- Joined
- Feb 24, 2016
Hello everyone!
I am a technology instructor at a High school in Ohio and this year I tasked my students with building a computer case from scratch. We have a Makerbot Replicator 2x 3D printer and a Boss laser cutting machine in our lab and I wanted a way for the students to show of their skills using both. We currently, through a grant, are able to build a custom computer every year but have never had the equipment needed to make our own case. This year the students have exceeded all my expectations by an extreme amount and I feel they should get some recognition for their efforts. The first problem we had with the project was the fact that we wanted the case to be 8" wide and wanted the corners to be 3D printed. That expanse was pushing the limits of the Makerbot to the max as far as the build platform area. The students had a hard time getting the material to stick to the build platform due to the sheer size. Here is the initial design the students came up with.
The box attached to the front of the case is designed to be the liquid cooling reservoir and would be "welded" to the front with the use of Weld-on #4. Once the corner piece dilemma was straightened out the next thing my students began to focus on were the actual dimensions and placement of need components for the build (i.e. Motherboard, I/O shield, Pump, Rads, tubing, HDDs, etc.). Students were able to come up with dimensions of these just by doing some research on Google and they nailed it! I am amazed at the professionalism of my students when it comes to being able to look at schematics and derive an actual working model from them. Here is the top after it was assembled with three 120mm fan guards laser cut
The build is coming along nicely and I will continue to update this post as we accomplish more. Here is the most up to date photo that we have:
Notice the nice aesthetics of the HDD rack now. Way better than the old box style that was initially designed.
I am a technology instructor at a High school in Ohio and this year I tasked my students with building a computer case from scratch. We have a Makerbot Replicator 2x 3D printer and a Boss laser cutting machine in our lab and I wanted a way for the students to show of their skills using both. We currently, through a grant, are able to build a custom computer every year but have never had the equipment needed to make our own case. This year the students have exceeded all my expectations by an extreme amount and I feel they should get some recognition for their efforts. The first problem we had with the project was the fact that we wanted the case to be 8" wide and wanted the corners to be 3D printed. That expanse was pushing the limits of the Makerbot to the max as far as the build platform area. The students had a hard time getting the material to stick to the build platform due to the sheer size. Here is the initial design the students came up with.
The box attached to the front of the case is designed to be the liquid cooling reservoir and would be "welded" to the front with the use of Weld-on #4. Once the corner piece dilemma was straightened out the next thing my students began to focus on were the actual dimensions and placement of need components for the build (i.e. Motherboard, I/O shield, Pump, Rads, tubing, HDDs, etc.). Students were able to come up with dimensions of these just by doing some research on Google and they nailed it! I am amazed at the professionalism of my students when it comes to being able to look at schematics and derive an actual working model from them. Here is the top after it was assembled with three 120mm fan guards laser cut
The build is coming along nicely and I will continue to update this post as we accomplish more. Here is the most up to date photo that we have:
Notice the nice aesthetics of the HDD rack now. Way better than the old box style that was initially designed.