[LinuxUser]

... out of wood, and it will replace a drawer in my desk.

I think I've got everything planned (see attached FreeCAD file [unzip it first – it wouldn't let me upload a "*.fcstd" file]), but I now want to see what everyone thinks of it before I actually start building. The names of the different parts will generally be very helpful (some parts ["OLD left side" and unnamed box in Base] are not visible as they are left over from a past design). The runners are designed that way so that I can't wear out the base taking it in and out. I've got a stock fan illustrated, however I'm definitely intending to get a decent CPU cooler.

But if everyone thinks I'm just being mean by only posting a FreeCAD file, I might post some pics if you can say what you want to see... And I'll definitely get some of the progress as I'm building.

EDIT: Removed FreeCAD file, there's plenty of pics below for those wanting to see what I'm doing.

Edited by LinuxUser, 09 October 2012 - 11:18 AM.

[tbonesteak]

That's pretty cool concept, would love to see a pic when its done.

I never heard of freecad til now, pretty nice to have a free alternative at only 80mb download

[gamernz99]

a great idea and if the draw is really this big all i would be worried about would the cooling be adequate i assume there would also be other grills , ( i dont know how to use free cad )

Attached Files

•  Capture.PNG   32.21KB   2 downloads

[JoshHunter]

Ah I wanna look at it but I can't be bothered installing more software I'll never use haha

[LinuxUser]

That's pretty cool concept, would love to see a pic when its done.

I never heard of freecad til now, pretty nice to have a free alternative at only 80mb download

I'll certainly post one – probably more than one, in fact!

a great idea and if the draw is really this big all i would be worried about would the cooling be adequate i assume there would also be other grills , ( i dont know how to use free cad )

Well, it can't really be much worse than my current case with only the (stock) CPU fan and (80 mm) PSU fan, as I'll add a 120 mm fan behind the grill.

Using FreeCAD:
Move by holding down the mouse wheel, zoom by scrolling, rotate with either the buttons in the toolbar or holding down the mouse wheel then the left mouse button (and let the left mouse button up before the wheel too). Left-click to select a part, or select it in the top-left pane – you can then use the space bar to toggle visibility. That should be everything needed for viewing!

Ah I wanna look at it but I can't be bothered installing more software I'll never use haha

Ah OK, I'll post some pics in a few minutes...

[LinuxUser]

OK, here's some pics. Just say if you want any others. None of them show the runners. Check the file name if in doubt as to what is being illustrated!

The drive bays screw down at the right side, and also at the base behind the graphics card. Please note that I haven't bothered to show much detail in the drive bays, just the basic design.

Oh, and the CAD file includes all standoffs (for both ATX and mATX), below I've only got the ones appropriate to ATX shown.

I'm sure it is easy to figure out by colour scheme – yellow-brown for wood, silver/grey for metal, green for computer parts (which are there for reference, makes things much easier when you want to see how stuff fits). The exception are the standoffs which are green, however they would be made out of dowel.

Attached Files

•  Back-right without top.png   27.4KB   8 downloads
•  Back-right without top, right side, back, computer parts (detailing drive bays).png   32.34KB   6 downloads
•  Front-left without top, front, left side, fan.png   34.01KB   5 downloads
•  Front-right without top.png   31.1KB   3 downloads
•  Front-right without top, computer parts, drive bays.png   34.83KB   3 downloads
•  Front-right without top, front, right side.png   20.49KB   5 downloads

Edited by LinuxUser, 10 July 2012 - 08:07 PM.

[JoshHunter]

That looks really cool. Any possibility of a 200/230mm fan on intake though?

And is there a way to have a fan exhausting? Could get a little hot in there

[LinuxUser]

That looks really cool. Any possibility of a 200/230mm fan on intake though?

And is there a way to have a fan exhausting? Could get a little hot in there

It's 180 mm high, so not really (just slightly higher than my existing case, so it should let in a decent CPU cooler [probably a Prolimatech Lynx from CL, cheaper than the CM Hyper 212 Evo after postage, and nearly as good Actually, no. I'll simply try out PC Force, and go with the Hyper 212 Evo after all.] – and if it won't, I simply won't put the top on! ). It could definitely fit a 140 mm fan though (although I doubt it would be significantly better, although it would definitely be more expensive). But your expertise on which fans are best might be helpful here.

With regards to an exhaust fan, I'll probably add a grill to the back panel above the mobo I/O panel, and let the CPU cooler exhaust toward it – and the PSU will be exhausting out the back of the case too. I could fit an 80 mm fan either above the PSU or above the I/O panel, or even multiple, but I don't think that it would be really worthwhile – and it will have to be better than my current setup anyway.

Edited by LinuxUser, 10 July 2012 - 08:54 PM.

[JoshHunter]

A 140mm is a much better idea. More air with less noise. If you had a 140 front and back/top you'd be fine. They generally don't cost any more than 120mm's.

[jtchal]

Looking good Linux, really want to see what your final project will look like if you end up going ahead with it.

[LinuxUser]

A 140mm is a much better idea. More air with less noise. If you had a 140 front and back/top you'd be fine. They generally don't cost any more than 120mm's.

OK, I'll go for a 140 mm at the front then. Which fan do you suggest? I think it'll exhaust out the back OK, and just be a positive-pressure setup – the real thing will be getting the air in, not out (the front grill has two sets of slots: on the front around 7 mm deep, and offset from those another set on the back around 11 mm deep, giving a 3 mm overlap for the air to get through, although all that can change).

[JoshHunter]

Maybe a Xigmatek XLF-1454/similar. I had 4 of them in my K63 and they did a great job. Hard to gauge performance as there was 4 of them, but they knocked the socks off the LianLi stock fans.

It'd work fine I guess, as long as the hot air has some kind of duct out the back of the chest of drawers.

[LinuxUser]

Thanks. That definitely seems to be the best 140 mm fan around.

The desk has about 10 cm (if not more) behind where the back of the case will be, and an opening at the bottom (about 7 cm high). So I think that, while it isn't ideal, it will be adequate.

[doombubble]

I will be very interested in seeing this completed, looks amazing.

I am most concerned about the thermal stability and the noise that comes out of a wooden case, although mine will be slightly different as it will be a free standing case.

Looking forward to seeing it done

[LinuxUser]

Thermals should be fine, as the heat is dissipated via the airflow rather than the case itself. Noise should be great, as I would expect wood to provide quite a bit of acoustic damping, however the vents could cause noise which might more than make up for it.

My main concern would be EMI shielding (in both directions) – wood probably won't do anything much, whereas grounded metal does a great job. However, it shouldn't be a problem – and if it was, I'd just line the inside with grounded metal flyscreen mesh, which would most likely be adequate.

You'll have to post pics of yours too...

[JoshHunter]

Hopefully it doesn't end up like SPCR's heatbox

http://i.imgur.com/v494Q.jpg

[LinuxUser]

No, it won't be quite that bad I'm sure...

Not sure how I've missed the missing "a" in the title of this thread this long...

Edited by LinuxUser, 23 July 2012 - 03:23 PM.

[LinuxUser]

Right, I'm almost ready to start building. All I need to get is a sheet of plywood, and another piece of wood for the front panel. Here's some pics of parts I have got (yes, the metal is from an old case):
 Overview sm.jpeg   44.25KB   5 downloads
 Drive Bay 1 sm.jpeg   25.01KB   3 downloads
 Drive Bay 2 and mobo IO panel surround sm.jpeg   24.35KB   2 downloads

I'm not saying yet what the following parts are for, just that they (along with a few other bits and pieces) will make the front panel look a bit different to most machines...
 Parts 1 sm.jpeg   39.96KB   2 downloads

[TomSahz]

I sense the future use of your ninja-like electronics skills, Linux

[LinuxUser]

My electronics skills aren't all that great, but they're certainly going to be used here. However, that IC you see in the photo will do almost all the work for me – I could have done it myself, but I decided it wasn't worth it. That is, assuming I can get a circuit board that has traces fine enough for it to go on, and that I can manage to solder it down to said circuit board...

[S0up2up]

My electronics skills aren't all that great, but they're certainly going to be used here. However, that IC you see in the photo will do almost all the work for me – I could have done it myself, but I decided it wasn't worth it. That is, assuming I can get a circuit board that has traces fine enough for it to go on, and that I can manage to solder it down to said circuit board...

Pretty sure the above highlights prove that you know what you are talking about, slash when added with the mega post you made on that LED thread, pretty sure you know lots about Electronic stuff!

[LinuxUser]

"Know lots about Electronic stuff" != "ninja-like electronics skills". I know plenty more than I would be remotely good at – I've read quite a bit, but done relatively little.

[flangefrog]

@LinuxUser I think you want one of these: http://www.mindkits....p-adapter-8-pin I used one a while ago and it's not that hard to solder the ICs to them.

[LinuxUser]

Looks good, except my chip is an MSOP package – with a 0.5 mm pin pitch. That is a SOIC package adapter, which has a pin pitch of (according to Wikipedia) 1.27 mm.

The final circuit board will be about 15 mm x 25 mm. I'll use a toner-transfer method to put a mask (already designed unless I make changes) on it (assuming it works with that sort of detail), then etch it with vinegar and hydrogen peroxide (yes, that is correct – I found it on the net and it supposedly works well).

[eliongater]

How are you going to do the rear IO and pci slots? ie getting the size and spacing right?

[flangefrog]

Looks good, except my chip is an MSOP package – with a 0.5 mm pin pitch. That is a SOIC package adapter, which has a pin pitch of (according to Wikipedia) 1.27 mm.

The final circuit board will be about 15 mm x 25 mm. I'll use a toner-transfer method to put a mask (already designed unless I make changes) on it (assuming it works with that sort of detail), then etch it with vinegar and hydrogen peroxide (yes, that is correct – I found it on the net and it supposedly works well).

Oh sorry I just guessed and didn't look at the size. If you did want to buy a breakout board you could possibly use this https://www.sparkfun.com/products/497 which mindkits are able to import (all their products are imported from sparkfun, i think they do an order once a month or something) I'm not sure about the pitch though cause it says .65mm but some people in the comments say it works for MSOP-8

[LinuxUser]

How are you going to do the rear IO and pci slots? ie getting the size and spacing right?

Motherboard rear I/O: piece of flat metal with a hole cut out in it for the I/O panel screwed to the back.

PCI(e) slots: a big hole with a piece of aluminium angle over the top to screw the cards down to. I can easily put some slot covers (after making them) over the unused slots which would take care of almost all airflow / dust / object problems. I decided that it would be near impossible for me to make sturdy ~4 mm wide strips of metal with 13.32 mm wide openings between – just cutting them out would be hard enough (would probably actually be ground out rather than cut), but then what was left would be very flimsy – commercial cases would normally have a ridge pressed into it, or at least all the ones I know about. And then I considered how much (or little) they did, and decided they weren't worth it.

Oh sorry I just guessed and didn't look at the size. If you did want to buy a breakout board you could possibly use this https://www.sparkfun.com/products/497 which mindkits are able to import (all their products are imported from sparkfun, i think they do an order once a month or something) I'm not sure about the pitch though cause it says .65mm but some people in the comments say it works for MSOP-8

Interesting. However, I think I'll be just as well off making the circuit board myself as I'm going to want several other bits and pieces in the circuit.

[LinuxUser]

Slight update:
 PCB sm.jpeg   63.79KB   4 downloads

PCB mask on, ready (I hope!) for etching. Note: toner transfer doesn't work well for 10 mil (0.01", 0.254 mm) or less lines / clearances (necessary for the chip), hence why it is a little messy. Patched up with a Sharpie and fine (sharp, even) screwdriver.

Edit: should've put a ruler in the photo. Either way, the PCB is ~5.5 cm long.

Edited by LinuxUser, 11 October 2012 - 11:40 AM.

[LinuxUser]

Quick update:
The PCB is etched, finally. The Sharpie came off somewhat (enough to cause a few broken traces – I'll just use a few pieces of wire when I solder everything up) in spite of it being supposedly OK. Nor was all the copper removed that should have been, so some was scraped off (it was very thin though). Pics up shortly.

I've also got a lot of the metalwork done. Will probably be finished tomorrow, and will post pics then. Would have been all-but finished if I didn't have to go and make one piece 14 mm too short a couple of hours ago... (Due to forgetting to make allowance for the 7 mm top and bottom that is folded out.)

[Patrick_T]

Another exciting log for me to follow. Though, I know jacksh**t when it comes to metal work and carpentry. Hope I'll learn something from you.

What has PriceSpy become? Something good that's for sure.