Custom Case Building 101 (basics)

LittlePiggie · May 26, 2003

a very good guide, but you also have to take into consideration the amount of flex the material your working with has. I now have the clear case in the first post and the front and back flexed horribly when I pushed the power button ot plugged it in. a couple nubs of polycarbonate at strategic locations fixed it and now it's solid as a rock.

just a little heads up

Captain Slug · May 26, 2003

LittlePiggie said:
a very good guide, but you also have to take into consideration the amount of flex the material your working with has. I now have the clear case in the first post and the front and back flexed horribly when I pushed the power button ot plugged it in. a couple nubs of polycarbonate at strategic locations fixed it and now it's solid as a rock.

just a little heads up

That's because my friend and I forgot to make the cuts for the front and back an extra 2/8" wider so that the sheets overlap. A mistake I'm not going to repeat on my next custom case (which should be done soon).

gulp35 · Jul 29, 2003

I am planning on building a external watercooling rig. It will be sitting under the Case ( A PC60 from xoxide.com see sig). I am planning on using 90degree metal plates to hold the corners of the lexan sheets. What thickness of lexan should I use? I was planning on 1/4"

Thanks

Yamiyanazz · Jan 11, 2004

I didn't see the information I wanted...this custom case made me think of placing computer components inside of a moniter or scanner(like someone else on the boards)...I was hoping to get information on that. anyone have ideas where I could find information on these topics?

Captain Slug · Jan 12, 2004

Yamiyanazz said:
I didn't see the information I wanted...this custom case made me think of placing computer components inside of a moniter or scanner(like someone else on the boards)...I was hoping to get information on that. anyone have ideas where I could find information on these topics?

The process will be similar, but in reverse since you're working with an existing shell. You'll need to find out what parts you can fit in a predefined cubic space.

It also takes a comparable amount of effort to cram a machine into a shell as it does to just build a shell for it.

Avatar28 · Jan 30, 2004

One thing I'll add in here. Regular acrylic is somewhat more scratch resistant than polycarbonate. It's also noticably stiffer. Acrylic isn't so bad. Also, if you do have it all completely planned out ahead of time, some places will custom cut it for you. The place I will be purchasing my materials from will custom cut all the pieces if I want to some ungodly accuracy far better than what's needed (like 1/1000 of an inch or something I think they said). Of course, it's a bit harder because you have to have it COMPLETELY planned out in advance.

I'm still a bit unclear how you would handle mounting the motherboard. I've got a large motherboard tray I could use, but my goal for my next project would actually be to make the case as small as I possibly can.

The two possibilities I can see would be to predrill and tap holes for the brass standoffs or to use the plastic standoffs (with the nubs on the bottom cut off) and just glue them into place.

Captain Slug · Feb 1, 2004

Avatar28 said:
I'm still a bit unclear how you would handle mounting the motherboard. I've got a large motherboard tray I could use, but my goal for my next project would actually be to make the case as small as I possibly can.

Another reason I use polycarbonate.
Yes it is softer than acrylic, but you can screw self-tapping screws into it without it cracking or splitting. If you drill the holes the right size, you can screw brass stand-off into it with pliers or a rachet.
The real difficulty is in making the PCI slot retentions yourself. That requires alot of design and machining work.

Ryanzbane · Feb 9, 2004

groovy

The Coolest · Apr 22, 2004

Captain Slug, i'm just interested in what size of the Lexan sheets you used and how much did they cost you.
I've had an idea on a case mod, but the case alone costs way too much, and I will probably have to build my own. So I just want to get some rough figures on how much I might be able to save by building my own case

Captain Slug · Apr 22, 2004

For small cases 1/8" sheets for the sides will do fine, but 1/4" will give the best balance of stiffness while still being comparably lightweight.
A Micro ATX case will generally cost $40 to manufacture on your own if you buy the sheets retail. A full-ish size ATX case will run between $60 and $100 in retail cost material.
However, if you check your local phone book for plastics shops and start calling a few about buying their scrap, it should be fairly easy to find almost all of the material you'll need for $20-$30. You can usually purchase scrap polycarbonate and acrylic for $2 per pound.

The Coolest · Apr 23, 2004

Hey thanks a lot for that tip

Axle · May 2, 2004

Quick question, capt...

I'm in the very very early stages of building my own acrylic case (I want this to be perfect if it takes 10 months...which it probably will. I have time), and was curious if you--or anyone--has a collection of examples of homebuilt acrylic cases. Not necessiarly clear (mine won't be), but just anything made with plastic.

Thanks for taking the time to make the guide!

Captain Slug · May 2, 2004

I haven't really kept a gallery of examples since I've only seen a few that actually have quality craftsmanship.
My favorite so far is probably the Hellraiser cube.

Axle · May 3, 2004

Wow, very nice. I'm impressed. 10x10 is a TINY cube.

Thanks!

Rpkole · May 8, 2004

one thing that i have found that makes moding for case fans easyer is a power drill and a 3 inch hole saw from you local hard ware store or plumbing store and 1 old case fan 80mm fan with teh blades and every thing riped out for a templet

first drill the holes for teh screws then attach the old case fan and then put the hole saw in side the fan and start cutting

ShoNuff · May 22, 2004

Good job Captain! :clap:

orionnt · Jun 13, 2004

Making that little lip that you screw the Expansion cards into is what always gets me. Can never figure out a good way to do it, so i have never built any custom cases.

mtb856 · Jun 14, 2004

If you can't mod the case to fit the cards, could you mod the card to fit the case? Maybe add on some metal so you can screw it in differently?

Captain Slug · Jun 14, 2004

orionnt said:
Making that little lip that you screw the Expansion cards into is what always gets me. Can never figure out a good way to do it, so i have never built any custom cases.

That's why I generally prefer to use a motherboard tray from another case. You can however manufacture a tray if you have the equipment to bend metal or plastic sheets.
It's not easy, but then again nothing relating to custom case fabrication is easy to begin with.

orionnt · Jun 16, 2004

Is there anywhere to buy just a motherboard tray? withour having to rip apart a case or buy a case just for the tray?

Custom Case Building 101 (basics)

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