Lap top enclosure

Has anyone made an enclosure for their lap top. I have mine in the shop near my xxl. I use a dust collection on the machine; however, there is still dust that gets on my lap top and I know sooner or later it’s going to cause problems with it. I’m thinking of making an enclosure for it out of plexiglass and maybe even connect my dust collection system to the enclosure. Has anyone made any kind of enclosure for theirs any ideals?

An enclosure is not a bad idea. Just make sure you have quick access. I once was vacuuming my laptop key board and the vacuum pulled too hard on one of the speakers and ruined it.

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I can’t recall seeing one.

Usually folks make articulating arms to hold them and allow them to be repositioned. When I take a machine w/ a keyboard near mine I always vacuum it off afterwards as part of clean up (my machine is in a finished basement and some projects I feel I spend more time cleaning up than working).

For my part, I prefer to use a fanless (sealed) tablet (just be sure to get one which has a USB connection for the machine when power is connected).

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I’m not sure how this would work. You need the enclosure open during operation when the dust is being created. A plexiglass enclosure would be full of static and attract dust, you would have to wipe it all the time and potentially create a static discharge right next to your laptop.

I have a drawer in my cabinet for the laptop but I have to keep it open during operation in case I need to pause/stop or check progress. During setup, I have to jog, set zero, press keys to change bits, etc. The laptop cannot stay in the enclosure for most of the operation.

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I second that, if it is an option. I haven’t gone to one, yet, because, due to limited space, my server and my CAD machine are within 1m of my Nomad and 2m of my lathe. Both get regular clean-outs with vacuum and compressed air (LOW pressure), but, experience tells me that eventually I will need to do full teardowns and wipe head rejecting surfaces (lint free rag moistened with DI water is usually sufficient)

It does help that the airflow is away from the computing gear and towards the machine tools.

If you were to make an enclosure, you would want filtered airflow for cooling, and wireless keyboard/mouse to minimize the need for penetrations of the enclosure. Might cost more than a sealed unit, in the end.

Quite possible, but there are surface treatments for acrylics to reduce surface charge pickup.

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Why did you start a second thread on the same subject? @WillAdams, I think the two should be grouped

It was a accident. Wanted it posted under Shapeoko then seen it wasn’t so posted it under it. Delete the other one.

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Just a thought… since a sealed or full enclosure might be a hindrance during operations, you could just place some saran wrap/cling free plastic over the keyboard/screen and toss during clean up…just dont cover the air vents (or poke some holes through the plastic in those areas?)

… if it was a touch screen, it would still work while plastic wrapped :slight_smile:


Not exactly an laptop, but a asus eee mini computer and a screen inside a sealed case. Using only a wireless mouse and keypad to controll.

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