Hi all, Long time lurker, first time poster. I'll be receiving an Antec Sonata in the next couple of days and while the lack of a removable right-side panel is a pain, I figured the creative chaps here would know how to work around this -- mostly I want to do this to route cabling behind the (non-removable) motherboard tray. Anyhow, for those unfamiliar with the case, the top/right/bottom panels are all of one piece, held to the chassis with rivets. How can I remove these without damaging the case? Drill them out? Also, short of buying a rivet gun, how can I reattach the panel afterwards? Would I be able to somehow make it accept thumbscrews? TIA!
Get yourself a drill bit and drill straight through the middle of them. If they're still on after that get a flat head screw driver and a hammer and nock the back of the rivet off As for putting it back together, head to your local hardware store and pick up a pop rivet gun and a set of rivets, not sure of the size but if you take one you drilled out size you'll be fine. Hope this helps
Something like this? Ideally, I'd like to make the panels easily removable... hence my question about replacing the rivets with thumbscrews. Any thoughts?
With thumbscrews i'd debate the strength of them holding the panels together. Perhaps if you re-tapped the rivet holes to a metric size and use some bolts to secure them that would probably work. We'll see if someone can confirm that for us first
I don't see why they wouldn't be strong enough to hold the panels. Just in case we're not on the same wavelength, the rivets I'm talking about hold the outer steel body panels (which is one big C shape, incorporating the top, bottom and right panels) against the steel chassis. I very well could be wrong, but I don't think the outer body panels do much for structural rigidity in the Sonata -- or maybe I'm a little confused about what you mean by "the strength of them holding the panels together"?
I drilled the rivets out of my chieftec dragon using a 8mm metal drill. It removed the rivet tops and I pushed the other end of the rivet out with a center punch and hammer. I found that this went way faster then drilling through it with a smaller bit. I changed the rivets with 3mm bolts and nuts and I have carried my case to many lan-parties with the top mounted case handles with out having the bolts and nuts breaking.
Well, since I have this case (http://www.fieroloki.com/mypc.html), ill answer. drill em out with a 1/8" drill. Not enough working room to use thumb screws. (nothing to tap) and the just re-rivet it back together.. Alot of dadgum rivets though...or use nuts and bolts as said above.
Well could u use other screws besides thumbscrews, like smaller ones that might fit? I would be inclinced to use nuts/bolts and if i couldn't use screws.
From what i saw when I took mine apart is there just isnt enough material to work with to tap to be able to use screws of anykind. Unless you add some material (aluminum or something) to the chassis or something so you would have some surface to tap.
Get some low profile flat head screws (bolts) and solder them to the inside of the hole facing out. That way, when you put the panels back together, you have the bolt ends sticking out. You can then make yourself some nice nuts that would just thread onto the bolts. If you keep them small enough, you wouldn't even be able to tell they were there.
To get a better thread get rivet-nuts. You push them into the hole left by the rivet and they expand like wall anchors (serach at http://www.mcmaster.com). Another method, after removing the rivets you epoxy screws into the holes on the frame so they form studs sticking out. Then use knurled nuts like http://www.rjleahy.com/Techcenter/nuts/knurled_nut.htm to hold on the panel. Cut the screws to length, so they don't stick out through the nuts.
fieroloki- I'd seen your case before, it's why I decided to try removing the rivets on mine. Damn you for stealing my black outside/red inside theme idea! Looks awesome. Oh and thanks everyone for the tips on removing the rivets. I think I'll just get myself a rivet gun to replace them, once I get the cables sorted out back there I doubt I'll need to get those panels back off -- unless I decide to later change the PSU. Although I really am liking the bolts-on-the-inside ideas. Hmm.
I stole nothing.. LOL!! Thanks for liking it....Some places you will have to use rivites though as theres not enough room for anything else....but definantly on the back side (the side people will actually see) it might be pretty darn cool....hmmm, hex bolts...hmmmm
