Marking holes help?

Hi guys,

I was wondering if anybody had any real easy methods, jigs etc for marking holes in the right place on the side panel. What I want is a 100mm hole exactly centered over the middle of an 80mm fan on the CPU. I figure I might end up a couple of mm out and have problems with fit if I don't find a foolproof way of doing it.

This is the beginning of the SuperMegaFugly case project but it should be AirDaddy of the year too.

thanks,

Road Warrior

i'm re-reading your post and cant figure out if your talking about finding the right spot to cut, or the cutting itself.

in the case of finding the right spot:
1- can you remove the top of your case?
2- if you removed everything from your bays could you reach the right area?

if so what i'd try is taping cardboard to the heatsink so it reaches, or nearly, the side of the case and tracing with a pencil. once you have that you could find the centre for your hole.

cutting:
i always just dremmel. i think i saw some hole cutting drill bits in the canadian tire flyer this week tho.

edit: oh, 'marking', the 'r' could be a typo tho...

Just the marking out is what I need, I've got metal cutting blades and a Sabre saw for the cutting. Or I'll use a nibbler.

Umm, thanks but even with my bays empty I think I'll only be able to mark the side nearest the bays, like that. Putting paint on the end of the carboard wouldn't work either, my side panel clips and slides, so I'd end up with a smear. Interesting idea to keep in mind though in case I mod another system that's more friendly to this technique.

Road Warrior

Ummm, Maybe just use measuring tape. Measure it up, and measure how far it is in from the rear of the case. Then mark the readings on your side panel. This should put you right on the mark. You could even drill a small hole where you marked and peep inside to see if your lined up. Since your cutting this out anyway it wouldn't hurt.

Yeah, I was gonna measure, but it's hard to get your tape or ruler square to what you're measuring and then you've gotta allow thicknesses and bends in the edge of the panel, I thought I could still end up out by a couple of mm that way, even if I'm real careful. Since the heatsink fan is kind of in mid air in the middle of the case it's hard to get any good reference points. Pilot holes might be a good idea though, the mount holes for the 80mm fan should be inside the 100mm circle I want to cut so, if I drill those four corners and then poke through with a rod or something I should be able to see if I got it lined up just so.

Oh, damn, I'm kinda stupid, just thought, I've got a vernier with a depth gauge rod, that should fit through ventilation holes on the case back level with the back edge of the fan, that should give a good measurement. Then add the depth from the edge fold of the side panel when it's fitted, for a spot on measurement from the back of the case. . . . . . . .

I'm being a bit anal about fit because the duct I'm going to put in there has to be a push fit after the side panel is fitted. It's got a rim that fits over the edge of the hole outside the sidepanel, so I can't/dont-want-to cut it flush with the case side and fix it to the CPU fan, so the panel just slides on over the top. Has to go in from outside.
I wanna keep the aerodynamics of the duct cleanish, so don't want any bolt or screw heads inside it to hold it to brackets or anything.

Road Warrior