Ben's Case Construction Notes
Moderator:Moderators
- benheck
- Site Admin
- Posts:1880
- Joined:Wed Dec 31, 1969 6:00 pm
- Location:Wisconsin - Land of Beer and Cheese and Beer
- Contact:
Yo folks Ben Heckendorn here with some notes about case construction.
Symmetrical is Professional - Much like the human body, a cat or perhaps the Pentagon building it's always nice to have a unit with a equally shaped sides. If you're going for the best look possible it's the right place to start.
Engraving Plastic is Cool - Stop by a trophy shop and see if you can get some 1/16" thick engraving plastic. It's easy to cut and comes in a variety of colors and styles. Here's a place I use a lot:
http://www.maintrophysupply.com/
Don't be afraid to use hot glue - It may seem nOObish, but I use it all the time! It's a great tool and is a lot easier than messing around with screws and mounting brackets, especially for trivial parts. Also works great for wrangling and arranging wires.
CNC is a great way to go, but there's plenty of ways to build a case manually, as described in my book and as well as this forum. Good luck!
Symmetrical is Professional - Much like the human body, a cat or perhaps the Pentagon building it's always nice to have a unit with a equally shaped sides. If you're going for the best look possible it's the right place to start.
Engraving Plastic is Cool - Stop by a trophy shop and see if you can get some 1/16" thick engraving plastic. It's easy to cut and comes in a variety of colors and styles. Here's a place I use a lot:
http://www.maintrophysupply.com/
Don't be afraid to use hot glue - It may seem nOObish, but I use it all the time! It's a great tool and is a lot easier than messing around with screws and mounting brackets, especially for trivial parts. Also works great for wrangling and arranging wires.
CNC is a great way to go, but there's plenty of ways to build a case manually, as described in my book and as well as this forum. Good luck!
- Gamelver
- Moderator
- Posts:3352
- Joined:Sun Apr 04, 2004 9:03 pm
- Location:in my basement, to forever work on portables ;)
- Contact:
hot glue is indeed quite extraordinary, and better yet, can be found ordinarily!
Seriously, I also use it all the time and it works wonders....of course, on some plastics, it doesn't stick as well, so epoxy would be a better choice .
Seriously, I also use it all the time and it works wonders....of course, on some plastics, it doesn't stick as well, so epoxy would be a better choice .
Without games my life would have no meaning.
Well, I guess it would, but it would be a lot less fun!!!!!!!
Well, I guess it would, but it would be a lot less fun!!!!!!!
- dankicksass
- Posts:235
- Joined:Sun Apr 23, 2006 7:25 pm
- Location:New Jersey
Ben, could you show us how engraving plastic works, with close-up photos please? I, and I imagine most people here, have no experience with engraving plastic, or the results of using it. Can you show us some benefits of using it versus using a painted-back lexan sheet, like Apple does with their iPod? I understand that you use a stacked-cuttout assembly method; can you give us a protip on why that method is preferrable over other methods? Thanks.
I don't like forum signatures.
- CronoTriggerfan
- Moderator
- Posts:4131
- Joined:Fri Jan 27, 2006 3:07 pm
- Location:University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
- Contact:
Well, engraving plastic is the standard for all Ben's book projects; it's fairly easy to cut, glues/epoxies well, and it looks pretty nice when used right. However, many of us here feel it's a bit flimsy and unprotective. Personally, I stick with good 'ol fashioned ABS or polystyrene; they do the same job, only sturdier and sleeker in appearance, in my not-so-humble opinion.
CTFan
CTFan
-
- Posts:46
- Joined:Fri Oct 27, 2006 9:50 pm
Re: Ben's Case Construction Notes
and a Box one
-
- Posts:40
- Joined:Thu Dec 07, 2006 8:00 pm
- Turbo Tax 1.0
- Portablizer Extraordinaire
- Posts:4773
- Joined:Wed Mar 30, 2005 6:19 pm
- Location:Delaware, no sales tax
- Contact:
- lifeisbetterwithketchup
- Senior Member
- Posts:2180
- Joined:Fri Jul 21, 2006 12:08 pm
- Steam ID:lifeisbetterwithketchup
- Location:Illinois. Whee.
- Contact:
- Dilberitio
- Posts:76
- Joined:Mon Nov 06, 2006 8:01 pm
- Dilberitio
- Posts:76
- Joined:Mon Nov 06, 2006 8:01 pm
- Retromaster
- Portablizer
- Posts:791
- Joined:Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:03 pm
- Location:florida- the land of old people
- Contact:
there's no need for ply.
get some engraving plastic that is 1/16" thick. this stuff doesn't come in layers, except for color layers. the outer front is one color, but when you cut it it displays a different color.
EDIT- my mistake, 2 ply. it's already listed for you. get some two ply plastic
get some engraving plastic that is 1/16" thick. this stuff doesn't come in layers, except for color layers. the outer front is one color, but when you cut it it displays a different color.
EDIT- my mistake, 2 ply. it's already listed for you. get some two ply plastic
http://portableuniverse.forumcircle.com/index.php? http://mtac.profusehost.net/ SAY ALLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!!!i finally used google!!
- limpport
- Senior Member
- Posts:1873
- Joined:Sun Jan 29, 2006 12:32 pm
- Location:(the only person here from) Vermont
- Contact:
Re:
limpport wrote:I think the "ply" means how many layers of colors there are. I'm pretty sure almost all of the plastics on that site are 2 ply.Dilberitio wrote:What ply engraving plastic should i use from that website.
Question for knowledgeable people: Is engraving plastic ok to use with vacuum forming?
I have sat at my computer for long hours, staring at the screen, refreshing, refreshing, refreshing, to see if there is an answer to this question. I have sat here for two years. TWO YEARS! And alas, there is no response. No response, no PM, no email, nothing. In light of these events, I have only one word:
BUMP