Completed The MI-6 Microtower Case: Performance in 6.7L
- Thread starter firewolfy
- Start date
Okay a few things to report---
Got black zinc plated steel screws for cover attachment, -they look great.
I have finalized the front plate attachment. Using 6-32 ss flat head socket screws. Nice and small, and flush. Had tried other ideas, but most had poor surface finish (black oxide, poor quality black ss, etc).
Here are renders of the finalized configuration (showing the front I/O which is optional):
Got black zinc plated steel screws for cover attachment, -they look great.
I have finalized the front plate attachment. Using 6-32 ss flat head socket screws. Nice and small, and flush. Had tried other ideas, but most had poor surface finish (black oxide, poor quality black ss, etc).
Here are renders of the finalized configuration (showing the front I/O which is optional):
Looking good! Got an AsRock x370 itx on the way and a r7 1700 looking for a home. I'm still very much looking to get your case when you get some to sell. 
Thanks man, I appreciate the feedback.Looking good! Got an AsRock x370 itx on the way and a r7 1700 looking for a home. I'm still very much looking to get your case when you get some to sell.
For those who want the MI-6 with a minimalist uncluttered front (without the front I/O and power button), I have been working on a good power switch solution on the back of the case.
Std power buttons I have looked at have been either bare switches that would have to be DIY wired, and connections soldered or crimped, shrinktubed (maybe not a word, but hey) and maybe sleeved, Or get some monstrosity with a 60cm cable to wrap around the MB a couple of times. Well I got this sample, which looked pretty good, but no sleeving, and the supplier didn't have a ROHS program, which is kind of required to sell things around the world.
So I moved on to another supplier. Which has ROHS certification and was willing to customize their switch offerings to give exactly what was needed. A vandal switch with blue LED ring, black housing, 25cm cable, labeled MB connectors, shrink tubing and sleeving.
Here she is:
The above sample pic (from early last week) is one iteration behind; The final switch cable will have the 25cm cable length (I think the pic is about 40cm) and quite a bit less shrink tubing. They went a bit crazy on that for some reason, so I had to let them know that flexibility is kinda important for the cable. The sleeving is pretty generic grey, but that is ok, it will blend in. You can see their website imprint there. I'm not ready to endorse them, but so far they are responsive.
So the back of the case will look something like this:
Other news:
The design is finalized (with a few sweet surprises to share soon), and there are now 52 sign-ups on the interest / pre-order list. So it looks like there is enough interest to move with a first run!!
To that end, I have set up my little business with the state, set up business banking, and have re-quoting underway. The pricing looked about as planned, appox $200, but I can't commit until I get new quotes back. The previous quotes had expired, and minor changes have occurred in the last few months, so I kinda had to redo this process.
I am working on a formal pre-order form, and will get that out as soon as the quoting is solidified and I can give you clean pricing.
Fire!
Std power buttons I have looked at have been either bare switches that would have to be DIY wired, and connections soldered or crimped, shrinktubed (maybe not a word, but hey) and maybe sleeved, Or get some monstrosity with a 60cm cable to wrap around the MB a couple of times. Well I got this sample, which looked pretty good, but no sleeving, and the supplier didn't have a ROHS program, which is kind of required to sell things around the world.
So I moved on to another supplier. Which has ROHS certification and was willing to customize their switch offerings to give exactly what was needed. A vandal switch with blue LED ring, black housing, 25cm cable, labeled MB connectors, shrink tubing and sleeving.
Here she is:
The above sample pic (from early last week) is one iteration behind; The final switch cable will have the 25cm cable length (I think the pic is about 40cm) and quite a bit less shrink tubing. They went a bit crazy on that for some reason, so I had to let them know that flexibility is kinda important for the cable. The sleeving is pretty generic grey, but that is ok, it will blend in. You can see their website imprint there. I'm not ready to endorse them, but so far they are responsive.
So the back of the case will look something like this:
Other news:
The design is finalized (with a few sweet surprises to share soon), and there are now 52 sign-ups on the interest / pre-order list. So it looks like there is enough interest to move with a first run!!
To that end, I have set up my little business with the state, set up business banking, and have re-quoting underway. The pricing looked about as planned, appox $200, but I can't commit until I get new quotes back. The previous quotes had expired, and minor changes have occurred in the last few months, so I kinda had to redo this process.
I am working on a formal pre-order form, and will get that out as soon as the quoting is solidified and I can give you clean pricing.
Fire!
Sign me up as an interested party if the pricing and ETA lines up. Size, shape and looks matches what I'm after.
I said I'd have some surprises, well here is one:
Decided to go the way of so many customs and mods and mount hdd/ssds with 2 screws, blade style. Here is a quick screen grab of the model.
I allows you to mount the drives with 2 screws from the GPU side. I had been wondering about the stability but went ahead and drilled holes in my old prototype and mounted a HDD. Pretty sturdy, saves space and looks sweet.
I will still have the mounting locations for the tool-less HDD holders, but this is a nicer way to go.
Meeting with fab house this week to go over inspection methods and how best to run set-up/trial parts. before the main 30pc run.
Decided to go the way of so many customs and mods and mount hdd/ssds with 2 screws, blade style. Here is a quick screen grab of the model.
I allows you to mount the drives with 2 screws from the GPU side. I had been wondering about the stability but went ahead and drilled holes in my old prototype and mounted a HDD. Pretty sturdy, saves space and looks sweet.
I will still have the mounting locations for the tool-less HDD holders, but this is a nicer way to go.
Meeting with fab house this week to go over inspection methods and how best to run set-up/trial parts. before the main 30pc run.
Sweet indeed!
Just curious, instead of drilling new holes, why don't you just extend the tool-less HDD holder so it can fit 2 drives?
Also, while it's sturdy enough stationary, is it secure enough on the move / when people travel with it?
Just curious, instead of drilling new holes, why don't you just extend the tool-less HDD holder so it can fit 2 drives?
Also, while it's sturdy enough stationary, is it secure enough on the move / when people travel with it?
ignsvn,
Good question on the double drive holder. From the polls and discussion a big majority would only use 1 or maybe 2 2.5" HDD/SSDs, so that is where the focus has been. And the single level holder has been the primary product. But the direct mount holes idea means doubling up the 7mm drives up in that space. and as standard equipment. --So I want to make sure to include them for flexibility.
I do love the spring loaded tool-less holders They are stainless spring steel so no paint or anodize is needed to make them look good, and minimalist and convenient. The holders are sturdy enough to handle travel, and when the cover is on it limits the flexure of the holders so they can't open up anyway.
I've got the double-decker holder drawn up (I think I showed it off in this thread somewhere) and plan to make a prototype to check it out, after the first run. Gotta size it to flex right to release both drives, but be strong enough to handle the weight and secure the drives.
The HDD holders will always be the easiest way to install and remove drives, but they do cost, so this is a way to offer multiple drive capability without much dinero.
Oh, my question is actually on the stability of (the drive mounted on) these new mount holes you drilled, not the tool-less holder.
Are they stable enough during travel/shifting? I imagine the drive will be only held by 2 screws, right?
Oh, I see your point. Yeah, I put off this idea for the longest time because of that exact concern. Then I saw it in some more customs recently, and thought what the heck I'm gonna test this idea. Tightened down the M3's and pushed the HDD back and forth. The HDD doesn't flex, the divider plate flexes a little, but the stiffness is high. I was amazed. The distance between the HDDs is 3.8mm which will be plenty.
The only close distance is to the screw for the front plate, so I'm putting a bumper there to prevent any contact. Here is the model with the bumper highlighted in green:
On a related topic, you and I had talked about a way to put 2 HDDs end to end against the front wall, and you mentioned putting a fan smaller than 92mm there to make room. When I put the new HDD holes in, I put them up as high as possible and moved the lower hdd mount holes down as much as possible.
The result is shown below where 3 hds are actually installed. The space for hdd connectors is 44mm (far ends of cable conectors), which is still a bit tight, but as you can see in the second pic, the new drives are offset from the hdd mount so the cabling can run past eachother. Don't get me wrong, it is still a snug fit for 6 connectors in there, but doable. And mounting a fan smaller than 92mm will take double-sided tape, or drilling the case for the fan pattern.
Anyway, some changes that should increase options. It is a bit down in the weeds to discuss these details. I think I'll do a series of shots showing all the different ways to mount hdds and interactions with fans and I/O boards.
The only close distance is to the screw for the front plate, so I'm putting a bumper there to prevent any contact. Here is the model with the bumper highlighted in green:
On a related topic, you and I had talked about a way to put 2 HDDs end to end against the front wall, and you mentioned putting a fan smaller than 92mm there to make room. When I put the new HDD holes in, I put them up as high as possible and moved the lower hdd mount holes down as much as possible.
The result is shown below where 3 hds are actually installed. The space for hdd connectors is 44mm (far ends of cable conectors), which is still a bit tight, but as you can see in the second pic, the new drives are offset from the hdd mount so the cabling can run past eachother. Don't get me wrong, it is still a snug fit for 6 connectors in there, but doable. And mounting a fan smaller than 92mm will take double-sided tape, or drilling the case for the fan pattern.
Anyway, some changes that should increase options. It is a bit down in the weeds to discuss these details. I think I'll do a series of shots showing all the different ways to mount hdds and interactions with fans and I/O boards.
Cool! Won't hold you to it but were you thinking of getting the first batch out within this year or early next?
I forgot to ask; can the drive holders / drilled holes accommodate 9.5mm drives? Most of higher capacity 2.5" drives (or older ones) are 9.5mm thick.
Example;
- https://www.hgst.com/products/hard-drives/travelstar-7k1000
- https://www.wdc.com/content/dam/wdc/website/downloadable_assets/eng/spec_data_sheet/2879-771435.pdf
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