Vibrational/ acoustic properties of plexi?

[warriorpoet]

I'm gearing up to craft a custom water cooled case, and am down to a few material choices. The easiest material to work with will be plexiglass, but I'm concerned about possible negative vibration properties. Does anyone have experience with the acoustic properties of plexi?

[MikeC]

It's good -- good internal self damping, with better sound blocking properties than the typical steel or aluminum case, maybe because it's always considerably thicker. The thickness probably plays a big part -- too thin and it might be resonant.

[warriorpoet]

It's good -- good internal self damping, with better sound blocking properties than the typical steel or aluminum case, maybe because it's always considerably thicker. The thickness probably plays a big part -- too thin and it might be resonant.

Awesome. I think I'll go for it, then. frosted plexi and burled walnut has a nice sound, no?

[xan_user]

my guess is acrylic might be less resonant than plexi? I bet it also depends heavily on quality and thickness of the material...

[jhhoffma]

It's all going to depend on the T(g) of the resin used. In general, acrylics usually have a lower T(g) than polycarbonates (Plexi) and are softer (less brittle/stiff) and less likely to resonate. Acrylics also tend to be a little denser, which helps.

Mike's right though, if it performs better than steel, it's due to the added thickness.

[Reachable]

Maybe I'm a little out of my league here, but I thought that plexiglass and acrylic glass were one and the same, with polycarbonate being a different material.

[swivelguy2]

Plexiglass and Acrylic are indeed the same, PMMA I believe.

[audiojar]

Yep, Plexiglass is a brand name of PMMA, which is also called acrylic.