lexan vs. crystallite

[Silverwind]

Ok..

At the local home depot they have both lexan and crystallite in the size I need (2x4 sheet)

the lexan is about 50 and the crystallite is about 30.. (roughly)

I e-mailed home depot and they said both products ARE polycarbonate.  They also said the lexan is "stronger".  Not sure if they are just trying to plug their name brand product that costs more or not.  Both are polycarbonate which is one of the main factors..  

Has anyone used crystallite? How is it?  It would be nice to save money.. but if the lexan is much higher quality i'll just get that instead..

Thanks!

[SNAAAKE]

Has anyone used crystallite? How is it?  It would be nice to save money.. but if the lexan is much higher quality i'll just get that instead..

Thanks!

I think its just another name for plexi glass..you can tell by the price difference..

[kspiff]

Is crystallite the stuff with the pink protective sheets?  I bought some Lexan (or so I thought -- it was marked Lexan XL) a few weeks ago which seemed surprisingly flimsy and I think it was really crystallite with the wrong tag.. I can cut the thin 1/8" sheets with scissors, somewhat.. it routed out OK, though, so I'm going to try it.. doesn't seem too flimsy for covering a CP, but then again I don't plan on dishing out major abuse.

[Silverwind]

Has anyone used crystallite? How is it?  It would be nice to save money.. but if the lexan is much higher quality i'll just get that instead..

Thanks!

I think its just another name for plexi glass..you can tell by the price difference..

well.. it was polycarbonate according to the staff.. plexiglass is acrylic.. and also the cost for a 2x4 plexiglass was like 15 bucks

[Silverwind]

Is crystallite the stuff with the pink protective sheets?  I bought some Lexan (or so I thought -- it was marked Lexan XL) a few weeks ago which seemed surprisingly flimsy and I think it was really crystallite with the wrong tag.. I can cut the thin 1/8" sheets with scissors, somewhat.. it routed out OK, though, so I'm going to try it.. doesn't seem too flimsy for covering a CP, but then again I don't plan on dishing out major abuse.

I felt some of the crystallite there and the lexan.. both seemed pretty decent.. of course I didn't pull them out or use them so hard to tell..

Was the price tag marked lexan XL or the protective film?  The protective film should say lexan on it also..

i have 5/8 wood.. will get 1/8 lexan to finish it up..  will get it tommorow evening and don't want to have to do it twice

[SNAAAKE]

 don't want to have to do it twice

OH YOU HAVE NO IDEA !  

You do not wanna do this twice..if you buy plexi,just be carefull and drill backward if lexan then whatever.anyway works..

I actually broke the plexi glass first time i wanted to drill plexi..after like couple of holes..BAM !..and here we have a broken plexi glass...

[Silverwind]

 don't want to have to do it twice

OH YOU HAVE NO IDEA !  

You do not wanna do this twice..if you buy plexi,just be carefull and drill backward if lexan then whatever.anyway works..

I actually broke the plexi glass first time i wanted to drill plexi..after like couple of holes..BAM !..and here we have a broken plexi glass...

A) I'm definatly not going with plexi

B) I will be using standard wood drill bits and possibly a router. (I have access to one but won't use it if drill bit works fine)

[kspiff]

The price tag said Lexan XL.. but oddly enough the pricing was NOT for Lexan (36x40 sheet was @ $22USD).. no labeling on the sheet indicating that it was Lexan, though, no.. at the time, the only [marked] sheets of Lexan they had were too small, stripped and scratched up.. judging by the disorganization of the display and amount of 'Lexan XL' they had, I'm guessing they misordered and/or mislabeled a batch of Crystallite PC.. curmudgeonly ---daisies---..

They wouldn't cut the Lexan that day, either.. still not sure what the deal with that was, I've had it done there before..

If the crystallite doesn't get scratched during play, though, then it machines well enough that I may keep using it.. much cheaper.

[Tiger-Heli]

I think Crystallite would be fine for what you are doing.  I looked at both products, but haven't used either one.

[Smittydc]

Silver,

The crystalite works fine.  I've used it on all my control panels -- it cuts nicely, resists scratches well, and I had no problem drilling holes in it (with a piece of scrap wood clamped on the back for support, of course).

In fact, I was just cutting and dremmeling some yesterday for a new project.

[Silverwind]

Silver,

The crystalite works fine.  I've used it on all my control panels -- it cuts nicely, resists scratches well, and I had no problem drilling holes in it (with a piece of scrap wood clamped on the back for support, of course).

In fact, I was just cutting and dremmeling some yesterday for a new project.

Ok.. I guess i'll buy the crystallite and see what happens hehe

I'll just use a router to cut off the edges and then drill bit to drill the holes..

did you have any problem with "melting"?  I have heard that sometimes ifyou drill fast it sort of melts a little bit..

[Smittydc]

Well, I found that using a normaltype-drill bit (the one shapped like an arrow) rather than the hole cutters (shaped like a donut) worked better.  I'd drill a little slowly to get it started and then crank it up.  Definitely clamp a piece of wood behind the crystalite and attach both to your workbench to keep it from moving around.

If you're comfortable with your router and have the proper drill bit, a nice trick is to put the overlay on top of your pre-drilled wooden control panel, drill small pilot holes, and then rout out your button holes -- its works very smootly.

<also, I know there are proper names for those drill bits, I'm just too lazy this morning to look them up  >

[Tiger-Heli]

<also, I know there are proper names for those drill bits, I'm just too lazy this morning to look them up  >

Spade bit and hole saw ;-)

[SNAAAKE]

Well, I found that using a normaltype-drill bit (the one shapped like an arrow) rather than the hole cutters (shaped like a donut) worked better.  I'd drill a little slowly to get it started and then crank it up.  Definitely clamp a piece of wood behind the crystalite and attach both to your workbench to keep it from moving around.

If you're comfortable with your router and have the proper drill bit, a nice trick is to put the overlay on top of your pre-drilled wooden control panel, drill small pilot holes, and then rout out your button holes -- its works very smootly.

<also, I know there are proper names for those drill bits, I'm just too lazy this morning to look them up  >

You didnt say anything about goin backward?

I think the bit you are refearing is called a spade bit right
?
Silverwind,you can use a spade bit and go backward and have perfectly drilled holes.gotta clamp a piece of wood though..otherwise you just break it..
Here is a picture of melted holes using spade bit.

Might have to copy and paste to see the pictures.
http://snake11417.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/panelplexiholed.gif

[DeathMonk]

I purchased 1/8" thick lexan at a local "plastics" shop and payed a lot less that what I would have payed for regular plexi at a hardware store.

-use lexan.

[rampy]

I fail to see how putting instant mix diet iced tea onto your control panel will help the situation.



rampy

[cuthulas]

DON'T DO THE CRYSTALLITE!!!  Lexan is WAY better ... you can bend, beat, drill Lexan without any problems.  You WILL have to be much more delicate with the Crystallite.  I just finished working with lexan on my CP and Marquee and its AWESOME.  I have a standard piece of cheapy plexi to place over the bezel, but it sucks and I will be checking the local glass shops for smoked plexi after seeing OSCAR's comparisons.  

Anyhow, spend the little extra on the Lexan now and you won't regret it in the long run where someone could accidentally chip a piece off your Crystallite.  

Cuth

[DeathMonk]

I fail to see how putting instant mix diet iced tea onto your control panel will help the situation.



rampy

LOL

[Smittydc]

Cuthulas -- it's very unlikely that you'd chip off a piece of crystalite.  Its a polycarbonate material (like lexan, tuffad, etc).

Have you actually used the stuff? Or are you just in love with Lexan?

[cuthulas]

Chances are you won't chip a piece off of any glass/plexi once you have it installed AND if you machine it properly.  

And no, I have worked with crystallite more than playing around with it when I was deciding between the two.  Lexan certainly impressed me more.  I don't have statistics or specifics, but common knowledge is lexan is more durable ... just play around with both and it is obvious.  Also, I have yet to hear of someone accidentally cracking or breaking thier lexan in preparation.  And from the way I beat the hell outta my lexan in preparing it, I'm convinced.  

I used a jigsaw to cut out the CP , trackball hole, and marquee, a boring bit on my drill to make the holes, and a file to smooth out any rough edges ... for a 4-player panel.  Not one scratch, break, crack, or problem to be seen.  I did this all fairly "ghetto-style" as I don't have a workshop, workbench, or great tools and it came out perfectly.  I doubt I could say the same if I used Crystallite.    

I will say that Crystallite WILL work, as it has for many.  But Lexan is without a doubt a better material ... so it just comes down to a person deciding what is more important to them: price or quality.  Like shoes, I'm the type of person who will put more money into a good pair of shoes in hopes that they will last a longer time versus less money into cheaper shoes of lesser quality.

BRB to make another love stain on my lexan...

Cuth

[BombProofPlane]

lexan is way better you can bend 90 degree angles into it cold and it wont crack

this has 0 to do with making a panel but more to do with pc modding

[ErikRuud]

SNAAAKE,

That was a Joke   and was not realted to anything you said.

"Crystal Lite" is also the name of a diet drink mix that comes in many flavors including iced tea.

[Silverwind]

Thanks for all of your input!

I eneded up getting the crystallite for three reasons.

1) They did not have lexan in the size I wanted, I would have had to purchase a larger sheet and then cut it down, whereas the crystallite sheet required minimal cutting as it was close to the same dimensions.

2) Price obviously, the lexan was 66% higher cost.

3) It is polycarbonate instead of acrylic.

------

Results?

Was VERY easy to cut, just scored it several times with a utility knife and broke it on the score by applying preassure on the side with the score.  I had it clamped between two pieces of wood (cp top and a scrap) so that only what needed to be trimmed off was exposed.  made it easy to score and break.

After cutting it to size, I screwed it down to the top of the CP.  I drilled a pilot hole through the Crystallite and also used a counter sink bit to countersink the screw.  

Then I took the CP (with the crystallite on the top) and turned it upside down.. and put some scrap wood underneath where I would drill.  Then I drilled out all of the holes and it went REAL smooth.  I used a 1 & 1/8" spade boring bit.  I let the drill bit cool after each set of holes as it got pretty hot.  The crystallite drilled perfectly, it was very easy to tell when you were all the way through.

After I drilled all the holes I flipped the top over again and unscrewed the crystallite.   Then the protective film was removed and I rescrewed it back to the top of the CP.  Looks good!

it was a little loose in the middle.. I was thinking.. hmm.. will I have to add another screw??  It was like DUH after I put the buttons on.. they will hold it pretty firm after you tighten them up.. hehe.. and yeah it's pretty good after I added all the buttons.. did not get time to finish though.. will add the joysticks and wiring tonight!

Have taken a lot of pics but don't have them on the net yet..