PSU half height mod? // Acrylic concerns
 

1) I am currently planning to construct my own case from Acrylic, in my research i have come across 'Acrylic conducts static electricity' how true is this? and how much of a concern would this be with a computer?

2) also, i have seen the mention of a half height PSU mod, and i would like to know if anyone has written up a how-to on it or can point me in the right direction so i could do the mod and write a how-to.

After i get some of the research stuff out of the way i will start a thread with pics on my Acrylic (mini) computer, from some prilimary sketchs it appears that my dimensions will be about 10in x 10in x 5in. i am using a normal ATX motherboard. and no WCing setup, air cooled.

Thanks, Andrew

Yes, acrylic, like many other plastics, can hold a static charge, but it's not to be confused with electrical conductivity. As long as it's grounded, it shouldn't hold a static charge for too long. Either way, it shouldn't be a concern. Of course I'm no expert...

The half height PSU mod is linked in my thread on the PSU array, in my sig. Dunno if it's still up though, but I have a copy of it, if you need it.

thanks
 

also with electric problems, can a psu be grounded to arcylic if the arcylic is gounded to something?

(btw i decided againist that mod because of (over)heat concerns and it ended up fitting well)

Thanks,
Andrew

No, the acrylic is still an isolator, depending on the variation of the acrylic of course (check the specs): you cannot ground a PSU through a piece of acrylic. (and yes, you want the PSU to be grounded).

HTH are you going to fit an ATX board in a 10x10x5" box?

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure that a PSU is grounded through the power cord.

Todd

EDIT: Regardless of the case material, everything plugged in to the PSU is grounded.

Yeah, how's it gonna fit?
 

ATX spec I think is 12" x 9". M-ATX is 9.6" x 9.6," so even a micro board would barely fit in a 10" x 10" footprint. I have seen a project mod where a guy stuffed a micro board into a SGI-O2 case for giggles, and that thing is only 9" x 10" x 12". But it was one hell of a hack job to shoehorn that thing in there.

Yes PSUs are grounded through the plug that goes into a wall.

yes it is a matx
 

after doing more drawings i am going to have to make it 10" x 11" x 5" but the acrylic i have obtained is very thin i thin 1/16" so it will be a light case.
tux, also note: may try to make heatpipe for this custom case :)

also: the acrylic i got is from a bigscreen tv a hitachi 60" ultravision and seems to have a rather glossy finish.

will post autocad pics up soon

heres another question for you acrylic people: how to cut 10x11 square from a 40+x40+ sheet thats only 1/16" thick !?!?!?