Not really an update, but I started working on the project again. If you aren't interested in technical stuff about the case, you can safely ignore this. 
Mostly clean-up work, restructuring of the cad model, but I also wanted to ensure that this case is going to last.
So instead of having tapped threads for all the screws, I will use self-clinching nuts, specifically Penns F4 Series. Very durable, very space efficient.
Using these nuts instead of deeper ones is required to comply with the ATX standard in terms of distance from the mainboards conducting components, and I think they look a lot nicer than protruding nuts.
This means that the main mounting panels now need to be 1.5mm thick instead of 1mm, but I don't see that as a disadvantage yet.
I also decided to scale the motherboard screws up from M3 to M4 to have more surface area available for the motherboard to rest on, both on the standoffs and the screwheads. I know this is a bit unconventional, but with M3, the standoffs are extremely narrow, and this case is supposed to be put in backpacks and take a bit of a beating, so I don't want to take any risks.
Two decisions are coming up that I'm a bit undecided about:
1. Should the currently blank "bottom panel" get intake vents for the PSU, just like the top panel has them? It would greatly increase the amount of airflow available to the PSU, especially when it has a lot of cabling to deal with. On the other hand, that could really hurt the aesthetics for some people, I kind of like having one completely plain panel.
2. Should the HDD mount be made thicker by 0.5mm as well? It doesn't really need to be that thick in terms of stability and it will give the HDDs less room to vibrate, but it would allow me to use ISO-standardised countersunk M2.5 screws, because their head is 1.5mm tall. There are screws that can be countersunk into 1mm thin sheets, but those are really hard to come by and that may hurt users that lose screws. I could also make the case another Millimetre taller to compensate for the additional height.
Mostly clean-up work, restructuring of the cad model, but I also wanted to ensure that this case is going to last.
So instead of having tapped threads for all the screws, I will use self-clinching nuts, specifically Penns F4 Series. Very durable, very space efficient.
Using these nuts instead of deeper ones is required to comply with the ATX standard in terms of distance from the mainboards conducting components, and I think they look a lot nicer than protruding nuts.
This means that the main mounting panels now need to be 1.5mm thick instead of 1mm, but I don't see that as a disadvantage yet.
I also decided to scale the motherboard screws up from M3 to M4 to have more surface area available for the motherboard to rest on, both on the standoffs and the screwheads. I know this is a bit unconventional, but with M3, the standoffs are extremely narrow, and this case is supposed to be put in backpacks and take a bit of a beating, so I don't want to take any risks.
Two decisions are coming up that I'm a bit undecided about:
1. Should the currently blank "bottom panel" get intake vents for the PSU, just like the top panel has them? It would greatly increase the amount of airflow available to the PSU, especially when it has a lot of cabling to deal with. On the other hand, that could really hurt the aesthetics for some people, I kind of like having one completely plain panel.
2. Should the HDD mount be made thicker by 0.5mm as well? It doesn't really need to be that thick in terms of stability and it will give the HDDs less room to vibrate, but it would allow me to use ISO-standardised countersunk M2.5 screws, because their head is 1.5mm tall. There are screws that can be countersunk into 1mm thin sheets, but those are really hard to come by and that may hurt users that lose screws. I could also make the case another Millimetre taller to compensate for the additional height.
