(Part 3) Best plastic raw materials according to redditors

Thank you!
It wasn’t that hard, here’s the materials

Plexiglass 12 x 12 Clear Acrylic Sheet - 1/8 th (.125) inch thick https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NBVKDPD/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fuw3AbF00WHZA

Red Devil 1170 Plexiglass Cutting Tool https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BZZ1D0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_7uw3AbWAMMW9Y

Adhesive Vinyl Sheets - 30 Pack 12'' X 12'' Premium Permanent Self Adhesive Vinyl Sheets-Assorted Colors for Cricut,Silhouette Cameo,Craft Cutters,Printers,Letters,Decals https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077GRNT2H/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Jvw3AbD0TD3RC

And of course some spray paint

1. Measure the top of the gpu (L and W)
   
2. Mark the plexiglass sheet to your measurements, and score it with the cutter until it’s about halfway down, the put it on the edge of the table, and snap it, it will break along the line
   
3. Sand any rough edges
   
4. Pint out the logo you want, (I did it ok normal paper, then glued it on the vinyl) then cut it out of the vinyl
   
5. Put the logo made out of vinyl onto the cut acrylic ( it has adhesive)
   
6. Paint the top, and bottom of the acrylic ( bottom color for the color of the logo / design
   
7. Once it drys, peel off the stencils
   
8. ?????
   
9. Profit
   
10. Repeat and sell to people with left over materials???
    
11. More profit?????
    
    I just placed it on-top of the gpu, but you could use some cheap “mounting tape”, then it’s not going anywhere!

Material

Kydex Plastic Sheet Black 8" X 12" X .028" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011M1CCDS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_uaieBbSA5J288

Where I got the idea

https://youtu.be/XpCEMHUE118

Basic technique.

https://youtu.be/huKYTfdINc4

I heated mine on a baking sheet and pressed it between thick foam by hand.

Most recently I bought these . The ones I bought before are these round bottom sleeves. Both are pretty much the same. The square ones are a little thicker of a material than the round bottom ones. But not enough to make a difference. Just a different feel. Keep your records safe bois.

Sorry if the formatting sucks, I’m on mobile

It is 6mm-thick (.25”) white/opaque plexiglass. The size of the bottom sheet is around 150mm x 200mm (6” x 8”) and the top portions are the same size as the PIs. For the bottom sheet, I countersunk the holes so that the screw heads are recessed and don’t scratch the underlying surface. I used an electric belt sander to round the corners after cutting the sheets.

I just had the plexiglass sitting around but you can order it online. This looks pretty similar: https://www.amazon.com/12-Opaque-Acrylic-Plexiglass-Translucent/dp/B01H463HIY/

Thanks!

The top material is acrylic.

amazon link

You can find it at hardware stores but I actually just amazon primed it, cost me like 5$
Edit: here’s the link, with this thickness it’s too thick to cut with regular scissor.
Lexan Sheet - Polycarbonate - .093" - 3/32" Thick, Clear, 12" x 12" Nominal https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0759V14Q7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_TUlIDbVF86X39

I made it using this acoustic foam, this PVC foam board, and this spray adhesive. Used the PCV foam board so I could double-side it with the foam and it was more sturdy than a piece of cardboard.

You can buy mirrored perspex/acrylic for (relatively compared to actual mirrors) cheap at art supply stores and even on amazon. They're not as pretty as actual mirrors but to get light into a room on the cheap they certainly do the job.


Can't vouch for the quality or pricing on amazon but here's an example of what I mean


https://www.amazon.com/12-24-Acrylic-Mirror-Sheet/dp/B01AWXNHT0/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=acrylic+mirror+sheet&qid=1557413549&s=gateway&sr=8-4

The acrylic "glue" is more like a bond, since it actually softens the pieces of acrylic and chemically bonds them together. Was considering bonding two layers together since they are 1/16 sheets but it looks like it is holding together pretty well. I use this tool to cut the pieces, this pack for the standoffs, and finally these m2 5mm screws. Oh also bumpons from hobby lobby for the bottom and I also got in on the aluminum cone feet in the recent drop on massdrop. Final version of the case will have cleaner cuts. Oh also.. I would recommend a step drill bit for drilling the holes, since the acrylic could crack in the drilling process.

You could get something like this
https://www.etsy.com/listing/693287601/blank-featureless-mask?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_b-accessories-costume_accessories-masks_and_prosthetics-masks&utm_custom1=_kenshoo_clickid_&utm_content=go_304498955_40319409302_196666015397_aud-301856855998:pla-316241687664_m__693287601&gclid=Cj0KCQjwla7nBRDxARIsADll0kCAAreso1g0FvF1SXGOfJxUda-iGvArt9XEBXyUDn-rFJKJF43uDecaAgOdEALw_wcB

And fill the eye holes with something like this so that you can see.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DYSVS0A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_4vb7Cb6HBPSKP

Then just use some foam and soldering wire for the rest. And paint of course


If you don't care about being able to see, you should be able to find just a blank slate mask out there somewhere

Maybe like this one but just paint it white https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007S016WQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_aAb7CbVHD6SS1

Here’s the amazon link, I got 3/8 thickness .
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BYI9QCO

I scored a bunch of these tubes from RadioShack's going out of business sale

https://www.amazon.com/Filament-70-Stick-Sampler-3DFormer-Drawing/dp/B01941R76K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1498886664&sr=8-2&keywords=3dformer

You would need to have it milled out of a sheet of plastic https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MG60VP1/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=TBTNF2HK1BM5&coliid=I28FKO0YYQIA94

Alright, so the going strategy in these cases is to put a normal sized hard pad ON TOP of your existing cloth pad like this (that black part is my glorious xxl pad, and the shiny part is my hard pad). So maybe consider that since it's kind of hard to find a hard mousepad, sold as a mousepad, in that size.

And if you go that route, just any 'ol hard pad from a popular manufacturer will do. Logitech, corsair, ... lots of companies make them.

But if you insist on an ultra-wide hard pad, you might use one of these options below (or something similar) as your mousepad and either deal with the length not being exactly as you wanted (36x11) or by getting one of the HDPE pads and cutting it down to the size you want:

• pvc mat
  
• leather pad
  
• HDPE sheet (smooth)
  
• HDPE sheet (textured)
  
  Note: a lot of times the edges on the HDPE sheets are sharp enough to annoy if you lay your arm on it for a long time so you'll have to sand those down or whatever if you care about that. I can use my HDPE pad without issue though, the edges don't bother me enough to fix them lol.

Okay, I'm going to screw this up but the link is below. I bought mine several years ago and used red (which looks super cool in the ruck).

ABS Plastic Sheet 3-pack 12" X 24" X 0.0625" (1/16") with Resource Kit for VEX Robotics Teams https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016PESTJS/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_OXQ1CbZ4JCDE5

If you search around a bit you can find multi thickness packs, especially if you go off Amazon and are willing to wait a few weeks for delivery.

If you use multiple sheets they are thin enough to easily bend making them very easy to get in and out of the ruck. One sheet isn't very stiff. But multiple sheets are quite stiff and comparable to kydex.

If you like I can dig around in the workshop and find my stash and snap a few pics.

https://www.amazon.com/Teflon-industrial-strength-self-adhesive-backing-TEFLON06x12-3M-r01/dp/B071GJQN4Q/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1535970390&sr=8-6&keywords=teflon+adhesive

> Should I just go ahead and buy a Patterson instead?

If a plastic reel will fit your tank, look into Omega and Samigon reels - the "ears" where you load the film are like great big landing pads - night and day difference from my previous plastic reels (though those weren't patterson). If you want a steel reel for 35mm, nothing, NOTHING nothing beats a Hewes reel - the way the film attaches is genius.

>what do people recommend for a light diffuser

White acrylic sheet. Shop around online and eBay, you can find it cut to all sorts of sizes, very affordable.

Something like this? The shipping is a bit stupid on that, but you might be able to follow the universe of "see what others bought!" links to something cheaper.

Here's one a bit smaller but a quarter the price (including shipping).

Edit: WTF, those are literally links to 4"x4' transparent tubing on Amazon.

Something like this, perhaps? https://www.amazon.com/PTFE-Virgin-Teflon-Sheet-031/dp/B074KNKCGG

I'm not sure how you'd secure it to your desk or whether the glide will last for a long time.

Or here's 3 sheets of the same thing for $24 on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Polycarbonate-Plastic-Robotics-Industrial-Shatterproof/dp/B016PE9W1W/