EVE 01: Vertical all-acrylic SFF case

[ehqhvm]

Hey everyone!

I'm really new to the world of custom cases, so I apologize in advance for my lack of precision and outright sloppiness in SketchUp :-)

I've been thinking about an idea for a custom case for a while, and now I'd really like to take the next step and make it happen!

I don't plan on ever selling this case or even making more than one. I just want to make one for me that adapts specifically to my own hardware and design requirements. Here's what I have so far:

I'm struggling a lot to make things look better and more precise on SketchUp, but I think this will give you at least an idea of what I'm aiming for.

All the red parts that you see would just be a red carbon-fiber-textured vinyl applied directly on top of the acrylic.

I'm also planning on adding a lot of perforations on the panels to allow airflow.

The inside layout is heavily inspired by the amazing Ncase M1 layout, which is my current case and I love. This would just be adding a twist to that idea, taking some design elements from the Silverstone FT-03 Mini, to minimize desktop footprint of the system, and also to showcase the GPU, as I think this look would be really nice.

The case panels end up going a little higher than the motherboard, so as to hide a little bit the IO ports and cables that will be sticking out of it, but I don't really care about hiding them entirely, only slightly is fine in my opinion. Having the IO ports on the top also makes it easier to have access to USB ports, thus alleviating the need to have USB on the front.

With regard to storage, I plan on using only an M.2 drive (Samsung 950 pro 512GB), which I think will make my life a lot easier.

NEXT STEPS:

I'm now a bit paralyzed and not sure what to do next. I would really appreciate some tips, ideas, suggestions or pointers so I can figure out what I need to do next, and how to take this from a vague idea into something I can start building IRL.

Some specific concerns and questions I have are:

* How can all the components be mounted over an acrylic panel? Especially the GPU, not sure how how it would be secured on the top panel.
* How should I determine the actual measurements I'll need when ordering the acrylic panels?
* Does anyone have ideas as to how should I mount the panels together, in a way that will allow me to easily take them out in the future to work inside the case?

Thanks for reading! :-) Any feedback on this project will be greatly appreciated!

 

[jtd871]

Maybe http://clearpc.ca/ can help?

 

[jtd871]

Also just remembered this custom build: http://www.overclock.net/t/1540633/build-log-r3d-h3x-scratch-case-build

 

[ehqhvm]

Maybe http://clearpc.ca/ can help?

Thanks!! I'll look into it! maybe that could make things a lot simpler.

 

[jeshikat]

I'd highly recommend using this reference GPU and mobo model: http://scc.jezmckean.com/item/509

 

[Necere]

I'd highly recommend using this reference GPU and mobo model: http://scc.jezmckean.com/item/509

Yeah, you definitely want to be using models that are as accurate as possible as far as the key specification dimensions. A lot of those fully modeled GPUs/motherboards aren't actually very accurate in terms of things like the PCI bracket/slot, PCB size etc.

Working with acrylic requires a completely different approach compared to aluminum or steel sheet, since you can't (easily/accurately/repeatedly) bend acrylic. That means you'll be mainly working with flat sheets. I'd take a look at commercial cases and other projects made from acrylic, like those from Parvum Systems, to see how they do things. Also check out bit-tech's project logs subforum, which is probably the biggest DIY case forum around.

Looking at your model, I can tell right away you're not leaving enough space for the PCIe power connectors. This is a common mistake I see people do time and time again. I made a thread about this issue here. You need at least 150mm, and with the thicker acrylic the case width will probably end up at 165mm+.

 

[ehqhvm]

I'd highly recommend using this reference GPU and mobo model: http://scc.jezmckean.com/item/509

@Aibohphobia Like this?

 

[ehqhvm]

Yeah, you definitely want to be using models that are as accurate as possible as far as the key specification dimensions. A lot of those fully modeled GPUs/motherboards aren't actually very accurate in terms of things like the PCI bracket/slot, PCB size etc.

Working with acrylic requires a completely different approach compared to aluminum or steel sheet, since you can't (easily/accurately/repeatedly) bend acrylic. That means you'll be mainly working with flat sheets. I'd take a look at commercial cases and other projects made from acrylic, like those from Parvum Systems, to see how they do things. Also check out bit-tech's project logs subforum, which is probably the biggest DIY case forum around.

Looking at your model, I can tell right away you're not leaving enough space for the PCIe power connectors. This is a common mistake I see people do time and time again. I made a thread about this issue here. You need at least 150mm, and with the thicker acrylic the case width will probably end up at 165mm+.

Excellent, thanks so much for the tips and help! I'll dig around through that forum and do more research :-)

 

[ehqhvm]

OK, I've updated my model with some revised measurements, particularly, taking into account the GPU actual space requirements pointed out by @Necere.

With these updates, the width of the case ends up being 165mm, with a max height of 360mm and a depth of 215mm. This takes into account acrylic panels of 4mm and it would take the volume of the case to around 12.7L, but I'd still need to add some feet as well. This result would be pretty OK for my needs, but it does make me appreciate just how efficient the M1 is, considering my design is extremely inflexible and doesn't even support a single SSD :-) Still, I'm pretty happy with how things are going!

In order to make the GPU feel centered in the transparent acrylic window, I've added some black accents and moved the power button.

Oh, I also added a 140mm fan on the bottom to help move some air. Does this addition make sense? I'm not sure how useful it'd be, considering the cables and the PSU itself get in the way.

 

[iFreilicht]

Maybe the fan should be 120mm of it is covered by the PSU. Other than that, I really dig the design! Can't really add to anything that has been said, but have you been thinking about turning the case upside down so that all I/O connectors are at the bottom? Would make things look a lot cleaner if all the cables came out in one bundle. Depending on how stationary your setup is going to be, you could use very large sleeving to bundle all cables together into one. Ultra-clean.

 

[jeshikat]

@Aibohphobia Like this?

Yes, though you'll want to adjust the GPU length to whatever you'll actually be using. The reference model is longer than most available cards.

 

[ehqhvm]

Maybe the fan should be 120mm of it is covered by the PSU. Other than that, I really dig the design! Can't really add to anything that has been said, but have you been thinking about turning the case upside down so that all I/O connectors are at the bottom? Would make things look a lot cleaner if all the cables came out in one bundle. Depending on how stationary your setup is going to be, you could use very large sleeving to bundle all cables together into one. Ultra-clean.

Hey, thanks! glad you like it :-)

I considered turning things upside down a lot! I agree it would allow for a cleaner look, especially if bundling the cables together like you described, but for this project I'm leaning towards going the other way, here is my reasoning:

* I like the idea of having really easy access to the back IO, which removes the need (for me) to have USB and audio jacks in the front panel
* This is purely subjective, but I kind of enjoy the aesthetics of seeing the IO ports on the top, I think it pairs nicely with the "raw" looks of the transparent case overall.
* I would need to add a lot of height to allow cables to go through underneath, similar to what the Silverstone FT-03 Mini has to do to hide all cables on the top, whereas I'm ok with only slightly hiding cable connectors to keep the case size in check.

That being said I think I'm a bit of an atypical user in the first place, because I only need to plug in an ethernet and a DP cable. The Power cable, I'm not sure if extending it to the top or just plugging it directly through the back, like this:

What do you think would be best?

 

[MJVR1]

I really like the idea of an all acrylic case. This style of case has been done before and i actually quite like it. The Motherboard Io on top can save some cost on front usb and audio and you get better compatibility by using the motherboard IO in my experience. I suggest you take a look at this project: http://www.overclock.net/t/1547685/scratch-build-simplicity-v2-0#post_23763868 it's very similar and he uploaded the files to make your own. It's MATX but the basic concept is the same.

 

[iFreilicht]

The best is what you like the best, simple as that.

 

[ehqhvm]

I really like the idea of an all acrylic case. This style of case has been done before and i actually quite like it. The Motherboard Io on top can save some cost on front usb and audio and you get better compatibility by using the motherboard IO in my experience. I suggest you take a look at this project: http://www.overclock.net/t/1547685/scratch-build-simplicity-v2-0#post_23763868 it's very similar and he uploaded the files to make your own. It's MATX but the basic concept is the same.

This is pure gold, thanks!!

 

[EdZ]

You could shave a little height from the chassis by rotating the PSU 90° and raising it (so the power cable exits the bottom and is routed internally to the top or back). This would allow the fan to be raised 'past' the edge of the GPU into the space vacated by the PSU. If the PSU were instead inverter (power inlet at the top, modular power cables exiting at the bottom and going back up over the PSU), or the internal PSU fan flipped (to be an exhaust rather than an intake) you could eliminate all holes on the sides of the case and have it a pure bottom-to-top flow.

 

[iFreilicht]

If the PSU were instead inverted (power inlet at the top, modular power cables exiting at the bottom and going back up over the PSU), or the internal PSU fan flipped (to be an exhaust rather than an intake) you could eliminate all holes on the sides of the case and have it a pure bottom-to-top flow.

I like the second idea, having the power inlet over the mainboard and modular connectors to the bottom. It kinda limits the PSU selection, but you could raise the PSU from the side panel a little and tuck ALL excess cabling underneath, which might be helpful as everything in this case is seen and needs to look good.

Personally I like clean windows better than perforated ones, so what could be done is moving the fan in front of the GPU and adding about 1cm of space between GPU and sidepanel. One fan in the bottom, that's it.

BTW, why do you only need an ethernet cable? Are you relaying the keyboard and mouse inputs in some way?

 

[jtd871]

BTW, why do you only need an ethernet cable? Are you relaying the keyboard and mouse inputs in some way?

Probably using wireless mouse + KB.

 

[Regack]

Just a couple of thoughts... I like what you're building, makes me want to build something else too .

Are you planning on bonding most of the panels together, and leaving just the large back (for example) panel accessible for working in the case? Otherwise, if you're going to use something like the Parvum modding cubes to join the panels, you'll need to make sure you leave enough space for those to fit.

I'm not sure how much cost factors in, but cutting lots of little perforations adds up if you're having things laser cut. A large opening costs less to cut, moves more air, can mount filters easier and still let air through (drill small holes, insert neodymium magnets, attach magnetic filter to acrylic).

The power button looks a little close to the edge there, I'm not sure how much acrylic material there will be left, also it will be very difficult to put in the retaining nut on the backside if it's too close. Maybe consider moving it to the top where all of the other cutouts are located. If you keep the power inlet on the top panel with the PSU recessed like then all of the sides be completely clean!

 

[ehqhvm]

Are you planning on bonding most of the panels together, and leaving just the large back (for example) panel accessible for working in the case? Otherwise, if you're going to use something like the Parvum modding cubes to join the panels, you'll need to make sure you leave enough space for those to fit.

I was thinking on leaving just the large panel be removable, yes. I didn't know the Parvum modding cubes but they look amazing and they would be a very simple and elegant solution as well, thanks a lot for the tip! I gotta say, I didn't know much about Parvum before, but I'm liking that company more and more! :-)

I'm not sure how much cost factors in, but cutting lots of little perforations adds up if you're having things laser cut. A large opening costs less to cut, moves more air, can mount filters easier and still let air through (drill small holes, insert neodymium magnets, attach magnetic filter to acrylic).

I was thinking on having perforations laser cut, yes. To be honest I don't really care about the cost since this will be a one-off project that I don't mind splurging a bit on :-) That being said, you are absolutely right about larger perforations allowing more airflow, and that idea about mounting magnets to support dust filters is *brilliant*, now I want to do that! My only concern is that a metallic dust filter may hurt the transparent nature of the case, but maybe it'd look good anyway. What do you think?

The power button looks a little close to the edge there, I'm not sure how much acrylic material there will be left, also it will be very difficult to put in the retaining nut on the backside if it's too close. Maybe consider moving it to the top where all of the other cutouts are located. If you keep the power inlet on the top panel with the PSU recessed like then all of the sides be completely clean!

Welp. You are right of course! I'll have to move it somewhere that it doesn't cause problems. I was hesitant about moving it to the top because I don't want it to interfere with CPU coolers, and also because I felt placing the power button on that side added to the idea of the GPU panel being the front of the case, which was my original idea.