Scratchbuilt "marble" SFF case - $6 materials

I've put together my second scratchbuilt computer case,
refining the design concepts from my first. Despite
housing a full size ATX motherboard, it has a small
form factor.

The case has classy looks thanks to the use of economical
floor tiles for the outer case. No special skill or tools
are required to build this type of case, although practice
naturally helps.

For pictures and a description, see:

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/vie...?p=87513#87513

Isaac Kuo

Isaac Kuo wrote:
I've put together my second scratchbuilt computer case,
refining the design concepts from my first. Despite
housing a full size ATX motherboard, it has a small
form factor.

The case has classy looks thanks to the use of economical
floor tiles for the outer case. No special skill or tools
are required to build this type of case, although practice
naturally helps.

For pictures and a description, see:

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/vie...?p=87513#87513

Isaac Kuo

How did you go about cutting and affixing the floor tiles, or did you
have that done where you bought them?

--
spammage trappage: replace fishies_ with yahoo

"sooky grumper" wrote in message
...
Isaac Kuo wrote:
I've put together my second scratchbuilt computer case,
refining the design concepts from my first. Despite
housing a full size ATX motherboard, it has a small
form factor.

The case has classy looks thanks to the use of economical
floor tiles for the outer case. No special skill or tools
are required to build this type of case, although practice
naturally helps.

For pictures and a description, see:

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/vie...?p=87513#87513

Isaac Kuo

How did you go about cutting and affixing the floor tiles, or did you
have that done where you bought them?

Looks like he used those vinyl floor tiles that are patterned to look like
marble. If that's the case, hejust used an xacto.

Kris Rawlison wrote:
"sooky grumper" wrote in message
...

Isaac Kuo wrote:

I've put together my second scratchbuilt computer case,
refining the design concepts from my first. Despite
housing a full size ATX motherboard, it has a small
form factor.

The case has classy looks thanks to the use of economical
floor tiles for the outer case. No special skill or tools
are required to build this type of case, although practice
naturally helps.

For pictures and a description, see:

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/vie...?p=87513#87513

Isaac Kuo

How did you go about cutting and affixing the floor tiles, or did you
have that done where you bought them?


Looks like he used those vinyl floor tiles that are patterned to look like
marble. If that's the case, hejust used an xacto.

I was hoping he'd actually used something sturdier.


--
spammage trappage: replace fishies_ with yahoo

"Kris Rawlison" wrote in message ...
"sooky grumper" wrote in message
...
Isaac Kuo wrote:
I've put together my second scratchbuilt computer case,
refining the design concepts from my first. Despite
housing a full size ATX motherboard, it has a small
form factor.

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/vie...?p=87513#87513

How did you go about cutting and affixing the floor tiles,
or did you have that done where you bought them?

A sturdy pair of scissors, and they're self-adhesive.

Looks like he used those vinyl floor tiles that are patterned
to look like marble.

Yes!

If that's the case, hejust used an xacto.

No, no, no, I learned the hard way on scratchbuilt #1 that
it is HARD to cut these vinyl floor tiles with an exacto
knife. In that case, the box's open side was the top, which
made the lid a snap, but the exacto work on the rear ports
was a nightmare. Scissors are far easier and faster.

The floor tiles I used were 12x12 self adhesive vinyl floor
tiles from Lowes Hardware--$1 each. I used one for each
side, for a total of $6 of materials. The rest of the case
was constructed of Fedex cardboard boxes, which I don't
count toward the raw material cost because Newegg has to
ship their stuff to me in SOMETHING.

The adhesive side of the tiles come with a paper backing
which is perfect for marking where to make the cuts. I
cut the 5 sides of the main box with simple straight across
cuts. The complex rear cover plate, however, was made
by eyeballing things and cutting a piece of currogated
cardboard. This included the circular hole for the intake
duct. Then, I traced the cardboard piece onto the paper
backing of the floor tile and cut from there.

The circular duct hole was the part that took the most effort.
After tracing the inner and outer circles of the rim onto
the cardboard, I cut it out with an exacto knife. This started
off far too tight for the duct to fit in, but I kept on
expanding it outward until the duct firmly fit. After attaching
the floor tile to the cardboard piece, I went and used the
exacto knife to cut out the circle from the tile--tough stuff!
I eventually figured out the trick. Instead of trying to cut
the tile in short sections, the best way to do it was to spear
the tile so just the very tip of the knife penetrated. Spacing
these tiny tiny slits into a dotted line set up the relatively
brittle face of the tile to naturally split along the prepared
fault. Then, all it took was some pressure to pop the circular
hole out. This circular hole was again far too tight for the
duct to fit; I expanded the hole by carving strips out of the
hole's inner edge until the duct fit. It's a very snug fit,
so friction alone keeps it securely in place.

In fact, there are any number of ways to make the rear duct
in a faster, easier way. A rectangular/square duct attached
to the inside would not have required a perfect fit, and the
straight sided hole would have been much easier to cut.
However, I knew I wanted the elegant look of this circular
duct with its visually pleasing lip. Never mind that this
feature is on the back side of the computer, and would thus
rarely be seen.

Isaac Kuo

"Isaac Kuo" wrote in message
om...
No, no, no, I learned the hard way on scratchbuilt #1 that
it is HARD to cut these vinyl floor tiles with an exacto
knife. In that case, the box's open side was the top, which
made the lid a snap, but the exacto work on the rear ports
was a nightmare. Scissors are far easier and faster.

The floor tiles I used were 12x12 self adhesive vinyl floor
tiles from Lowes Hardware--$1 each. I used one for each
side, for a total of $6 of materials. The rest of the case
was constructed of Fedex cardboard boxes, which I don't
count toward the raw material cost because Newegg has to
ship their stuff to me in SOMETHING.

Have you ever considered mounting to plywood? Putting the tiles on top of
say even 1/4" plywood would give you a lot more sturdieness and the ability
(from what I can tell from the photos at least) make hardpoints for a
removabl panel/case cover.

I was just looking at the DVD and I don't know if you have considered this
or not, but on your next incarnation of the enclosure, you could with an
extremely careful bit of measurement cut a port in the case for the drive
tray, and simply stick the material from the port you cut onto the end of
the tray. That way the drive could be forward facing and stay stealthed.
Sort of like people attaching their case bay faceplates to their CD drives
to stealth them.

the floor tile to the cardboard piece, I went and used the
exacto knife to cut out the circle from the tile--tough stuff!

Remember, they're made to be walked on, not cut easily

I eventually figured out the trick. Instead of trying to cut
the tile in short sections, the best way to do it was to spear
the tile so just the very tip of the knife penetrated. Spacing
these tiny tiny slits into a dotted line set up the relatively
brittle face of the tile to naturally split along the prepared
fault. Then, all it took was some pressure to pop the circular
hole out. This circular hole was again far too tight for the
duct to fit; I expanded the hole by carving strips out of the
hole's inner edge until the duct fit. It's a very snug fit,
so friction alone keeps it securely in place.

Have you considered using a dremel? Not with the high speed cutter, but the
3/16" drill bit works as a decent cutter for acrylic/vinyl if you use the
middle portion of the bit. So long as you keep the bit orthoganal to the
material, it is pretty easy to control once you get used to it. Doesn't
leave super smooth lines, BUT if you're going to be covering the edges of
the opening with something, it works quite well if you want it done quick.
You can also do simple curves (such as circles) with a little practice.

In fact, there are any number of ways to make the rear duct
in a faster, easier way. A rectangular/square duct attached
to the inside would not have required a perfect fit, and the
straight sided hole would have been much easier to cut.
However, I knew I wanted the elegant look of this circular
duct with its visually pleasing lip. Never mind that this
feature is on the back side of the computer, and would thus
rarely be seen.

Isaac Kuo

Note: I've put up a couple more pictures, on Geocities
which has a better free bandwidth allotment:

http://www.geocities.com/mechdan/ijksff.html

"Kris Rawlison" wrote in message ...
"Isaac Kuo" wrote in message
om...

The floor tiles I used were 12x12 self adhesive vinyl floor
tiles from Lowes Hardware--$1 each. I used one for each
side, for a total of $6 of materials. The rest of the case
was constructed of Fedex cardboard boxes, which I don't
count toward the raw material cost because Newegg has to
ship their stuff to me in SOMETHING.

Have you ever considered mounting to plywood?

Yes, although that means making noise during construction.
Most of my construction has taken place early in the
morning while my wife was still sleeping. There's not
really a quiet way to cut plywood.

Still, my next computer case will be made out of wood rather
than cardboard for safety reasons. It'll be a fanless
passively cooled chimney tube structure. Normally, cardboard
is surprisingly difficult to ignite, but the extra airflow
of a vertical chimney tube structure combined with the much
higher temperatures due to 100% passive cooling make cardboard
too risky.

If you've ever played with putting a cardboard box onto a
fire, you know what I mean. Place it on the fire closed, or
lying sideways, and it'll just sort of char and slowly get
consumed by the overwhelming heat. Open the ends and place
it vertically, and it'll light up like a torch!

Putting the tiles on top of
say even 1/4" plywood would give you a lot more sturdieness and the ability
(from what I can tell from the photos at least) make hardpoints for a
removabl panel/case cover.

Yes, I could get superior results with wood.

I was just looking at the DVD and I don't know if you have considered this
or not, but on your next incarnation of the enclosure, you could with an
extremely careful bit of measurement cut a port in the case for the drive
tray, and simply stick the material from the port you cut onto the end of
the tray. That way the drive could be forward facing and stay stealthed.
Sort of like people attaching their case bay faceplates to their CD drives
to stealth them.

Scratchbuilt case #1 has a frontal DVD drive, and I like the
two tone effect of not stealthing the drive (the tray front
is curved anyway, which would make stealthing a bit of a pain).
Here's a gallery of scratchbuilt #1:

http://www.geocities.com/mechdan/marble.html

The nice finish of the frontal DVD drive relies on the snug
fit of the faceplate--this means the drive has to enter/leave
the computer from the front. I found this to excessively
complicate working on the machine's internals.

With scratchbuilt #2, the entire hardware slides out rearward
from the case on its own tray--very convenient!

I eventually figured out the trick. Instead of trying to cut
the tile in short sections, the best way to do it was to spear
the tile so just the very tip of the knife penetrated. Spacing
these tiny tiny slits into a dotted line set up the relatively
brittle face of the tile to naturally split along the prepared
fault. Then, all it took was some pressure to pop the circular
hole out. This circular hole was again far too tight for the
duct to fit; I expanded the hole by carving strips out of the
hole's inner edge until the duct fit. It's a very snug fit,
so friction alone keeps it securely in place.

Have you considered using a dremel?

Yes, but my unusual circumstances favored a quieter solution.
My Dremel is entirely incompatible with my wife sleeping. ^_^;

Seriously, though, it was a great experience building exercise
to build my first two cases out of cardboard, but it's time for
me to move on to superior materials. I've now got a feel for
design issues such as dealing with all those cords and laying
things out for convenient maintenance/modification. I think
wood will be the ideal medium for me to work with from here on.

Isaac Kuo