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A 6lt mITX Cube Design

How about no IO plate? Just bare as it is... What are your thoughts on this people?
 
I wouldn't directly agree that vents on all sides look bad per se, but I agree that they look terrible in the current form. They aren't centred on the faces and get too close to the bends. I would say you should go for a different pattern, that slanted slot thing only seems to work when you have just one, maybe two adjacent faces where you can maintain the direction of slant, if that makes any sense. I would say they are fine on the side panel, but if you want to keep them, you can only do dot patterns on the top and the front. Not that it matters, but the hexagonal pattern on the back seems to not fit very well, too.

As SaperPL said, a lot of bends on your current model can't be manufactured like this, especially the one where the whole sheet is rolled on the top and the one at the bottom where two bends are about 2mm away from each other. The latter may be possible with very special equipment, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Looking at the PCIe brackets, I have to second SaperPLs concern that it may be a bad idea to let them stick out the side. That will probably look very bad in the finished product.

Other than that, good to hear that you managed to stuff a 3.5" drive in there. Doesn't it intrude into the mITX enclosure keepouts, though?

No I/O plate is a bad idea, you need it to be compliant with the ATX standard and not using one doesn't benefit anybody.

EDIT: Look here for all the details on I/O plates and keepouts: http://www.formfactors.org/search.asp?q1=ATX&submit.x=0&submit.y=0
 
@iFreilicht, thanks for the comments!

Vent pattern doesn't have to be like this. I'll update the model with dotted/circular pattern.

As I said in my reply to SaperPL, the PCI brackets DO NOT stick out the side. They end right before the case ends. Some angled photos may be misleading...

Are you talking about the "Mini-ITX Maximum Component Height Restrictions"? If so, no, the 3.5" HDD does not intrude in to the 57mm height area, and it clears the 39mm height (it has 41mm clearance from the PCB).

Alright, IO plate it is then! :)
I just fixed the IO plate cutout dimensions, thanks for the info!
 
theGryphon said:
@iFreilicht, thanks for the comments!
As I said in my reply to SaperPL, the PCI brackets DO NOT stick out the side. They end right before the case ends. Some angled photos may be misleading...

Are you talking about the "Mini-ITX Maximum Component Height Restrictions"? If so, no, the 3.5" HDD does not intrude in to the 57mm height area, and it clears the 39mm height (it has 41mm clearance from the PCB).
Click to expand...

I know they don't stick out, but I still don't think it's going to look particularly good. But hey, it makes the manufacturing easier, maybe it's worth a try.

Yes, that's what I meant. Good to see you thought about that :) Just be aware that that means boards like the Impact VII won't fit alongside with the 3.5" drive, as the daughterboard is 42.4mm high. They are not standard compliant in that regard by any means.
 
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For the IO bracket dimensions and other requirements read the mITX form factor specification.

As for the bend requirements - yeah, you've got to talk about it with manufacturer.
In general bending works like this:
BBK4mUe.png

grey outline is inital form of the metal sheet
blue outline is final form of the metal sheet

EDIT: Also see this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3GrK015yio

I've drawn the bend with 0 radius which is simplification but note that your bend must fit inside the machine. So if you wanted another bend on this sheet you'll need some distance from the first bend so it wont collide with top stamp. Also depending on machine, exactly whether there is an opening above the stamp (if its pressed from the side), it may or may not let you make rectangular/four sequential bends. Which with the dimension of the case its obviously impossible on standard machine.

You could of course make a custom tool that could be attached to the press but that'll increase the final cost.

Also note that most of mass produced cases are formed by press with moulds so those can make more complex parts but mass production is expensive and you shouldn't copy those ideas if you're not going to go this way.

Finally note that if you want two edges of the sheet bent so those come together forming an angle(for example making a box) you most likely won't be able to make another one of those with next edge without damaging/bending the first wall.
 
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If you needed a proto, it might be easier to mod a Lian-Li PC-Q02. When I built this, it was tight with normal pcie power plugs, but you can source low-rise (from alienware x51) plugs to make life easier :)

Will be interesting to watch this evolve!
 
Machupo said:
If you needed a proto, it might be easier to mod a Lian-Li PC-Q02. When I built this, it was tight with normal pcie power plugs, but you can source low-rise (from alienware x51) plugs to make life easier :)

Will be interesting to watch this evolve!
Click to expand...

No 8-pin plugs though... :(
 
True, not in the x51, but I'm sure that they're out there somewhere :)
 
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