i knew for a while about making a pcb front panel for a case. 
i did this on the flammable gas sensor. however, i didn't think
that it's also practical to make a pcb front panel for custom rack
mounted hardware, like in a server rack. That is fancy. why not?

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/trying-to-make-affordable-metal-case-for-custom-pcb/msg1315739/#msg1315739

says that the pcbs wouldn't be able to handle the stress of holding
onto the rack at the sides. fair enough, but it should still be possible
to use metal for the sides, and then a separate front panel that is a pcb.
apparently this isn't common practice, looking at enclosures, e.g.
https://www.circuitspecialists.com/collections/rackmount-enclosures
but then jlcpcb only came about recently, so i can understand why large
front panel pcbs weren't used in the 90's or early 2000's.
Now, it would be cheap to do.
couple years ago, making this affordable only recently. 

more good ideas
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/manufacture/how-do-you-house-larger-than-average-home-projects/msg3351036/#msg3351036