[sdiy] Plexiglass panels

[Tim Parkhurst]

How about a thin (.031"/0.8mm or less) plastic panel on top of an aluminum
panel? The metal panel provides strength, but the plastic panel could be
etched/engraved for labeling and then edge illuminated for grooviness.
Either that, or use plastic panels (.062"/1.6mm or so) and use a metal "L"
channel every inch or two (bolted to the plastic panel) to eliminate panel
flex. Run the L channel along the long (usually vertical) axis of the panel
for the best strength. You could even use steel (stainless would look best)
channel, if you can find it with pre drilled mounting holes. Otherwise,
drilling stainless is not a lot of fun.

By the way, has anyone tried using standard PCB etching techniques to put
legends/labeling on face panels? Does this work with aluminum? You wouldn't
need (or want) to etch all the way through, just a little bit would work.
How about etching a thin copper sheet, and then putting that on top of a
thicker panel (and then protecting the copper from oxidation with a few
shots of clear coat)?



Tim (illuminated for grooviness) Servo

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Albert Einstein


************************************************************

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Paul Maddox [mailto:P.Maddox at signal.QinetiQ.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, July 05, 2005 3:13 AM
> To: SynthDIY
> Subject: Re: [sdiy] Plexiglass panels
> 
> joseph,
> 
> > I'm in the middle of designing a modular system for myself and was
> > wondering if I could use plexiglass for the front panels instead of
> the
> > traditional metal, making the whole case and all out of it would be
> nice.
> > Any issues with grounding or hum I should be worried about.
> 
> I thought about this but had problems.
> If the plastic is too thin, it will bend and flex everytime you
> patch/unpatch and might 'break'.
> If its too thick, (ie strong enough handle the patching) then most
> commercially available pots/switchs won't mount because the threads on
> them
> aren't deep enough.
> 
> I even toyed with the idea of using 'translucent' plastic so I could
> back
> light it.
> 
> Paul
> 
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