Question Best way to bond Metal and ABS?

az4521

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i'm making a portable using the bottom half of a motorola xoom tablet, which is metal.

i've sanded off the finish and all the logos, so i've got a nice stainless steel bit of metal.
how would i bond the plastic for the rest of the case properly? i was going to use hot glue, but after reading a few things on frankencasing i realized that's a terrible idea.
 

GingerOfOz

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Almost as bad of an idea as putting a Dremel head in a drill.

What are you using for the rest of your case? Is there a reason you want to keep the metal part? To me, it just sounds like using that would be a mess, especially for when you will need to cut out holes for your cooling system in the back. I would consider moving to an all frankencasing or 3D printed route. Epoxy might work for securing the two halves together, but then the problem is that you have no way to take apart your portable and put it back together when something comes loose.
 

az4521

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i actually did that dremel head drill test and it failed spectacularly. definitely getting a proper dremel.

i just really like the look of shiny metal and want that on my portable. i've already spent 10 hours sanding it, so i might as well use it.
and i dont really anticipate me taking it apart at all. i'm lazy AF and i'll probably just jam it full of hot glue so nothing comes loose.
as for the cooling system, i was planning on having it exhaust from a hole in the top of the case, or be passively cooled. passive cooling is probably possible, considering the heatsink i'm using is for a passively cooled 15W TDP GPU.
 

Stitches

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Passive cooling isn't such a good idea for such a small enclosed device. Fans are much safer.
 

az4521

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does the wii auto shut off when it gets too hot or does it just melt?
i dont really have anything to read the temerature of it properly, nor any idea as to what a "safe" temperature is

could i just dump the heat into the case? it's metal after all.
 
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I think you're better off going for a metallic finish on a plastic case. Paint can do wonders. I know you've invested a lot of time on prepping this metal piece, but I think it's better not to invest more if it has such a large chance of failing. Just my $0.02.
 

GingerOfOz

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There's also the fact that metal conducts, so if you were to use it you'd have to put electrical tape all along the metal, which would just be a pain.
 

cheese

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does the wii auto shut off when it gets too hot or does it just melt?
i dont really have anything to read the temerature of it properly, nor any idea as to what a "safe" temperature is
If you can't touch it, it's too hot.
The auto shutoff is the cpu or gpu shorting out because the die melted. The wii is very forgiving in many aspects, but heat is not one. AFAIK the only safety was the original U5 that is removed when trimming.

could i just dump the heat into the case? it's metal after all.
Since the case is metal, dumping heat into the case will transfer some of that heat to all the other components, including any batteries, screen, glue, etc that may be in there, potentially and probably damaging/melting them. Also, if you intend to hold the portable, it will get quite hot to the touch, since all the heat generated will eventually transfer to the case.
 

az4521

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If you can't touch it, it's too hot.
The auto shutoff is the cpu or gpu shorting out because the die melted. The wii is very forgiving in many aspects, but heat is not one. AFAIK the only safety was the original U5 that is removed when trimming.


Since the case is metal, dumping heat into the case will transfer some of that heat to all the other components, including any batteries, screen, glue, etc that may be in there, potentially and probably damaging/melting them. Also, if you intend to hold the portable, it will get quite hot to the touch, since all the heat generated will eventually transfer to the case.
so ive been running too hot then. gotcha. time to get a fan from somewhere i guess. i'd rather not have my wii turn to silicon-based lava
 
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