Laptop Cooler Pad
This is a very simple to make laptop cooling pad made from a single piece of acrylic. This is also made to set your laptop at a comfortable position for typing.
Materials:
-3ft x 2ft x1/4" piece of acrylic or a large enough single piece.
Optional parts for an active cooling pad:
-Fan
-USB chord that you are willing to sacrifice
-Misc wiring
-Small screws to fasten fan to pad
Tools:
-sharp circular saw to cut the acrylic
-Tape measure
-Marking pen
-2.5" diameter pipe to bend acrylic around.
- Torch or heat gun to bed the acrylic.
Tools for active cooling pad:
-1" hole saw
-2" hole saw
-1/8" drill bit
-countersink
The hole saw sizes depend on the vent sizes and locations of your laptop.
The cooling pad shown here is specifically made to fit my laptop which is a HP 2000. All of the hole locations line up with the vents under my laptop. The overall dimensions as well are meant to fit my laptop, accept for the 3" diameter bend which sets the angle. You may do the same diameter bend in yours, it is a comfortable angle.
The thickness of the acrylic can also be customized I readily had 1/4" but you can use 1/8" or any other thickness. However it is nice to use 1/4" because it makes for a sturdy pad.
For the length and width I made the top to fit the bottom of the laptop, the computer measured 14 3/4" by 9 3/4" so the width of the acrylic sheet is 15 inches wide, I added 1/4" so there is some extra room, by 27 inches long. It is 27 inches long because the length of the 3 inch bend is about 5 1/2", the bottom is the same size as the top. It doesn't add up to 27 because I cut it a little long in case something went wrong while I bent it. As for the overlap at the front......... well that's because I wasn't able to bend it just right,, but it turned out to be a good mistake.
Before you bend the acrylic make sure to remove the protective sheeting or it will stick to it so bad its not even funny and ruins the plastic.
When you make the bend it is best to use a heat gun to avoid bubbles in the plastic, I used a torch and ended up with a few small bubbles. I chose to use a 2 1/2" pipe to form the acrylic around because that is the inside diameter of the bend. The bend took a long time to heat up enough because of how thick my acrylic was, but once you have it hot enough make sure to have tape handy because the edges that come together wont want to stay together as it cools and before it cools fully, line up the edges as best as you can until it sets. It is a good idea to try some practice bends on a spare piece.
The holes (if you chose to cut them) should be lined up to fit your laptop. You don't have to cut any holes in it at all and just use it as a sand for the table or your lap. After I cut the holes I tested it and speed fan showed a temp drop of 5 degrees Celsius with out the fan at all.
I used a 80mm fan and drilled some 1/8" holes that line up with the fan and then some small machine screws with nuts to fasten it. Plus I had to countersink the holes for the screw heads to set in because the screw heads kept the laptop from setting down all the way on the pad. I then used a old usb chord to wire the fan to plug directly into the lap top usb port. I decided to add a potentiometer to control the fan speed but it is useless because usb power is only 5 volts and I have a 12 volt fan :( It is also a good idea to put a fan guard on the back of the fan just in case your fingers get too close, I didn't put a fan guard on top because I figure that when your laptop is on the pad how would you get your fingers in there.
Materials:
-3ft x 2ft x1/4" piece of acrylic or a large enough single piece.
Optional parts for an active cooling pad:
-Fan
-USB chord that you are willing to sacrifice
-Misc wiring
-Small screws to fasten fan to pad
Tools:
-sharp circular saw to cut the acrylic
-Tape measure
-Marking pen
-2.5" diameter pipe to bend acrylic around.
- Torch or heat gun to bed the acrylic.
Tools for active cooling pad:
-1" hole saw
-2" hole saw
-1/8" drill bit
-countersink
The hole saw sizes depend on the vent sizes and locations of your laptop.
The cooling pad shown here is specifically made to fit my laptop which is a HP 2000. All of the hole locations line up with the vents under my laptop. The overall dimensions as well are meant to fit my laptop, accept for the 3" diameter bend which sets the angle. You may do the same diameter bend in yours, it is a comfortable angle.
The thickness of the acrylic can also be customized I readily had 1/4" but you can use 1/8" or any other thickness. However it is nice to use 1/4" because it makes for a sturdy pad.
For the length and width I made the top to fit the bottom of the laptop, the computer measured 14 3/4" by 9 3/4" so the width of the acrylic sheet is 15 inches wide, I added 1/4" so there is some extra room, by 27 inches long. It is 27 inches long because the length of the 3 inch bend is about 5 1/2", the bottom is the same size as the top. It doesn't add up to 27 because I cut it a little long in case something went wrong while I bent it. As for the overlap at the front......... well that's because I wasn't able to bend it just right,, but it turned out to be a good mistake.
Before you bend the acrylic make sure to remove the protective sheeting or it will stick to it so bad its not even funny and ruins the plastic.
When you make the bend it is best to use a heat gun to avoid bubbles in the plastic, I used a torch and ended up with a few small bubbles. I chose to use a 2 1/2" pipe to form the acrylic around because that is the inside diameter of the bend. The bend took a long time to heat up enough because of how thick my acrylic was, but once you have it hot enough make sure to have tape handy because the edges that come together wont want to stay together as it cools and before it cools fully, line up the edges as best as you can until it sets. It is a good idea to try some practice bends on a spare piece.
The holes (if you chose to cut them) should be lined up to fit your laptop. You don't have to cut any holes in it at all and just use it as a sand for the table or your lap. After I cut the holes I tested it and speed fan showed a temp drop of 5 degrees Celsius with out the fan at all.
I used a 80mm fan and drilled some 1/8" holes that line up with the fan and then some small machine screws with nuts to fasten it. Plus I had to countersink the holes for the screw heads to set in because the screw heads kept the laptop from setting down all the way on the pad. I then used a old usb chord to wire the fan to plug directly into the lap top usb port. I decided to add a potentiometer to control the fan speed but it is useless because usb power is only 5 volts and I have a 12 volt fan :( It is also a good idea to put a fan guard on the back of the fan just in case your fingers get too close, I didn't put a fan guard on top because I figure that when your laptop is on the pad how would you get your fingers in there.