Stalled BlackLight Presents: Sion (10.6L) Console Case

[Sorakamii]

June 05,2020

1. Increased the width of the case to 92 mm.
   1. This in-turn increased the size to 10.9L (was 9.9)
   2. Increased the fan size behind the GPU to 25mm Regulars fans (was capped at 15mm)
   3. Increased CPU Cooler Clearance to 71mm
      1. Can now fit the Scythe Big Shuriken 3 (with included 15mm fan)

Changes made today

 

[TimeLordTim]

Something I just realized:

Why have fans BEHIND the GPU? The airflow is just gong to run straight into the PCB of the GPU and not cool anything. Unless I'm missing something, you can get better thermals if you flip either the GPU or the fan mounting points so the fans can direct air straight into the GPU heatsink.

Also, why add the additional 10mm to accommodate the non-slim fans behind the GPU? Are the non-slim fans better at moving air?

 

[Sorakamii]

Something I just realized:

Why have fans BEHIND the GPU? The airflow is just gong to run straight into the PCB of the GPU and not cool anything. Unless I'm missing something, you can get better thermals if you flip either the GPU or the fan mounting points so the fans can direct air straight into the GPU heatsink.

Also, why add the additional 10mm to accommodate the non-slim fans behind the GPU? Are the non-slim fans better at moving air?

I planned on those fans being for exhaust honestly,l. The intent was to have the hot air come and,then get forced out by those fans. The gpu sits close to the side panel so it can pull its own air,then the hot air that gets released from it,the cpu,the psu,and whatever else gets forced out by those fans in the back. The fitting on non-slim fans was just a result of widening the case for the cpu cooler,plus non-slim fans are easier to find and have more options than slim fans.

 

[TimeLordTim]

That works really well in the vertical orientation, but I wonder how it'll do in the horizontal orientation. I'm excited for the prototype testing so there can be answers to stuff like this!

 

[Sorakamii]

That works really well in the vertical orientation, but I wonder how it'll do in the horizontal orientation. I'm excited for the prototype testing so there can be answers to stuff like this!

Same here,sadly the prototype im getting here in a few days wont have the proper panel thickness. Hopefully that doesnt change my test results. After my testing is done,i may need to start a GoFundMe or KickStarter to get the real prototype done.

Side note,in case i do need to get rid of the color options,im looking into getting the aluminum brushed or sandblasted to atleast add a little to the appearance.

 

[Shatrod]

Same here,sadly the prototype im getting here in a few days wont have the proper panel thickness. Hopefully that doesnt change my test results. After my testing is done,i may need to start a GoFundMe or KickStarter to get the real prototype done.

Side note,in case i do need to get rid of the color options,im looking into getting the aluminum brushed or sandblasted to atleast add a little to the appearance.

If you will powder coat the aluminum that will hide any brushing or sandblasting completely.

 

[Sorakamii]

If you will powder coat the aluminum that will hide any brushing or sandblasting completely.

The brushing/sandblasting are what im am looking into if i decide that i cant do the powder coating since its rather expensive and i refuse to raise the selling price of my case over $150

 

[Shatrod]

The brushing/sandblasting are what im am looking into if i decide that i cant do the powder coating since its rather expensive and i refuse to raise the selling price of my case over $150

Oh. How expensive? All the quotes I ever got for powder coating were very reasonable. Actually, at least as far as I have looked in my area, it's cheaper to powdercoat than to sandblast.

 

[Sorakamii]

Oh. How expensive? All the quotes I ever got for powder coating were very reasonable. Actually, at least as far as I have looked in my area, it's cheaper to powdercoat than to sandblast.

adds roughly $250 to my order,according to my calculations. Without powdercoating a single order of my case would cost roughly $350 to produce and ship,with a powder coat that goes up to around $600. Currently at an order of $50 cases,im at $5600, and thats without including the prices of the power button,power switch,PCIE Riser,motherboard standoffs and screws that are included.

 

[Shatrod]

adds roughly $250 to my order,according to my calculations. Without powdercoating a single order of my case would cost roughly $350 to produce and ship,with a powder coat that goes up to around $600. Currently at an order of $50 cases,im at $5600, and thats without including the prices of the power button,power switch,PCIE Riser,motherboard standoffs and screws that are included.

Is that in usd? Here in Canada powder coaters charge a minimum of $120 cad (about 100 usd) as a minimum but that's not 120 per case. That's 120 minimum charge. They were willing to do like 10 of my design for that same 120.

Are you factoring in the volumes at all or just using the minimum charge as a "per unit" charge?

Also did you order 50 units already?

 

[Sorakamii]

Is that in usd? Here in Canada powder coaters charge a minimum of $120 cad (about 100 usd) as a minimum but that's not 120 per case. That's 120 minimum charge. They were willing to do like 10 of my design for that same 120.

Are you factoring in the volumes at all or just using the minimum charge as a "per unit" charge?

Also did you order 50 units already?

No i havent ordered 50 units yet,im going to set this case on a pre-order system,but 50 will probably be the max i order at first. I would need to ask them exactly how their pricing works but id assume its that same $250 or so for the 50 units just like that single unit and yes it is in USD.

 

[Shatrod]

So 250/50 $5 per case to powdercoat. I think that's very much worth it?

 

[Sorakamii]

So 250/50 $5 per case to powdercoat. I think that's very much worth it?

Thats what id assume,still need to confirm with the company,but that is a bit beside the point. According to my calculations,probably off,id be losing roughly $900 per 50 cases. By 50 cases,i mean 50 completed cases with everything i promised to include.

 

[Sorakamii]

So 250/50 $5 per case to powdercoat. I think that's very much worth it?

I talked to the company last night, the Powder Coating i wanted adds $1572 to the total order of 50 cases. Thats around $32 per case. I'm still waiting on confirmation from their engineers about the brushing.

At the current moment,the only way for me to keep the colors that i want,and possibly more would be to raise the price of the case from $150 to $200,or change the material to steel which is something i personally dont feel is right for a console case. I'll do my best to keep looking around for more companies and other options,but this is where i currently am.

On a slight bit of good news, i changed the material to Aluminum 5083,which is more durable than the 1051 that i wanted initially. This actually made it slightly cheaper for some reason.

 

[Sorakamii]

How do you guys feel about Galvanized Steel (DX51D+Z275MAC) I found that its actually cheaper than regular carbon steel and Aluminum.I'll look into it more but i might be able to keep color options.

 

[TimeLordTim]

How do you guys feel about Galvanized Steel (DX51D+Z275MAC) I found that its actually cheaper than regular carbon steel and Aluminum.I'll look into it more but i might be able to keep color options.

Personally, if it's powder coated the material doesn't really matter to me, but if it were bare then I'd rather aluminum.

 

[Sorakamii]

Personally, if it's powder coated the material doesn't really matter to me, but if it were bare then I'd rather aluminum.

Tim once this is all set up,i got an idea for you,should you decide to buy this case.

 

[Sorakamii]

• June 08,2020
  1. Changed to brushed Aluminum
     1. Will no longer have color options
     2. Price is now $150 (was $160)

Changes made today

Just got an email back,shipping is roughly $705 thanks to how much 50 orders would weigh. I may need to look into a few alternative options.

 

[Sorakamii]

BIG NEWS,
I finally got the first prototype of the case. Since it is a month old,alot of the major improvements have already been made but i still have a bit of a way to go. Here are my initial problems with building it.

1. L-Brackets are an absolute pain to line up with shorter screws
   1. Have already fixed this by ordering longer screws
2. Alot of right angle/sharp edges
   1. Will be filleting every edge on every part
3. Side panels are a bit unstable
   1. Will be adding an extra section where the side panels will lock onto one another along with the front/back
4. Side panels seemed to be cut out wrong
   1. Nothing i can do there,that was the company's fault. I'll be sure to be more clear next time.
5. GPU holder at the back was useless
   1. Already got rid of it
6. Stand wouldn't screw in
   1. the front and back panels seemed to have been longer than the sides,so the case stood up on its own without the stand. I already went back in my design and shortened the panels,hopefully this should fix that problem.
7. The PSU bracket and hole in the back panel are also useless.
   1. I went with that altered design and rotated the PSU 90 degrees to exhaust air into the bottom of the case. This may raise temperatures slightly,but I will more than likely be adding more fan mounts.
8. The metal thickness isnt what i initially stated.
   1. The manufacturer didn't follow my instructions on that.I guess i wasn't clear enough. This will not happen again.
9. I'll update this list should i find anymore

To begin,i apologize to those of you who were looking for a full system build. There were a few components that i haven't been able to acquire for the last month including a PSU and ITX motherboard. The PSU will be coming in tomorrow,but the motherboard is unknown. Id like to get my 2nd,more updated prototype made and delivered soon,that way i can have a better product to show. Sadly,i can no longer easily do this by myself anymore. I need help. I was able to set up a GOFundMe,Indiee GOGO,and kickstarter located in the OP. If you want to help me finish this product then go there and donate as much or as little as you feel. Donations of $150 will be sent a case FIRST once i get this product line started. Check the OP for picture of the Prototype. It is sitting next to my current PC (Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L)

 

[Sorakamii]

Was able to get an x570 motherboard today,so will be doing absolute worst case testing.
No case fans(prototype fan holes are too small for some reason)
Passive cooling with big shiriken 3 cpu cooler(forgot to order the noctua l9a)

Ryzen 5 3600 cpu
Rx5600 xt gpu

While this case prototype is outdated,i still feel like this is a good reason to test it,that way when the new one comes in ill already have a worst case scenario base.