Something lighter....

[slightlysouth]

Hey, all. I'm new here and just wanted to say that the work I've seen on here has been incredible, and incredibly contagious. I've decided to work on a couple of projects, one of which I've been wanting to do for a while and the other is a brand spankin' new scratch case that I've been designing for a while now.

The problem is with materials. The case is a throwback to the 70's space-age design. I wanted to ust aluminum for the strapping and diffused plexi, but I have a feeling its going to be way too heavy. Here's a mockup I threw together in 3D. Let me know what you think would be the way to go...

http://size13games.com/img/case_persp.jpg

http://size13games.com/img/case_left.jpg

http://size13games.com/img/case_back.jpg

Thanks in advance

[Rankenphile]

Great case design - I'm guessing the top cavity would be for a radiator unit?

As far as materials go, I think aluminum and plexi would be about best for a design such as this - you'll need something durable, and using much else would end up leading to problems. I wouldn't think it owuld be heavier than a standard ATX case, if you used the design you have there, there doesn't seem to be more material than you would normally find.

I'm curious how you plan on implementing the design, though. How will the PSU and Motherboard be mounted? What about the rest of the components?

I love the overall design, though - it definately looks like something out of a 1970's issue of Scientific American or something.

[slightlysouth]

Wow... that was FAST!

The idea is to make the motherboard side of the case out of a thick enough plexi to use it to mount the mb. All of the mounts would simply be drilled and tapped. I was going to fab a drive chassy out of aluminum and paint it to match the metal on the case so it would be a shadow feature in the box. All of the optical drive bays will refaced with a thinner, tinted plexi and then countersunk into the front bezel (gonna ask a lot of questions about how to router that out, lol!).

The rez for the water cooler (too frikkin lazy to find the spelling for that) will be mouted on more alumininum (prolly use rings like tribal) and polished. The rear panel will be cut from the cassis and then I'll use a puchased plate.

Rads will mount to the aluminum frame on the top and holes for airflow/fans cut.

[edit] Oh, forgot to mention... I will probably wind up bolting the plexi on the outside. I don't want to, but can't think of a really decent way to adhere it to the frame otherwise.... Any suggestions?

And the rest of the air flow I'll cut into the plexi/aluminum. :)

[Nagoshi]

Maybe trying to make something with the external casing so that you could hide the fixings for the motherboard.. I would personally do the same thing to both side to make it stylish. I would draw it but Im way too lazy to load my photoshop or any other program to draw something..

That is really one nice idea there dude, I hope it will work!!

[slightlysouth]

Yeah, the biggest problem with computer cases is once you have that work of art completed, you have to put crap in them too. lol!

I'm thinking that I might couter sink all of the screws for the plexi into the aluminum strap. If I start running that through cad and it doesn't work, I'll probably make some mountings on the inside of the chassis and use them to screw the plexi onto.

The two biggest issues I can see with this design is that the metal work bending the strap is beyond me (tools wise anyways). I'll probably have it fabbed so it'll be done right. The other is attaching the plexi in some way that is attractive and doesn't detract from the over all clean feeling that I want from this case. I think a diffused plex mb cover is definately in order and I am thinking that I could use a double layer diffused plexi for the mb mount in order to keep the right side of the case looking clean from the outside. I'm going to start ordering parts for the case itself soon, so we'll see what we can come up with.

[tybrenis]

Great designs! And, BTW, welcome to the forums!

For mounting the plexi, you could build the chassis with aluminum angle, and have the plexi basically sit inside of it, then drill and tap say four corners of it and simply screw it in place to hold it down. Just a thought.

Good luck!

[public_eyesore]

sweet mother of pearl that is a nice design!!!

[jdbnsn]

That design is brilliant, I think it looks more modern than retro. You are ahead of your time! Good luck with the rest of the designs and keep us posted, I'm dying to see how that looks.

[slightlysouth]

Thanks for the comps on the design. Using angle to build the chassis is exactly what I made the design to NOT look like.

I mean, that would ruin the clean single, free flowing design... and what would you use between the angle peices?? More plexi??!! More diffused plexi making a sort of SS strip all the way through the frame....

Oh, my.....

Genius!

Drawings forthcoming!

[xmastree]

If Bang & Olufsen made computers, that's what they would look like.

One comment, I think the upper section should be big enough to hold the power supply.

[crazybillybob]

A couple Q's to help get you answers.

What thickness Aluminum Are you thinking.
Can you high light the Alum in the case?

If your going to use sheet metal thinckness (<1/8") Design tabs into the sheets and have the fab shop put a bend in allong the edge so the tabs are on the same plane as the plex. Then either get the tool and put nutserts in the tabs or pay the fab shop to do it.


For plex 1/4 should be thick enough to allow you to mount your mobo (stand offs are #6 32 on the bottom (the male part) and M3 on top (female). I don;t think I'd fab a plate or any thing the mounting to the side (so long as you don't drill trough) will help keep that clean look you've got. You'll want to make up a cover plate (smoked plex to keep the theme) to give you some thing to hide the wires for PSU and MObo (drives and the like) behind (under).


I love the design. Very smooth, very sexy. You just need to keep that clean look when you get parts in it, wire managment is going to be very important to you!

Keep up the good Work!
Crazybillybob

[slightlysouth]

Okay, this is going to take a little imagination on this. I made some modifications that sort of just occurred to me, spurred by what tybrenis mentioned about using angle. to fasten to...

http://size13games.com/img/new_case_pers.jpg
The new front of the case

http://size13games.com/img/new_case_left.jpg
The right side of the case

http://size13games.com/img/new_case_rear.jpg
Now the rear of the case....

This was a super fast boolean substract in 3DS, so I left out some criticals (like actually making it angle...). Also, I'm thinking some hot looking design on the front bottom of the case (simple, but nice) and perhaps replacing the rear plexi with aluminum as well...

What do you think?

If not, the idea is to go with fabbed aluminum mouting points, kind of like what crazybillybob was saying. Smoked plexi is definately in the mix for the motherboard and perhaps on the other side as well as a light feature...

[slightlysouth]

What thickness Aluminum Are you thinking.
Can you high light the Alum in the case?

Definately .250. Its the only thing that I think will hold shape with this design.


If your going to use sheet metal thinckness (<1/8") Design tabs into the sheets and have the fab shop put a bend in allong the edge so the tabs are on the same plane as the plex. Then either get the tool and put nutserts in the tabs or pay the fab shop to do it.

This also occured to me. I'm thinking that, if tooled correctly, these could even be a nice shadow feature on the case



For plex 1/4 should be thick enough to allow you to mount your mobo (stand offs are #6 32 on the bottom (the male part) and M3 on top (female). I don;t think I'd fab a plate or any thing the mounting to the side (so long as you don't drill trough) will help keep that clean look you've got. You'll want to make up a cover plate (smoked plex to keep the theme) to give you some thing to hide the wires for PSU and MObo (drives and the like) behind (under).

Yes, .250 was the plan here as well. The only other idea that I had was to use a .250 piece of tinted mounted to the difussed plexi to mount the mb to, although I don't really like this, because it would detract from the simple clean lines of the case. Yours is definately the better solution.



I love the design. Very smooth, very sexy. You just need to keep that clean look when you get parts in it, wire managment is going to be very important to you!

Keep up the good Work!
Crazybillybob

Thank you very much. I agree that wire management is going to be king. I have an idea for it using some of the bent acrylic tubes (such as Defyant used in HP3) and a couple of other ideas floating around. What would be REALLY nice is to find some on large vaccuum tubes for the inside as well. Give it that 70's stereo equipment look. lol

[slightlysouth]

If Bang & Olufsen made computers, that's what they would look like.

One comment, I think the upper section should be big enough to hold the power supply.

That would be sharp, but I'm thinking of running dual rads (for symmetry mainly) in the top, so I'm not sure if I'll have room...

[crazybillybob]

.25 Aluminum is going to make it very heavy(and cost you a ton of cash, not only for the material but for the fab...1 offs machine isn't cheap if you can find some where to do it!). If the black strips on the edges are alum you maybe ok with .25" but it's still going to be tough to get it fabbed. If the whole front and or back are Alum. You can get the Ridgidity that you need with thinner metal (and a local sheetmetal shop is more likely to do a one off, and it will be cheaper). You just have to have the edges either rolled or beaded, This stiffins the metal (look at a normal case, the folded edges and beaded areas or less for looks and more for strength). Or you could got with 1/8" and have 2 of each made (double it up), then welded....When Alum is weleded Right, and cleaned up You can't tell the diffrance between the plates and the weld. Plus you need to remember that your Plex is going to be a structural part of this case, with .25" plex it'll be plenty strong...If your worried you could do the Mobo tray side in 3/8" but that will add weight and cost too.

Just tring to get you thinking about other ways to do this (that aren't Brut force :) )

Still nice Design...You'll get this worked out...But I'd start saveing now to pay for it!

Crazybillybob

[dgrmkrp]

my recommendation would be to think of what pieces of hardware you will use and do mocks of them in 3d (as close to reality as possible) to see how and where to fit everything. this will help much more than anything else.. i find that "simulating" things as screw placement in a fully built chasis helps with problems before they may arise during fabrication/contruction. spend as much time as possible doing this so you'll have lil trouble after :)

I have some examples here 4 u:
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a141/dgrmkrp/4c0d8153.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a141/dgrmkrp/c58cac51.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a141/dgrmkrp/6d48e523.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a141/dgrmkrp/cb035926.jpg

[slightlysouth]

my recommendation would be to think of what pieces of hardware you will use and do mocks of them in 3d (as close to reality as possible) to see how and where to fit everything. this will help much more than anything else.. i find that "simulating" things as screw placement in a fully built chasis helps with problems before they may arise during fabrication/contruction. spend as much time as possible doing this so you'll have lil trouble after

Ya, having access to 3DS and cad is a huge plus for fabbing anything together. I've come to rely on it for measurements, design ideas, etc. Of course, I don't get as fancy on the textures ;) lol!


.25 Aluminum is going to make it very heavy(and cost you a ton of cash, not only for the material but for the fab...1 offs machine isn't cheap if you can find some where to do it!). If the black strips on the edges are alum you maybe ok with .25" but it's still going to be tough to get it fabbed. If the whole front and or back are Alum. You can get the Ridgidity that you need with thinner metal (and a local sheetmetal shop is more likely to do a one off, and it will be cheaper). You just have to have the edges either rolled or beaded, This stiffins the metal (look at a normal case, the folded edges and beaded areas or less for looks and more for strength). Or you could got with 1/8" and have 2 of each made (double it up), then welded....When Alum is weleded Right, and cleaned up You can't tell the diffrance between the plates and the weld. Plus you need to remember that your Plex is going to be a structural part of this case, with .25" plex it'll be plenty strong...If your worried you could do the Mobo tray side in 3/8" but that will add weight and cost too.

That is exactly right. I knew that the weight was going to be restrictive, especially with .250 aluminum and .250 plexi, but it is a one off case for use at home (and hopefully won't ever ever ever have to move again... lol). As for the aluminum welds and fab work, I have access to a machine shop and plenty of people that would be willing to give a hand if needed, so I'm not too worried about the fab costs.


Just tring to get you thinking about other ways to do this (that aren't Brut force )

Still nice Design...You'll get this worked out...But I'd start saveing now to pay for it!

Keep pushing ideas out there. I love hearing them and they're helpful beyond belief.

Now, back to cad...

[Rankenphile]

Would you be willing to consider widening the gap in the bottom, similar to the way you have in the top, to house your PSU? You could probably house your HDDs down there, as well, to eliminate as much hardware as possible int he primary mobo cavity. I think it would look awesome that way, even if you shrouded it in black-tinted plex instead of the frosted white.

Are you planning on leaving the aluminum in a shiny white finish, or painting it in black, or...?

I do love the empty "foot" the final bend makes, though, so maybe creating a third shrouded section wouldn't be the best way to go. Just tossing an idea out there.

[slightlysouth]

Ya, I like the base, too. I think it makes a really nice alternative to "feet" or wheels. How about a frosted plexi case to replace the metal on the psu?

[jsb666]

really like that design :) cant wait to see how this comes out.

[public_eyesore]

Would you be willing to consider widening the gap in the bottom, similar to the way you have in the top, to house your PSU? You could probably house your HDDs down there, as well, to eliminate as much hardware as possible int he primary mobo cavity. I think it would look awesome that way, even if you shrouded it in black-tinted plex instead of the frosted white.

Are you planning on leaving the aluminum in a shiny white finish, or painting it in black, or...?

I do love the empty "foot" the final bend makes, though, so maybe creating a third shrouded section wouldn't be the best way to go. Just tossing an idea out there.
thats a very good idea. It would take the heat of the hd's and the psu out of main part of the case, and have the rest of it cooler.

[Omega]

maybe make the top cavity house both the PSU and two 5.25in drives, then make the mobo mount onto the side, and have a custom plexy mobo cover (like in Defyant's HP Ressurection projects), frost everything but special sections (like where a window would normally be), and pump it full of very bright lights of your color choice.


now that would be bitchin'.

[Rankenphile]

The only problem with housing the psu and such in the top is you're eliminating your space for the reservoir. If you added the cavity in the bottom, you would allow yourself to keep the reservoir up there, along with an easily accessible fill spout, and keep the power and HDDs in the bottom to keep them out of sight and keep the heat away from the mobo.

I made a couple notes on your prototype picture, below:

http://rankenphile.com/images/lighter1.jpg

On the original, the edge corners (A) on the top section are very square. What about rounding them (fillet? chamfer? I can't remember anymore, it's been ten years since I've taken any CAD classes) to wrap around, eliminating the sharp edge there. THe only problem is that it would also, presumably, round the top aluminum edge, and take some tricky calculations getting the curves to match the aluminum curve at the bottom (blue lines, B).

Just a couple thoughts. Don't take them wrong, I absolutely love the case design.

Also, if you did make a bottom section, you could always wrap the foot aorund one last time to make your stand, which I really do think is a neat design feature of the entire model. It would jsut end up making this thing rather tall.