This is the prototype for a HDD silencing box Im going to be making some time soon (like, manufacturing, not just making a one off)... just wondering what peoples thoughts are... 1mm zintec (steel), slots into the cdrom bay, lined with 12mm fibre/foam composite material which is designed specifically to absorb sound... prolly cost about £4 to manufacture so RRP of about £9. any input? Anybody have any suggestions on a low cost technique of making some kind of door or flap to cover the end up?
What about heat? Will it be able to hold all types of drives? And why do you need a way to cover up the hole at the end? Isn't that where the cables come from?
That things gonna be a damn oven. Why not put some <40 MM fans on teh back of that thing so my hd doesn't explode. Also, why not use aluminum... its lighter and looks better for our modded aluminum cases
The material absorbs heat better than air so no problems there (and its fireproof). As demonstrated by similar products the drive can actually run COOLER because of the heatsink effect of the foam. Hard to believe, but its thermodynamic fact . Aluminium costs a heck of a lot more and the demand for it probably wouldnt justify that expense? 99% of cases are zintec so a zintec drive cage is most suitable i think? Any drive which is normalish dimensions will fit (so in practical terms ALL drives will fit). Yeah the cables come out the end but its possible to make just a slit or something for the cables? Sound can escape from that end! Not much mind, the principle is to have the HDD mechanically isolted...
would'nt it be better to simply buy a proper HDD? I (dad) have two comps both running seagate baracudas (those damn IBM's would'nt handle XP.. just mady funny sounds after a few weeks of use.. . ) and they practicly unhearable... (??)
Although on a normal PC you cant hear the HDD, on a PC with only two fans at 5v, the HDD (even a spanking new Barracuda!) is definately audible! And give a Barracuda a few months of bashing, let the filesystem get fragmented, and its noise level shoots up untill its churning and making grinding noises all day long... My customers are always happy with their silent PCs at first but always start complaining eventually as the noise shoots up (i use baracudas).
I have an IBM... I cant hear it. IT handles xp and is only 17% fragmented after 1 year of use.... Anyways.
well.. one of the comps is WERY silent... you can barely hear the fans... besides... i use defrag every once and a while... anyway.. don't get me wrong.. i like the idea...
Spose it depends what you mean by very quiet... When I silence a PC it ends up with two 5v panaflo fans with latex screws which can not be heard from even an inch away... but plug the HDD in and its not in the same league any more
Conducting foam ey? I'll beleive it when I see it. Also My Baracuda is totally inaudible. Can't hear it spinning and I can't hear the head moving. However I can hear my Maxtor spin slightly and I can definatly hear it when it's in use! My Deathstar in the other room is pretty noisy but I don't have to live with that . However if I had bought a Maxtor then realised that I should have got a Seagate (The maxtor I have came with my PC) I think it would be a lot better to pay a tenner for a silencing thing than another £80 on a new drive.
I suppose this design could work, so don't give the guy such a hard time. To make believers of us, though, you need to submit one to bit-tech.net so they can give it a proper review. Perhaps build a one-off for them to test so we can see how well it works. If it performs well, you might find quite a few customers around here.
Ofcourse conducting foam exists Youve never heard of it? http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=soundproof+foam&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&meta= Its a whole goddamn industry you goofus!
Yeah - well that stuff turns vibrational energy INTO heat and not take it away. I was thinking about that over lunch. I think you need to look at that foam again. Remember Energy in = Energy out. So Vibrational Sound Energy BECOMES heat energy. Thats how sonic absorbtion mats work... As I said before. Its an oven. Steel is not as good as aluminum for heat dissapation...
The link you gave me doesn't give any info on thermally conductive foam and searching google myself doesn't come up with much. If it's a whole industry I'd appreciate some links please. And beta124 makes a good point. You're converting sound to heat by absorbing it through the foam.
For a bit more money, you could make a device, similar to Bose headphones, that could silence all noises made by the pc.
Well to answer your question about what the front face should look like -- check out this case.. The stock covers would look great on your hard drive oven. AL4377D-SL on http://www.skyhawkusa.com/Aluminum_Cases.htm Good luck on changing sound to negative heat.
Active sound cancelation is most definately not cheap, and not very practical in PCs cus the sound comes from the entire case vibrating, not just specific points Its been talked to death on silentpcreview.com! The foam heatsinks the HDD better than no heatsink at all - This is evident by the simple fact that a thermometer attatched to the HDD reads lower when the HDD is incased in foam. You do the physics/geometery/thermodynamics - There are no two ways about it im afraid, dont mean to start an argument but thats the way it turns out yknow
"This multi purpose, noise reduction material actually absorbs the vibration of any solid material. It is made of a mineral filled asphalt polymer that transforms vibrational energy into thermal energy..." Thats how sound dampening material works. The foam, unless it doesn't actually stop the sound, may vibrate the metal when closed and when attached to the case, it might also vibrate and make sound.... unless you suspend the components, it is going to be really hard to make a soundproof enclosure for a hard drive... Would you mind telling me what kind of foam that is because I want to know how it disapates more heat than it creates. I don't care enough about the sound of my hd to buy another one when it cooks. Also, would you mind explaning the calculus that is needed to do the thermodynamic equations. Geometry/Trig based physics is not as close to actual results as calc is. GL
umm.. just want to add something here... You are all talking about "conductive foam" and such tings... but you need to be dams dure it ONLY conducts heat... and NOT electricity... We have some ESD safe foam at school... we use it to store IC's and stuff on... it doesn't insulate heat as normal foam.. but i don't know if it conducts... anyway... this stuff conducts electricity (put 230volts on it and it will smoke and smell.. )... i have seen someone use it as insulation in boxes with WERY BAD results... well.. my point is... some HDD's (especially IBM and old drives) have a open PCB on the underside that WILL short if this stuff is used...
