ok so iv searched the forum to find no one has asked this before (hopefully not for a good reason) iv been looking through the web after reading Brett Thomas' "a modders guide to acrylic" http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2008/03/14/a_modders_guide_to_acrylic/1 But every time i find a website that sells the stuff its quoting me between £120 and £500 per 1m square sheet. Have i massively under-estimated the price of acrylic or am i looking at the wrong product? i need the acryic so i can price up a "from scratch" case build iv based the design on using 10mm Acrylic, im new to this, so feel free to suggest otherwise. this is the approx idea, oh and its a BIG case none of the MATX crap this is still very much in WIP stages:
I get mine from Ebay. Plasticonline-Redltd. 10mm thick is generally the most expensive, £72 / metre square They can supply smaller sizes though. 5mm is £39 / square metre - I would consider using that with a solid rod acrylic framework Cheers.
10mm acrylic or perspex is gonna cost a vast amount of money, be very heavy and take alot of time to cut and finish the edges. look for 3-4mm acrylic or perspex sheet which should be alot easier to work with mate, just had a quick skim through the article you mentioned and the plastic shop ooks like a good bet.
It will be weaker than 10mm, but if you have an inner frame to support the acryl then it should be fine. If not then i would proably recommend 6mm or higher. How exactly are you building the case?
Just thought id give my input I have used plastics online in the past and was impressed with them but have swayed to Hindleys now, I think there a bit cheaper and they also have a much larger range.
low tech - mitre saw and drill, no lazers involved was going to use a simple frame then bolt the acrylic to it
I go to sign writers and ask them if they've got an order coming in... they make a little bit extra on the side reselling it and I get cheap acrylic, win-win for all parties Remember you'll need a fair amount of masking tape if you're using any sort of saw or drill, just to stop the acrylic splitting (I know you've read up on it, just thought I might put the reminder in there)
if the acrylic has no real load bearing capcity then 3-6mm is fine, with 6mm being on the thick side. Good luck and be sure to put up some sketchup pics and some renders!
Not seen acrylic that thin before, 3mm is the thinnest i've seen around. Could try a Modelling supplies site, they sell thin 'plastic' sheet. Whats it for ?
side logo design I have. I have to have it flush with the side panel for design purposes. I know there is 1mm out there, my brother in law runs a signage company, but says that it is extremely expensive. I also need it to be green. I have a thread called "Routing acrylic/perspex" as well as my Corsair build thread with the design intended. It's a matter of principle on doing it flush with the side panel. Some of the links here are useful, but like you said, there are only 3mm listed. i saw a site with 1.5mm, but that was in Australia, so a bit far to ship to Ireland.
You should also check out polycarbonate or Lexan. On ebay there are 1/16" sheets (1.5mm) or even 1/32" sheets.
Repped like a mad thing! Finally, I know what I am looking for now, seriously, you just made my morning
I just bought from www.directplasticsonline.co.uk they were good, no acrylic but plenty of other options. I'd suggest that there are cheaper alternatives than acrylic for areas of the case that aren't seen, supporting rod etc. Try HDPE it's less well finished but easy to work with. 1mm acrylic is available I bought a sheet from an independant ebay person. It's just not widely available. Useful though as you'll need something ~ 1mm for mounting a motherboard IO shield. http://www.perspexdistribution.com/cast-acrylic-sheet.asp have 1mm sheet but you'll need to contact them via email for prices unfortunately.
Has anyone had any experience with Delvie's Plastics? While browsing around for acrylic suppliers that was one of the stores I found, prices look pretty alright but I would like to hear opinions on the quality of the acrylic they supply. does it melt easily when machined or worked with, and does it hold up well under load?
I am actually going to be using Delvie's for my build. My CAD instructor has bought from them as well and has never had a problem.
ChilledPC or Red Ltd on ebay. Did you consider thinner panels? 5-8mm would be more than fine for the build. I used 5mm clear one for main panels structure on my Cube. I saw years ago build with 8mm, but that was more than enough. 3mm is not enough for example for mobo tray, that I can tell 5mm is enough. If you want go for 8mm main panels, but doing anything with such a thick acrylic will take some time, keep that in mind....
