Custom acrylic case

[ZaUcY]

hey everyone, so i have two questions. I want to build a custom acrylic case and have noticed that the retail acrylic cases (eg. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811166033) don't have any kind of metal running to the mobo mounts or drive mounts to ground the components... well i planned on running some form of sheet metal to do this, should i not do it? doesn grounding components not mix with acrylic? and my second question is, is the plexi glass they sell at like home depot or lowes the same as the materials used for acrylic cases? or would it be bad to use the lowes and home depot stuff?

thanks

 

[red1776]

Hi Zaucy,
I just built a machine with that case. heres an exterior and an interior shot attached. I was concerned about the same thing but have had no problem with static build up, or any other electrical issues for 4 months now. it also is the best ventilated case I have ever used. my temps, OC'd and all are phenomenal. let me know if I can answer any questions I can help with.
and I do not believe that the plexi is even close to the acrylic material. I would bet that if you use plexi its going to scratch,haze and discolor in short order. I think you need to get actual acrylic material imo.

 

[ZaUcY]

Wow dude.... that looks like a sweet build! yeah I was just wondering about it being grounded and if the plexi would build up static electricty more and be worse than acrylic. my plan was to build a tray type deal just so I could watch everything run just cause hardware intrests me more than software but im not going to do any dry ice/liquid hydrogen cooling so its kinda pointless cause im not taking it to lan parties, someone will ruin my machine with it totally open like that. but I have this old Oakley sunglass case im now thinking of converting to a computer case but I have no clue if its acrylic or plexi. theres scratches but not really discoloring..... but yeah that kinda answers my questions thanks. would you think the sunglasses case would be cool? (dowsinde: big and heavy.... oh well)

 

[red1776]

now that would be an awesome and completely original build, I really like that eclectic stuff. in what position would you mount the mobo? you could seal it up and do a mineral oil submerge...LOL kidding. I would like to see the build occasionally as it progresses if you can swing it.

 

[ZaUcY]

you think that would be sweet? i havent thought it through to much but i'd imagine i put the mobo on top of the shelf on the right side so the cards are coming out the back. then the PSU and HDD's under the shelf and maybe the dvd drive. and get a couple 250 mm fans for the top and bottom of it. (NO WAY im doing mineral oil, i find that kinda dumb). the shelf can move up btw so its the little space on top and big space on bottom. let me know what you would do with it.

 

[red1776]

i think the mobo horizontal on the shelf would be the way to go, and one of those huge(like 14" fans) on one of the sides, you could see in from all 4 sides when the fan is running if you like case lighting you could tuck cold cathodes under the top and bottom rails as well......this build is really going to be.....how do the kids put it.......oh yeah, epic! lol, really, its a great idea

 

[ZaUcY]

thanks dude! need good oppinions.... yeah im definately thinking about cold cathodes. my friend has a watercooling kit lying around at his house to i think would look sweet if i put it in. i really like my zalman cooler though. you know that probably would be really cool lying down on the shelf(if i mounted it on the side i would have to cut the metal and crap to get it flush with the back which i wasnt looking forward to) ..... if theres enough room to bring the wires through and stuff. yeah this will be an epic case just need to get the guns to carry that sucker around! i was going to run sheet metal to ground it all, should i? i think i will just to be safe, but make it like the bus on a mobo so it isnt blocking to much viewing.

 

[red1776]

how about this? if you really think you need a metal mounting plate, make it out of expanded steel, you know...this stuff
http://images.search.yahoo.com/imag...&sigr=11u81cnqh&sigi=11mn2fds2&sigb=130s2406g
it would fit the look of the case

 

[ZaUcY]

oh that would be cool.... i dunno though, dont wanna invest to much into this project. i was going to just use some roofing flashing and just cut it so its like .5" channels spidering to each mobo mount then to the PSU. but you said yours is fine so maybe i wont do it, little iffy though. But ill look into the expanded metal.

 

[ZaUcY]

do you have a 1000w PSU?

 

[red1776]

I have two psu's in this build, a 500w that is just for the three crossfired graphic cards, and a 635w for the other components. 1135w total

 

[red1776]

well dude, I have to run. im a pretty good fabricator (at least I think i am) . if you want any ideas on how to get something done i'll be glad to help if i can, i think its a great idea. i'll send ya my email address in a pm. have a great night.

 

[ZaUcY]

oh wow.... are you running one of those 24pin splitters? ive never actually seen dual PSU setups, just recently knew people did them. yeah i mean any advice or help would be much appreciated. thanks again for the enthusiasm.

 

[Technochicken]

Interesting that you posted about making an acrylic case the same day I did. Also, Plexiglass and acrylic are one and the same. Good luck on your build =)

 

[ZaUcY]

hahaha are you serious? can you post the link to your thread? yeah i decided to go with the oakley sunglass case if you looked at the images i posted... ive been working on it for the past two days straight! i have the mobo mounted and grounded ready and the PSU mount ready just need to make holes for the expansion cards (which im not sure what ill do) and make some kind of tower for the drives.

 

[Technochicken]

https://www.techspot.com/vb/showthread.php?p=761218#post761218

There you go =)

It has a sketchup model of my basic plan attached if you are interested.

 

[ZaUcY]

hahaha i just found it, unfortunately i dont have sketchup.... never heard of it. i would get it but im using my parents pc's at the moment because mines in pieces so i can use parts to help measure everything out. if you could take a screen shot of it that would be helpful but dont go out of your way for it. so have you started to build it? BTW plexiglass is expensive!!!! luckily i had this oakley sunglass case someone gave me for free with a bunch of plexi glass

 

[Technochicken]

It's google sketchup, if you are interested. It's a 3d modeling program
http://sketchup.google.com/

Here are some screenshots

I haven't started yet. As you said, acrylic is pretty expensive, so I'm trying to find good prices for it.

 

[red1776]

I researched that last night Techno, and found the same thing, its a name brand thing. the difference being that they can give 'plexi glass' different chemical modifications to make it scratch resistant. i have built some plexi or acrylic (which ever it was) that scratched when you look at it wrong. there some products like acrylite, that resist abrasion, if thats important to you.

 

[ZaUcY]

oh wow... that seems like a neat porgram and a neat case. are you planning on using glue for all the joints? i hate glue!

 

[Technochicken]

I was planning to glue together the main sections of the frame, and have screws to hold on the drive bays and one panel of the case, so I can open it easily.

 

[ZaUcY]

screws and glue.... thats what i'd use to. man if only we owned nice plastic molding shops we could come up some sweet designs. i hate being limited to things like screws and glue.

 

[Technochicken]

You can actually do sharp bends win acrylic by heating it.

 

[ZaUcY]

oh yeah.... i forgot about that. havent had the need yet but i do have a heat gun.