Custom Fabricated ATX Tower

[CMadki4]

So, I've just finished up one case mod and I'm already planning for the next. The last one, I chopped down a small mATX tower into an even smaller SFF case. Pain the rear, but very very cool. Excellent air flow and looks bad ass. But I want to do a bigger case now. Something I can squeeze a big water cooling system w/ a big 360 rad into.

The idea is to use existing hardware to start off from, just like my last mod. I plan on using the Antec 300 as the basis for this mod, utilizing its chassis and motherboard tray and panel.

I then want to create a sleeve style cover where the front, top and sides are removed all at once. Maybe even hinge it in the rear and put gas lift shocks (like you have on your car trunk). All parts will be laser cut, welded and powder coated.

And here's the design concept....

Mesh front and top meld into each other with no seam. The sides are also largely mesh. This is 3mm diameter round hole mesh:

From the rear view you can see space above the extents of the Antec300 case. This area will be used to mount the radiators and its fans. There will be a cover over the opening:

With the chassis and cover separated you can see the "sleeve" cover concept. One solid cover.

It's a pretty cool design. The goal being to build a quiet and cool water cooled rig that has a unique look and form to it with plenty of room to expand. This would be my first water cooling rig ever, so I'll be exploring that in parallel with developing this case.

What do you wall think?

 

[CMadki4]

Quick dimension drawing of the case concept.

 

[CMadki4]

I've redesigned it a little bit. I figured it would be wise to put in removable side panels rather than have to remove the entire cover as a shell to get access to the internals and cable management behind the motherboard. You can also see that the side panels are not 90% mesh anymore. The left panel does however have a smaller mesh opening large enough for two 120mm fans side by side.

I've been looking at XSPC liquid cooling systems as possible candidates. Up in the top portion of the case is where I would mount the RS240 radiator. And on the back portion of the case, above the I/O board and fan hole is where the two 5.25" bay reservior/pump would be.

I'm still thinking this one through. I'll probably make the case regardless of whether I decide to go with WC right away or not. But I will design it to accommodate it.

I'm also thinking that the finish won't be a black powdercoat. I'm actually thinking unpainted brushed steel. I'd put a clear coat on it to protect it from oxidation and to give a little bit of shine. But other it would have a natural industrial look.

 

[Alai]

I really really REALLY like the front: the slick, non-descript hipster look is HOT.

 

[CMadki4]

Thanks. I'm trying to figure out a way to keep the slick front and still have an optical drive. A stealthed optical may work, but I'm more inclinded to do a larger door that could conceil all three 5.25" drive bays.

This is a little more far fetched and way more challenging to engineer, but imagine if the mesh insert could actually roll up out of the way to reveil the drive bays. Much like a roll top desk (often referred to as a secretary).

 

[xjmtx]

so three bays, one for the drive and two for the reservoir. personally i really like the roll away top idea, and i'd like to see it implemented with the mesh as opposed to something else. alternatively if you can't figure out how to make the roll away mesh, you can always do the flip down door with the mesh in front. You could always go the mac pro route and pull the front bezel off of the drive and make a flippy down door. I don't want to say do what apple does because that's just crazy. However, I think you can take a few pointers from these case makers and improve the wheel. Not to toot on your established horn, but your Snapple Gateway Case is a prime example of improvement on a crude design. also, PM

 

[Blahman]

Like where you're going with this. Have to wonder if it's best to have the radiators on the front, top, bottom or back though. From what I understand they are most effective as intakes, with fans in the pull config being better than push, so that would suggest that the front and bottom of your typical tower case are the best places for radiators. Could be wrong though

 

[CMadki4]

xjmtx, haha, Snapple Gateway Case! Do we have a moderator who can change the title of that worklog?!? I love it! Snapple suit be damned!

I have found an interesting candidate for the front mesh. The drawing show a 2.3mm thick SECC (coll rolled steel) round hole mesh. But to do the roll-away thing it would either need to be segmented (and you would see the seams) OR the mesh would have to be changed to something flexible. Like this polypropylene:

Blahman, as far as the case design the top would be ideal. But as in regards to actuall best functionality of the cooling system, the jury is still out on that one. There is room for a 240 radiator on the front. Though, I'd prefer to mount it on the top because of the case design. I could put the fan on the top of the rad a pull and exhaust.

More thoughts:
The polypropylene mesh is great because it would be flexible enough, but sturdy. The down side would be how to color it. In it's natural state it is white. PP is not easily dyed. If it were nylon I could just dye in hot water and RIT, but alas it is not... Painting it would be like mixing oil and water. Hmm, I'll have to stew on that one. Ideas anyone?

Here is a labeled drawing of what I'm thinking so far. Note: the area labeled for the reservoir/pump will have a cutout so you can view the coolant level.

 

[CMadki4]

I've looked into the roller-away front a little more and have decided that it would be a pain in the butt and wouldn't accomplish what I ultimately want.

I've put the water cooling on the back burner, other than my current H50. I'm redirecting this case's purpose to a cool and quiet build. With 1.6mm steel construction, welded solid, sound dampening rubber/foam and large low rpm fans.

The optical tray, card reader and other bay access will be hidden behind a mesh hinged door. It will be practically invisible when closed. Drawings to come soon.

I'm really happy with my current setup, other than my Raidmax psu, so I'll be transplanting that into this new case. I expect to have this thing lasered, bend and welded by May. Things are really busy at work AND I've got grad school to contend with.

If only I could mod and build cases for a living!!!

 

[FireBean]

to be honest, it looks quite a bit like a CM692... well, that theme is the same at-least.

 

[CMadki4]

I guess so. A rounded top-front edge. That's really the only similarity I see.

 

[Alai]

to be honest, it looks quite a bit like a CM692... well, that theme is the same at-least.

I think you mean it's similar in the fact that the mesh is in the middle of the plastic/metal panel that basically frame the mesh. But I think the rounded top-ront looks way sexier.

 

[xjmtx]

not to mention that the front rounding is more pronounced on Cmad's Diet Snapple case (less bulk, lower calories)

 

[CMadki4]

not to mention that the front rounding is more pronounced on Cmad's Diet Snapple case (less bulk, lower calories)

Ha!

And now for something completely different....

I've made a few modifications to the case design. I'm sort of feelings things out as I go. That's the great thing about modeling in Solidworks.

Here are a few things that I've changed:

• The optical drive is semi-stealth, with only the tray door exposed
• The USB and head/micro-phone jacks are on the bezel
• The power button/ring LED is on the front panel, low center
• The cutout on the rear panel has changed to accept the rear panel of an Antec 300, welded into place
• Removed the vent on the side panel

Design features:

• Solid and quiet construction: 1.6mm SECC
• Mesh top and front panel w/ smooth contouring: 2.3mm SPHC round mesh
• Removable left and right side panels
• Cable management system behind motherboard tray
• Four (4) 120mm case fan: two (2) top exhaust and two (2) front intake
• Rear 120mm intake port for Corsair H50/H70
• Rubber isolated 5.25"/3.5" cluster mount

I'm trying to simplify the design little by little. I want to retain the clean look of the case, so I'm trying to limit the number of exposed fasteners and seams. This makes things a little more complicated when considering how to mount things so that you can still assemble and disassemble with relative ease.

Stay tuned!

 

[CMadki4]

I've only every used one (1) optical drive and at most two (2) hard drives. With that said, do you think there is anything wrong with making the drive bay configuration like this?:

 

[CMadki4]

Changes:

• Removable motherboar/psu tray: remove then entire motherboard w/ power supply and keep cable management intact.
• Reduced 3.5" bay count to 4.
• Moved power button/ring LED up higher
• Color to black powdercoat

 

[xjmtx]

i really like the bezel treatment, minimalist. (hate to say it) macpro style. you'd said that originally you wanted a card reader of sorts in there, still happening? I think that the minimal hdd/odd isn't a bad idea, if you make the hdd cage mostly modular, able to add to it ad nauseam, then i think that's brilliant. No sense in caging yourself into a corner (oh that shit was intended). Future expansion is a good idea, especially if say, that lower front end you decide to add a second dedicated PSU for say two 6990s or by then 7990 8990 9990 etc.

 

[CMadki4]

Macropro, yes, is sadly a pretty good looking case. This one may one-up it in the rugged and silent departments.

I do still want a card reader, SD to be specific. I may ad a slot on the bezel for this. I may not. Still chewing on that one.

This case should be plenty expandable. All I'd need to do is fab up another HDD cage and bolt it to the underside of the existing one. No problems.

So far, the part count is low, as is the weight. Well, I wouldn't go calling this thing light, but it's less than I thought it would be. It weighs in at the medium heavy-weight class of 17.5 lbs. Not bad for steel, I guess.

The motherboard tray still needs some the details: cable pass-thru holes, mounting holes, I/O cutout, PCI slot cutout, etc...

 

[xjmtx]

are you ditching the antec tray and making one from scratch? because should you do so, this allows you the freedom to add more pci slots and such, and make a tray that accommodates several mobo sizes

 

[CMadki4]

@xjmtx: I'll probably still use the rear panel insert (the one that houses the PCI slots and the I/O panel), bu the tray itself and the rest of the rear panel will most likely be designed from the ground up. At this point I don't think I'll be using anything other than ATX, but could easily add the holes for mATX or ITX if ever so desired.

 

[hammerhead300]

Looks like an awesome design. Best of luck with it!

 

[CMadki4]

Thanks! I'm taking my time with it, really trying to think it through. Though unlikely, I'd like to make this case to last me a long time. I tend to go through cases like crazy, for whatever reasons. So I want to make one that is my version of the ultimate case. Quiet, cool, rugged, good looking. I don't go to LAN parties anymore, so portability is of no concern. I just want a case with a nice open design, super super quiet, ice cold and great cable management. And be able to add and remove components with ease.

Once I get it all designed up I'l cut it on a laser, bend it up, weld it together and run it through the powder coater. Not sure when this will come to fruition, but the only limitation is me and my imagination.

 

[CMadki4]

Here's what I'm thinking for a power button/LED. Pretty slick looking, if you ask me. The reset button will probably hidden and you'll use a pen through the mesh to press it. Don't knock it. I rarely find a reason to press the reset button. I'm still looking for some headphone jacks that are equally good looking, just in case I choose mount them in a more exposed manor than recessed behind the front panel trim.

 

[CMadki4]

So, I've been messing around with the design of the internals and I've gone through quite a few variations. I'm starting to really hone in on what I want this case to base and all it's small form and function features. Attention to detail is the name of the game here.

What's changed:

• front/top bezel is now removable, more like a conventional case
• PCI slots and I/O panel cutouts added
• door panels modified to match contour of new front/top bezel
• mother board tray cutouts for cable management
• power supply mounting holes for mounting right side or upside down
• new 5.25" drive bay cage
• new 3.25" hdd cage w/ rubber isolated mounts
• Note: the rear 120mm fan port has been removed. The Corsair H50 can be mounted on a front or topside fan. Front intake is more efficient for cooling, but top exhaust fan is closer.

Inside the case. Nice and open. Plenty of room for the machine to breath:

Behind the motherboard tray. Plenty of room for cables:

Top view:

Removable Motherboard. Takes everything but the fans and drives w/ it. Keep cables together:

 

[CMadki4]

http://s142.photobucket.com/albums/r116/cmadki4/antec300mod/?action=view&current=atxassy01.mp4

 

[wowcro]

Uhm, the power suppply cover is fixed. It is going to be a pain to get the psu cables routed. Better make sure you can get the cover inafter the mobo tray is inserted. Looks real nice. You got another winner there bud.

 

[CMadki4]

False. The power supply shroud is removable and can be installed/removed with the motherboard tray in. But it wouldn't be a bad idea to make the entire shroud removable w/ the bolts accessible from the backside of the motherboard tray. Food for thought! Thanks.