Official Qmicra thread

[Outrigger]

Geez, this is just a case people

 

[DeViLdUdE]

After reading MrSlackers post ..I wonder how it got to 379$ a case..

 

[MrSlacker]

Sorry Kyle. Won't happen again.

 

[Steeeeve]

For those still wondering about anodized aluminum and the process to form a computer case, I contacted Ultra, Silverstone, PC Design Lab, and Virginia Tech regarding this.

It should be interesting to find out what each of these fine folks say about how aluminum works. I posted earlier that the Micro Fly is anodized in the interior. It would be interesting to find out what makes this case so much cheaper than the Lian Li, SG01, and Qmicra. Perhaps certain aluminum is better quality than others....maybe certain bending is costly. Either way, I hope this is a learning experience for all of us.

 

[Steeeeve]

I found this article about forming anodized aluminum prior to the anodizing process....take it for what it says I suppose
http://www.lorin.com/PDFs/Crazing_What_It_Means_&_How_To_Work_With_It.pdf

The MicroFly is probably cheaper because its produced by Cheming who is a large OEM. I don't care what Ultra tells you, it is a Chenming design.

I should bop you on the head I have asked Ultra 3 times and everytime they assure me that Chenming does not produce the case.

It is NOT made by Chenming.

Couldn't say if the Aspire is or not. But the Ultra is NOT made by Chenming.

No Ultra's have been made by Chenming since the Ultra/Chieftec Dragon and they hired away half of their staff.


----- Original Message -----
From: xxxxxxxxxx
To: xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2006 11:44 AM
Subject: Re: SFFTech Review



Didn't you tell me that the case wasn't made my Chenming?

 

[FrgMstr]

In Taiwan a couple of weeks ago at Computex, I cruised the smaller booths one morning and there was a paritular little water cooler that I was interested in. I saw it in at least 8 booths....all assured me verbally that they were the MFG of the parts. Things are a bit different here than they are in Asia when it comes to doing busines. I have seen this for a decade now. They might even take you to see the plant one day and the sign on it will change to anotehr company name when you leave....

 

[jonnyGURU]

Jesus.... I'm going through these posts and thinking... "How did a thread about the QMicra turn this way!??!"

Anyhoo.... Going back to the first page of this thread, Kyle is right about anodizing. Cases that are brushed are brushed then anodized. You can tell from the finish. You know how a Lian-Li feels "rough." You can see and feel the wire brush marks. Smooth aluminus is either anodized or painted (or both!)

I think Lian-Li might anodize ALL of their cases, even if it's a clear anodizing. Otherwise, they'd turn white and corrode. Typically, when people think of anodizing they think of colors, but there is such a thing as a clear anodizing.

 

[GT2k]

Chenming seems to list the Qpack on its webpage...

MATX-118

There's no way two cases would look nearly identical and not have the same manufacturer and designer.

 

[Steeeeve]

Jesus.... I'm going through these posts and thinking... "How did a thread about the QMicra turn this way!??!"

It's a long story but the case got off on the wrong foot here and will probably never correct itself...no matter if it is a good product or bad one.

I think Lian-Li might anodize ALL of their cases, even if it's a clear anodizing. Otherwise, they'd turn white and corrode.

You can always powder coat it This is what the Micro Fly outside is I think?

 

[jonnyGURU]

Chenming seems to list the Qpack on its webpage...

MATX-118

There's no way two cases would look nearly identical and not have the same manufacturer and designer.

You'd be surprised. MOST of what you see made in China is ripped off from someone else. I can walk into almost any factory and have an exact replica made of any chassis if I'm willing to buy enough units (say around 20K.)

The bezels are the most expensive to mold, believe it or not. And the bezels aren't made by the case companies (like Chenming, for example. They don't make the bezel. Just the metal case.) They're contracted out to a plastics company. These plastics companies will use the same molds and sell the same bezels to multiple case manufacturers. This is why you might see the same bezel several times over.

So in a nut shell, if I walk into a factory with a case, and tell them that I want a case made exactly like it, and I buy the bezel from the same factory as the original case, then I can have an exact replica of the original case, right down to the bezel.... and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

That doesn't bother me so much. It's when they try to copy things like razor blades and batteries and come out with horribly inferior products that I start to wonder why we have relations with these people.

 

[eastvillager]

There's no way two cases would look nearly identical and not have the same manufacturer and designer.

Tell that to the guys selling knockoffs on canal street. China doesn't have much use for patents, trademarks, or copyright. Good and/or popular designs are replicated almost overnight by competing manufacturers.