3D printed PC case

[Matt3D]

First of all, I'd like to welcome everyone since it's my first post here.

Let me start by introducing myself. I'm a CAD engineer working in a company designing one of the most popular 3D printers in the world. I have years of experience working with different 3D printing methods and designing electronic devices - their cases in particular. Lately I've started thinking about buying a new PC. I wanted something small and I came across Dan's Case on Linus's Youtube channel. Then an idea popped to my mind - if PC's got so small, why not just design and 3D print one myself? I've started thinking, designing and printing. 3 weeks and a couple prototypes later here I am

It would be great to know what do you guys think about the idea of a fully 3D printed PC case. Let me draw some pros and cons.

PROS:
- possibility of some really innovative designs and form factors,
- superior airflow due to air ducts built into the case,
- easy customization to ideally fit a particular built (minimum volume)
- releasing cases with new designs and form factors in a matter of weeks not months or years

CONS:
- high price due to slow production and requirement of hand finishing ($199 - $349 range)
- plastic is a thermal insulator but with built in ducts and aerodynamic design it can still result in superior heat dissipation

Such cases would be either chemically polished or grinded and painted on the outside. As a result they wouldn't look like 3D printed parts but as moulded parts with professional finish.

 

[Kmpkt]

I'm personally really excited for 3D Printing of cases among other things, but the finish quality really hasn't been there with non-professional grade printers to date. I have been looking at the Markforged Onyx line which looks to be heading in the right direction, but the build envelope is too small : (

If you're interested, one of our own members @K888D has developed his own case using a blend of 3D printed parts and acrylic sheet and it's turned out quite beautifully.

 

[K888D]

I first started out trying to figure out a way to fully print an SFF PC Case, but the cost was too high through the companies I have access to.

What company do you work for? Do you own a printer or are you printing through your company?

 

[Matt3D]

@Kmpkt you are absolutely right, finish quality right out of the non-profesional grade printer isn't good enough. But actually so is a metal sheet straight from laser cutter or stamping machine. Both of those methods require finishing. Take a look at the picture I posted below. This speaker (I guess the guy was inspired by Mac Pro ) was printed in a couple of runs on a $2k printer with printing area of 200x200x180mm. The right one is straight from the printer. The left one is properly finished. In reality looking at the left speaker there is no way to tell whether it's made out of metal with metallic paint or with plastic. That's how my 3D printed PC cases would be finished.

@K888D First of all congrats for building LZ7. Last couple of days I spent on reading the forum and I've read the thread about LZ7 as well. You are right, I've printed many parts in SLS technology (mostly from Shapeways) and the price isn't there yet. That's why 3D printed cases would have to be printed on desktop 3D printers in FDM technology and properly finished to ensure acceptable price. I work for the company called Zortrax. I have unlimited access to 3D printers to print prototypes. The plan is to work out a deal with my company to print first 20 or so cases on their printers. From the profits I would buy my own printer and get more independent.

 

[Matt3D]

Lately I've been looking for some design inspirations on Pinterest and Behance. A couple sketches and renders drew my attention. It would be great to get some feedback from you guys on such an early stage of development. If you like any of those designs please let me know. Each opinion would be a great help. My goal is to fit long graphics card, SFX-L PSU and mITX motherboard.

OPTION 1
Minimalistic, rectangular design with Dan's Case like components placement. No rounded edges. Vent holes probably as straight lines going through the whole case (as if the solid would be cut by a couple of planes)

OPTION 2
Minimalistic design with Sentry/S4 mini like components placement. I personally love the highlighted line on this design.

OPTION 3
Graphics card would be placed in the wooden part, possibly with the window or some nice venting holes, while mobo and PSU would be hidden in the silver and black parts below. Finishing would be different.

OPTION 4
No idea why but I couldn't stop thinking about the design of this handle ever since I saw it. It could greatly fit Dan's Case like components placement - graphics card in the long, arc shaped part, PSU in the small half hexagon and motherboard in the bigger half hexagon. Cavities would have to be filled with some matte black finished surfaces.

OPTION 5
Vertical case with minimalistic design. The drawback would be a difficult access to graphics card ports, but IMO case would look great.

OPTION 6
My favourite design of all. Two vertical surfaces on both sides of the case would be made out of 2 - 3mm bent aluminum, while all parts in between would be 3D printed. This way we would get the best of both worlds - high quality metal finish and great aerodynamics of 3D printed interior. A little difficult to find optimal components placement but I already have 3 options.

 

[Ceros_X]

If you go for option #2 I'd look at orienting both the GPU and CPU in the same direction (usually accomplished by a riser cable snaking underneath the motherboard and putting the GPU on the left side of the case as you look at it from the MB IO panel). This eliminates having to keep both sides free for ventilation.

But I think from what you've posted you're much more inclined to go artistic vs functional (although they can be both, many on the forum tend to think that 'functional' is as small as possible in a given space). The market is filled with cases that are standard shapes, limited to the shapes available by a sheet metal bender. The one advantage 3D printing really offers over standard metal construction is the ability to not have to hold straight lines, so I think perhaps you should pursue artistic expression vs standard convention when it comes to case shape (especially at higher prices than boutique cases usually fetch).

Going in a separate direction, have you thought of 3D printing internal case frames for metal cases? I feel that getting a standard rectangular case bent is pretty easy, but the IO cutouts and internal mounting points/attachments are what takes the heavy machining to install and increases case cost. Something as simple as [ shaped frame that can hold the internal components in place and provide mounting points for the mobo, video card etc as well as front and back bezels but slide into place in a metal case would be nice. Hard to explain without images, let me know if you're interested in that and I'll discuss it further with you.

Good to see different industry experts on the forum!

Edit: Edited for grammar/spelling, I are write gooder

 

[SPK]

First of all, I'd like to welcome everyone since it's my first post here.

Let me start by introducing myself. I'm a CAD engineer working in a company designing one of the most popular 3D printers in the world. I have years of experience working with different 3D printing methods and designing electronic devices - their cases in particular. Lately I've started thinking about buying a new PC. I wanted something small and I came across Dan's Case on Linus's Youtube channel. Then an idea popped to my mind - if PC's got so small, why not just design and 3D print one myself? I've started thinking, designing and printing. 3 weeks and a couple prototypes later here I am

It would be great to know what do you guys think about the idea of a fully 3D printed PC case. Let me draw some pros and cons.

PROS:
- possibility of some really innovative designs and form factors,
- superior airflow due to air ducts built into the case,
- easy customization to ideally fit a particular built (minimum volume)
- releasing cases with new designs and form factors in a matter of weeks not months or years

CONS:
- high price due to slow production and requirement of hand finishing ($199 - $349 range)
- plastic is a thermal insulator but with built in ducts and aerodynamic design it can still result in superior heat dissipation

Such cases would be either chemically polished or grinded and painted on the outside. As a result they wouldn't look like 3D printed parts but as moulded parts with professional finish.

There are threads on this forum where in users have demonstrated their custom case initial designs and placement of components, water loop, PSU in 3D format - just like the original case, except that it was bold colored ( green + some other color/s ).

Then someone tells the user to alter the position of a certain part. And the user then alters the position and also completely changes the water loop design also.

How exactly do they discuss their builds in 3D format ? Do they use a certain software ? And how do they get the design for the water loop - radiator+ fans + pump + reservoir, etc.

Please provide some insight into this i.e as to how do they 3D shape the components in the demonstration.

 

[Runamok81]

@Matt3D First, welcome! Nice pics to spark the imagination and start of the design philosophy discussion. For design, I think @Ceros_X makes a good point about playing up the advantages of 3D printing. There is some design freedom that only 3D printing provides. Having said that - I'm firmly in the "form follows function" crowd. Of the choices, option 2 appeals to me the most. A slim console design. A few questions for you.

I hear that the current cost of a 3D printed PC case is just out of reach. I've also heard the 3D printing can be cost effective. Can you elaborate on the cost breakdown? What makes one 3D PC case design more or less expensive? Materials, print time, finishing?

About finishing. What is involved in this process? Is it something an end-user could do themselves? Sanding, painting, etc..?
About duct work. I've seen -what I think is- duct work gaming laptops. They have CPUs and GPU with special blower exhausts. I'm not sure how this would work in a desktop PC. Any examples?

Thanks! Wishing you inspiration on the designs!

 

[Matt3D]

@Ceros_X Good point about orienting CPU and GPU. Both Sentry and S4 mini have CPU and GPU facing opposite directions to use short PCIe riser. It seems to be cheaper but not better solution. You are right about me being inclined to go artistic versus making the case as small as possible. I don't mind putting some extra space into the case to make it look better or induce better airflow. Playing the advantages of 3D printing is also a great idea. On the other hand art these days is associated with minimalizm and most minimalistic designs are based on straight lines so finding the right design, showing the advantages of 3D printing won't be easy.

Printing internal cases for external metal cases is actually not a totally separate direction. From what I found out so far people don's associate 3D printing with high quality. 3D printed parts are high quality once properly finished but it would take me a lot of time to educate people. The solution would be a hybrid metal and 3D printed cases as you said. With metal on the outside (or at least on a couple of surfaces like in the OPTION 6) and 3D printed parts on the inside. We would get the advantages of both manufacturing methods. Assuming we are talking about a simple case designed to be made entirely out of bent and punched metal sheet. If we would like to 3D print the interior for such a case it all comes to the quantity. I guess the break point would be 500 - 1000 pcs. Above that the cost of punching tools per case would be cheaper than 3D printing. Such case would have to offer some other advantages like air ducts or unusual design, which could easily be 3D printed, to justify higher price.

@SPK They use 3D modeling software like SketchUp, Solidworks or Blender to design their cases. Models in such applications could be easily modified. There is also a library of this forum with 3D models of some common parts to speed up the work.

@Runamok81 Thanks, I'll definitelly post some more pics once I gather more opinions. When it comes to printing the case it all comes down to choosing the right technology. There are 3 main ones:
1. SLS - sintering plastic powder using laser. Best mechanical properties, difficult to finish, medium price.
2. SLA - curing resing using laser or UV light. Poor mechanical properties, difficult to finish, high price.
3. FDM - melting plastic filament. Medium mechanical properies but good enough for a case, easy to finish, low price.

The cost of printing a case using one of the first 2 technologies would in fact be out of reach. Only the 3rd one is suitable. Print a case using the 3rd technology would result in the following costs:
~ $40 1kg of material
~ $10 printer time
~ $10 maintenance and initial support material removal
~ $60 - $120 4 - 8 hours of finishing
Those costs can vary between designs and I'm working to bring them down. Finishing generally involves sanding, applying primer, applying paint and applying lackuer. To be frank I can't think of a PC with proper air ducts to show as an example. But I'll definitelly make some comparative tests to see how much colder compents are with proper airflow.

 

[jØrd]

snip
OPTION 2
Minimalistic design with Sentry/S4 mini like components placement. I personally love the highlighted line on this design.

snip

reminds me somewhat of the Nvidia Shield TV

 

[GentlemanShark]

Very nice! I'm considering doing a frame using a 3d printed.

 

[Matt3D]

@GentlemanShark Awesome, it would be easier to convince people that 3D printed cases could be better than metal ones if there would be 2 projects of 3D printed cases.

Thanks guys for presenting your opinions. Option 2 got the most attention. I took it as a goal to find some more designs showing more advantages of 3D printing. Last designs were mostly minimalistic, and they were possible to create by bending metal sheets. I would like to create something different from what's available on the market. On the other hand I can't go too futuristic because people won't buy my case. To be frank I couln't find electronics devices with interesting designs anymore. Fortunatelly there is a field with even more interesting designs - architecture. That's what I hope to be inspired by. It takes a bit of imagination to see those designs as computer cases but I'll try to help you with some descriptions.

DESIGN 1
Use traditional, square design (Dan's Case or console PC components placement) but cut the case with some artistic venting lines.

DESIGN 2
Start with traditional, square design (Dan's Case or console PC components placement) but deflect a bit side surfaces to create a wavy shape

OR

DESIGN 3
Go more futuristic and create the design out of many triangle shaped surfaces. It could result in some innovative components placements.

Or a bit more agressive:

DESIGN 4
Make the case look like a couple of boxes permeating each other.

I would really appreciate your opinions guys. We can make this project the future of PC cases but it's only possible if we work together.

 

[Ceros_X]

I think one of the benefits of 3D printing vs metal sheets is in complex hole patterns. With sheet metal fabrication, the more complex the hole patern, the more you'll pay and the harder it will be to produce. This isn't even an issue in 3D printed cases.

Console type cases usually need to be raised up on case feet to provide ventilation to the underside of the case (when the CPU faces up and the GPU faces down) - perhaps you could build the case in a way that utilizes the printed case to make it seem to float on mid air, unsupported? I'm also wondering about angled ventilation holes that don't seem to appear head on.

On the subject or architecture, this is the building that inspires me most: http://osjar.net/fascinating-house-set-in-cliff-that-overlooks-aegean-sea/

Also, have you ever thought about 3D printing a reservoir and some water cooling tubing into a case? Maybe combine that with a large radiator that is the surface of the case (maybe on the bottom of the floating case as mentioned above, so cold air can be drawn in from underneath and hot air exhausted above?).

Just spit balling.

I also like the first concept followed by the last concept art that you posted. Not so hot on the angular towers.

Edit: Off topic, but 3D printed house showcasing irregular shapes

Spoiler

I think it back fired a bit because most assume it can only print round houses.

 

[GentlemanShark]

@Matt3D, I would be down. Is it possible for me to have access to some of your 3d printing supplies? I'd be happy to pay for it. I just don't have anything like it available to me.

 

[EdZ]

Vent holes probably as straight lines going through the whole case (as if the solid would be cut by a couple of planes)

While not what you described, this got me thinking about 3D printed cases and use of 'empty' space.
With the ability to fab intricate enclosed structures, the 'side panels' of the case could instead be used as air galleries. The 'inner face' would be a mirror image of the internal component layout inside the case, and the outer surface a large intake are. Actual open area for the inside and outside faces need only be 1:1, so a small un-grile opening on the inside could correspond to a large sparse vent pattern on the outside surface with minimal restriction on airflow. Between the two, rather than just an empty volume, a series of baffles could be created to prevent there being a direct path for sound to escape the case, similar to an exhaust resonator/baffle box.

 

[Matt3D]

@Ceros_X 3D printed objects aren't exactly watertight so a better idea would be to fit a regular
watercooling into my case. It's actually a good point to start a discussion whether people want air cooling or water cooling in a such a 3D printed case?

@GentlemanShark Check out online services like https://www.3dhubs.com/ or https://www.shapeways.com/ . On 3D Hubs you can find people in your area who have a printer and they can print models for you. It's a great option if you don't have an access to the 3D printer yourself. Shapeways on the other hand is the company offering 3D printing services themselves. BTW do you have experience with 3D printing? Some people don't know that but there are limitations of 3D printing and it takes some time and unsucessfull tries to learn this stuff.

@EdZ Great idea. It could be a little challenging to fit large intakes into the design but I'll definitelly try doing it.

 

[wywywywy]

@GentlemanShark Where are you based and what print size you need? I can possibly print you a quick prototype at cost.

I have two 3D printers and I am in the UK. I'm currently designing a case for my watercooled NUC project in Fusion 360 and will be printing it myself.

My bigger VORON printer has a build size of 220x220x220mm and looking at your design I guess it should be enough?

 

[wywywywy]

Also, have you ever thought about 3D printing a reservoir and some water cooling tubing into a case?

FDM printing is porous and not suitable for such task, though I really wish it was. Sadly we still need to rely on fusing acrylic sheets or milling acrylic blocks for this.

 

[Matt3D]

Heh, I think I finally found a great design combining everything that was said in this topic. Here is a conceptual CAD model. What do you think? Is this the right design to go further with? If you like the design please leave a like to this post. It'll be a huge motivation to continue the project.

I got inspired by the following sports centre:

 

[jtd871]

A little too g4m3r-y for my taste - I far and away prefer clean and minimalist, but that's just me. Good execution on capturing the inspiration, though.