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Custom Radiator Grill Questions

A

arnemetis

Supreme [H]ardness
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Aug 2, 2004
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Hi everyone, I'm working on a new PC and haven't gotten far enough along to make a worklog yet. I'm currently a bit out of my league regarding some sizing and material questions, so I figured I'd ask the experts here. I'm making a metal top for my case (CM stacker stc-t01) which will cover my internally mounted Thermochill PA120.3 raidator. I figure I'll cut out the top of the case, make a metal top piece to cover it, and use some kind of mesh to prevent anything from getting in. Excuse the huge pic, but I think it will explain what I want to do..
radtopom3.jpg

The cyan dashed outline represents the cutout of the top of the case, the blue is the metal grill, and the red are some dimensions. I was planning on 1/8" thick aluminum and somehow applying something like modder's mesh to the underside, but this presents an ocean of questions:

1. Is aluminum right, should I be using something else like steel?
2. Is 1/8" thick enough? I want this to have some strength to help the case as I cut it all up.
3. What grade of the metal should it be? I noticed like 7 grades of aluminum on mcmaster.
4. What kind of mesh should I use? I've got no more than 3/64th clearance.
5. How will I attach the mesh to the underside of the grill? (I figure I will cut the mesh to just a tiny bit under the cyan outline of the case cut out, so it will have a good amount of surface contact with the grill)

Thanks in advance to anyone who can lend me a helping hand, I appreciate it!
 
I dunno about the aluminum stuff (grades, thickness, is steel better, etc, though I'd personally use alu over steel) but I can give a good guess on the mesh.

Stretching it between the top to the case and the grill you cut out should be fine. The screws will hold it -- might need to use some washers to spread the pressure out.
 
hmm, guess I wasn't clear - I don't want it sandwiched in between the case and the grill, I want it taking up the same space as the case was before I cut out the hole. I want the grill making direct contact with the case top. The mesh needs to be adhered somehow primarily to the center stem parts and centers flats (these are designed to go over the existing structure of a 120mm fan), so it will almost just hold itself but I'd like to use some kind of adhesive to make sure the mesh stays stuck to the aluminum, not the fans or the case. ASCII time!!!

<----------grill---------->
_________________
<--mesh | | case--->
_________________
<----------fans--------->

Basically I need the mesh on the same plane as the case, which is 3/64th thick. Doesn't leave room for screws or such....maybe it's as simple as good double sided tape?
 
Aluminum... any of the 1xxx, 5xxx or 6xxx (I recommend the 6063 alloy) should be fine, and 1/8" is more than enough.

And I'd use a metal epoxy to hold the mesh in. Just a tiny bit, enough to keep it up there without needing to be held in by pressure.

As for the mesh... I believe modder's mesh is 1mm thick... At least the honeycomb style is. And you have 1.2mm to work with. Perfect ;)
 
Thanks Arcygenical! Poking around mcmaster, I'm not finding anything in the size I need for 6063 (I will need 16"x6" for the top, and a few other small pieces for things like pump mounts) which turns out to be 12"x24". The $25 sheets are marine grade 5052 and 5086, general 3003 at $30, the electrical grade stuff at $30 and $35, then multipurpose 6061 topping the feasable price range at $45. I do plan on painting the plate fully, so any of these better than another for a reason? Is there somewhere else I should go to for the plate?

Looks like modders mesh can be had at mnpctech for $12 in 2'x1' with plain steel finish, or I can up it to $20 at performance-pcs for that acryan meshx stuff at about 18"x18" for painted black (would save me a step of trying to paint mesh nicely). I'll probably go for the pre-painted as I'd like to minimize the number of mistakes I will make in this mod. :D Seems to have similar specs, any reason why I would want to stick with modder's mesh?

I've used Quik-Steel before, I believe this is what you meant by a metal epoxy? I may even have some laying around, I've used it to hold aluminum and steel before for a model. (I'm an architect by trade, so please excuse my lacking knowledge sometimes)

Thanks again!
 
afternoon bump :D would love to know if it matters which of these grades of aluminum I should go with.
 
Why don't you make it easy on yourself and cut the hole for the case as a rectangle, without the insets for the fan screw holes? I know the corners are a different story.

I see the same thing when people cut the hole for the radgrillz.
 
fluke420 said:
Why don't you make it easy on yourself and cut the hole for the case as a rectangle, without the insets for the fan screw holes? I know the corners are a different story.

I see the same thing when people cut the hole for the radgrillz.
Click to expand...

Cause it makes things work better in the end? Had I cut my own hole (my case came with a hole already cut in it, I bought it second-hand) I would've done insets like that. It makes the top/grill stiffer.
 
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