment hardware could do the job. There is only barrier from 2 to 6 feet, so not much ventilation/cooling barrier. Easier to manage the cleaning than the curtain system, and should look sharper as well.
Regards,
Bob
Forgive me for not taking the time to read the full backlog of responses, but I want to go on record against a see-through partition solution.
I think it sounds great from a tour perspective, but if the machine is up against the partition, it sounds like a safety distraction from the machine operator’s standpoint. Well meaning or not, when a lathe, mill, etc. is running, you do not need to be given the opportunity to steal a glance at a visitor’s nice rack on the other side of the plexi. That’s how appendages get lost. Focus on the part.
If this has already been discussed, I apologize for the side-track… safety third!
A reminder to those who may read this, you may not work on a non-member’s car in the automotive area. The rules only allow you to work on your vehicle, and if they aren’t a member then it doesn’t matter how nice their offroading setup is, you can’t touch it.
If you want to go down the completely overbuilt but awesome route, 6’x8’x1" thick lemonade yellow acrylic for sale, flat ship rate for a bulk order:
Whoa, those are so cool but at 213lbs/sheet and $300/sheet…
Personally think clear plastic, lubricants, and metal chips are a bad combination. Things get scratched up pretty fast and look ratty really fast.
IMO, a 4 foot high painted plywood/metal/opaque plastic (4’ x 8’ sheets, posts on 8’ centers) with say an additional 2’ of expanded sheet would work fine. The upper two feet allows some visibility and light but would stop projectiles, if smaller mesh, even most chips. Hole size can be as small as .25" (6.35 NMW units. Directly behind machines, just use something solid, areas between machines clear would be okay as there would be as chips and wetness hitting them.
could use a larger expanded metal for projectiles, and a layer of door screen material on it for chips. Would be a good balance on visibility and protection without having to replace scratched up plastics.
That’s a really good combo idea. If attached with Velcro in areas directly behind machines, could easily be removed and cleaned … annually … every few years? 
They’re very willing to negotiate. I bet you could get 10 of them for $150-$200 a piece. 60-80 feet of 1” thick acrylic for $2400 seems pretty reasonable lol
Were it not yellow, maybe.
As it is, no thanks.
