Before getting around to building my first case, I changed my mind and decided to make something completely different. I've been slowly working on the design for quite awhile, pretty much since I posted the design for my other case. The main idea was to integrate the monitor into the case like other "all-in-one" computers, but actually use full ATX components. This would make it a bit more portable for LANs, but still retain its upgradability. I started by laying out the components in SketchUp, than I moved on to designing the case in SolidWorks. It will be almost all 1/4" smoked acrylic, except a couple pieces of 1/8". Heres what I have: I've bought the acrylic and started cutting it up. I'll post more pictures when I get them.
Got to work on cutting some holes today. Mostly worked on holes for the expansion slots. Were doing the work in my dad's shop, and hes helping with the tools. My dad making a couple plunge cuts next to the expansion slots. The expansion slots themselves were cut in the same way. Resultant cuts next to the schematic with a couple dimensions on it. Getting ready to route the holes out the rest of the way with the jig we made up. My dad routing one of the holes. Me routing a hole. Resulting holes after being routed out. Came out pretty good. Just for reference, heres the piece were working on. Thats all for tonight, more to come later.
I really like the design, with one potential caveat... Airflow. Are you going to have enough of it? I only see two fans in the case. Are they drawing air in? If so, where does it exhaust? If one is in, and one is out, that seems a little insufficient as well. Bumping fan size up to 140mm (if they're not already), and adding exhaust vents would likely be beneficial.
I like what I'm seeing so far too. The only bit that worries me is the base of your harddrive cage. 4 1/8"thick x 1/2"long tabs will not hold up against a horizontal shock. I didn't know I had a Doppelgänger!
As for airflow, both of the fans are going to be intake. I will probably leave a few expansions slots uncovered for exhaust as well as cut some holes behind the CPU cooler. Something like this: I also beefed up the HDD cage. 1/4" acrylic should be fine as long as my screws are long enough.
There's nothing wrong with 2 intake fans, as long as that air can be exhausted. That was really my only concern. Believe me, the air will find a way out. It's doesn't need an exhaust fan to help with that. Your revision should perform much better.
Very interesting concept, integrating the screen. I would love something like this for my LANs, it's a pain in the a** carrying all my stuff around... -.- I'm interested how this will turn out, good start so far.
It would help to have 1 as an exhaust though and I'm pretty sure it's a fact that exhausts work better than intakes..... ie. 1x exhaust is better than 1x intake but I'm no expert So we'll see when it's said and done
Whether they are intake or exhaust, won't make much difference. The only real consideration is whether or not you have a positive or negative pressure case. Intake equals positive, exhaust equals negative. Positive pressure cases are typically less prone to dust. That's really the biggest tangible benefit. However, you are definitely better off having either 2 intake, or 2 exhaust as opposed to one of each, as you're going to move a larger volume of air.
1/8in acrylic anywhere on this project isn't strong enough at all, 1/4in is ok, but 1/2in best for the main structure. Considering you built it in solidworks, use the simulationXpress or cosmos setting restrants and loads to the structure and watch it flex. I also noticed you have a few bends in the design, and considering you have a router at hand may i suggest, cutting a V profile along the fold line, this will allow for a sharper bend, you will have to apply some glue in the channel, to strengthen it up, but it'll look alot crisper.
The idea of making an all-in-one screen/computer has played in my mind before, so consider me subscribed for ideas .
Double post time. This first post was stuff I did a few days ago, but never got to posting. Time for some bending. For this we made our own line bender, and it probably isn't as dangerous as it looks. We made the base out of a piece of fiberglass insulation since it doesn't conduct electricity and won't burn. The heating element was ripped out of an old hairdryer we bought at goodwill for $6. The best power supply we had available was a 24V 3A thing we had sitting around. To get all 3A out of the power supply we would need 8 Ohms of resistance, so we measured out 8 Ohms worth of the heating element and stretched it out to the length we needed. The wires with alligator clips and banana plugs were convenient and worked well enough. We tested it out on some scrap pieces of acrylic we got, and it worked fine. Onto the real thing. For this first bend we tried used a different slot in the fiberglass than we tested with. Oh ****. The acrylic got too hot and bubbles started forming. Couldn't even see them until I lifted the acrylic up. I didn't have enough acrylic left to scrap that piece and start again, so I'm forced to use it anyway. Luckily that bend will be mostly hidden behind the monitor. I went back to the other slot I used before, which is a bit deeper. A few good bends later and its taking shape. Completed piece. Its a bit larger than it needs to be on all sides so I can cut it down to fit later. Heres what its supposed to look like.
Time to make some more holes. Routing out one of the fan holes using the hole cutting jig. The first hole we cut didn't come out too smooth, so we switched to a new bit for the second hole. First hole on the left with the old bit, second hole on the right with the new bit. Next we went on to cutting the holes behind the CPU for airflow. Bigger square holes or slots are a bit harder to cut, so we went with several round holes. Getting ready to cut some holes with the drill press. Cutting the first hole. Several holes later. We had to take a break to let it cool every few holes since it was getting too hot. Updated render of what it looks like with the new holes. I think it looks kinda funky, but it was a lot easier than cutting the slots for the expansion cards. Also a bigger hole for the PSU so it can be installed from the outside with a backplate. Thats it for today, almost ready to bend the big piece and start putting them together.
Sadly this has been dropped to the 3th page allready... It's a great looking built there mate, keep it up! PS: you seem to have a great workspace there ^^
