I really hate laptop configurations. The laptop I NEED doesn't exist.
However, a laptop motherboard that potentially could fulfill 90% of my requirements does!

Therefore, I would like to build my own laptop. I realise laptop hardware is not really plug-and-play - but let's leave this concern out.

What I am interested right now is the custom laptop case material. I don't know much. So, I've settled on perspex (that clear plastic sheet).
It has some rigidigy, it's not as heavy as other options, has a bonus for being clear or colored and I am pretty sure it can be manipulated by an amateur like me.

Could I please ask for some directions and general chat (I am not even asking for exact recipes!) on how to:
1. Mount posts for the motherboard to be installed on
2. Attach two perspex pieces to each other, especially making edges (like, how would one make a box out of 6 perspex sheets?)
3. Reinforce big perspex sheets (like, do they sell some thin steel profile that I could cut and stick to the bigger perspex pieces, to resist flexing?)

I really think my laptop configuration is what 30% of the laptop buyers REALLY would like their computer to be like!

 

Perspex/Acrylic is not very impact resistant and weight-for-weight, not as strong as polycarbonate (Lexan) or ABS plastics.

A Perspex laptop case, made with light, thin sheet, will probably not hold up for very long with ordinary handling.

 

I suggest you look into 3D printing services to create a custom case with structural reinforcement.

 

All cuts must be perfectly smooth and square (or as perfect as you can make it).

You do not glue parts in the conventional manner. You dissolve the acrylic using dichloromethane (methylene chloride).

To bond parts together, you assemble the complete unit and hold it together with tape and elastic bands.
Fill a syringe with a fine needle with dichloromethane and apply the liquid at the joints. The liquid will get sucked into the joints by capillary action and the parts will bond instantly. Do not use more than necessary. You cannot undo the joint.

 

What are the specs that you expect from the laptop?

 

I suggest you look into 3D printing services to create a custom case with structural reinforcement.

I looked into 3D printing and carbon-fibre molding but I am scared the extra knowledge and work needed might steal too much time from playing with the electronics.

I should have mentioned the perspex will be a prototype and, once I get an idea of case design, I might consider paying a freelancer to model a proper case.
I've told about this idea to my boss and he surprised me by saying he has a 3D printer and I can have a few go's for free!

In any case, I am not delusional that my skills are even remotely going to compete with a real manufacturer. I am defintiely not going to use this laptop as a daily driver.

@kubeek
My problem with current laptops:
A. Every laptop with a decent quality screen is also sold with a dedicated graphics card. I do not play games. All I want is 1080p with great colors and viewing angles. The problems with an unneeded graphics card are obvious
B. Most laptops I've seen have a specialized charge manager. Should you change the OS, suddenly, you can't install the charge manager and your battery will wear out in a few weeks.
Even both of my Dells, who have some charge manager on the BIOS level, are actually not charging the battery right when Ubuntu is installed.
C. Even the best laptop speakers are inadequate. I realise the speakers I want to install may increase the case size significantly - let me solve that problem!
D. I am interested to configure such a laptop that can pass the following benchmark: "play a youtube video for 16 hours on battery". It may involve using some crazy battery configuration that is not practical - but remember that I am just tinkering.
E. I simply cannot and will not use clickpads. I am a touchpad+2 buttons kinda guy!
F. Plenty of other problems, like inadequate thermal dissipation, durability (of the laptops I can afford), weird key placements like putting the power key where I would normally hold the laptop or putting the power keep such that I need to open the lid, et cetera...

 

As far as mounting the motherboard to the base, I recommend using nylon standoffs. They are available on Amazon, home DIY stores and local hardware stores in the US.

 

As far as mounting the motherboard to the base, I recommend using nylon standoffs. They are available on Amazon, home DIY stores and local hardware stores in the US.
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Not the best name but I am so happy you showed this to me!

 

Lucite/Acrylic/Perspex can't handle much heat. You will have to be careful about that.

Good luck, I think you are going to have a lot of trouble not doing this right, even as a prototype.

Maybe look into laser cut aluminum and polycarbonate. You will have to learn a little CAD, but it will save time in the end, and probably get a much better outcome.

I hope you prove me wrong!

 

oh, I am pretty sure that my first box will crack after a few manipulations.

But I am concentrated on experimenting with how customizable it is. Once I am happy with a config, can start optimizing it

 

The VERY FIRST THING that came into my mind is ESD (Electro Static Discharge) protection. Plastics are notoriously prone to generating static charges. Slide it across your lap and you can create tens of thousands of volts. My wife has one of those plastic floor protectors at her home computer station. Sometimes (in dry climates) when I sit at her computer wearing socks and I slide my feet across the plastic I get a hell of a snap as my body discharges to the keyboard. Fortunately the engineers thought about ESD protection and the computer has suffered no harm.

If you're going to build a plastic case for a computer you had better be able to shield against ESD. Otherwise you could be throwing a lot of time, energy and money at a project that is doomed to costly failure. Personally, I would not even think of doing what you seek to do.

 

@Tonyr1084 As for whether I should do this at all - people do all sorts of crazy things. I have a spare laptop that's otherwise working but a really fragile, already on its last leg, case. And I do have a lot of ideas that I think have a small but exisiting chance to pan out.
Worst case: I realise my desires from laptop were a dream and I concede with the laptops I have

As for the ESD - that's gold! Thank you!
I would definitely try to prevent this while working.

For the end product: any idea how professionally made laptops shield against ESD? I mean, the case there is plastic, too.

 

It's been about a hundred years since I tore open a laptop. I believe there's a metal shield protecting the mother-board from ESD. I don't know that for a fact though. There may be conductive coatings that can be applied, but again, I don't know that for a fact.

 

It's been about a hundred years since I tore open a laptop. I believe there's a metal shield protecting the mother-board from ESD. I don't know that for a fact though. There may be conductive coatings that can be applied, but again, I don't know that for a fact.

I can confirm Tony’s observation. In all the laptops I’ve deconstructed, there has been a thin metal layer under the motherboard and on the inside of the case.

 

Why not Lexan, polycarbonate, instead of perspex? It can even be bent without heat so there will/can be fewer joints in the case. The gluing of joints is about the same and drilling holes through it has much less chance of cracking.

But on another note, it seems like your putting to much emphasis on something that will only use what is needed to do what you want from it, the graphics card. It won't automatically start playing games if you don't tell it to. and for things like CAD it may even be needed by the program.

 

I will order samples of both, at different thicknesses, to play with!

 

The reason they mold laptop cases is because of aesthetics and mounting. You will never do a homemade job that looks like your hoping for.
You would need a Cad program to make sure all the other components fit like you want. You can't just say I'm going to put a hard drive, DVD burner and everything else in without knowing if what you want will even work. A motherboard is only one part of a computer. What about the screen and the pivot of it? The mouse control? Off/ on buttons? A whole lot of thought would be needed to go into this.

I'm gonna say at least a year or more! this ain't some two week do it yourself thing. you'll see.

Perspex/Acrylic is not very impact resistant and weight-for-weight, not as strong as polycarbonate (Lexan) or ABS plastics.

A Perspex laptop case, made with light, thin sheet, will probably not hold up for very long with ordinary handling.

Just let him or the kids spill something on it or drop it and he'll get the point.

 

Berserker is overthinking things. His main points are valid, but are not as difficult as he intimates. A year is a long time. It can be done in a month or two. And no one here knows how you want it to look but you.

Sketch two pictures of your final product. What you would like it to look; what an acceptable case looks like. Get your rough prototype to work. Then refine it in the next step.

 

Berserker is overthinking things.

I kinda disagree djsfantasi but you know what they say about opinions. So someone is going to sketch a whole laptop on a napkin including screws, mounting brackets, screen, DVD and all the other things without having a datasheet or DXF of them and slap it all together and here check this out. I don't think so. And what happens when an error is made in a calculation or measurement and you already have it as you say made in a couple of months. Now what you going to do....Start over? Designing the DVD mounting tray would be a nightmare alone. Adding hinges to something so flimsy would require extra support and ribs to keep it from breaking. Go ahead djs give it a try.

 

What you need is a Maker Space. I am lucky enough to live relatively near one. This kind of project is bread and butter for these kind of folks. I don't have a clue what the UK offers but Dallas MakerSpace is one of the better ones.