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Acrylic Case Design Questions

M

Maxtr0sity

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 24, 2005
Messages
287
I'm planning to build an acrylic case and mounting a mini-ITX motherboard inside to use as my media center & seed box. I've scoped out the parts that I need and everything, although expensive, will fit nicely between two 12x12" acrylic sheets.

1. I'm using 1/4in thick sheets, will that be sufficient enough for a small case?
2. What should I do about ESD? The power supply case is grounded, so I'm planning to mesh the motherboard screws to connect with the casing.
3. Heat, I'm only using an AMD 45W CPU, the max power draw I'm expecting is around 70W from the motherboard alone, then maybe 20W per hard drive. Should the hard drive have direct contact with the acrylic? I'm expecting the HD temps to be around 40C.

Probably more questions later, but if someone can give hints to these, it'd be greatly appreciated.
 
I too have gotten a hold off some 1/4" acrylite sheets and that should definitely be strong enough. Those panels will not be flexing specially at 12". Don't worry about ESD plenty of all acrylic cases out there and no issues. Heat coming from the drive shouldn't be an issue, but if you want too you can always get some rubber washers to put in between.

gl
 
the arcylic does tend to hold heat a bit more than metal. just have good cooling. I've built two systems out of acrylic so far and have zero issue. well there is the dust showing like mad.
 
I'm building a min-ITX board with a 45W processor, bit-tech reported peak wattage of around 100W. I'm planning to simply use 1 80mm fan to cool the entire system.

Another question, when I'm working with acrylic, are there any health hazards? Many has suggested to have a face mask on and clean clothes thoroughly afterwards to shield yourself from the micro particles that it produces. Any experience with that?
 
That is too think of acrylic. Get 3/8" . . .I have many DD cases . . .heat is no problem if you implement good airflow. Plan your air flow holes strategically so you can get a flexible static-free duster in there ;)

Oh, DO NOT use Windex to clean the acrylic . . .
 
If you're cutting, grinding or sanding the acrylic, wear a dust filter so you don't inhale the acrylic dust. If you wet sand, you don't have to worry so much about acrylic dust. Polishing to finish the edges or to remove scratches will not produce airborne dust if you use a wet polishing compound.

Dust masks are cheap and easy to get, so you shouldn't have any reason to complain. If you have a beard, a standard dust mask will not work very well - dust filters specifically made for those with beards are expensive and hard to find.

If you are using adhesives, especially acrylic solvents, work outdoors with a decent breeze or wear a VOC face mask. You don't want to inhale the gasses that come off it. If you're using very small amount of adhesive, use your judgment and make sure you're getting fresh air and you can avoid the VOC mask.

If you have a shop vac, use it to vacuum off your clothes to remove any dust.

Actually, these guidelines aren't specifically related to acrylic, they apply to any material - metals, wood, plastics, composites etc.
 
Michael Daly said:
If you're cutting, grinding or sanding the acrylic, wear a dust filter so you don't inhale the acrylic dust. If you wet sand, you don't have to worry so much about acrylic dust. Polishing to finish the edges or to remove scratches will not produce airborne dust if you use a wet polishing compound.

Dust masks are cheap and easy to get, so you shouldn't have any reason to complain. If you have a beard, a standard dust mask will not work very well - dust filters specifically made for those with beards are expensive and hard to find.

If you are using adhesives, especially acrylic solvents, work outdoors with a decent breeze or wear a VOC face mask. You don't want to inhale the gasses that come off it. If you're using very small amount of adhesive, use your judgment and make sure you're getting fresh air and you can avoid the VOC mask.

If you have a shop vac, use it to vacuum off your clothes to remove any dust.

Actually, these guidelines aren't specifically related to acrylic, they apply to any material - metals, wood, plastics, composites etc.
Click to expand...

great post!
 
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