Anodised Aluminium (sanded off) in contact with PSU

[Bob the Builder]

Hi,
Im currently working on a casemodding project (Coolermaster Cosmos II) and i've sanded off the PSU bracket that sticks out a little, wanting to paint it.
The part thats being painted is the part that sticks out, and probably won't touch the PSU. The other side of this PSU Bracket is in it's original state (black anodised aluminium), this is the part which the PSU probably will touch upon installation. I thought logically, this shouldn't cause problems like short circuiting or something like that. But i also don't know for sure, and it'd be a shame if the PSU would be fried with this setup.
I\ve used a layer of primer, sanded, cleaned, applied white metal varnish paint (FYI).

I can imagine that you think i'm dumb. But someone always told me that even if you're dumb, questions can't be dumb I don't know jack shit about it and just did it. Probably better to know what you're doing from the start, huh.

Does anyone know ?

 

[Nobu]

Hi,
Im currently working on a casemodding project (Coolermaster Cosmos II) and i've sanded off the PSU bracket that sticks out a little, wanting to paint it.
The part thats being painted is the part that sticks out, and probably won't touch the PSU. The other side of this PSU Bracket is in it's original state (black anodised aluminium), this is the part which the PSU probably will touch upon installation. I thought logically, this shouldn't cause problems like short circuiting or something like that. But i also don't know for sure, and it'd be a shame if the PSU would be fried with this setup.
I\ve used a layer of primer, sanded, cleaned, applied white metal varnish paint (FYI).
View attachment 434068View attachment 434069

I can imagine that you think i'm dumb. But someone always told me that even if you're dumb, questions can't be dumb I don't know jack shit about it and just did it. Probably better to know what you're doing from the start, huh.

Does anyone know ?

Only danger there is if you have a damaged wire contacting metal somewhere, and then the screws holding the psu would transmit the electricity just as well.

 

[pendragon1]

^^ that, i dont see any problem unless there is a bare wire somewhere.

 

[Bob the Builder]

Thanks for replying. About the bare or damaged wire thing, Does this apply only to the PSU or other wires in the whole setup as well?

 

[Nobu]

Thanks for replying. About the bare or damaged wire thing, Does this apply only to the PSU or other wires in the whole setup as well?

Any bare wire (copper/metal) or solder bump touching the case is bad juju, annodized or not, aluminum or steel. All wires should be jacketed anyway out of the box, but sometimes the jacket can be damaged by a sharp edge in the case or from the factory.

 

[pendragon1]

Thanks for replying. About the bare or damaged wire thing, Does this apply only to the PSU or other wires in the whole setup as well?

any bare wires are bad.

 

[Ducrider748]

While any bare wire is bad. Not all can cause a fire or psu failure. There are a good bit of wires that if shorted to the case won't cause bad issues. They are not good but USB front panel wiring won't kill anything but will def.cause you too wonder what's going on. Bottom line be careful how you run wires.

 

[Tsumi]

I'm pretty sure most cases are grounded to the PSU, whether it's by direct contact on where it's sitting or through the mounting screws. There shouldn't be any issues with metal on metal contact from case to PSU.

 

[Mchart]

A proper case design should have the PSU chassis making contact with the metal case. This is by design as it grounds out the case which is far safer than if it wasn’t and a hot wire were in contact with the case. Electricity follows the path of least resistance. It’s far safer for the case to be grounded. It also helps protect against EMI.

Never, ever, remove the ability of your case being grounded. You will pay with your life if a wire with decent amperage is shorting to a case that isn’t grounded.

Also, think about what happens to the static electricity if you were to touch a case not grounded via the PSU chassis as intended…

 

[BlueLineSwinger]

A proper case design should have the PSU chassis making contact with the metal case. This is by design as it grounds out the case which is far safer than if it wasn’t and a hot wire were in contact with the case. Electricity follows the path of least resistance. It’s far safer for the case to be grounded. It also helps protect against EMI.

Never, ever, remove the ability of your case being grounded. You will pay with your life if a wire with decent amperage is shorting to a case that isn’t grounded.

Also, think about what happens to the static electricity if you were to touch a case not grounded via the PSU chassis as intended…

The case is properly grounded via the mainboard mounting points. There is no requirement that a ground path exist directly between the case and the PSU enclosure. Also, many PSU enclosures are painted/etc. and their cases are not conductive. Even the screws holding the PSU to the case may not be a ground path, as the screw holes in the case are not threaded and may be painted/anodized/etc. Alternative PSUs (e.g., PicoPSU) also do not provide a ground direct to the case.