Clear acrylic panels have long been a mainstay in 3D printer enclosure design, but they also add costs in terms of money, shipping, weight and hassle. Another alternative material worth considering is corrugated plastic (also known by the trade name “coroplast”), which is cheap, lightweight, an excellent insulator, and easy to work with. Many cabinet designs can be modified to use it instead of acrylic, so let’s take a closer look at what it has to offer.
What makes acrylic an expensive choice is not just its purchase price. Acrylic is quite heavy, and parts the size of body panels can be expensive to ship. Additionally, cutting acrylic without special tools can be challenging as it can easily crack if not handled correctly. Acrylic cuts fine with a laser cutter, but most laser cutters available to hobbyists are not large enough to produce case-sized panels. If you need to cut acrylic by hand, here are some tips on how to use the tools you have.
It’s best to buy acrylic from your local store, where it can also be cut to size at a reasonable cost with the right tools, but it’s still far from a cheap material. There is another option: corrugated plastic has many properties that are worth paying attention to, especially for hobbyists.
Most of us are familiar with corrugated plastic as the material used to make lawn signs. Using it in an enclosure design isn’t a new idea (here’s a printer enclosure made entirely from it, and here’s a CNC router enclosure that also uses it), but rather than creating an entire enclosure, it just makes more sense. Use it only as panel material. There is no need to design a new case from scratch. You can use the existing structure and replace the acrylic panels with corrugated plastic panels.
It’s easier to find than acrylic sheets and certainly easier to work with. Any sign shop or plastic supplier will likely offer products in a variety of colors.
Corrugated plastic is 4mm thick rather than 3mm, meaning it is not necessarily a direct replacement for acrylic in existing designs. But not every case is limited by the thickness of the panel.
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.
This is a case that I built into a metal IKEA BROR shelving unit that easily fits a Prusa Mini 3D printer. BROR is made of angular metal sheets with evenly spaced holes. This makes it very convenient to turn a shelf section into a cabinet by simply installing a few side panels; the top and bottom form ordinary shelf surfaces.
The corrugated plastic panels not only fit easily behind the angled metal studs, but are secured entirely with a few short screws through convenient holes. Windows can be made by cutting a hole and gluing or gluing a clear plastic sheet on one or both sides. CA glue and most other adhesives work well on corrugated plastic.
The only inconvenience I encountered was when making the front door. Instead of making a cabinet door with hinges, I took advantage of the lightness of the material and made a simple removable lid. The shelf frame is steel, so I glued some strong magnets to a separate board to create a removable magnetic front cover. If necessary, I can close the front completely or leave a gap for air flow. The result is simple, attractive and, aside from the shelf itself, very inexpensive.
The only problem when retrofitting an existing enclosure designed for 3mm acrylic sheets is that 4mm corrugated plastic may not fit as it is slightly thicker. While you can always simply cut and remove the material until it fits, for best results you should redesign the panel fasteners to fit thicker material.
For example, I love the design of the Prusa V2 LACK body and its 3D printed parts, but next time I build it I will use corrugated plastic panels instead of acrylic. To do this, I redesigned the necessary parts so that 4mm thick material could be used.
Luckily, Prusa provides not only STL files, but also CAD files for its projects. Although it is possible to modify parts that exist only as STL files, access to CAD format files usually makes this task easier.
For 3D printers, housing design is still an unsolved problem. For those on a budget, “soft” fencing options such as plant photo tents or fabric grow boxes can be used, but there are ways to reduce the cost of more traditional designs. In this regard, corrugated plastic has many advantages.
The idea of using corrugated plastic in housings is not new, but it seems to be under-represented. Do you know of a shell that can be used effectively or particularly cleverly, or do you have any tricks of your own? We definitely want to hear it, so share your thoughts in the comments.
Glass is also a very economical material. Many local shops will even cut it to size and chamfer the edges if necessary. When used in conjunction with a steel frame, it should provide the additional ability to stop a fire should it occur.
Yes. Glass is my first choice. I don’t know about corrugated plastic, but glass is much cheaper than acrylic and less likely to cause a fire.
Pink Styrofoam is polystyrene that melts, burns and emits toxic fumes. A better option is to use PIR foam, which does not melt, burn, or emit toxic fumes. Buy it where you buy polystyrene foam for about the same price, or maybe a little more.
“The study assessed the magnitude of toxic product releases based on toxicity, release time profiles, and lethality at released doses over a range of burning, unburned, and poorly ventilated fires and concluded that PIRs typically emit releases similar to toxic release levels. production was 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 down into a bunch of pieces…
Perhaps, but there is an “external” version of Coroplast for roofs. I understand the thickness is 10mm. Most of them are clear, but if you compare them to acrylic or glass, perhaps the increase in prices will make them less than ideal.
About 6-8 years ago all those crap 3D printer frames were made from acrylic. This thing is terrible – it cracks under the pressure of the screws. If you want clear plastic, PC is the best choice.
It is important to note that hacking also occurs on PCs. The trick is to not leave the cut edge as cracks may come through the plastic. The best way to create small screw holes is to melt them with a soldering iron. You can also use a soldering iron or lighter to cut and decorate the edges. This may not be valuable knowledge for a 3D printer, but it is critical for a drone canopy.
Also great for prototyping, especially when combined with hot glue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U-Se6spYbo
Coroplast can be difficult to use with hot glue if you really want to create a strong structural bond, since at least the brand name Coroplast is polypropylene and doesn’t work with many glues. I needed to make a bunch of structures and packaging out of Coroplast, and I needed an industrial hot glue gun and special 3 meter long glue sticks to glue it all together. But for easy gluing, Cloopster is probably a good material overall.
Also worth considering are Sintra and Double Bond, which can be found quite cheaply due to their widespread use in the sign industry. Sintra is essentially a thick PVC foam commonly used to make signs: it can be easily cut with a precision knife, CNC routed, has good rigidity and is very light weight. But don’t play with fire/lasers as PVC releases chlorine when burned. Dibond is a polyethylene sheet with thin aluminum on one or both sides. It can be cut and scored 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 boxes come in a variety of styles and seem like a good choice. They are usually made from bamboo, wood, stainless steel or steel. You can install on the back or front door. Some have panels screwed together to provide additional access during construction. The idea came from a recent article about building a computer with a 7400 chip. The builder used a bread bin as a fence.
For greenhouses, there is a special UV-resistant Corroplast, both thicker for replacing glass and thinner for installation inside glass. It can survive for many 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 wall polycarbonate! Last year at this time I was considering this as an alternative as I had some spare sheets in the greenhouse but it was difficult to get a really clean cut on them (but in a pinch they can be easily cut with a Stanley blade or jigsaw)). Instead, I used excess acetate from a COVID mask I was making. A little tape and acetate, cut to size, and then cut your uncle’s hair!
I use a double wall computer located on the wall and bottom of the printer. Great stuff, 8mm thick so fits right into the T-slot (but doesn’t add any stiffness to the frame). It also offers some nice optical effects thanks to the LED strip built into the printer.
Hello my friend. I made the case from thick polyethylene film. Corrugated plastic is also a very good idea. Unfortunately, it’s not transparent, but it’s a good idea.
Check mine out 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 of the bottom frame.
My folding kayak is made from a sheet of corrugated sheet metal. Very durable until it hits big rocks. I have seen it on minor rivers and several lakes.
I would really like to see your boat as I am planning to build a skinned canoe. I knew that corrugated plastic was durable, but I had not considered using it for boat building. Part of the reason is that it is hollow and only wants to bend in one direction.
Hi, I’ve read some election/political jokes here. Want to explain the link for non-native speakers? I think I missed the connection with understanding this.
During elections, people place signs in their yards and wherever they are allowed. Most are plastic sheets or corrugated plastic signs. The size is also very good, very close to the size of the yard. These signs often stay in place until someone wants to pick them up and throw them away, causing them to end up all over the place on a windy day.
Not in the People’s Republic of Minnesota. No election signs may be raised more than 30 days before the election and must be put down within 10 days after the election. The penalties are severe enough to get the candidate’s attention. Pro Tip: Collect signs voluntarily.
Another advantage is that the thickness of the Coroplast sheet fits into the T-slots of standard 1-inch aluminum extrusions. The frame can be easily assembled from 80/20 and then simply inserted sheets of Coroplast.
In my lab, we used this trick (using black coroplast) to make light-tight enclosures for sensitive optical measurements. Custom enclosures with complex shapes can be made to surround the device in minutes. And cheap!
I’ve been playing around with acrylic recently and agree that it’s not my choice for a shell. However, I disagree with the author when it comes to tools for the job. I used just a few pieces of plywood, some clamps, masking tape, a utility knife, and some sandpaper to cut the board to the size 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 pile of scrap metal.
Lowes sells an acrylic scoring tool. Basically, draw a deep line several times and then fold it at the mark.
I agree with one of them – glass is very cheap, if you go to an upstream seller – they will cut it to the exact size and either make the edges for you or not. Moreover, you can get the thickness you need. It will also be cheaper if you ask them what they use in their current job and you need small parts that can be made from scraps.
A few years ago I bought a lot of 10mm thick laminated tempered glass for a project – they had a security function and a large piece of glass was left as rubbish. Unbreakable and perfect for blocking sounds!
I use aluminum composite panels and they work great. There are various trade names such as alucobond.
1. The frame is made of PVC pipes and fittings to a minimum size to ensure sufficient rigidity when removing all sides and top. 2. The sides and top are made of foam (paper on the sides, foam in the middle). 3. All side and top foam panels are held in place by magnets. 4. Inexpensive steel fittings for creating attachment points for foam magnets to PVC pipe. 5. Make cutouts in the foam on one side of the housing for the sheet plastic windows.
There are many 3D printed PVC pipe fittings available on Thingiverse. The proportions are suitable for pipes of different diameters. example:
I made a case out of poster board with some foam 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 camera that doesn’t need clear sides, at least not all sides… Built another body out of a 1/8″ Luan panel and one PC slide out panel on the front. There is absolutely no reason to make all 4 sides transparent.
There are several videos on YouTube about this. I was thinking about doing it myself, but I don’t have room in the apartment. I bought an Inlet kayak from Oru. It’s not cheap, but it’s well made. Even if you do it yourself, it’s worth watching how Oru does it.
Another option, especially if you are interested in fire safety, is to use plasterboard (lining, plasterboard) for sheathing. In fact, different thicknesses have a fire resistance rating, and the methods of making products from it are common: seam sealant, seam tape, etc. I first heard of its use for non-construction purposes when adding a layer to improve the fire resistance of a fire safe, but for the same reason because it is also suitable for printers. However, my printer is old and completely central, and it actually gives me too much body for a lot of my prints, so….
Post time: Jan-18-2024