Negative Space

[B[x]]

The objective of this build is to construct a Small Form Factor case without sacrificing its cooling ability or performance. Following is a list of components that the case will house.

ATX motherboard
Optical drive
Two hard drives
Power supply
The largest of graphics cards
Two 120-mm intake and 80-mm exhaust fans

In order to achieve optimal cooling, the selection and placement of hardware must be well thought out. Hardware that generates excessive heat necessitates sufficient airflow. This is achieved by minimizing obstructions and guiding the air from intake to exhaust.

Design
As the old adage goes, "Form follows function." A aesthetically pleasing computer is not effective if its design compromises its effectiveness. Keeping that in mind, the arrangement of hardware was first laid out to get a feel for how the overall size could be minimized while maintaining proper air circulation.

The Frame
Structural stability is not the only reason I chose to use square aluminum tubing for the frame. I can route fan and lighting cables through the tubes, thus providing a less cluttered interior.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2114/1629163612_def58eef99_o.jpg

A panel to mount the two hard drives is included at the top. A 0.125-in flat bar is used to help in supporting the motherboard. An additional 0.125-in flat bar is used in lieu of tubing for the lower rear frame element to allow for a lower motherboard tray position. Saving a half inch here and there adds up.

Component Placement
In order to minimize space requirements while maintaining cooling efficiency, the following placement of components was selected.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2416/1629164878_cd5c86ff14_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2045/1628274445_c6c3a5929e_o.jpg

The left 120-mm fan will direct air over the GPU. A CPU cooler will be mounted in such a fashion that the fan will blow upward and exhaust through the PSU. The rear 80-mm fans will pull air over the hard drives as well as help cool the GPU.

Panels
The panels will showcase the interior's hardware while not being overly intrusive.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2409/1629164696_c77be8c1c3_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2118/1629163976_d5b769f3d6_o.jpg

Two buttons will be included in the top panel; one will be the power button while the other will open and close the optical drive. These panels will be attached to the frame using socket head screws.

Shields
In order to add some style points to the case's aesthetics, aluminum shields will be offset a fraction of an inch. The flow of these shields will be in order with the existing lines of the case. Each line can be traced around the faces of the case to give the appearance of a unified form.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2116/1629164600_afd927e0ca_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2130/1628274097_aaeb8f42f1_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2398/1628275311_fc6ec0da59_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2313/1628274639_d10d1e1ff4_o.jpg

Color Scheme
While the final color of panels are not set in stone, the faces of the shields will be black while the edges will be white. Here are a couple samples of some color combinations that I'm considering.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2092/1628271053_547a6b0f77_o.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2269/1628333103_b20e0ef9ec_o.jpg)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2135/1629162126_f241d1f775_o.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2182/1629171554_a408513ab2_o.jpg)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2366/1629159566_0016b0e224_o.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2142/1628315969_d9a9d76ef1_o.jpg)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2108/1628273775_ade685836e_o.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2025/1628299381_540617bf4a_o.jpg)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2115/1739036722_6c45641bd3_o.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2132/1738517182_97bf335a48_o.jpg)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2281/1738189895_e74f7337ea_o.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2054/1738511940_6898f25b17_o.jpg)

[B[x]]

Today the corner brackets that will hold the frame together were cut out using my school's water jet. They were then bent into shape using a vise, rubber mallet, and some scrap pieces of wood and steel.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2302/1628341171_3dfa9c3c50_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2050/1628341407_e0c46c463f_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2166/1629231360_2cc05722d5_o.jpg

These brackets will slide into the square tubing that will make up the frame and then riveted in place. The tubing is 0.75-in square with 0.125-in walls. I made these brackets with legs slightly longer than 0.50-in. I knew that the added bend radius would increase the length of the brackets' legs. However, I didn't want to try to account for it when cutting them out. I'd rather cut them larger than necessary and file them down to ensure a tight fit in the tubing. Two edges per leg. Three legs per corner. Six corners in total. It's a pain but it has to be done.

[B[x]]

I cut out the members that would make up the majority of the frame using a compound miter saw with a 24-TPI blade. This allowed me to cut the 45° angles necessary for the corners to sit flush. These aluminum members are made of 0.75-in square tubing with 0.125-in walls.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2061/1644224372_b363e77733_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2277/1643348133_8aaa7a53e4_o.jpg
I don't have a shop in my house so this temporary setup will have to do.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2261/1644223372_0ed32f59ae_o.jpg
All of the pieces are finally cut after about 5 hours of work. The piece of flat bar will be the bottom rear member of the case. This is to allow a lower position of the motherboard tray.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2400/1643349221_b7dcb34d5d_o.jpg
I'm just playing around with my camera's macro feature since I don't get much use out of it. It really brings out all of the imperfections. However, these cuts have yet to be filed and sanded so I'm not worried.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2346/1644222974_79bb82bfa6_o.jpg
Here's an example of a corner of the case. Though there is a corner bracket holding it together, I've yet to rivet them together.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2418/1644223590_ac5249a3e2_o.jpg
Just another angle of a corner.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2384/1644223850_3951aca28d_o.jpg
Here's a shot of the corner from the inside of the case. There are minor gaps between the members but those will be gone once I file down the edges and rivet everything.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2021/1643349027_1fb44a369f_o.jpg
I'm liking the way this is coming out. What do you guys think?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2185/1683825158_19fd977628_o.gif
I put together a little gif for you guys to visualize how the frame is held together with the corner brackets.

[Computer-Geek]

Wow! This is going to be awesome :) I'm Subscribed.

[Eclecticos]

Verry nice! Great job on those corner brackets.
Loving the Precision thus far. +Rep

[Fuganater]

Very nice. Its nice to see someone who can have access to the good tools, do it well.

+ Rep

[shooter05]

Looks like some quality work going on. This should turn out very nice!

[jdbnsn]

Uh oh, Tribaloverkill may have himself some competition here. Greta metal work man!

[Zephik]

Looking good so far! I'll be watching this one for sure, can't wait for the next update. ^_^

[richmond]

I like the progress so far.
The models you show make the case seem like a normal ATX size case. How big is it?

[B[x]]

Thanks for the compliments.


Very nice. Its nice to see someone who can have access to the good tools, do it well.If you're referring to the waterjet, it's my school's. Technically we're not allowed to use it for non-academic related projects. However, what the technicians don't know can't hurt 'em. The only tools I personally own are the miter saw, a Dremel XPS 400, and a very basic toolbox. I'll be using my school's drill press and tap and die sets before I'm done with this build. However, all of the cutting of the panels and shields will be done with my trusty Dremel. I think I'll need a few more reinforced cut-off discs...


Uh oh, Tribaloverkill may have himself some competition here. Greta metal work man!Hahaha, you're ridiculous. I wouldn't even think of being compared to Tribaloverkill but thanks for the sentiment. I'm comfortable with working with aluminum but I don't know my ass from my elbow when it comes to acrylic work.


I like the progress so far.
The models you show make the case seem like a normal ATX size case. How big is it?Since there's not a predefined size for SFF cases, I followed the rules in this (http://cpcff.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14877) contest which state the maximum dimensions to be 40-cm (W) x 40-cm (D) x 30-cm (H). Off the top of my head, my case is approximately 14.6-in (37.1-cm) x 12.7-in (32.3-cm) x 9.6-in (24.4-cm). I'll update with exact dimensions when I get home.

Also, someone from bit-tech suggested I paint the panels a medium-dark blue. I'll include those mock-ups in the next update along with any other color scheme suggestions.

[calumc]

Nice work. have some rep from me too!

[Jetty_200]

suuuper sweet, i like the precision thus far! :)
a whole lot more carefully cut then mine thus far, lol.

[Blebbz]

Wow, great metalwork. The joint looks so flush and perfect, but so simple, sweet!

I'm definately keeping tabs on this one
+ Subscribe!:banana:

[B[x]]

Thanks guys. Hopefully I'll keep up the precision as the case progresses.

Anyway, here's the blue color scheme as promised. I like it better than the red but the purple still has my vote.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2115/1739036722_6c45641bd3_o.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2132/1738517182_97bf335a48_o.jpg)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2281/1738189895_e74f7337ea_o.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2054/1738511940_6898f25b17_o.jpg)

Excluding the case's shields and feet and the bolts that hold the panels to the frame, it's dimensions are 14.6-in (W) x 12.5-in (D) x 9.8-in (H). That's 37.1-cm (W) x 31.8-cm (D) x 24.9-cm (H) for those over the pond.

[Fuganater]

Red FTW!!!!1 :)

[Luke122]

I have to agree with the red.. I think it looks cool.

That being said, Blue and white might look pretty darn nice too...

[rendermandan]

have you tried yellow? or mirrored? or even smoked?

[Blebbz]

How about having the blue parts matt black, and the black parts silvery. I think that would look sweet personally!

[The boy 4rm oz]

Mate a fantastic start, you have got a lot done so far. As for the colour scheme personally I like the red/black but the blue/black also looks great.

[scar~face]

look really nice man!

the blue look hella tight, i agree with you

[B[x]]

have you tried yellow? or mirrored? or even smoked?I don't think yellow would work well. Also, I don't really want to draw so much attention to my case that it's an eye sore. Same goes for mirrored. I'm not exactly sure what you mean by 'smoked' though. The acrylic will be smoked but are you talking about the panels/shields? Sorry but the materials I'm using are going to remain the same. Would be a waste if I didn't use up all of the sheet aluminum I bought.


How about having the blue parts matt black, and the black parts silvery. I think that would look sweet personally!Hmm.. I'll have to see what that looks like. I don't think it's going to sway my opinion but it would definitely look pretty good.


Mate a fantastic start, you have got a lot done so far. As for the colour scheme personally I like the red/black but the blue/black also looks great.Thanks, hopefully I'll keep up the pace. Unfortunately I've been a little busy lately. I just took my FE yesterday (an 8-hour exam for graduating engineers) and I'll be taking my GREs this Friday. I'd like to get some work done sometime this week but no guarantees.

[B[x]]

Here's that color scheme you asked for, Blebbz. I don't know how to make a silver color in SketchUp so gray will have to do. I'm not sure if I really like this, you can't really make out the white edges on the shield. However, thanks for the idea anyway.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2332/1793590325_481a7ef5dd_o.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2034/1794431880_68f02ec11b_o.jpg)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2415/1793589865_ce7fe1d779_o.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2148/1793588391_2ff75fd4ed_o.jpg)

Here are a couple shots on how I designed the corner brackets to fit into the frame. It came up on another forums so I'm just including them here as well.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2234/1794430056_93ac8fa892_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2416/1793587153_1faa0fbc2e_o.jpg

I was running into a problem with how to mount the optical drive seeing as how the right side of slimline drives isn't exactly ideal. I devised the following tray which will screw into the drive's left side while supporting the bottom.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2344/1794429276_8aff3aa5ed_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2041/1794429378_2f1aab31af_o.jpg

[The boy 4rm oz]

Personally I like that silver/black colour scheme now lol. Would look much better in real life than the PC. Great sketches by the way.

[calumc]

I think I have to agree about the colour scheme. I you brushed the aluminium it would look fantastic

[p0Pe]

everybody loves bushed alu:D...
nice sketches!.. this is gonna be god i hope:P

[B[x]]

Sorry for the lack of updates. The GREs and the FE combined with car issues have kept me busy for the past few weeks. However, I was able to get some work done last weekend.

Despite my careful planning, the bending of the corner brackets produced minor discrepancies in the hole locations from bracket to bracket. As a result, once I marked up and drilled the member holes to accept a corner bracket, only that specific bracket would fit. To keep track of everything I labeled all of the frame's members and brackets using a 3-axis coordinate system.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2200/2056657632_ab193187b1_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2052/2055871179_2b5065f0d3_o.jpg
After assigning a bracket to each corner, I used a caliper to denote where each hole should be drilled. A hammer and center punch was used to aid in drilling. The alignment for the holes seem off, and they are. As previously stated, this is due to my bending skills not being perfect. Some of the holes are intentionally not in the center of the tubing. I don't have a picture of it but the brackets do line up with the holes and once the panels are in place, it won't be noticeable.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2135/2056657726_326509bea4_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2263/2056657814_d5bc48dce9_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2011/2055871279_b86f7076f0_o.jpg
Here's the end result of a couple hours of drilling. The smaller holes are for the 1/8-in rivets and were drilled to 9/64-in. The larger holes were drilled to 13/64-in to be tapped to accept 1/4-20 screws. These screws will be used to affix the side panels to the frame.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2057/2056657878_c9e76909c4_o.jpg
After about an hour of work using a regular spiral fluted tap and a t-wrench, all 44 holes were finished. The rear bottom member (flat stock, not tubing) has to be recut due to a minor mistake and was therefore not drilled.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2286/2055871349_1a6b4a9af3_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2110/2056657914_465ccd0ff9_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2305/2056657962_b577d2cfdc_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2254/2056657654_22e211c023_o.jpg
The holes still need to be cleaned up a bit and the members have to be sanded down but it was late so I called it a night. I have to spend the next week or so finishing my applications to graduate schools so I probably won't get any work done.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Very nice work, everything looks great so far.

[TEAMIKKE]

Very clean and good preparation!

[BigJohnson]

Man that looks really nice. I was just wondering the other day if anyone built anything with that kind of design. Apparently we think somewhat alike. Only your thoughts look like they are going to work.
Im going to have to +rep this.

[B[x]]

Sorry for the complete lack of updates, I guarantee that they upset me more than they do you. It turns out that going to school full time and 3 part-time jobs tend to eat up quite a bit of time. Anyway, I'll spare the details but bottom line is I've got some time to mod and I intend to take full advantage.



I've also decided to start over. Over winter break I was riveting the frame together and noticed that the corner bracket holes weren't lining up exactly with the holes in the tubing. I tried filing the holes down to match and though it worked to a degree, I was extremely unhappy with the resulting gaps that formed at the corners. I realized that I went about constructing the frame in the wrong order. I had originally waterjet the bracket holes and then bent the brackets, drilling the tubing holes afterwards.

After being disgusted with my first attempt, I decided it was worth the extra time to start over with a new construction order. I would waterjet and bend the brackets without holes to start. Afterwards I felt it best to drill the bracket and tubing holes together to ensure an exact fit.

Anyway, most of the text in this post is a rehash so skimming the pictures is kosher.



I cut out the members that would make up the majority of the frame using a compound miter saw with a 24-TPI blade. This allowed me to cut the 45° angles necessary for the corners to sit flush. These aluminum members are made of 0.75-in square tubing with 0.125-in walls.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3045/2302875743_54cbdd881b_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2370/2302875757_a66cf99a7c_o.jpg
I don't have a shop in my house so this temporary setup will have to do.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3132/2303672792_9b64e5acbf_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3145/2302875883_0ee6cfde98_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2188/2303672600_91340d04dc_o.jpg
All of the pieces are finally cut after about 5 hours of work. The piece of flat bar will be the bottom rear member of the case. This is to allow a lower position of the motherboard tray.

The frame will be held together with corner brackets. The blanks were cut using my school's waterjet and then bent with a vise, rubber mallet, and scrap wood.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2126/2303724178_749cb05f6d_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2361/2303724196_1331133fee_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3117/2302926273_ab3fd03239_o.jpg
Each leg of the bracket fits into a section of the square tubing. Three legs make a corner.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3036/2302926321_6cc8a2d164_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2257/2302926367_1385c06bf9_o.jpg
The frame and corner brackets will be held together using blind pop rivets. To ensure that the holes line up properly, the bracket and tubing will be drilled at the same time. Since the tube's opening is 0.50-in and the brackets are 1/16-in thick, a 7/16-in square spacer will be needed.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3178/2302926339_5e379f68ef_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2202/2302926381_bb58b1511f_o.jpg

[B[x]]

The spacer was drilled out with 0.25-in holes so that it would not interfere when I was drilling the brackets and tubing.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2004/2303672890_e9c74773e0_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3018/2303672920_2ff179b345_o.jpg
I used one of my school's 3-axis mills to drill out the tubing to ensure that the spacing was precise. The smaller holes (9/64-in diameter) are for the 1/8-in blind pop rivets. The larger holes (13/64-in diameter) are to secure to case's panels to the frame and were tapped to accept 1/4-20 screws.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the process. Even without stopping to take pictures, it took about 7 hours to drill and tap out the holes.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3196/2302875975_f53c01cabc_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2355/2303672986_bab5cfc280_o.jpg
I numbered the tubing and the corner brackets were numbered using an x-y-z coordinate system to make sure that the matching pairs were riveted together.

You might ask why the spacer has 3 holes when it's only needed to drill the bracket's 2 holes. I might tell you that I'm an idiot and drilled the first set of holes in the wrong spot.
I might.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2103/2303673030_c24cd62294_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3119/2302876055_eced608955_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3294/2303673068_f194efcdb7_o.jpg
The assembly process begins.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2163/2302876125_6c98a87d23_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3177/2303673102_b0926f290f_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2054/2302876167_9ab261c9f4_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3041/2302876207_7970d30988_o.jpg
The frame is completed and the panel screws were added to make sure the threads were good.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2279/2302876229_4100a954fa_o.jpg
I only put in half of the rivets in the vertical supports since I'm going to take apart the frame later on to add the supports for the HDD, optical drive, and motherboard in addition to LED wiring.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3235/2303673202_d04c7b76fb_o.jpg
Perfect fit. Not gonna lie, that wasn't easy to get into or out of, it's only a 13" x 8.25" opening.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2166/2303673224_51ca3dd187_o.jpg

[Vertigo]

Hah, nice pic. And I approve of the posters. Overall though the fab on this is looking as sick as the renders, keep it up man. +Fav and +Watch. I'd love to see one of these with tinted plexi and polished aluminum ... I think that would be pretty mean lookin, I can't wait to see the finished product.

[jdbnsn]

That is some seriously impressive metal working there dude, my hat's off to you!

Jon

[The boy 4rm oz]

Very nice joins, looks real pro.

[|NQ|Squelsh]

I can only repeat: Looks really PRO! The precision is as perfect as if you would have bought some of the aluminium frameworking kits (as I used in my CUBE). +Rep

[Enigma]

This is looking really nice, crazy SketchUp skills to :)

[dr.walrus]

edit

[p0Pe]

plz dont quote pictures dr. walrus:) its kinda innoying:D

[rendermandan]

plz dont quote pictures dr. walrus:) its kinda innoying:D

I'll second that!

[B[x]]

Hah, nice pic. And I approve of the posters. Overall though the fab on this is looking as sick as the renders, keep it up man. +Fav and +Watch. I'd love to see one of these with tinted plexi and polished aluminum ... I think that would be pretty mean lookin, I can't wait to see the finished product.
Haha, thanks. Unfortunately my JD poster was cut out of the picture. This case will have tinted plexiglass but all the aluminum will be painted. However, I came up with a new color scheme using white, black, red.


That is some seriously impressive metal working there dude, my hat's off to you!
Very nice joins, looks real pro.
Thanks.


I can only repeat: Looks really PRO! The precision is as perfect as if you would have bought some of the aluminium frameworking kits (as I used in my CUBE). +Rep
To be honest, a couple of the corners have maybe a 1/32" gap. I'm not entirely happy about it but I'll survive.

Hopefully I'll have an update of sorts by the weekend. I have two 24"x36"x1/16" and one 12"x24"/1/8" sheets of aluminum waiting to be cut up. Unfortunately, the annual ASCE Concrete Canoe Competition (http://www.asce.org/inside/nccc2007/index.cfm) is around the corner and my school is hosting our region so a lot of my time will be devoted to that.