I'm building a tiny case out of laser-cut bamboo

[sandorski]

Looking good.

 

[alfa147x]

holy shit that is sex

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

It's about 85F in here and after about 20 minutes of burn-in, CPU temps maxed out at 53C with the fan at ~2000RPM (max is ~3000), with stock heatsink and no case fans at all. Seems pretty decent to me! Unfortunately I couldn't really guage how loud the CPU fan was because we have fans running throughout the house so the whole place is loud right now.

 

[Bl0cks]

Looks awesome. I really like it.

 

[aigomorla]

WOW u finally finished it and it looks nice!

 

[gorobei]

when's version 3 coming? Or are you resizing to make the harddrives easier to fit? I had a feeling there would be some issues when I saw the version 2 plans.

Anyways you've inspired me, here's what I would design if it ever became financially reasonable:

 

[jchu14]

Anyways you've inspired me, here's what I would design if it ever became financially reasonable:

Oh that looks cool. Did you CAD up all of the components yourself? The mobo and PSU have a lot of detail and the fan blade looks great. Props.

 

[gorobei]

Oh that looks cool. Did you CAD up all of the components yourself? The mobo and PSU have a lot of detail and the fan blade looks great. Props.

done in Maya, if i had any confidence in figuring out 3dsMax i'd export it over since it would make converting to EPS easier.

I built them from scratch, but the detail level is about the same as you'll find in the free download models in Sketchup. If I ever build it/sell it/license it on pokono, I'll probably do an animation vid to show how to assemble the thing.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

when's version 3 coming? Or are you resizing to make the harddrives easier to fit? I had a feeling there would be some issues when I saw the version 2 plans.

Version 3 should arrive in the mail soon. It only had a few tweaks to the tabs/slots to make them less prone to breakage when they go against the grain.

Here is an image of it, sans front panel (which hasn't really changed):

The hard drives are definitely tight, and right angle cables are a total no-no, but I don't see a way around that without making the case bigger, and small size is my #1 goal. I'm really not building a machine for the typical PC enthusiast who likes to constantly swap parts and have easy access to everything. There's no way to achieve that and minimize size at the same time.

I've mostly been sitting around waiting lately. With any luck, this revision will be all good and I can start selling them and maybe recoup some money I have dumped into this project so far.

Anyways you've inspired me, here's what I would design if it ever became financially reasonable:

(pics)

Wow, I am seriously jealous of your skills. I keep telling myself I should learn Blender but then the learning curve knocks me over and I limp back to Inkscape.

I've done some brainstorming about a similar stacked approach, but yeah, it's a lot of material and a lot of cutting and very expensive. I haven't even bothered looking into it because I anticipate it being so expensive. Then again... cool expensive stuff can be quite profitable...

Just for kicks I've been thinking about another machine with internals somewhat similar to yours, with a TFX power supply. Mine would have 4x3.5" HDDs though, so largely aiming at serving as a NAS or HTPC. The layout would be something like this, with the hard drives using their bottom screw mounts instead of the usual side ones:

 

[gorobei]

try this:

it should give you enough room to fit the 2 drives with the right angle power, without using those offset spacers. You should be able to cut a 7x7 piece of stock to test with your prototype.


Yeah, i have a couple of alternative designs to avoid the cutting cost of the stacked ends, but 1 is less elegant and the other requires cutting a 6" diameter acrylic cylinder.

The biggest disincentive is that pokono doesnt have green-edge-tint, mirrored, or smoked tint acrylic.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

try this:

I can't turn the drives like that because the CPU cooler is in the way.

And even if I increased the thickness of the case to make it work, right angle cables still won't fit because the right angle runs into the wood, not into the inner space. (The drive bottoms are facing the outside of the case)

The biggest disincentive is that pokono doesnt have green-edge-tint, mirrored, or smoked tint acrylic.

You can have them get custom materials if you are a prime member. It's $40/month though.

 

[gorobei]

you can use a pass through connector to get the orientation with the wires running away from the pcb side of the drive
http://www.jab-tech.com/ConnectorZ-90-Degree-Pass-thru-SATA-Connector-Black-pr-3157.html

if you are committed to thin then you might as well get the silverstone short version of the intel stock cooler.

 

[lemmo]

Glad I came across this, what a great project! How's it all worked out? any issues/problems, e.g. with heat, grounding?

Without a ground plane there is nothing to maintain an equal ground throughout the board except the boards own ground layers

So I wonder how they get round this in laptops?

Barnaby, if you still need front panel connectors I have some samples from Jinmaoelec, am going to stick them on eBay soon.

Also, why did you not go for the ECS board in the end?

Great stuff

 

[eflat123]

I stumbled on this a couple nights ago and wondered how this ended up. Glad you necro-bumped it. On the grounding issue, if necessary, I bet you could get a stand-alone motherboard tray to attach to and drop in.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

This makes me just want to build my own case again... Or entertainment center... or other things!!! Argh!!!!

GJ Op

 

[gorobei]

it's actually a good time to revive this thread. With amd fusion itx e350's on sale and sandybridge LV coming out, making a custom like this isn't as ridiculously expensive.

I did the numbers back when, it was something like ~$600 total assuming no errors or re-cutting at ponoko. ddr3 and low profile coolers were just stupidly expensive back then.
Now it's closer to $120 mb+cpu, $40 ram, $40 hd, $40 psu, ~$80 case parts/cutting = $320. If there's ever a sale on the hauppage 2250 i might build my version.

 

[Fallen Kell]

I had completely forgotten about this project! And here I have been working on a LEGO case design for a HTPC case for a while now and slowly making progress when I could have been doing this and pretty much been there.... I am scrapping my LEGO design now.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Glad I came across this, what a great project! How's it all worked out? any issues/problems, e.g. with heat, grounding?

Unfortunately I've had a number of stumbling blocks and my motivation has taken a beating.

I got the design working reasonably well, shortly after which Ponoko discontinued the 5.2mm bamboo I was using. I was then forced to either choose the 2.7mm bamboo ply, which is slightly more expensive, or 6.7mm bamboo ply, which is like 2 or 3 times more expensive. I went with the cheaper one. The different material of course requires adjusting all of the geometry of the joints and making a new prototype or two to make sure everything fits well.

And it turns out, the 2.7mm bamboo has warping issues. This makes assembly trickier and it feels... cheaper... until you get it together. Once it's assembled, the slight warping is all straightened out and it looks good. But since you already have to fiddle with several nuts and bolts just to open or close the case, it really sucks to have to fight against the material the whole time too.

Then a couple months ago, I ran into this guy on the interwebs who coincidentally lives like 2 miles from me, has a laser cutter which he sells time on, and knows all about the various bamboo ply materials available from a company in town who makes this stuff. Seriously, what are the odds? Only in Portland... Anyway, Ponoko only offers a small subset of the bamboo plies available, and there very well could be one that's the right thickness that doesn't have warping problems that would be perfect for this project. I just need to go, like, talk to him in real life and check out the bamboo he has... which I haven't gotten around to.

Long story short -- there is a version of this case that basically works. It's just a bit fiddly to put together, so I'm not comfortable trying to sell it, and I'm going to continue with more prototypes with different materials. Maybe I should release the mostly-working plan for free or something. Maybe that would drum up some interest and I'd be more motivated to finish the better version. I don't know.

So I wonder how they get round this in laptops?

I'm guessing laptops have internal, thin metal shields. If not, then they probably use stricter circuitry that doesn't leak as much interference. But I'm not very knowledgeable about laptops.

Barnaby, if you still need front panel connectors I have some samples from Jinmaoelec, am going to stick them on eBay soon.

Those look like they would probably work, and I actually have found one or two similar items that would also work, but one big problem I have is that they're from these no-name manufacturers in China -- how can I have any confidence that the product and/or company won't just disappear? I don't want to design the case around something that is sort of mysterious and of questionable availability. The other issue is that I'm really just trying to keep the design as simple and cheap as I can until I finally get something that I'm happy with -- then I might start adding to it.

Also, why did you not go for the ECS board in the end?

I don't think I had any specific reason, other than just a strong personal preference for Gigabyte.

 

[lemmo]

Hello Barnaby, don't give up, it's good work!

I'm not familiar with bamboo, but I'm looking to work with high-grade ply, thinner than your bamboo (1-1.5mm) but very stable... they use it to build planes! It flexes so you can also build curved panels. I'll let you know how I get on.

Jinmaoelec have been around for years, and supply components to OEMs. A front panel connector with part # JMxxx will be Jinmaoelec. Yep they could disappear, but that is a risk with any company.

The samples I have, which I can find on the web so I assume are still available, are:

• JM225, incl cable, but without the Reset button,
• JM616, but with firewire

I also have:

• JM622 (2 x USB, 1 x firewire, cables)
• JM629 (USB, firewire, 2 x audio)
• JM693 (power button, power and hdd LED, cable)

These are likely to be OEM parts and they may well still stock them. Whatever, once you have your design sorted I'm sure they will send you samples. These are generally free, but you'll prob have to pay the courier shipping, which is a fair whack.

Let me know

 

[IlllI]

Unfortunately I've had a number of stumbling blocks and my motivation has taken a beating.

I got the design working reasonably well, shortly after which Ponoko discontinued the 5.2mm bamboo I was using. I was then forced to either choose the 2.7mm bamboo ply, which is slightly more expensive, or 6.7mm bamboo ply, which is like 2 or 3 times more expensive. I went with the cheaper one. The different material of course requires adjusting all of the geometry of the joints and making a new prototype or two to make sure everything fits well.

bumping an old topic, but did you ever find a new supply of 5.2mm bamboo? i was thinking of doing something similar myself but no idea where to start looking.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

bumping an old topic, but did you ever find a new supply of 5.2mm bamboo? i was thinking of doing something similar myself but no idea where to start looking.

im wondering if you ever finished this

 

[janas19]

Awesome thread.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Awesome thread.

just waiting to see the final result... :/

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Sorry I left everyone hanging. Since the project kind of petered out with little fanfare, I didn't make a big deal out of it and didn't bother taking good photos or anything. But I've been using the case daily for a long time now. Here are some pics (dark, sorry):

http://imgur.com/a/kZb6T

(third picture messed up. imgur seems to have this problem a lot lately. re-uploading it didn't help...)

It is a bit tedious to open and close the case. I could probably loosen the tolerances on the joints to improve that, but it might make it more wobbly too. All of the screws are a bit of a pain too, and I don't really see a way around that. Some small thumb screws might help a little.

However, I still intensely dislike the design of pretty much all PC cases, so I think I might make another one in the future, designed for Intel's Thin Mini-ITX standard. I was so excited about that, then I looked at Lian-Li's case, and in photos it looks thin and small, sorta like a nettop, but then you see the insides and then realize that it's WAY BIGGER than the motherboard. It could be just marginally thicker and much less wide/deep. What a shame. So I might try and tackle that at some point. I'd also reduce the drive capacity to a single 2.5" drive, which makes the design much much simpler. I just got a smoking deal on a 240GB Intel 330 SSD for $150, so now I can fit all of my stuff on a single SSD and I don't need a secondary spinning drive. It's the way of the future!