Clear acrylic panels have long been a mainstay in 3D printer enclosure design, but they also add significant cost in money, shipping, weight, and hassle.Another material worth looking at is corrugated plastic (also known by its trade name coroplast), which is cheap, lightweight, an excellent insulator, and easy to use.Many enclosure designs can be retrofitted to use it in place of acrylic, so let’s take a closer look at what it offers.
It’s not just the purchase price that makes acrylic an expensive option.Acrylic is fairly heavy, and shipping parts the size of an enclosure panel can be expensive.Also, cutting acrylic without special tools can be a challenge as it can easily crack if not handled properly.Acrylic cuts beautifully in a laser cutter, but most laser cutters available to hobbyists are not large enough to make enclosure-sized panels.If you insist on cutting acrylic by hand, here are some tips on how to use the tools you have.
It’s best to source acrylic from a local store that can also cut it to size at a reasonable price with the right tools, but it’s still far from a cheap material.There is another option: Corrugated plastic has many properties worth considering, especially for hobbyists.
Most of us know that corrugated plastic is the material for lawn signs.It’s not a new idea to use it in an enclosure design (it’s a printer enclosure made entirely of it, and here’s a CNC mill enclosure that uses it), but rather than making an entire enclosure out of it, it makes more sense to just make it Used as panel material.No need to design a new enclosure from scratch.It is possible to use an existing design and replace the acrylic panels with corrugated plastic panels.
It’s easier to source than acrylic, and certainly easier to use.Any sign store or plastic supplier will likely have it in a variety of colors.
The corrugated plastic material is 4mm thick instead of 3mm, which means it’s not necessarily a direct replacement for acrylic in existing designs.But not every enclosure is limited by the thickness of the panel.
The two easiest ways to use this material are to create an enclosure by adding panels to an existing structure, or to use an existing design but replace acrylic with corrugated plastic.Below are examples of both.
Here’s an enclosure I built into an IKEA BROR metal shelving unit that easily fits a Prusa Mini 3D printer.BROR is made of angled metal pieces with regularly spaced holes.This makes it very convenient to turn a shelf section into an enclosure with just a few side panels installed; a regular shelf surface provides a top and bottom.
Not only do corrugated plastic panels fit easily behind angled metal posts, but they are fully secured with just a few short screws through convenient holes.Windows can be made by cutting a hole and gluing or gluing a sheet of clear plastic to one or both sides.CA glue and most other adhesives work well on corrugated plastic.
The only inconvenience I encountered was when making a door for the front.Instead of using hinges to make cabinet doors, I made a simple removable cover using the lightweight properties of the material.The shelf frame is steel, so I glued a couple of strong magnets to a separate board to create a removable front cover that attaches magnetically.I can close the front completely, or leave a gap for airflow if needed.The result is simple, attractive, and low cost in addition to the shelves themselves.
The only problem with retrofitting an existing enclosure designed for 3mm acrylic sheet is that the 4mm corrugated plastic may not fit as they are slightly thicker.While it is always possible to simply cut and peel the material until it fits, for best results, the panel holding parts should be redesigned to accommodate thicker materials.
For example, I love the Prusa V2 LACK case design and its 3D printed parts, but next time I’ll use corrugated plastic panels instead of acrylic.For this, I redesigned the necessary parts to accept 4mm thick material.
Fortunately, Prusa provides not only STL files for its designs, but also CAD files.While it is possible to modify parts that exist only as STL files, often having access to CAD format files makes such tasks easier.
Housing design is still an unsolved problem for 3D printers.”Soft” enclosure options, such as photo tents or fabric grow boxes for plants, are cost-conscious options, but there are ways to reduce the cost of more traditional designs.Corrugated plastic offers many advantages in this regard.
The idea of using corrugated plastic in enclosures isn’t new, but it seems underrepresented.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 about it, so please share your thoughts in the comments.
Glass can also be a very cost-effective material.Many local stores will even cut it to size and chamfer it if desired.When combined with a steel frame, it should provide some additional opportunity to stop a fire should someone start.
Yes.Glass is my first choice.I don’t know about corrugated plastic, but glass is much cheaper than acrylic and less likely to catch fire.
The pink foam is polystyrene, which melts, burns, and produces toxic fumes.A better option is to use PIR foam that doesn’t melt, burn, and produce no toxic fumes.Buy Styrofoam in the same place for about the same price or more.
“The study assessed the extent of toxic product release, observed toxicity, time release profiles and lethality of released doses in a series of fires with, without fire and poor ventilation, and concluded that PIR generally releases more Other insulating materials studied are much higher toxic products (PIR > PUR > EPS > PHF; glass and asbestos were also studied)”
Corrugated plastic is not as durable as acrylic: after 2/3 years, it just dissolves into a pile of shards…
Probably, but there is an “exterior” version of coroplast for roofs.I believe it’s like 10mm thick.Most are clear, but if you compare it to acrylic or glass, it may add to the price making it less than ideal
About 6-8 years ago, all those worn-out 3D printer kit frames were made of acrylic.This thing sucks – cracks under screw pressure.If you want clear plastic, a PC is a better choice.
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 difficult to use with hot glue because at least the name brand coroplast is PP, which doesn’t work with many adhesives.I had to use coroplast to make a bunch of structures and packaging, and needed an industrial hot glue gun and specific 3m glue sticks to glue these things together.But for lightweight gluing and in general, coroplast can be a good material.
Also worth considering are sintra and dibond, which can be found quite cheaply due to their ubiquity in the sign making industry.Sintra is basically thick PVC foam usually used for signs – it can be easily cut with a precision knife, can be cnc milled, and has good rigidity and very light weight.While PVC releases chlorine gas when burned, it is not intended for use with fire/lasers.Dibond is a PE sheet with a thin aluminum face on one or both sides – it can be cut and scored with many conventional tools, is fire + UV resistant, and has some cool structural/aesthetic properties when partially cut .
I was looking for a good looking case that was cost effective and ready to use right away.As I found out, bread boxes come in a variety of styles and look like a good option.They are usually made of bamboo, wood, stainless steel or steel.You can install to the back or front door.Some screw the panels together to allow extra access during construction.The idea came from a recent article on building a computer with the 7400 chip.The builder used a bread box for his paddock.
There is a special UV-resistant Corroplast for greenhouses, thick to replace glass and thin to fit inside glass.It can survive for many years in the harshest environments.
Thinner 3-4mm material is used to diffuse light and insulate on the sunny side of the greenhouse.
Double Wall Polycarbonate!I used it as a substitute this time last year because I had a few spare sheets in the greenhouse but had trouble cutting cleanly on them (but easy to trim with a Stanley blade or jigsaw in a pinch).Instead, I ended up using a lot of acetate which was left over from a covid face screen I was making.A little scotch tape and acetate, trim to your uncle’s size and bob!
I used a dual wall PC on the walls and bottom of the printer.Great stuff, 8mm thick so it fits just right in the T-slot (but doesn’t add stiffness to the frame).It also provides some nice optics with the LED strip built into my printer.
Hey guy.I made my enclosure out of thick plastic wrap.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.The bottom edge has 2 magnets that are attracted by screws in the bottom frame.
My foldable kayak is made from a sheet of corrugated paper.Very sturdy as long as you don’t hit big rocks.I’ve encountered it in a class 2 river and several lakes.
I’d love to see your boat as I’m planning to make a leather canoe.I know corrugated plastic is tough but haven’t considered using it in boat building.Partly due to being hollow, it only wants to bend in one direction.
Hi, I read some election/political jokes here.Do you want to explain references for non-native speakers?I think I’m missing the link to understand it.
During the election, people placed signs on their yards and wherever they were allowed to.Most of these are plastic sheets or corrugated plastic signs.The size is also beautiful, very close to the correct size for the yard.The signs are usually left in place until someone tries to pick them up and throw them away, and they end up all over the place on windy days.
Not in the People’s Republic of Minnesota.Election signs may not be raised before 30 days before the election and must be lowered within 10 days of the election.The penalties are severe enough to get the candidate’s attention.Pro tip: Voluntarily pick up signs.
Another benefit is that a sheet of Coroplast is thick enough to fit in the T-slots of a standard 1-inch aluminum extrusion.An 80/20 frame can easily be built, then simply slide in the coroplast sheet.
In my lab we’ve been using this trick (with black coroplast) to make opaque enclosures for sensitive optical measurements.Intricately shaped custom enclosures to bypass devices can be made in minutes.And it’s cheap!
I’ve been playing with acrylic a bit lately and agree it’s not my shell choice.However, when it comes to tools for work, I disagree with the author.With just a few pieces of plywood, some clips, painter’s tape, a utility knife, and some sandpaper, I was able to cut my sheets to the size I needed.I just took the time to make clean cuts.There are no cracks.As for the cost, I was lucky.My local TAP Plastics gave me a piece of paper from their junk pile.
Lowes sells scoring tools for acrylic.Basically run the deep line a few times and then fold at the mark.
I like one of those – if you go to an upstream seller the glass is very cheap – they will either cut it to the exact size or do/don’t do the edging for you.What’s more, you can get the thickness you want.Also, it’s cheaper if you ask what they are using in their current job and you want small pieces that can be made from scrap.
I bought a whole bunch of 10mm laminated tempered glass for a project a few years ago – they were doing a security application and had some debris left from their large expanse.Unbreakable and great for stopping sounds!
I use aluminum composite panels and it works great.Use a different trade name like alucobond, eg.
1. The frame is made of PVC pipe and minimum size fittings, which will provide sufficient stiffness when all sides and top are removed.2. The sides and top are made of dollar store foam board (paper on both sides and foam in the middle).3. All sides and top of the foam board are held in place with magnets.4. Some cheap steel hardware to create attachment points for the foam board magnets on the PVC pipe 5. Cutouts in the multi-sided foam board of the enclosure for thin plastic sheet windows
There are many 3D printable PCV fittings on Thingiverse.Scale different pipe sizes.example:
I built an enclosure out of foam core poster board lying around and it worked great.Low tech, but an old towel is used to access the front front cover.I have a camera that doesn’t need transparent sides, at least none of them need to be transparent… Constructed another enclosure with a 1/8″ luan panel and a single sliding PC panel on the front.There is absolutely no reason for all 4 sides to be transparent.
There are several YouTube videos about this.I considered making my own, but in an apartment, there is no floor space.I bought Inlet kayak from Oru.It’s not cheap, but it’s well made.Even if you make your own, it’s worth seeing how Oru does things.
Another option, especially if you are interested in fire safety, is to use drywall (wallboard, drywall) as your paneling.The different thicknesses actually have fire ratings, and the techniques for building things with it are common: joint compound and tape for seams, etc.First heard of using it in non-architectural applications to add a layer to increase the fire rating of a fire safe, but for the same reason it is suitable for printers as well.That said my printer is old and absolutely centric enough that it actually has too much casing for many of my prints, so….
I’ve never seen an IKEA Lack table used as a real coffee table.I guess they are too useful for other things.
see more pp corflute sheet manufacturer
Plastic Corrugated Sheet
Pp Honeycomb Board For The Floor Protection
Post time: Jul-19-2022