Making A Case myself.

[El-Scotto]

Hey all!
I've just come up with an idea a little while ago and while im still in the process of putting together a system at the moment its never to early to start looking ahead and planning for future projects
So I want a fun flashy case, I've looked around some were cool but nothing thatd I'd spend that much money on, so I would like to build my own case. Are there any guides out there that anyone knows of that could help me along my way?

 

[gt24]

Make sure to post some screenshots when you are done!

I think that first you need a case. Just borrow one or be able to get to one, that is all you need. Get out a ruler and measure all the critical areas (the 5.25 bays, HDD bays, motherboard tray, PSU area, and alike) so that you can replicate that on your case. also, while doing that, note the screw hole areas (for you certainly need those too). After you get the basic areas down, then just try to plan how those areas will interact (either in a standard case fashion or you can make something weird up!). Lastly, just keep trying at building a case and good luck on that venture!

Somehow I don't think this is a cost cutting strategy though. Generally, building a case (I think) would cost more than buying one from a vender. Still, this may not be so, you'll have to look into it yourself. However, it could be a fun project an an awesome conversation piece.

It might be better though to buy a cheap case (as cheap as you can find) and then mod that case to your heart's content. All the basic stuff is done for you and you can then just remove/add whatever you want and reshape the case as you like. I have seen some awesome case mods and this may be an option for you (unless you plan on making a case out of solid oak, or alike... that would be an OC fire hazard I think... ).

If you really want something exotic and still want to save money, have somebody else do it. This was a quick Google (so you can do better than this), but check out this link.
http://www.mountainmods.com/cgi-bin/display.pl?dis=info
5th paragraph down, they said they would build you any case you send them a sketch of. Might work out for you better.

So, to recap, try to see if modding an older case would fit your goals. If not, see if having somebody else building it is your cup of tea. If you still want to build a case, try to get a case to look off of and to get measurements. Lastly, good luck.

Some links, this is some motherboard measurments.
http://www.antec-inc.com/pdf/mb_3d.pdf

I wasn't able to find any case building articles (I seen hints of one, but the links did not work). However, I got to run, so that is all I shall type. Hope it helped!

 

[Bensa]

Heres atx standard specs
http://www.formfactors.org/developer/specs/atx/atx2_1.pdf

 

[El-Scotto]

Thanks a bunch, Im going to try to make the actual case from scratch though, no modding of another case...

 

[gt24]

Heh, you went to the wrong forum. I just noticed this when browsing around that at the top of the Alternative Modding forum is a pinned article, how to build a custom case!

So, yeah, look there!

http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=173336

 

[emericanchaos]

yeah ^^ what he said. plus you don't really need to follow the layout standard. just mark your holes to where to mount the motherboard and where the PCI stuff would measure up to the back. the rest is cutting.

i'd start with a straight up box design and then mod it from there. if you do a couple and start to get the hang of it then you could start with other shapes like spheres and stuff.

 

[El-Scotto]

doh well its a case forum so it could kind of be in the right place hehe sorry hmmm my idea is kinda box-ish, not like a normal case though *shrug* I was jw if there were any articles out there, I have looked at the one under the alt. mod forum also just trying to get to know as much as possible

 

[eobard]

Moved to alternative modding, duplicate thread deleted.

eobard

 

[CrashOveride]

Darned you eoboard, I had just finished my reply... oh well here is it copies so there is some repeat info (as in stuff that is said in this thread already):


Here is a start:
http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showt...threadid=173336

and having build a case from metal in the past some suggestions:
Make sure you think of everything you will need and I would suggest leaving a little room for upgrade, esp. harddrives.
Make sure you measure REALLY well.

but if you want some ideas you can look at my case (wich I don't use any more).

http://davinci.moh.bvsd.k12.co.us/s...p/casepics.html

However I would say (if you were to copy my designe a little) that you don't need that many rivets and you could probably use epoxy instead and make it look nicer.

I know its ugly too :/ Capitan Slug is the man when it comes to building cases though, esp small ones.

 

[NcBaller1985]

I MAY be able to draft you up some specs on AutoCAD for the more detailed stuff like the mobo mounting holes, CD-ROM racks, etc. and plot them out on a some D-Size paper. I am real busy...but if you really think this would help I could send you them. They would be actual size so you could just lay your material on the sheet of paper and mark where to drill and cut. It would take me a while as I really don't have a lot of time right now with school, work, and Silentscopes' case mod. Just tell me if you are intrested.

 

[El-Scotto]

Doh!
I wish this thread got deleted and the other one didnt, thought i did a better job explaining it
anyways the links to your reply from the deleted post and and the pic of your mase did not work for me...*shrug*
while I have not yet finished the exact lay-out i want for my case, I will get back to you if you would be able to CAD design for me
It might be awhile.!

 

[NcBaller1985]

Just shoot me a PM and I will see what I can do.

 

[El-Scotto]

What exactly will you need to know for all that?

 

[pik4chu]

in order to make a case and brackets that will hold the compnents correctly.

 

[NcBaller1985]

I would need to know like how many drive bays you wanted, how much room you would want inside the case, etc.

 

[Captain Slug]

Captain Slug is the man when it comes to building cases though, esp small ones.

If you run into any snags let me know. I've built 3 custom enclosures so far and I'm currently wrapping up my 20th modded case.

 

[El-Scotto]

well whats a good metal to use for building the case?

 

[Captain Slug]

Aluminum, 1/8" to 1/4" depending on size and construction arrangement.

Steel would be way too heavy.

 

[El-Scotto]

hmmm been awhile...have had to do alot of school work and work work lately to pay for this anyways where be a good place to look for this aluminum?

 

[Animal982]

Been looking to build an aluminum case myself and Online Metals seems to have very good prices at least compared to McMaster.