I used black acrylic for my front panel. It was dirt cheap, and was cut for free at my university with a laser cutter. The thickest they'd cut was 6mm, so I was kind of limited. I think having support braces underneath certain parts of the panel will keep it sturdy enough for a long time, although I haven't tried it yet. I opted for a wood enclosure (a work in progress), and I know that'll be plenty sturdy. Depending on how many controls/required suface space you need, you might consider gutting an old computer keyboard case. A future project will probably be build into one, and I've seen it done before- looks neat! PS- does anyone have any suggestions for putting text on acrylic? I was thinking Lazertrans or something, but I dunno...