Need advice RE acrylics, etc.

[ECUPirate]

I finished my watercooling setup, but there are some faults. It takes up much space, still makes some noise (hard to isolate vibrations), and the heat source (rad) is still inside the case (I have to keep the rad fan on, or the rad will heat the ambient in my case). Also, the pump is occupying 2 of my drive bays.
I want to create an external enclosure for all of my WC components. I want to use a clear material. It should be workable (drillable and tapable), not prone to cracks/leaks/breaks. In this device, I'd like to include a resevoir, built into the enclosure. So, the material I use should be easy to bond (watertight).
I'm just gathering ideas right now... What material should I use? Cost is always a factor, so specify the Ideal material to use as well as the most practical. Pics of similar attempts could also be useful.

[Brad]

why not just buy a clear pc case and mod it all into there. It'd be much easier

[Fixittt]

Any clear plastic is going to be expensive. but I would use acrylic.

I would use 3/8 in for the walls, wiht 1 inch blocks at all the corners. You can drill holes in the corners of the 3/8 walls, and drill and tap the 1 inch blocks. Are you following me? Have a 1 inch block in all the corners for the screws to go into

[EMC2]

I would second Fixitt's suggestion of using acrylic. It's used for making wet/dry filters and aquariums in the "fish world" all the time by both fish hobbyists and professional companies.

Further FYI - you can bond acrylic with acrylic weld cement. You can get it in clear compounds. It contains solvents that "melt" the acrylic to form strong water tight welded joints (so no need for screws, you almost never see screws used in aquariums or wet/dry filters and pre-filters).

It is also drillable without cracking issues (when done right). However, screw in metal fittings aren't usually used. Much more common are press fittings that use o-rings for sealing at the acrylic wall interface. (they are threaded, but the threads are for a compression/retaining nut that goes on the inside of the wall)

Oh- and for high strength use cell cast acrylic

[ECUPirate]

thanks.. RE Brad's suggestion, I had a specific idea in mind... wanted to do a custom job.

[ECUPirate]

What about using glass of some sort... tempered, perhaps? I know nothing about this. ...Aquariums are made of glass, yes? (yes) too bad I don't want to use an aquarium. Anyone know of acrylic fabricators that make special orders? Wouldn't mind having round corners.. i.e... one piece outer shell.

[Brad]

the problem with glass is drilling holes in it, or just mounting stuff to it in general

[EMC2]

Smaller (under 100gallon) aquariums are made of glass (above that vast majority are acrylic due to both weight and strength issues). I would strongly suggest not to use glass because of strength/resistance to impact/weight issues.

An aside - glass can and does have circular holes cut in it in aquariums (for external filtering applications like are common in reef tanks).

As far as rounded corners - you could get acrylic tube and cut it into 1/4ths along the axis to create 4 pieces for your rounded corners. I don't think you really want to pay an acrylic fabricator ECU - my guess would be over $100 in labor easily for a one-of.

[pHaestus]

crap comcast went down for an undetermined length of time as soon as I hit the "Reply" button. Oh well here goes again (on the more reliable dial up):

You can get clear acrylic boxes with lids of various sizes for under $20 at Michael's hobby store. Here is a picture:



ANd if they don't have them at Micheals near you then you can buy them here:

http://www.thecontainerstore.com/bro...html?CATID=233

[ECUPirate]

Originally posted by EMC2
As far as rounded corners - you could get acrylic tube and cut it into 1/4ths along the axis to create 4 pieces for your rounded corners. I don't think you really want to pay an acrylic fabricator ECU - my guess would be over $100 in labor easily for a one-of.

Actually... yeah. I would like a pro job. Question is, could they create what I want? You know how the Apple (ick) G4 cubes look? Something like that, but a tad bigger. Rounded, one piece design. If I come up with a good rough prototype, I'd like to get it made... it should look like something you'd buy at the store, not something I made in my garage. no offense, fixitt..

[EMC2]

Oh, if they are good fabricators, they can make it, the question becomes can you pay for it, lol.

If you want it really rounded, not just small radius corners, the cost is going to go up significantly (they would have to heat and form the acrylic then, not just use relatively inexpensive sheet and tube acrylic).

And given the proper tools, planning, and patience, you can have things look better than store bought when made in your garage and it be a LOT less expensive.

* looks at the solid oak stand for his 90 gallon aquarium and grins broadly *

[ECUPirate]

heheh.. yeah.. I meant store bought in the sense that some things aren't practical to make at home. For instance, Tupperware, telephones, computer front bezels, your mouse, etc. These are all shaped plastics. Are the cast, molded.. what? How do they make them, and why are they so cheap (don't say volume.. )
I don't care if it's made of acrylic, some clear plastic, or what-not. What if I want a thousand of these enclosures? What are my options, and how do I do begin such a project?