In my 720 build I'd like a big window in the right sidepanel. Cutting a hole in the sidepanel and sticking a piece of plexi behind it should not a problem right? Wrong...because there is a catch... ...this is the sidepanel: And this is the position I have in mind for the window: As you can see there is a big bump/dent (how do you call this?) in the panel, making window installation a bit tricky.. The window should be flush in the aluminum, as I have no room behind the panel, because the midplates come all the way to the edge and touch the inside of the panels. So no there is no extra space at all. What I've tried so far is making molds from plaster I heated a piece of plexi in the oven and when it was soft I tried pushing it onto the molds. This worked a bit, but the plexi cools and hardens before I can get in the correct bend. After trying again and applying more pressure I broke both the molds.. What would be the best way to get the same bend in the sheet of plexi (It really has to be spot on, otherwise it won't fit in or sit flush with the panel.) Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated!
They are great looking cases, I'd like to mod one myself. That's quite a severe curve, what thickness plexi are you using, you might be able to bend 1mm thick plexi that much and make two pieces and use them together to get a 2mm thick panel if 1mm is not thick enough, as it's aluminium the groove in the panel will be there to add rigidity to it and the panel might get a bit bendy without it. You might have more luck bending the plexi around a metal bar the same size as the panel groove, heat the plexi and support it and push the bar into it. Maybe fitting two panels, one above the groove and one below it would be a better way to go, it would certainly be easier and it would retain more of the panels strength.
The plexi I'm using is 3mm. I almost had the correct bend in a testpiece last weekend, but the plexi just cooled and hardened to fast. Gonna retry with 2mm plexi. 2 windows is the last resort, I'd really like to pull this off and make one big window with the bend.
A window like that will never look right with the bend in the aluminum, and even if you do pull it off, its a huge pain in the a*** for nothing. I concur with the other posters suggestion, two windows will look dandy.
Heat gun? Would allow you to get some proper heat onto the plexi while bending. Whether it'd be enough or not I'm not sure. If you do get the plexi bent, make sure to stick/tape it onto the inside of the case before cutting the panel and test fitting the panel on the case to make sure the extra thickness around the bend area doesn't interfere with anything. Also, I think I'd be tempted to try and bend the plexi around the bulge on the panel directly, rather than using a mould.
I'm not sure about the strength of your moulds as they broke already, maybe a wooden dowel our metal bar of the correct radius with some wood either side would give a solid mould. Either way I'd work with a heatgun, 3mm plexi should be very pliable after just a few minutes, 1-5 minutes depending on the length, keep the heat gun moving and gradually heat the whole area that needs to be shaped, using something as a roller such as long round bar will help push it into the contours. You can re-heat as required. Take care not to thin the material by rolling it too hard. With such a tight shape you may need to keep some weight on it to prevent it trying to go flat as it cools. Might be a good idea to weight or clamp the edges for the same reason. Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
