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Such as this one?
http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggIma...145-019-01.JPG
Would it take a long time?, What would I hold the plexiglass together with?, How could I bend the plexiglass(such as the parts for the hard drive and cd-drive cage?, Anything else I should know?
The reason I ask these questions is because im a beginner and I suspect that %99 of you have at least a little experience and tha you could possibly help me out. Thanks guys for taking your time to read this.
Hey,
Cases like this have indeed been made, and aren't too hard to build, with someone with experience in plastics. I just got done building my acrylic computer case, and honestly, I would NOT recomend you try this for a beginners project. If you want to check out some techniques for acrylic fabrication, you might want to check out my worklog here:
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/f...ead.php?t=2145
I guess you could call me the acrylics expert on this forum, so I felt I had ought to be the first to answer some of your questions about this.
If you don't have the tools to undertake in this project, then I recomend that you just buy that case, because you will spend atleast 5 times as much on building the case that you would if you just bought it. However, if you enjoy working with tools and plastics, then perhaps you don't mind, if you will do future projects with it.
First off, you will want a table saw for cutting the acrylic. This really is the only efficient and accurate way of cutting acrylic, unless you have a waterjet or a laser, but even then, the acrylic can crack and burn. You will want a nice, big table saw with a blade with carbide tips, otherwise it will not work so well for acrylic.
Next, you will have to cut out the holes in the case, so you will want a router. A jigsaw/scrollsaw usually won't cut it, you will want a router for sure to make the task easy, accurate, and good looking.
Now, you need to figure out a way to assemble the case. You might be able to bend the frame, and for that, you will want a heat bender of sorts. People have done it before with heatguns, but I strongly advise against that for a number of reasons. You will want a strip heater, and those start at about 100 dollars to build, assuming you built and not bought one.
Gluing acrylic requires special solvent, not actually a glue. The solvent eats at the plastic and breaks it down. You combine your too pieces of acrylic together, apply sovlent, and let them sit. The solvent eaporates, the acrylic re-hardens, and then you have your bond.
Of course, however, you can't glue you entire computer, you will want access to it.
So, you will have to be able to tap and drill the acrylic, which requires special drill bits for plastics.
More tips to come, can't write any further right now, I am at work and will have to get back to you. If you have any more questions I will be happy to address them.
Guide to working with Plastics and Acrylics.
Defyant's HPRes3 Mega build worklog, probably the best worklog I've seen yet in terms of craftsmanship, attention to detail and thoroughly illustrated work when working with acrylics. My favorite part is here, when he makes an amazing waterblock cover and motherboard cage. This guy makes it look easy.
Do a little research. Tybrenis made a good point in that if you don't already have msot of the tools you would need, this project would quickly become far more expensive than buying a pre-built case, and unless you are ready to put in the hours it would become a very large project to get through. That said, if you really have the ambition to do this, then by all means go for it. If you have any questions, we're all glad to help - especially if you take goo dpictures of your build so we can learn from it too.
this might get you started on ideas. http://www.tux.org/~bball/pcmods/
Thanks guys. Tybrenis you said the most efficient way to cut holes would be a router but cant I use a hole saw? Also where could I get the special solvent glue at and is it expensive? The beggest thing, how thick should the plexiglass be? I was looking at the stuff o the net but didnt know what the diameter should be.
Im not trying to go very complex on this so I was thinking about basically copying some of the design from my case.
1/4 would be a nice size
Hi,Quote:
Originally Posted by .jrauck
yes, you could use a hole saw, but make sure it isn't a cheapy, acrylic cracks very easily. A hole saw is only effective if you need a perfectly circular hole, I used a router in my mod for the front panel, back panel (pci slots and motherboard openings), the PSU ports, etc.
Also, say you bend an acrylic frame for your case, without side panels, it's just a box. Now, you want to put side panels on. Since you have those rounded corners from the bend, when you put square side panels on, they won't look good with bent corners, because they will protrude over the bend. So, I use a router to route these corners, making them fit well with the bent line.
1/4" acrylic is the best to build a normal case with.
Probably the easiest thing for you to buy is IPS Weld-On #3. It is a fairly quick setting, crystal clear solvent that will bond acrylic or polycarbonate as well as many other plastics. However, what I use, as most professionals do, is Methylene Chloride. If you have access to this, that is one of the best to use, and I have heard that Methyl Ethyl ketone (MEK) works as well, and that is available in the painting section of any Home Deopt or Lowes. That's something you could try, I would like to see your results.
As for applying the solvent, you will want a medical syringe for it. You can find these easily at any veterinary supply store as well as many online plastics suppliers. I always lube the syringe with some spray on silicon.
Here are some good plastics suppliers:
http://www.tapplastics.com/
http://www.mcmaster.com/
http://www.delviesplastics.com/
Also, you might want to check eBay for some deals. I once got over 55 pounds of sheet acrylic for 35 dollars... AFTER SHIPPING.