Case construction With Aluminium Sheets

[amit00]

Just wanted to know if anyone has tried to construct a case with Aluminium sheets.

[stikphysh]

i have not as of yet, but i do plan to in the near future... ill keep a worklog of it if possible.

what do you have in mind exactly?

[Black_Ops]

wouldent be to hard to do, you could probly talk a welding place into tig welding it togeather if you wanted. i'm thinking of tig welding a case myself. something with an industrial feel.prolly guna be pretty big thou. maybe a dual system. enough of my ranting, you should be able to have it tig welded.

[amit00]

stikphysh
Yeah Im thinking of building a slim tower Full ATX case. I was thinking of panel beating to shape the sheets and then anodize them.

[stikphysh]

stikphysh
Yeah Im thinking of building a slim tower Full ATX case. I was thinking of panel beating to shape the sheets and then anodize them.

yeah, mines going to be a pretty simple design, except i need to roll a couple edges, kinda like they did with the old pickup trucks... and im not sure how to do that. i may just have a metal place do all the work. im gonna have part of it anodized, and part brushed aluminum

[amit00]

Yeah Ive seen places where they'll do the fabrication. Need to ring them up and check the prices.

[amit00]

What type of size you going for?

[stikphysh]

im not 100% sure yet. its gonna be a cube to fit a mini atx board.

[amit00]

Sounds Good. Keep Us Updated If Thats Ok. Oh and Good Luck To Ya.

[Dubbin1]

Yeah Ive seen places where they'll do the fabrication. Need to ring them up and check the prices.

Dont expect it to be cheap. Fabrication work is a very expensive.

This makes my 1000th post :D :D

[amit00]

Congrats To Dubbin1. If it is expensive then im just gonna have to beat it into shape with a rubber mallet. Won't be too big of a job, I hope.

[Nightingale]

It doesn't sound it but shaping sheet metal isn't all that easy even with just leaving it rough. You can hit it to hard in a number of areas and punch right through the metal. Also you should anneal the metal first so its easier to work with. For rounding metal you need access to an english wheel,

[overXposure]

if you are trying to shape metal by hand you dont hit it hard ... several light hits will do a lot more then one hard hit ...

you need to come up with a sketch of what you want first ... then you can figure out the size it needs to be from items you already have for the computer ...

[Dubbin1]

Also you should anneal the metal first so its easier to work with.
He will be working with an aluminum sheet so there is no need to anneal it :rolleyes: Heck in all my years of fabrication and machine work I have never once seen a need to anneal aluminum. I dont even think it can be done since aluminum is not a hardened metal.

[amit00]

Dont Forget that The thickness of the sheet will only be 1.2mm-1.5mm. So beating it won't be hard, just gentle. Besides all I need to do with it is round the edges.

[Nightingale]

Yes you can anneal aluminum as well as copper, and there is a need to depending on what your doing. I formed a coil out of aluminum tube, but it wouldn't bend right so I annealed it and filled the tube with sand and had at it. Worked nicely.

[stikphysh]

what is anneal-ing? lol... im new at fabrication with this stuff

[Xenocide]

cnc breakpress wins for bending aluminum :)

[amit00]

Im not gonna make the case anything intricate shape wise. So I think beating the aluminium to round the edges would be fine. After the case is build then I would think about anodizing it. Besides the Intricacy will come into play inside the case with cable management and seperation.

[amit00]

Xenocide
Who and what is cnc breakpress?

[Black_Ops]

cnc (computer numerical control) breakpress (sheet metal break)

is a computer controlled device that bends metal :)

and annealing is a process in which you heat metal to take its hardness away so its easier to work with, its suggested that you get it rehardened.

[Captain Slug]

yeah, mines going to be a pretty simple design, except i need to roll a couple edges, kinda like they did with the old pickup trucks... and im not sure how to do that.

You can cold-roll or press the sheets into angles using very large equipment only found at machine shops. You'll have to ask a few about what equipment they have and what they charge.
But doing it yourself is also fairly easy if you have the right equipment. Specifically and english wheel, round mallet, and leather hammer pad. This is what most custom automotive manufacturers use to shape body panels.

Aluminum is very fussy for this kind of work and I don't think you'll find it that easy to get nice even bends without the right equipment. It would be best to build a FRAME out of aluminum, then skin it with aluminum ducting sheets.

From what I know a breakpress is used for precise angle bends and will NOT produce a wide rounded bend but rather a point bend without changing the material strength at the bend.

[amit00]

I would just like to thank everyone so far for the input their giving.

[overXposure]

http://metalshapers.org/

those guys should be able to tell you exactly what you would need to do the job or where to go and what to look for in a shop to do it for you...

[stikphysh]

i think for mine, i may just have to go with having mine profesionaly done...

or perhaps i could tack weld a length of pipe to the edge of the pipe, then use some bondo to smooth it out, and just paint over the whole thing... think that would look good or no?

i also kinda liked the idea of idea of anodizing though so it is a little more durable.

[amit00]

If you have it done professionally it could prove tobe expensive. Personally Id go for anodizing the aluminium.

[overXposure]

anodizing is the finish on the metal for color .. it doesn't add anything to the stregnth of the metal ...

[Curly]

Getting the case done by a pro is the way to go. And yes it will be pricey. I know first hand because I work at a sheetmetal forming shop. We do strickly national accounts for major stores (Sears, Target, Radio Shack, Old Navy are just some). Using a brakepress is the only way to go. Captain Slug is correct that it is the only way to get precise bends, but aluminum is not bent to a point (it would crack). The way to bend aluminum is with a radius.
The calculations on the blank layout (size, bends, holes, and such) will be the most time consuming aspect of the deal. Once a press is set-up, it's a piece of cake to do the job.
You need to find a small shop that will take on the job, and work with them on your plans. Good luck!

[Captain Slug]

anodizing is the finish on the metal for color .. it doesn't add anything to the stregnth of the metal ...
Clear anodizing is used to preserve the appearance of the finish. Whil aluminum doesn't oxidize, it does however discolor unevenly if it is not anodized.

[amit00]

Another matter of creating a case is how it should be put together, e.g. welding, rivits, U-Seam. Which would be better?

[Mark620]

Another matter of creating a case is how it should be put together, e.g. welding, rivits, U-Seam. Which would be better?

That depends on your skills and ability. Welding aluminum requires lots of practice to produce a good looking weld. Rivits will show and a U-seam will require the right tools to produce.

[amit00]

Bump

[amit00]

Yo guys check this initial design. What do you think[design.jpg/IMG]?

[stikphysh]

that looks really good, but what is the big black box? also, why is the top section seperated from the rest? is that just the way the picture was rendered, or is there actually a plan to that?

[amit00]

The top is seperated with the bottom. Ive done the diliberately cos I want to seperate the psu and cdroms from the rest of the system. Also the black box is where the Hard Drives go. Cables will be routed through the cylinder conneting the two enclosures.

[stikphysh]

looks really good. only thing i can think of is make sure you leave room for your psu to get some airflow, and make sure you have a good way to get the cables between the sections. other than that it looks SWEET!

[amit00]

PSU airflow and cabling have been all taking into consideration. Thanks for you comment tho.

[magick_man]

personally i think it would be pretty cool for the edges to get some angle iron (not sure if that is right, the metal that isbent 90° into an "L" shape)
and put it on the outside of the corners and rivet the thing together with that. IMO
probably paint it a different color than the alum.

~Magick_Man~

[amit00]

Edges will be rounded also the top and bottom will be rivetted to the front and back panel.

[webfanatic]

I built a case using 1mm aluminium sheets, aluminium profiles and countersunk screws.
It's quite easy to work with as it is a really soft metal, but you have to work very precisely because you'll notice every mistake afterwards.

[amit00]

Have You still got that case. Can you show us your case?

[DarkDraco]

i made my external watercooling box from aluminum sheet. http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=306184

[stikphysh]

draco -
how much did all that metal sheeting cost, where did u get it, and how sturdy did that box turn out? it looks REALLY sweet and solid. the results on that water cooling were impressive too.

[DarkDraco]

to tell you the truth it was all free lol. i got a friend that makes signs and such. i pretty much was there and told him make a bend here, bolt it there. it basically was a big shoe box. its really sturdy as well. i did all the holes and painting tho.

[stikphysh]

wow. well that is pretty lucky. lol. i just wonder how much its gonna cost to make a case out of aluminum, or if maybe i should go with a different metal.

[sonicdrive]

if you go to a local heating and ac company they usally have a bunch of old units that are laying around in the back to be thrown away you can salvage a lot of good stuff from it. metal cooling cores and others
i got lucky in finding 3 5' sections of copper pipe that were 4 inch round LOL cooling core for my cooling system

[webfanatic]

amit00, yes I still have this case but at the moment it is disassembled. Nevertheless I took some photos for you, although it isn't easy to photograph the reflective aluminium in a way that you get an impression about what it really looks like.

Note: There are some screws missing/loose and the 6*2.5 inch LCD in the front behind the lexan pane isn't mounted.

Images 1-2: The fan grill at the top; made flat and mounted from the inside to have a plain surface.

Image 3-4: front with buttons, LED, digital sound connectors, switches for the LCD and the slim line DVD drive.

Image 5: "anti-vandalism" button and red power LED with reflector. Here you can see best that the front was finished with sand paper to get some “brushed metal” effect.

HTH

[amit00]

webfanatic
Thanks For the pictures, Thats a nice case you've put together. Ever thought of anodizing it?

[webfanatic]

webfanatic
Thats a nice case you've put together. Ever thought of anodizing it?

Thanks.

Yes, but I think that would be too complicated/extensive or it requires at least a lot of experience to get good results with these large parts.

[stikphysh]

wow. i like that webfanatic! VERY sweet!
just a couple questions...
like i asked draco, how much did those sheets cost, and where did u get em?

what caused those little scratches by the fan screw holes? (so we can try to avoid that when we do ours_

how did you do the power button in the last picture? i REALLY like that.

[DarkDraco]

i would think he did use masking tape and the drill kept slipping as he tried to drill

[webfanatic]

I got the sheets for free, thanks to a connection. :)

Sorry, but I don't know what they cost at retail or where to get them (especially in the US). I saw some at our local home improvement store among other sheets with perforations and reliefs but it was quite expensive I think (the whole case would have cost about 50 Euros with these sheets).

The scratches are a big problem. They are caused by sawdust and splinters that accrue during cutting and sanding. You have to be very careful not to wipe over it. You could use maybe a vacuum cleaner to remove the large particles and then let some water run over it to remove the fine dust, this should avoid any scratches.

There is in fact a protection film over the metal which should be removed when you completed your work, but if you e.g. cut a hole in the middle of the sheet as I did, you have to remove it earlier and then it is easy to get scratches into it because it is completely unprotected.

The power button can be bought as it is, you just have to drill a hole into the sheet, put in the button into the front and tighten it with a screw nut from behind.

I bought it from reichelt.de (http://www.reichelt.de/index.html?ACTION=3;LASTACTION=3;SORT=artikel.artn r;GRUPPE=C224;WG=0;ARTIKEL=AV%2009-00;FAQSEARCH=Vandalismustaster%2C%202A-48V%20flacher%20Knopf;FAQTHEME=-1;FAQSEARCHTYPE=0;FAQAUTO=1;STATIC=0;FC=1;PROVID=0 ;TITEL=0;ARTIKELID=27910) for 3.75 Euros.

@DarkDraco

Yes, that also happened a few times. I had no bench drill at that time.

[amit00]

bump