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I hope I'm not too much off topic here. I'm hoping it can make sense as a mechanical engineering question.

There is a crack in the front of the tub of my front loading washing machine.

As you can see in the drawing #1, there is a weight attached right where the crack formed. Seeing the machine do the spin cycle, I assume quite a bit of force is applied, noted as F1weight and F2weight.

I'm thinking of putting epoxy glue but I think F1weight will destroy the joint.

What I think I should do, is put some kind of fiber with a high tensil strength into the epoxy glue. When it dries, the glue will fix the leak and hold the fiber in place. The fiber will be responsible of ensuring the integrity of the glue and resist F1weight.

I'm thinking something like glass fiber fabric that would sink in the epoxy?

Any idea what could be used here?

enter image description here

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  • $\begingroup$ Depending on the plastic, you could try solvent welding a patch over the crack made of the same material. You'd have to heat the patch up with a heat gun and bend it to the right shape first. $\endgroup$
    – Drew
    Oct 5, 2020 at 19:20
  • $\begingroup$ Another option would be to seal it with a metal patch and some kind of adhesive/sealant. Then reinforce the patch by applying a metal band around the entire drum. $\endgroup$
    – Drew
    Oct 5, 2020 at 19:21

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I wouldn't worry about reinforcing the epoxy as it will be as strong or stronger than the plastic. What you do need to focus on is the bond between the plastic and the epoxy.

First make sure that the crack cannot flex. I have not taken the time to review this design but if you feel it is a high stress area I would mechanically reinforce it with screws or wire. It appears to be pretty small in your photos so it may be fine as is. One way to attach it if it does flex is drill either side and twist steel wire to secure it.

Then make sure all bonding surfaces are roughed up with 60 grit sandpaper.

Clean the surface with a dry towel or compressed air then use a plastic specific epoxy. I have had pretty good luck with loctite plastic bonder epoxy. Make sure to cover a large area since the bond strength will not be as good as we would like. Also make sure to push it down into the crack and around the wire if used. If this area of the device holds water make sure that the application is also watertight.

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