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Any pictures of custom built computer cases ?

rons

Diamond
Joined
Mar 5, 2009
Location
California, USA
I've seen all the new cases I need to see. Made from punched out sheet and folded just right. Nothing I like and nothing I could duplicate.
This is the style I will duplicate.

Fujitsu Siemens Esprimo E5720 Intel Core 2 duo 2,53 GHz: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Have a mATX size motherboard with up to four 3" size drives and a DVD drive. A low profile case like a dvd player is the goal.
I have some sheets of .125 aluminum and thought about make something like the old Kenwood receivers with wood panels on the sides.
To use a .125 sheet as the base I could cut out holes to lighten it, like what is done for aircraft.

Have you made any style case and taken a picture?
 
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Personal computer with wood sides. Have not seen that in a while and not sure where mine is.
SOL20. Sure did look nicer.
Interesting legends as to why the wood.
Part of the all thin aluminum case is heat sink so fans as needed.
I do like the idea of something done this way for appearance.
Card mounts are a pain so often I'll buy a $15-$30 dollar case and hack out the MB sheet and card holder section.
This goes into a NEMA-12 so it is just a big ugly steel box outside.
Bob
 
I know next to nowt about computer cases, but I've made a lot of cases and storage boxes etc etc, and one thing I have learned (painfully) start with what you want to case / box and work round that, .......trying it the other way eound - aka fitting item X'' in to case Y'' is fraught with grief.

Just my 2 cents, YMMV
 
I know next to nowt about computer cases, but I've made a lot of cases and storage boxes etc etc, and one thing I have learned (painfully) start with what you want to case / box and work round that, .......trying it the other way eound - aka fitting item X'' in to case Y'' is fraught with grief.

Just my 2 cents, YMMV

I did just that.

The popularity of the mid-sized motherboards are not the same as the mini and large sizes, so I was told. If there is no choice I will build my own.
I don't do much with bending sheet metal and punching out holes. So I will probably use SS inserts and SS screws to hold things like drive trays together.
 
Look up "CaseLabs." Their cases (targeted at the enthusiast/liquid cooling market) were fantastic. They went out of business a few years back but you should be able to find lots of good photos online.
 
I had a few old desktop computers sitting around. I took them apart mainly to destroy the old hard drives before getting rid of them. You should be able to pick up old computer cases for free to use as a starting point and then make a custom cover over that.
I had one of those receivers. I still have a dual cassette Tandberg with wood sides (maybe Teak?) that i just can't throw away. Maybe because I spent over $400 for it in the late 1970's .
 
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In high school I built a hardboard case to hold a stack of hard drives and floppy drives. It was an interesting computer but probably not something you would want to duplicate.
 
In high school I built a hardboard case to hold a stack of hard drives and floppy drives. It was an interesting computer but probably not something you would want to duplicate.

The only things I would want duplicated where the princess high school girls from my school days.
 
When I see abominations like this I revert to pc case building:

Amazon.com: DIY Computer Motherboard Case Rack, Motherboard Chassis Set, Creative Personality ATX/M-ATX/ITX Open Chassis, Vertical Overclocking Open Aluminum Frame Chassis Rack,Good Heat Dissipation(Black): Computers & Accessories

Open question:
What is a method to join two 1/8" sheets at 90 degrees? I come up with a square block with threaded holes at 90 degrees. Or a couple small brackets.
A case cover that includes the top, sides, and front panel. How should that look?
 
What is a method to join two 1/8" sheets at 90 degrees?
You've got a mill, how about dovetails ? And maybe make the plates a little thicker and mill some geometric relief into them ?

And blinkenlights .... nothing cooler than blinkenlights. Random, if at all possible. Or related to case temp, or cpu activity, or something along those lines.

You could get really carried away with this, if you tried.
 
Bend the sheets. Farm them out or get a cheap bender or machine a punch and dies.

Otherwise you really ought to design a nice skeleton that then gets skinned.
 








 
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