Acrylic Case ...
 

Hey,

I'm like new to all this case moddin' stuff .. so be gentle! :blush:


recently I happened to "aquire" a rather large sheet of acrylic, with the intent of making a cool shelf or two .. however, I've since had visions of a solid acrylic computer case, which would be cool ...

I'm jus wonderin if anyone has made a case completely out of acrylic themselves?

I've just got a bog standard beige case at the moment, and my plan being the replace the top and sides with the acrylic...

i'm also wondrin of the cooling issues of the acrylic .. it's a good 8mm thick!

cheers, Rob

That would b cool if it's going to be 100% acrylic & 100% custom.

on the otherhand, acrylic is a poor heat conductive material, if ur not serious about cooling, heat would just circulate inside u'r Acrylic case.

U can remedy the disadvantage by installing adequate exhaus fans to force hot air OUT of ur case or by Watercooling ur CPU/GPU/Chipset, in this way, heat is taken out of ur CPU/GPU/CHIPSET directly outside the case.

more tips and tricks from other cool and experienced modders to come.

CB-Byte

Just had something raised by a friend of mine ...

Is there an issue with magnetic shielding with doing this to the case? I've got the speakers right next to the case, n I don't want to fry nethin ...

Rob

shouldnt matter too much

what i would worry about is static...

Static isn't that bad with acryllic, i mean, dust particles and stuff love to get attracted by it, but we never got our mobo or anything else fried by it (I've never ever seen a zap either)

oooh .. thats pretty darn cool .... !

What sorta glue was it u used to stick the bits together with? I was planning on using some aluminium angle for the joints ... but if I can get some of the glue, that would look pretty neat ... mind you .. i've got to cut the plastic myself .. (no handy plastics company here ...) so the angle might be useful to cover my less than perfect cuts ;)

Rob

The sides were already pre-rounded (it was like an extra 25 cents per side or something small), we used a sort of plastic glue that they gave us with the plastic, i know you can find something similar at home depot.

is superglue ok for this type of plastic?

Those clear cases are pretty darn cool!

well u shouldve seen my post back at www.extreme-forums.com a bit more than a year ago

i had the idea of a clear PC case
but never got to making it or published it

now, ppl are selling these for like 200 USD...

I wouldn't use superglue, you use a significant amount of glue in putting parts together

how bout modeling plastic glue?

the kind ppl sniff on...

I love the laydown board approach.... wish more companies would go that way!

I have the board taped up .. to be cut on a friends, works band saw, wonder how the edges will come out ... :\

hehe it was free anyway ...


Rob

yeah i guess you can sand the edge if it comes out a bit jagged :)

They make special glue for plastics which bonds the pieces together and looks invisible. It has a special applicator that looks like a needle so you can get it in between the pieces you are joining. I would call your local glass or plastics company and ask them which type of glue you need. If you try to use a wrong type of glue you could get it on a part you don't want and it can distort or put a film of glue on it which you won't be able to see through.

And take it SLOW when you are drilling or cutting the plastic, if you go too fast you can melt it or even worse crack or chip the plastic. Lexan is usually the best type of plastic to use it is more durable and won't chip or crack. Lexan is what they use in car windshields to help prevent shattering.

I personally prefer acrylic over Lexan, because any scratches you get in acrylic, you can buff out and sand down, while you can't do the same for Lexan (as well as from what I've heard, Lexan has an easier time scratching than acrylic).


Here's another article that does it step by step:
http://www.bit-tech.net/article/72/1

Sand them to around 1000 grit or even 2K grit and then use in a fast motion untl the edges clear a butane torch, will polish the edges right up :) you will be amazed... take your time and start with fast motions until you get it right... that is for plexiglass only or thicker lexan...

See .. i'm not too sure what this stuff actually is ...

I've always just assumed it'd be acrylic ...

It was a shop shelf (I assume) off a shelving unit, I found it in the back warhouse at work, and it didn't seem to have a worthy home there...

It doesn't seem to have a scratch on it, even though i'm sure it's been in use, so I think it's pretty tough.

I like the idea of the butane torch thou >:)

Rob

I used to have a clear case like that. The POS fell apart while shipping to my house.

What do you mean while shipping to your house?

And at the risk of sounding really silly ... whats a POS ? :blush:

Rob

piece of shit =P

Ahh ....

*feels awful silly for asking*

Rob

Next time have u'r PC insured, we'll never know what will happen next.

CB-Byte

What's the name of that sticky thing that ppl put on to hold glass together? Stuff they used on fish tank(aquariums). Silicon Glue?

I think it can be of good use.

it can get messy though

i call it MONO because MONO brand is famous at it
heh