has anyone ever enclosed a computer in epoxy? all but the heatsink/fan for the processor i am thinking of doing. would have an ssd, and some LED's in there also. only thing that would not be enclosed in the epoxy block would be the heatsink and fan for cooling purposes. possible with it working once dried and set?
Question putting a computer into EPOXY
- Thread starter JWade
- Start date
VirtualLarry
No Lifer
- Aug 25, 2001
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Really don't think that's such a wise idea, for cooling mainly.
Perhaps, try it out with a R-Pi first?
Perhaps, try it out with a R-Pi first?
would it affect the chipset much? i was thinking of using a tower type cooler and have the heatpipes above the epoxy block to still get air flow for the cpu.
i found an article where a person did encase a Pi in epoxy resin completely and had a qi coil in it and battery to run it.
i found an article where a person did encase a Pi in epoxy resin completely and had a qi coil in it and battery to run it.
mindless1
Diamond Member
- Aug 11, 2001
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What is your purpose? Epoxy is usually used for one of three reasons.
1) Hide or tamper-proof the design, keep it from being as quickly reverse engineered or modified.
2) Ruggedize it in cases of extreme vibration, moisture, or other contamination.
3) Electrical isolation with high voltages, where even if something breaks, odds are there is no path for HV shorts.
Epoxy can also provide thermal relief, but must be loaded with a thermally conductive solid to achieve this, one that isn't highly electrically conductive relative to the voltages and sensitivities of the components it's used on, and this is really expensive and never a transparent epoxy which I suspect you want. Even so, for chips that can stay cool enough from no airflow and just PCB heatsinking, it can work thermally, but for chips that depend on PCB airflow across them, like mosfets on motherboards that don't have heatsinks, it depends on how much power they're supplying and the design, whether they operate within thermal limits for long life, and don't degrade the epoxy surrounding them.
Which of these is your goal, or is it just a novelty thing to do? Are you talking about just a thick coating, or a deep immersion except the parts you mentioned? A deep immersion is an expensive thing to do for the amount of epoxy needed unless this is a very small system, or far smaller still like a Pi.
If you're talking about near optically clear epoxy so it looks like a block of glass with stuff inside of it, I suspect that the novelty will wear off then months later you'll be thinking "why the heck did I do that, now wish I didn't".
Further, you may find it very difficult to get all the bubbles out because of the larger # of chips, the hollow card slots, space under the CPU, etc. For this reason it might even be more desirable (if you do it at all) to first put a bead of fast set epoxy around anything that could get air trapped under it, then make sure the system still works 100%, before doing a final fill with the bulk slower setting epoxy.
So to more directly answer your questions, is it possible? Yes. Will it turn out looking as good as a smaller simpler Pi? Probably not. Is it practical? See above. It'll also weigh a ton so I'd put some plates into the epoxy that you can tap out later to add casters to, to help roll it around when it needs moved, again depending on the size of it.
Even though it is extra expense, I would first evolve your method using an old, low value system as a trial run if you're attempting to build a showpiece that you don't mind looking at often.
1) Hide or tamper-proof the design, keep it from being as quickly reverse engineered or modified.
2) Ruggedize it in cases of extreme vibration, moisture, or other contamination.
3) Electrical isolation with high voltages, where even if something breaks, odds are there is no path for HV shorts.
Epoxy can also provide thermal relief, but must be loaded with a thermally conductive solid to achieve this, one that isn't highly electrically conductive relative to the voltages and sensitivities of the components it's used on, and this is really expensive and never a transparent epoxy which I suspect you want. Even so, for chips that can stay cool enough from no airflow and just PCB heatsinking, it can work thermally, but for chips that depend on PCB airflow across them, like mosfets on motherboards that don't have heatsinks, it depends on how much power they're supplying and the design, whether they operate within thermal limits for long life, and don't degrade the epoxy surrounding them.
Which of these is your goal, or is it just a novelty thing to do? Are you talking about just a thick coating, or a deep immersion except the parts you mentioned? A deep immersion is an expensive thing to do for the amount of epoxy needed unless this is a very small system, or far smaller still like a Pi.
If you're talking about near optically clear epoxy so it looks like a block of glass with stuff inside of it, I suspect that the novelty will wear off then months later you'll be thinking "why the heck did I do that, now wish I didn't".
Further, you may find it very difficult to get all the bubbles out because of the larger # of chips, the hollow card slots, space under the CPU, etc. For this reason it might even be more desirable (if you do it at all) to first put a bead of fast set epoxy around anything that could get air trapped under it, then make sure the system still works 100%, before doing a final fill with the bulk slower setting epoxy.
So to more directly answer your questions, is it possible? Yes. Will it turn out looking as good as a smaller simpler Pi? Probably not. Is it practical? See above. It'll also weigh a ton so I'd put some plates into the epoxy that you can tap out later to add casters to, to help roll it around when it needs moved, again depending on the size of it.
Even though it is extra expense, I would first evolve your method using an old, low value system as a trial run if you're attempting to build a showpiece that you don't mind looking at often.
sdifox
No Lifer
- Sep 30, 2005
- 98,836
- 17,310
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TangYY for Raspberry Pi 4 Case with Fan Heatsink (Blue) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VGV1D3Z/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_CSWwEbSJ51FY1
I can see how that would look interesting:
www.raspberrypi.org
I have never done it, but I have hear of people removing bubbles from resin and epoxy with a heat gun before it hardens.
Encased in amber: meet the epoxy-embedded Pi - Raspberry Pi
A Raspberry Pi completely embedded in epoxy - but usable thanks to a screen and a nifty power set-up, and controlled remotely via resin.io
www.raspberrypi.org
I have never done it, but I have hear of people removing bubbles from resin and epoxy with a heat gun before it hardens.
mindless1
Diamond Member
- Aug 11, 2001
- 8,624
- 1,687
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^ Yes heat will make it thinner, but it also accelerates cure rate so you really want to use the (very) slow set epoxy, the clear setting type meant for tabletops/etc., not the general purpose craft type slow setting, which sets much faster... still takes hours, but gets thick sooner. This may be an automatic result, in that the quantity you'd need, is usually only sold in bulk in the type of epoxy you'll want.
Something that big though, technique is everything. It's much easier to get bubbles out of something only a couple inches thick, compared to a deep dive on something as big as a PC. Practically speaking you may never get all the bubbles out and benefit most from careful pouring into the mix container, careful mixing, and careful pouring into the mold to reduce bubble formation as much as possible.
Something that big though, technique is everything. It's much easier to get bubbles out of something only a couple inches thick, compared to a deep dive on something as big as a PC. Practically speaking you may never get all the bubbles out and benefit most from careful pouring into the mix container, careful mixing, and careful pouring into the mold to reduce bubble formation as much as possible.
traisjames
Junior Member
- Dec 15, 2023
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I came to this thread to look into possibly doing this actually to protect a SBC like a Pi that I plan to deploy into a wet environment with air that is corrosive to metal.
mindless1
Diamond Member
- Aug 11, 2001
- 8,624
- 1,687
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There is no need. Just apply a conformal coating, or put it in a weatherproof box.
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