Safety of an all-plastic (ie lexan/polycarbonate) cab

[digitap]

I'm thinking about making a small cabinet where the sides, or preferable, the entire cabinet is made from polycarbonate (lexan).  Since it's a very poor insulator and can store up static electricity on the surface, would there be any danger to the users?  I'm thinking if a monitor was decased and mounted, would it ever try to arc over to the lexan sides?

Would any static buildup cause concern to the other components - controls, ipac, pc, etc?

Would the normal ground from the pc and monitor power supplies and cords be sufficient?

I suppose building a frame out of metal or wood, then attaching the lexan to it might alleviate some of this, but I'd prefer a completley clear case.  I know I've seen completely clear pc cases, but don't know what they're made out of.

[JCL]

If everything is wired up correctly, this shouldn't be a problem. Why should this be any worse than other non-conductive cabinets. Wood is an insulator as is the plastic found around almost all CRTs you will come across (TVs, computer monitors, etc).

I wouldn't worry about this at all as long as you properly wire the cabinet. And if you screwed up wiring, it wouldn't matter if the cabinet was plastic or wood or whatever. Pay proper attention to grounding and everything should be fine.

[Franco]

Any idea what kinda price 1/2" - 3/4" poly/lexan is? Cant imagine it being cheap. Would love to see an all lexan cab though!

[digitap]

Yeah, 1/2" is big $$, don't know if they even make 3/4.  That's why I was thinking a bartop-style.  I'm a bit worried about it being stiff enough to properly hold a monitor, so was thinking a wood/metal framework - that would also help with screwing the pieces together, as trying to put a screw or other fastener into something <1/2" would be tricky at the least.  I'm sure there's ways to glue/bond it together, but then there's the serviceability aspect to think of, too.

[AlanS17]

Well 1/4" lexan would be hard enough, but it bends. That would pose a problem.

[Bones]

I just got a large sheet of Lexan that is 8mm (5/16") thick.

The first thing that struck me is just how heavy it is. It really is heavy and comparable to 18mm MDF in weight. This stuff would not bend but I would expect if it was loaded wrong it may snap violently.

I dunno how it would handle the weight of a monitor but the piece I have feels pretty damn strong.

[AlanS17]

No bend at all? Interesting...

I don't know what it would take to snap it, but I know you can lay it on the ground and pound it with a sledge without cracking it..

[Quarters]

MonitorGuru, Where did you get that pic? Is there a site that goes with it? I've been thinking along similar lines only with side art printed on transparencies lit up from within.

[AlanS17]

I think it's form a museum or something. Don't quote me on that. I wouldn't know where to go looking for the orignal machine, but the picture has been floating around for more than a couple years already.

[tommy]

Why would you want to see everything inside the cab? If you were dead set on making that sort of machine atleast make it with a grey plastic so it dosen't look like a CP and marquee floating in the air. I also would think all the heat from inside would fog up and maybe even melt some of the plastic.

Make it thick. 3/8

[AlanS17]

I don't think heat would cause any problems with the plastic. It would get gross on the inside, though. Every machine does. And you can't just wipe it clean. It'll scratch very easily.

[JCL]

Lexan won't snap without *extreme* abuse. Acrylic (plexiglass) is much more breakable.

If it seems stiff enough, it is certainly strong enough.