Production CATAPULTCASE - Fully Modular ITX Cases (3.2L to 11.6L)

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

What I'd actually love to see is: 280 mm radiator support (not necessarly AIO, but that would be swell, too). My research shows some of the possibly smallest ones, but availability is kinda meh for anything below 14L.

cu, w0lf.

 

[BaK]

For the mesh, I initially purchased this and cut it into the correct size to insert between the pieces of the side panels. This works great, but of course can be fiddly to cut the holes perfectly. I included templates for these in my design files though.

This is of a flexible kind, I'm looking for something sturdy, like the SSUP Meshlicious panels I think.
Thanks for the link anyway!

That said, I've recently preferred to 3D print the mesh, using a nifty trick of setting both the top and bottom shell thickness/layers to 0 - this means it only prints a solid perimeter of your chosen wall thickness, and then the selected infill produces a mesh for you - fully customizable! I'll be adding proper instructions on how to do this on my website shortly, as I think it's far superior to purchasing a mesh insert, but of course, having the choice of both is nice too!

If I'm not mistaken this neat trick you are referring to is what we know here as the @morj's technique.
There should be a post where he (or @robbee) describes it in detail, with the printer parameters to set, but I fail to find it...

I'm liking it a lot but not having a 3D printer at hand is a big drawback, thus what I have in mind is rather something in metal.

 

[morj]

If I'm not mistaken this neat trick you are referring to is what we know here as the @morj's technique.
There should be a post where he (or @robbee) describes it in detail, with the printer parameters to set, but I fail to find it...

@BaK it's here (you need to scroll down past the PC picture).

I learned it form this video.

 

[CatapultCase]

Thanks for sharing! Did you ever find a solution to avoid the spiderweb like travel marks that appear when printing the meshes ? They match the preview of travel movement in the slicer but I haven't been able to find a way to avoid it yet

 

[morj]

Thanks for sharing! Did you ever find a solution to avoid the spiderweb like travel marks that appear when printing the meshes ? They match the preview of travel movement in the slicer but I haven't been able to find a way to avoid it yet

Nope, I haven't. I think increasing the Z-axis retraction might help (at the cost of print time).

 

[robbee]

Retraction and temperature are key to everything related to stringing. I also found it to print way smoother meshes when disabling 'Z-hop'. If it's just light stringing, it's easy to remove with a lighter.

 

[CatapultCase]

Retraction and temperature are key to everything related to stringing. I also found it to print way smoother meshes when disabling 'Z-hop'. If it's just light stringing, it's easy to remove with a lighter.

You're quite right - waving it over a heatgun for a split seconds evaporates them - thanks for the tip! btw, I'm a very happy Yocto+ owner, love your cases!

 

[CatapultCase]

Howdy again folks!

Excited to share a pretty mature prototype for the v1.1 revision of my LP4 SFF case. This time featuring the front expansion which includes an OLED display. This has actually been where most of my time has been spent in recent months, developing my software Junction Relay that consolidates data sources from a wide range of places, lets you manipulate the data, and send it where you need it via multiple channels/protocols. My targets of choice right now are ESP32 driven panels - you can see an example image of data being piped from my Unraid server to a display I will mount to the rack. That display is an Elecrow ESP32 7"

I'll soon be opening up the software for a public beta, so if anyone is interested in participating, please drop me a DM or reply here! There is more information on this at https://junctionrelay.com and I hope folks will be see the value in this project.

Key BOM:

• Catapult.LP4 v1.1 with front expansion
• Lilygo T4-S3 OLED Panel with ESP32

 

[CatapultCase]

Renders of near final design with chrome accents

 

[ignsvn]

Render of near final design with chrome accents

These are not my cup of tea but I have to admit that your design language is interesting. I sense a modern-retro vibe from these designs.

Also, I don't know if possible but you probably can consider integrating some of those old school VU meter, or the modern one like Streacom's VU meter we reviewed here Streacom’s VU1 – Analogue – SFF.Network | SFF.Network (smallformfactor.net)

 

[CatapultCase]

These are not my cup of tea but I have to admit that your design language is interesting. I sense a modern-retro vibe from these designs.

Also, I don't know if possible but you probably can consider integrating some of those old school VU meter, or the modern one like Streacom's VU meter we reviewed here Streacom’s VU1 – Analogue – SFF.Network | SFF.Network (smallformfactor.net)

I've been looking into some analogue components but hadnt yet found anything I liked, but these look pretty nice, thank you for sharing! since the OLED is also an ESP32, I'm going to explore using it for inputs, controlling other components etc in future, perhaps rotary switches etc

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

Render of near final design with chrome accents

Gives me Marshall Amp vibes (in a good way)

cu, w0lf.

 

[CatapultCase]

When only using an APU, you can have 2x60mm front fans in the 4L layout (power button is accessed below the screen on the edge)

Early test unit:

 

[CatapultCase]

Hey folks! wanted to share a couple near-final versions of my updated v1.1 design, LP4. The "astro" concept is "as printed", but the "foggy" concept is (obviously) inspired by an upcoming release I'm really excited about. I wanted to explore different finishes so took an attempt at airbrushing. I'm close to finalizing the v1.1 design and it will be available soon to print your own. Would love feedback! more photos at https://catapultcase.com/lp4-1-1-concepts/

 

[CatapultCase]

Happy 2025!

Been busy at work on some new prototypes and wanted to share the latest version of the Catapult.STX design. It's a 2.6L case (not including the optional front unit) and has a few new tricks - most excitedly the ability to use Framework expansion cards.

The case is designed for the motherboard from the Asrock DeskMini X600 and I'm using it with a 8700G in this build. The screen is a 5.0" CrowPanel from Elecrow and is leveraging my custom software at https://junctionrelay.com/

3D files hopefully available in the near future! as always, I post more details/photos on my blog here https://catapultcase.com/devlog/

 

[BaK]

Top notch 3D printed parts, so neat, really like it!

What are the cables / opening at the back for?
How is it powered btw, stock X600 brick?

 

[CatapultCase]

Top notch 3D printed parts, so neat, really like it!

What are the cables / opening at the back for?
How is it powered btw, stock X600 brick?

Thank you!

The hole at the back is just for prototyping primarily, I run the cables for the framework slot and the screen out the back so I can use them when a motherboard isn't installed. I may end up keeping the hole though, since it's useful for lifting up the top plate when it's really flush hah. Also, it briefly was used to run a egpu oculink cable! worked really well for a high powered tiny pc!

Yes, for the STX model, it's using the DC12v in that comes with the X600 motherboard. The larger LP4 model is designed for HDPLEX 250 GaN, and I'm working on fitting the HDPLEX 500 in there too!

 

[ignsvn]

Thank you!

The hole at the back is just for prototyping primarily, I run the cables for the framework slot and the screen out the back so I can use them when a motherboard isn't installed. I may end up keeping the hole though, since it's useful for lifting up the top plate when it's really flush hah. Also, it briefly was used to run a egpu oculink cable! worked really well for a high powered tiny pc!

Yes, for the STX model, it's using the DC12v in that comes with the X600 motherboard. The larger LP4 model is designed for HDPLEX 250 GaN, and I'm working on fitting the HDPLEX 500 in there too!

I haven't followed Framework updates for a while - what type of connection do they use for the expansion card? Is it proprietary?

 

[CatapultCase]

I haven't followed Framework updates for a while - what type of connection do they use for the expansion card? Is it proprietary?

It's just a USB-C connection behind each expansion card, and they provide CAD files to model the cart on their github. So, I simply built a slot/mechanism to eject the card, and has a USB-C to C extension behind it, either to mobo internal headers if it has them, or out the back to external IO.

Bonus, here is the 500W HDPLEX prototype being stress tested (I actually lack the hardware to push beyond ~250W in this form factor lol)

 

[ignsvn]

It's just a USB-C connection behind each expansion card, and they provide CAD files to model the cart on their github. So, I simply built a slot/mechanism to eject the card, and has a USB-C to C extension behind it, either to mobo internal headers if it has them, or out the back to external IO.

Bonus, here is the 500W HDPLEX prototype being stress tested (I actually lack the hardware to push beyond ~250W in this form factor lol)

The fit looks nice & tight.

That 500 watt HDPLex , is it the GAN one?

And what's the green thing with black circle at the rear-left side of the table?