Does anyone actually manufacture a Titanium metal Case?

[Chudilo]

I know that Titanium is expensive but tonns of people are paying up to like $300 for a regular PC case.
I think 300 is enough of a budget to make a case in titanium.
From my personal experience with Titanium; it's stronger then steel (allows to use very thin sheets), weight is comparable with plastic, its heat conductivity is about as good as steel and it doesn't corrode like aluminum so you can make a polished surface and it'll stay that way.

Doesn't that seem like a perfect material for those LAN party cases?
Should I be copyrighting this idea or am i not the first? if anyone works for a manufacturer that would be interested in doing this ..pleae PM me ...

Officially Aluminum is about 1.8 $/100g and Titanium is 6.1 $/100g which is let's say 3 times the price. I understand that working with titaneum is more expensive then with steel or Aluminum, but I'm sure it's not like 10 times the amount. Also an aluminum alloy would be just fine (if doable) I obviously have no idea what you can do with Titanium.

 

[Tiamat]

I believe the thermal conductivity of titanium is one tenth that of aluminum...

Ti: 22 W/(m-K)
Ag: 430 W/(m-K)
Al: 235 W/(m-K)
Cu: 400 W/(m-K)

www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Cu/heat.html
(Swap out the "Cu" for the element you want to check, and scroll down 2/3 of the way)

 

[Mik3y]

why not just buy a kevlar jacket and helmet for your rig?

 

[akira34]

To get the titanium to be 'affordable' in a computer case it would have to be so thin that you won't get any strength over aluminum. For a while, Apple was using titanium for it's laptop (PowerBook) cases. With the limited finishing processes and how thin it had to be in order for it to make sense, it wasn't a good choice. PLUS, it trapped more heat then it let out. They've since switched to using Aluminum (annodized now, not painted like they had to do with the titanium) and it's a lot better. With the cost difference, they can use thicker aluminum which makes for better heat dispation. PLUS, with the annodized finish, it won't get defaced so easily.

IF someone was to make a case out of titanium, you can expect it to be at least 3-5x the cost of the same case made from aluminum. That is, unless they used such thin sheets that it wouldn't be any stronger than cardboard.

 

[Chudilo]

Right. So let's say a simple looking case without any crazy features other then a transparent window, which you could now get for like $60-90
That times 3-5=180-450.
Also all the the Drive mounts and motherboard panel can still be aluminum.
Thus $300 sounds about fare for a regular case. that would be a LAN party dream.. (Very sturdy and very light)

 

[Chudilo]

Here is a better chemical elements site for your reference. (FireFox friendly)
http://environmentalchemistry....iodic/Cu.html#Physical

 

[akira34]

KEEP dreaming there...

I seriously doubt that any case maker will invest in the manufacturing setup costs needed to setup for titanium. Plus, they would have to either setup some new annodizing facilities, OR paint the metal in order to get a decent color on it. Since most of the people out there that are getting wood over titanium wouldn't be happy with the raw metal color OR how it will change each and every time (and place) you touch it. Unless they put a very hard paint, or clear coat, over the metal it will change/chip/degrade over time (appearance wise).

Look at it this way, how LONG did it take for aluminum cases to come down to the prices they are at now? About 2 years ago (or so) the cost of the same aluminum case would be 2x (or more) than it is now. IF titanium gets used, expect the cost to be [initially] even higher than I posted before. Especially since this will be the initial run, where the cost of retooling has to be offset. MAYBE after a few years, if the cases sell, the costs will drop... But don't hold your breath... Especially since the cost of the raw material will go up as demand increases unless supply increases to go along with it... Not very likely for a fairly rare metal. Aluminum and steel are no where near the limited supply of titanium...

 

[Tiamat]

im not very keen on the physical properties of Ti sheets, but I think that if you were to try to roll edges, or bend the Ti Sheets, they would fracture, or shatter; whereas Al sheets are very able to roll or bend.

Its pretty tough to get any better than a Shuttle case for Lan parties. Thats why Shuttle is doing so well!

 

[Mik3y]

This is as close as you'll ever get.

 

[wisdomtooth]

[facetious mode on]
Hell, I'm waiting for a plutonium case.

It'll glow in the dark, too! Take that, Alienware!

 

[Chudilo]

Is it just me or is there something wrong with the fact that MGE TITANIUM Silver ATX Mid Tower case is not made out of Titanium or siver ? Valid question!

Also contrary to what all of you have seen in the movies Plutonium does not actually glow under normal circumstances! The only time it glows is when it reaches critical mass (or density) meaning when nuclear fission is taking place. Which means it only glows during a nuclear reaction. Another words, if you see it.. you're a gonner within 24hrs

http://www.antenna.nl/nvmp/pluto4.htm

 

[Zepper]

No case that I know of uses any true Titanium metal - too expensive. I could see where some case maker might attempt sputter-coating their case panels with Ti. But that would probably end up being prohibitively expensive too.
Enermax sells a nice case that's supposed to have a "Shiny Titanium" finish on most of the metal panels. I know they use TiO2 )(Titanium Dioxide) as the pigment in lots of paint (and as a food coloring) - not sure how much (if any) they use in the paint on that case. PCMCIS also sold pretty much the same case with a different bezel and the same "Shiny Ti" finish on the steel panels. It's the same basic case design as the Silverstone Berserker.
.bh.

That MGE case linked above looks like a good basic design (Sonata-esque). I'll have to check out the MGE line more carefully - I thought they were concentrating on those gaudy cases for pizza-faced teenagers w/ small peepees...

Rain, rain GO AWAY!

 

[arcas]

I recall a company sold a titanium case for the Palm Pilot when they were still relatively new on the market. It was way too expensive for my tastes but an ex-coworker was a gadget freak and bought one.

 

[slurmsmackenzie]

Originally posted by: Mik3y
This is as close as you'll ever get.

that case is kinda pimp.

 

[tonyou]

Originally posted by: Chudilo
Right. So let's say a simple looking case without any crazy features other then a transparent window, which you could now get for like $60-90
That times 3-5=180-450.
Also all the the Drive mounts and motherboard panel can still be aluminum.
Thus $300 sounds about fare for a regular case. that would be a LAN party dream.. (Very sturdy and very light)

I really doubt such a case would be possible at $300. You are purely looking at material costs, but to make a case requires machinary and tools. The investment needed to make a case out of titanium would have to be spread to the cost of cases. When you factor in how many people will actually spend over $300 for a computer case, it would take forever for a case manufacturer to recoup its investment.

 

[nick1985]

nasa

 

[akira34]

Originally posted by: nick1985
nasa

And you can buy that case where???

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: akira34

Originally posted by: nick1985
nasa

And you can buy that case where???

your sarcasm detector is broken

 

[akira34]

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: akira34

Originally posted by: nick1985
nasa

And you can buy that case where???

your sarcasm detector is broken

Must be overpowered by the alarms from the moron sensors... :shocked:

 

[Nessism]

CP (chemically pure) titanium is fairly easily worked into sheet form and could be used to make a case. The technology is not that far over the top but the cost would be quite high since it's a difficult material to work with, requiring more expensive tooling to fold and cut, plus the material is fairly expensive as well.

I suspect before too long comeone will make a Ti case just to say it can be done. My guess is that it would cost somewhere in the $200 dollar range to make a case similar to a Lian Li PC60 which would make for a very small market.

 

[Insomniak]

If you really need some Titanium in your life, get a SanDisk Cruzer Titanium Flash Drive. I have one, and it's the only PC peripheral I've ever had that I've been worried it could kick my a$s. CNET ran over it with a car and it still worked just fine. See the video halfway down the page in that link to see what I'm talking about.

Anyway, a Titanium case is a bad idea from a cost and thermal perspective. I doubt you'll ever see one unless some rich wacko decides to have on custom made for way too much money...

 

[wickedone]

I cant realy say how much it would cost for sure but many years ago when I use to be a Pipe welder I was asked to get a 1/4 90 deg Ell form the store room. The man in the Store room told me that that small fitting cost more than I made in 2 months. The Company I worked for also had a Pipe welding Crew that did nothing but weld Titanium, and flew them to were ever there was a welding job for Titanium.
So I truley doubt even if it is a good metal to use for a case that you will ever see one.