Potential replacement cases / the future of our existing plastics

[TarableCode]

So, my Performa 580CD is starting to fall apart.
The plastic is super brittle and every time I move it something else breaks off.

I feel like it's only a matter of time before whatever holds the CRT in place will break and that will be the end of the machine.
Every time my cat jumps on top of it I worry he'll break through the plastic and get hurt, but good luck stopping a cat from doing anything.

When I looked for replacement cases, they all seem to be suffering the same issue, so it's not a long term solution for an otherwise perfectly working machine.

Realistically, what are our options?
I know that brittle plastic is common to a lot of these old macs, so I can't be the only one in this boat.

I wonder if it would be possible to glue all the broken parts back into place then coat everything in some kind of strong adhesive or resin?

 

[Apache Thunder]

I have a 575 chassis that got beat up in shipping so yeah definitely looking to replace it if such a thing ever becomes a thing. If someone does a limited production run of a reproduction shell I'd definitely be interested in getting it.

Also unless your cat is morbidly obese I don't think your cat will accidentally break through the plastic. It's brittle for sure but I imagine it's not more brittle then potato chips.

 

[David Cook]

I've seen a number of 3D printed Mac cases. They often need to be assembled and glued due to the limited printing bed size. However, as 3D printing technology continues to improve, I expect some really nice replica cases to become available.

 

[David Cook]

For example:

 

[Apache Thunder]

Well as I recall the SE (or Mac Plus, I forget which) had reproduction injection molded shells. I imagine it would not cheap to startup a run for 5xx chassis though. They are like double the size of the compact macs.

 

[Forrest]

FYI Joes Computer Museum offers the CatMac cases that are 3D printed.
These CatMac cases are currently available for the Mac 128K/512K and the Mac Plus according to https://jcm-1.com/product/catmac-mini-case-plus-edition-3d-print-service/
‘Design by Jason Merrill of GutBomb Industries. Concept by Ron’s Computer Videos and GutBomb Industries.’

The cases are very reasonably priced at $79.99, in my opinion.

I Googled Jason Merrill and found he has a blog at https://www.patreon.com/cw/GutBombTech/sitemap
Check out the May 5 link

 

[Byrd]

High quality, small quantities of Mac cases requires several thousands dollars in R&D and tooling; member MacEffects who did the clear SE cases can attest to this. I think long term, small number replacement Mac cases will come to better 3D scanners and 3D printers, output quality has come so far in the past couple of years and imagine it in a couple more.

DIY approaches of learning plastic welding/wire and mesh reinforcing, remodelling of plastic and painting are also a good skill to learn. There have been some really impressive rebuild logs of Mac casing/plastics on here recently.

JB

 

[TarableCode]

FYI Joes Computer Museum offers the CatMac cases that are 3D printed.
These CatMac cases are currently available for the Mac 128K/512K and the Mac Plus according to https://jcm-1.com/product/catmac-mini-case-plus-edition-3d-print-service/
‘Design by Jason Merrill of GutBomb Industries. Concept by Ron’s Computer Videos and GutBomb Industries.’

The cases are very reasonably priced at $79.99, in my opinion.

I Googled Jason Merrill and found he has a blog at https://www.patreon.com/cw/GutBombTech/sitemap
Check out the May 5 link

This is exactly where I think the future is going to be; if they ever come out with a compatible case for the 580 I will likely pick one up.

I have a 575 chassis that got beat up in shipping so yeah definitely looking to replace it if such a thing ever becomes a thing. If someone does a limited production run of a reproduction shell I'd definitely be interested in getting it.

Also unless your cat is morbidly obese I don't think your cat will accidentally break through the plastic. It's brittle for sure but I imagine it's not more brittle then potato chips.

He's not fat; he's L A R G E, and he uses the mac to jump up to an even higher point.
I wasn't worried about him standing on it, but rather his large self making a dive from the top rope down onto it

 

[maceffects]

I had a mold for the Mac 5x0 quoted and all quotes were >$100k and the amount of people who have one and didn't strip the boards out of them is very small. Having a mold for these would be nearly impossible based purely on economics. If you created 3d prints you'd likely have 5-6 prints to bond, and I'd be worried about integrity. But as 3d printing progresses, that may be the only option at this point.

 

[cheesestraws]

Having a mold for these would be nearly impossible based purely on economics.

I'm honestly still impressed that you managed to make the SE/30 cases you did vaguely economically viable, let alone anything bigger and less common.

It all reminds me a little of the Acorn A4, which was the first ARM laptop. The process of getting a laptop enclosure made was so expensive that they actually started with a case that their parent company already had for a PC laptop, and fitted the computer into that, rather than producing special cases. Enclosures are expensive and difficult!