Scratch Build - In Progress ⭐ DoTECHahedron

Hey folks,

Currently, I am working on a 3D printed HTPC project. My goal is to 3D print the case structure. It is a tedious task considering the print size on Printrbot Simple Metal w/heated bed is 150mm on the x,y,and z axis. The case would need to be much bigger to handle a mini ITX MB, SFX PSU and 1070 mini GPU. It is 271 mm tall making it a little over 10 inches.

I tested super glue with my PLA test prints and they held up well to stress. The case will also be reinforced by the grill covers and mesh screwed into the main body. I have had the idea of this case for sometime, but printing it out and finding time to put it together has proven difficult.

The case shape will be a polyhedra, more specifically a 12-sided dodecahedron. Although, in reality it is closer to a great rhombicosidodecahedron. You could make the case that it is a tessellation.

I designed the case as a whole in SketchUp and then divided the segments into printable parts. I only needed 2 major parts; the 1st one printed 20 times and the 2nd one 30 times for the outer shell, and finally 12 grills and 12 mesh parts for the 12 "sides" of the case. The angles needed for the outer shell were easy since I just split the 2 major parts at their adjacent edge.

Here are some of the SketchUp images. I exported them as stl files and ran them through netfabb to correct any errors. I used CURA to slice and print.













Here are the printed parts:

 

Next comes the super glue. I sanded the edges prior to applying the glue. Paying close attention to an exact fit since a foul up early on would affect the rest of the case connecting properly. I was nervous during this part







So one side will need to open to get the hardware in and out. I reprinted these parts to allow one of the sides to be removed.

 

NEAT!

 

Like it a lot. Curious how you're going to fit very square components in this very spherical case.

 

My next step was to smooth down the outer case. I decided to try XTC-3D.









It worked okay. I was able to remove most of the 3D print lines but I still had high and low spots. I then decided to use a Bondo glaze putty and it worked much better for filling the imperfections.





Next, I gave it a couple of coats of white primer. The case still has some surface imperfections that will need some fill and sand work but eventually I think I can get a nice smooth surface.

 

Next, I printed out the grills and perforated mesh. The grills and mesh will be attached with black nuts and bolts. A decorative washer will be in every bolt mount location on the case frame.







So, I need to start working on the interior of the case. I came up with a way to mount the PSU in a bracket that will bolt through one of the side faces. I measured the PSU I want to use. In this case the SF Corsair 600 will do nicely. I printed the bracket out and did some test fitting. The holes match up and should make for a strong attachment point. I will use longer bolts to secure bracket.

 

Thanks, you two are like bit-tech royalty! Glad you like it. So, when are you guys going to finish your current projects already...?

Nexxo, I plan on mounting the motherboard tray to the PSU bracket. The GPU will mount above the motherboard with this adapter.



It will be a stacked tower of components. I am in the process of designing the bracket that will help secure the GPU above the motherboard. The SSD's may be mounted between the PSU and MB tray. Still working on that. I haven't even decided the final color scheme.

 

Don't paint it like a soccer ball!

 

Jedi training drone?

 

No matter what color scheme I choose, I doubt I could refute the soccer ball comparison.

Technically the soccer ball patterns are those of a truncated icosahedron. In fact I was inspired by this picture of a CNC milled truncated icosahedron. Maybe some of you CNC milling experts can tell me how that was done?



I worked on one for a bit. I was thinking of changing each hexagon face to Star Wars Imperial symbol. Maybe another day.

 

I worked up another design that is closer to that.



I doubt that many 120mm fans are needed in a case that size.

 

Half Life 2 Rollermine, clearly.



Loving the work, nice job.

 

Thanks for the kind words.
Rollermines, I forgot about those things, good call.

 

Not trying to pimp, but Bill's 2nd post should give you a hint.
http://themodzoo.com/forum/index.ph...t-case-mod-for-homefront-the-revolution-game/
Although the machinist had a short time window and deleted my complicated assembly tabs. There was some superglue involved too.

 

Unless you want it to hover weightlessly over your desk.

My goodness, weathered anodised aluminium looks good. That gives me some ideas...

 

Working on cutting the motherboard tray down to size. I "borrowed" this from a Lian Li. I got out my chop saw and mused that the current blade had enough teeth to make a clean cut.



Cuts came out great.





I test fit with a spare ITX mb and I decided in all my wisdom that the cuts went so well, I would shave off a little more from one edge...

 

I could not see any seams in the picture so I thought maybe he milled that out of a chunk of aluminum. (al U minny um) or (alu mi num)

Thanks for the link, great stuff...

 

"Unless you want it to hover weightlessly over your desk."

I am waiting for someone to mod a NUC on a drone. It's coming someday!

 

I decided to print a tray to hold the SSD and combine that with support for the motherboard. Since I am limited to 150 mm on my print bed, I had to create "arms" to reach the 170 mm square needed for the motherboard to rest. I glued the arms into position and then will make sure it is very secure with short screws.





I ended up splitting this next part in two pieces for a better print result.

 

SSD tray with arms to hold the mobo? Sounds familliar.