What do you think of my "water cooling" case design?

[LeandroJVarini]

Mick64, was very beautiful in orange!

[Mick64]

Blue?

[dark4181]

Zomgblueftmfw!!!

[kgtiger]

Dam! I will take the blue one.

Can you please tell me how you incorporate the items listed bellow into sketchup?
I am new at using sketchup and would love to know, as you really seam to have the hang of it.
You must have invested hours into this.

Xion Thermal Control Panel

Lamptron Fan Controller

Primochill Typhoon III

Optical Drive

6x HDD’s

4x SSD’s

Asus Rampage II Extreme

3x Dominator Memory

Heatkiller Rev.3

2x EVGA GTX 295 Hydro Copper

Bitspower Rampage WB (Black Freezer)

[Mick64]

Dam! I will take the blue one.

Can you please tell me how you incorporate the items listed bellow into sketchup?
I am new at using sketchup and would love to know, as you really seam to have the hang of it.
You must have invested hours into this.

Xion Thermal Control Panel

Lamptron Fan Controller

Primochill Typhoon III

Optical Drive

6x HDD’s

4x SSD’s

Asus Rampage II Extreme

3x Dominator Memory

Heatkiller Rev.3

2x EVGA GTX 295 Hydro Copper

Bitspower Rampage WB (Black Freezer)

Apart from the motherboard, memory and the optical drive, I have created them myself. You can download the aforementioned and other components form HERE, but mine are not available at the moment.

[NFC]

Hey Mick, I love your case and I can see it being very popular with your target demographic.

If you are interested at all, you can PM me or w/e works best for you, as I have contacts I could share with you as well as some information on how and where you can have these mass-produced.

I cast my vote that your prototype be built from steel. A one-off aluminum prototype will simply not be affordable--speaking from experience. Aluminum is easier to waterjet, as was brought up before in this thread, but businesses that can do that are not as prolific as ones with the tools to laser out your parts from steel. =)

Steel is very easy to cut and even if you were going to drive downtown to have this made, you will certainly be able to find someone. Realistically, if you find the right people and you have the CAD files you can have each panel cut for around $17 (I can't tell from your renders, but make sure and incorporate the seams if you haven't already.) The tricky part will be folding the material, as you probably guessed, but don't worry, there are plenty businesses out there that can do this for you too. The wonderful thing about working with steel though is you can bend it all yourself, and your case design is so clean that it should be fairly simple (challenging, yes--but simple).

Anyways, good luck and amazing job!

I really dig the SSD adapter mount.

[LeandroJVarini]

Mick64, blue has a beautiful look, too!! This case promises to get your very beautiful!!!

[kgtiger]

I have to agree with NFC.
I am from a trade background in Motor Body Building. Which in the construction and fabrication of road transport vehicles. Like road-trains, semi-trailer, B-doubles rubbish compactors, right down to 1-ton trays bodies for work utes.
In my 20+ years of working in this trade I have spent a lot of time in sheet metal fabrication side of things.
So when it comes to pressing up your case, in my opinion it's not that hard.

To start with, A one piece "top, front, bottom and back" peace. You will need to start with a drawing of the "top, front, bottom and back" peace, before it is been pressed, (edges bent to 90 degrees).

I have seen you have the sketchup skills and know you have the imagination to mentally un-fold your case from the finished product. So that the "top, front, bottom and back" peace are all flattened out on one plain.
Please note that when you bend either steel or aluminium at 90 degrees it will stretch it’s own thickness.

For example, using a piece of 2mm mild steel, 260mm wide. If you mark in 30mm on each side and bend each bend to 90 degrees. You would now have a “C channel”. The out side measurements would be 32mm x 204mm x 32mm.
You have gained 2mm in each direction of the bend. This is only true for the out side measurement. The inside has not gained anything, it will still measures 30mm x 200mm x30mm
Please note by saying, the “outside” I mean the other side to where it was marked out and bent. Where it is marked and bent becomes the inside.

So you will need to know what size you want each face to measure after bending and whether it in side or out side that counts.
This is only true for sharp bends like the ones that go the length of your case (edges)
The bends that form the corners, going across the case will be different.
As an approximate if the radius of the corners is say, 20mm and you are using 2mm thick material you will gain 10mm in the over all size, for the large bend in each direction. This is not from stretching the material, but just the size of the bend radius. There will still be a 2mm gain in each direction for the stretching of the material that you will need to allow for.

I hope this make sense, the easiest thing to do is find a sheet metal workshop that you feel comfortable with and ask them to do some test bends of a cross section on scrap piece to make sure you know that size gains you will receive after bending
Once you know this you can adjust your drawing to suit.

By the way, let them know there is alot of interest on XS from bothe people in the UK and overseas and you will give them a plug if it all work out, might help.

The drawing should also have all cutouts for fans, temp gauges, vents, gaps for bends e.g. large radius corner bends and anything else you need so once it is all cut out you don’t need to touch it again and it can go straight the sheet metal shop to be pressed. Then once you have drilled all the holes for fans and rivets etc, it can go to be powder coated.

You will also need separate drawings for the 2 inside pieces that go above and below the motherboard.
A separate drawings for the panel that mounts the motherboard itself, plus one for the bracket the power supply sits on and any I may have missed others. They will each have to have all hole and cut outs marked as well as bend marks (with direction and degrees to be bent to) so they can all be cut, then bent at the same time as the outer case.
You may find the place that is cutting it all out may like the drawing on a USB thumb drive, so check which format they like, eg DWG for cad.
They should have the software to convert it if it’s not right.

It’s also a good idea to provide the sheet metal workshop with a basic drawing of what each individual part will look like so they have a visual idea of what there doing, it just gives them a guide as to what it should look like when finished.
Another good idea is to show the drawing to the sheet metal workshop (if there not the people cutting it out) to make sure they can’t see any challenges with it when it comes to bending. (needs to be done before it is all cut out, I know your not simple I just thought I would add it)

From what I remember of reading in this thread, your first hdd cages where copies of someone else, and I think you said you could buy them.
I for one would save your time and money trying to fabricate them and just buy them online and bolt them into your case.
I think this just about covers it, once all the fab work is done, you should be able to just buy the parts you need to get it up and running.
Oh just one more thing, as for me if I was going to go the all the effort of designing it, the making it a reality. Then I would make it out of aluminium. The cost of a ½ sheet of 3m x 1.2m x 2-3mm is not that much more than steel and when it is after all for you. I would make the investment.

Bottom line, If you want it bad enough, then you might just have to make the first one yourself like this as a demo to show the big case builder how to do it!
It will work if you try it like this, but jetting someone to make it all might not.
After all, it’s not there dream, is it.

Best of luck mate I will be watching for updates/progress reports.


P.S. have you ever thought of asking Charles at MurderMod if he would be your US out let?

[slamz]

wow, that is awesome! I've wanted a TJ-07 for a while now, but i'd rather have yours!
would happily buy one if you produced them (and drive up to essex to get it )

[Mick64]

I have to agree with NFC.
Snip...

Thanks for all the info kg. I am in the process of doing the 2D drawings for the case and I do understand what you mean about bend radius. It is a very time consuming process checking all the dimensions and making sure I've made all the allowances in the right places.

Unfortunately I'm not, financially, in the position to get this made myself at the moment. However, I have had some interest in the design and a prototype may be on the cards.

If things don't come to fruition, at least if I have all the 2D drawings ready, I may be in a better position in the future to get it done myself.

Thanks again!

[XSS]

hello really great idea, I can tell you if you want to produce the housing in a small series laser / CNC / water jet cutter everything is there so you can even write a PN or better still an email HBfreak93@googlemail.com

[dark4181]

Hey Mick, how bout something with 9 or 10 pci slots for this set-up: http://www.evga.com/articles/00501/

Crazy right? I know you visit the EVGA forum on occasion, but I still don't see you there too often

Just something that may interest you

[Mick64]

In these latest renders I have inverted the motherboard.
I have squeezed in a second typhoon III in the top bay so that there are two separate cooling loops.
To make enough room in the top section to route the pipes, I have replaced the 38mm width fans and shrouds with 25mm ones leaving plenty of room along the left side for the two pipes.
The 120.4 rad in the top is now cooling the graphics cards and the motherboard.
The 120.3 rad in the bottom is just cooling the processor.

[kgtiger]

What speed/RPM do you think, guess you would need to run the fans at with this system?

[nypunkgeek]

I love this design and really hope you can find someone to manufacture it for you. I know I would be interested in buying one.

[Mick64]

What speed/RPM do you think, guess you would need to run the fans at with this system?

That is a bit of an open ended question. There are so many factors that would need to taken in consideration. I don't think anyone could give an answer, or even a guess! Here are just a few:-

Make of fan
Make of rad
Make of pump
Make of waterblocks
Number of components being cooled
Overclocking
The list goes on....

[Sh1tyMcGee]

I would buy this case in an instant, very nice!!

[drewstein]

Good day.

I work for a sheet metal manufacturing company based in the UK. Having looked at your design I would like to introduce my company.

We have all of the machinery required to produce you case for a very competitive price. We have a CNC turret punch which is much cheaper to run than say a laser or water jet. Using the CNC turret punch we also have a dimple tool which could punch dimples if required tor the motherboard to sit on. We also have access to a water jet, laser and a plasma cutter. We have guillotines and 2 presses to form the bends required. We can work with mild steel, aluminium, stainless steel or even copper.

We have in-house wet spray and powder coating facilities. If you pick any Ral colour or BS number we can powder coat or paint it to your specification.

In the past we have made some computer enclosure's and cases for the airline industry to very high tolerances.

We would require detailed 2d drawings to work from so we could input them into our CNC machines. We could send you the parts via courier either flat or fully assembled, i.e welded or riveted.

I will continue to follow your project online and wish you well with it.

[artdent]

I am starting to outgrow my TJ07 and that really fits the bill. I can only hope someone decides to mass produce it for you.

[k0rben]

Nice job Mick.
What setting did you used for rendering in Kerkythea? There are 25 settings i think (ray tracing, photon map - quick, photon map - low, photon map - high + AA etc.)

[affiliate13]

Mick,
It would be a crime not to see this on shelves.
Modding is fun yes, but this many options with that kind of finish, it has to get made.
No two ways about it.

As for steel or alu, i would rather own alu but depending on cost i could see how many would like to own a case like with but at a lower price point.

[Mick64]

Nice job Mick.
What setting did you used for rendering in Kerkythea? There are 25 settings i think (ray tracing, photon map - quick, photon map - low, photon map - high + AA etc.)

I use number 20. Metropolis Light Transport (BPT). Most of my renders are between 100 and 200 passes @ 1024x768. The more passes you do the sharper the image, but the bigger the image the longer it will take to do each pass. 200 passes takes about 8 hours on my PC using 3 of 4 cores. See sig for spec's.

[FuryoftheStars]

Very nice design. It would be really nice if someday you could make this case a reality and be able to sell it. I know I would certainly buy one, even at the more expensive aluminum.

[Mick64]

Some of my SketchUp models are now available on the SketchUp Components Collection website for those that are interested....

[Delemon]

Any updates on when this might become a physical reality?? I have a Black Pearl that would love to be emptied (well, it is empty now, but will be filled by this time next week) and would be happy see my rig in this case you've designed