I made a protective case to keep my new Creative Zen V Plus safe from hostile elements in a weld shop environment. The three elements I was most concerned with are:welding sparks, grinding shrapnel and metallic dust.
Welding sparks can be hot enough to melt into plastic they land on, but I have yet to see one melt through. The exterior lens protectors on welding hoods are .03" thick polycarbonate, and my welding hood gets much closer to the action then my player.
Grinding shrapnel can be both hot and dirty. Some grinding/cutting results in melted metal shrapnel flying in any direction. We use plastic weld curtains in the shop to keep from spraying our neighbors. The fiberglass and zirconium oxide used in the grinder consumables is very dirty and tends to stick to whatever it lands on.
Metallic dust is created when the 10,000 degree F arc from the welder turns metal to liquid, some metal is vaporized along with any oils or oxidization and this gets into everything. We have lost more than one computer motherboard to this dust. Also nearly everything plastic builds up a static charge that grabs this dust. Somehow the dust tends to etch into the plastic and is very difficult to remove.
I purchased a $2 plano tackle box and had some very low density foam from an old RC car to make my case.
Please visit my blog http://www.workhurts.com.

Step 1: Get the Box

find a plasic tackle box that is made from the flexible plastic as small as will fit the player and the plug jack from the speakers.

Step 2: Layout

plan where to remove ribs from the box to fit your player

Step 3: Remove Ribs

I went ultra low tech and used a side cutters and utility knife to remove the ribs

Step 4: Start Cleanup

i used a spiral upcut bit chucked in a drill press to clean up the ribs, a dremel would probably be easier and safer.

Step 5: Final Cleanup

a hot soldering iron to make the cutout where the cord will pass (at top of picture) so it doesn't leave a sharp edge. then use the utility knife to trim off the melted plastic.

Step 6: Foam

i used rod tip cement (low temp hot glue) to stick the foam to the case. I didn't want to get the electric knife out so I used a bread knife instead. the foam in the cell on the left is full height of the case to restrict dust.

Step 7: Insert Player Now

I am using a pair of gateway powered speakers to listen to my device. newegg.com has new powered speakers for 6.99. the speakers will get filled with metal shavings and destroyed in a weld shop.