Clear acrylic panels have long been the mainstay of 3D printer case design, but they also increase costs in terms of money, shipping, weight, and hassle. Another interesting alternative is corrugated plastic (also known by the trade name coroplast), which is inexpensive, lightweight, excellent insulator and easy to work with. Many case designs can be modified to be used in place of acrylic, so let’s take a closer look at what it has to offer.
The purchase price of acrylic is more than just the purchase price as it is an expensive option. Acrylic is quite heavy, and shipping panel-sized parts can be expensive. Also, cutting acrylic without special tools can be a challenge, as it can easily crack if handled incorrectly. Acrylic cuts fine with a laser cutter, but most hobby laser cutters are not large enough to make body-sized panels. If you need to cut acrylic by hand, here are some tips on how to do it with the tools you have.
Acrylic is best purchased from local stores, where it can also be cut to size for a reasonable price with the right tools, but it’s still far from inexpensive. There is another option: corrugated plastic has many properties that are worth paying attention to, especially for amateurs.
Most of us are familiar with corrugated plastic as a material for lawn signs. Using it in case design isn’t a new idea (here’s a printer case made entirely of it, and here’s a CNC router case that also uses it), but rather than building a whole case, it makes more sense to do the same. . . Use it only as material for panels. There is no need to design a new case from scratch. You can take an existing structure and replace the acrylic panels with corrugated plastic panels.
It is easier to find than acrylic sheets and certainly easier to work with. Any sign store or plastic supplier will most likely sell them in a variety of colors.
The corrugated plastic is 4mm thick, not 3mm, which means it is not necessarily a direct replacement for acrylic in existing designs. But not every case is limited by panel thickness.
The two easiest ways to use this material are to create a fence by adding panels to an existing structure, or to use an existing structure but replace the acrylic with corrugated plastic. Below are examples of both.
Here’s a case I built into an IKEA BROR metal shelving unit that easily fits a Prusa Mini 3D printer. BROR is made of curved metal sheet with evenly spaced holes. Thanks to this, it is very convenient to turn the shelf section into a cabinet, simply by installing a few side panels; conventional shelf surfaces form the top and bottom.
The corrugated plastic panels not only fit easily behind angled metal studs, but are fully secured with a few short screws through handy holes. Windows can be made by cutting a hole and gluing or gluing clear plastic sheets on one or both sides. CA glue and most other glues work well with corrugated plastic.
The only inconvenience I encountered was when making the front door. Instead of making cabinet doors with hinges, I took advantage of the lightness of the material and made a simple removable lid. The frame of the shelf is steel, so I glued a couple of strong magnets to a separate board to make a detachable magnetic front cover. If necessary, I can close the front completely or leave a gap for air flow. The result is simple, attractive and, apart from the shelf itself, very cheap.
The only problem with upgrading an existing enclosure that is rated for 3mm acrylic sheets is that 4mm corrugated plastic may not fit as it is slightly thicker. While it is always possible to simply cut and remove the material until it fits, for best results the panel fasteners should be redesigned to suit thicker materials.
For example, I love the design of the Prusa V2 LACK case and its 3D printed parts, but the next time I build it, I will use corrugated plastic panels instead of acrylic. To do this, I redesigned the necessary parts so that they can work with material 4 mm thick.
Luckily Prusa provides not only STL files but also CAD files for their projects. While it is possible to modify parts that only exist as STL files, having access to CAD format files usually simplifies such tasks.
For 3D printers, case design is still an unresolved issue. For those on a budget, “soft” fencing options such as photo tents or fabric grow boxes can be used, but there are ways to cut costs with more traditional designs. In this regard, corrugated plastic has many advantages.
The idea of using corrugated plastic in a case isn’t new, but it doesn’t seem to be enough. Do you know of shells that can use it effectively or in a particularly clever way, or do you have any tricks of your own? We’re sure we want to hear it, so share your thoughts in the comments.
Glass is also a very economical material. Many local stores even cut it to size and chamfer the edges if desired. In combination with a steel frame, this should provide an additional ability to stop a fire in the event of a fire.
Yes. Glass is my favourite. I don’t know about corrugated plastic, but glass is much cheaper than acrylic and there is less chance of fire.
The pink foam is polystyrene and will melt, burn and give off toxic fumes. The best option is to use PIR foam, which will not melt, burn or emit toxic fumes. Buy it in the same place where you buy styrofoam, for about the same price, and maybe a little more.
“This study assessed the degree of release of toxic products, studied the toxicity, release time profiles and lethality of the released doses in a series of burning, unburned and poorly ventilated fires, and concluded that PIRs usually release levels of toxic products. were much higher compared to other insulation materials studied (PIR > PUR > EPS > PHF; glass and mineral wool were also studied)”
Corrugated plastic is not as durable as acrylic: after 2-3 years it breaks into a bunch of pieces…
Perhaps, but there is an “external” version of Coroplast for the roof. I understand it is 10mm thick. Most of them are transparent, but when compared to acrylic or glass, perhaps the price increase makes them less than ideal.
About 6-8 years ago, all those unnecessary frames for 3D printers were made of acrylic. This shitty thing – it breaks under the pressure of the screws. If you need clear plastic, PC is the best choice.
It should be noted that the PC can also be hacked. The trick is not to leave a cut edge because the crack can go through the plastic. The best way to create small screw holes is to melt them down with a soldering iron. You can also use a soldering iron or lighter to cut and trim the edges. This may not be valuable knowledge for a 3D printer, but it is vital for a drone canopy.
Also great for prototyping, especially when combined with hot glue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U-Se6spYbo
If you’re actually trying to create a strong structural bond, Coroplast can be tricky to use with hot glue, since at least the brand name Coroplast is polypropylene and doesn’t work with a lot of adhesives. I had to make a bunch of designs and packages using Coroplast and needed an industrial hot glue gun and special 3 meter long glue sticks to glue everything together. But for light bonding in general, Klopster is probably a good material.
Also worth considering are Sintra and Double Bond, which can be found fairly cheaply due to their widespread use in the sign making industry. Sintra is essentially a thick PVC foam often used for signage: it is easy to cut with a precision knife, CNC milled, has good stiffness and is very light in weight. But don’t play with fire/laser as PVC releases chlorine gas when burned. Dibond is a polyethylene sheet with a thin aluminum surface on one or both sides. It can be cut and notched with many common tools, is fire and UV resistant, and when partially cut has some remarkable structural/aesthetic properties.
I was looking for a case that looked great, was economical and easy to use. From what I’ve found, bread bins come in a variety of styles and seem like a good choice. They are usually made from bamboo, wood, stainless steel or steel. Can be installed on the back or front door. Some panels are rolled together for additional access during construction. The idea came from a recent article about building a computer with a 7400 chip. The builder used a bread box as a fence.
For greenhouses, there is a special UV-resistant Korplast, thicker for replacing glass and thinner for installation inside glass. It can survive for years in the harshest conditions.
A thinner material, 3–4mm thick, is used to diffuse light and provide some insulation on the sunny side of the greenhouse.
Double walled polycarbonate! Last year this time I was considering it as an alternative as I had a few spare sheets in the greenhouse and it was difficult to get a really clean cut on them (but in a pinch it’s easy to cut with a Stanley blade or a jigsaw)). Instead, I used the excess acetate from a Covid face mask I was making. Some duct tape and acetate tape to size and then cut your uncle’s hair!
I used a double walled computer located on the wall and at the bottom of the printer. Great thing, 8 mm thick, so it fits right into the T-slot (but does not add frame rigidity). It also offers pleasing optical effects thanks to the LED strips built into the printer.
Hello my friend. I made the case from a dense polyethylene film. Corrugated plastic is also a very good idea. Unfortunately it’s not transparent, but it’s a good idea.
Check mine here. The door is just a piece of plastic that I folded up. There are 2 magnets along the edge of the bottom, which are attracted by the screws in the bottom frame.
My folding kayak is made from a single sheet of corrugated sheet. Very strong until it hits big rocks. I have eaten it in minor rivers and several lakes.
I’d love to see your boats as I’m planning on making canoes with skins. I know corrugated plastic is strong, but have not considered using it for boat building. Part of the reason is that it’s hollow and only wants to bend in one direction.
Hello, I read some campaign/political jokes here. Want to explain a reference to a non-native speaker? I think I’m missing the connection to figure it out.
During elections, people place signs in their yards and where they are allowed to. Most of them are plastic sheets or corrugated plastic signs. The size is also very good, very close to the size of the yard. The signs usually stay in place until someone tries to pick them up and throw them away, and on a windy day they are everywhere.
Not in the People’s Republic of Minnesota. No election banner may be raised earlier than 30 days before the election and must be lowered within 10 days after the election. The penalties are severe enough to attract the candidate’s attention. Pro tip: Volunteer for signage.
Another benefit is that Coroplast sheets are thick enough to fit into the T-slots of standard 1″ aluminum profiles. The frame can be easily assembled from 80/20 and then just insert a Coroplast sheet.
In my lab, we used this trick (using black coroplast) to make light-tight housings for sensitive optical measurements. Special enclosures can be intricately shaped to surround devices in minutes. And cheap!
I’ve been playing around with acrylic recently and I agree that it’s not my choice for a case. However, I disagree with the author when it comes to tools for the job. With just a few scraps of plywood, a few paper clips, masking tape, a utility knife, and sandpaper, I was able to cut the boards to the dimensions I needed. Just took the time and made a clean cut. No cracks appeared. As for the cost, I was lucky. My local company, TAP Plastics, gave me a piece of paper from a scrap heap.
Lowes sells an acrylic notching tool. Basically, draw a deep line several times and bend it at the mark.
I agree with one of them – if you go to the seller, the glass is pretty cheap – they cut it to the exact size and either do the edging for you or they don’t. What’s more, you can get the desired thickness. Also, if you ask what they use in their current work and you need small pieces that can be made from scraps, it’s cheaper.
A few years ago I bought a lot of 10mm thick laminated tempered glass for my project – they were doing security and the big sheets of glass were left with debris. Unbreakable and excellent sound blocking!
I use aluminum composite panels and they work great. There are various trade names such as alucobond.
1. The frame is constructed from minimum size PVC pipes and fittings to ensure sufficient rigidity after all sidewalls and top have been removed. 2. The sides and top are made of foam (paper on both sides and foam in the middle). 3. All side and top foam panels are held in place by magnets. 4. Inexpensive steel fittings for creating fixing points for magnets from foam sheets on a PVC pipe. 5. Cutouts in the foam sheet on one side of the thin plastic window housing.
There are many PVC pipe fittings available on Thingiverse that can be 3D printed. Scale for different pipe sizes. example:
I made a frame out of poster board with styrofoam I had lying around and it worked great. It’s low tech, but the front cover is an old towel that can be used to access the front. I have a webcam that doesn’t need transparent sides, at least not all sides… built another case with a 1/8″ Luan panel and one sliding PC panel on the front. There is absolutely no reason to make all four faces transparent.
There are several videos on YouTube about this. I thought about doing it myself, but there is no space in the apartment. I bought an Inlet kayak from Oru. It’s not cheap, but well made. Even if you make it yourself, it’s worth watching how Oru does it.
Another option, especially if you are interested in fire safety, is to use drywall (cardboard, drywall) for sheathing. In fact, different thickness has a fire resistance grade, and methods for making products from it are common: seam sealant, seam tape, etc. First heard of its use in non-architectural applications to improve the fire resistance of fire safes, but for the same reason, it is also suitable for printers. However, my printer is old and completely centered, and it actually provides too much body for many of my prints, so…
Post time: Aug-23-2023