Have not even finished my first build yet!

[2Kitty]

So I just had to put this here because I got so excited as I thought about it.

I had just built a really slick book shelf out of All thread and 1x8's. That was a piece of cake and looked awesome. I thought All Thread and wood would make a pretty slick chassis and prevent that ire you get when you look at a piece of poorly designed kit. I will try my best to describe it:

Materials:
2 x 1/4 thick sheet probably 8in x 8in depending on which video card I go with.
12in 1/4in all thread 1/2x36 pitch (Its what I have on hand and already have castle nuts and bolts for...
1/4in 1/2x36 nuts. You will need two for each all thread upright to hold the boards to proper internal spacing
1/4in 1/2x36 castle nuts
1/4in washers. Enough to place one under each castle nut.
blue loctite, or red if your brave.
gaffer tape
550 cord......
The board size used is not as important as it may seem. With proper scaling you could fit what ever you wanted inside it.

Basically its a sandwhich held in place by all thread arms keeping internal space within spec. More vertical supports would make it stiffer but I think would detract slightly from the look. The 550 cord is going to be attached to the all thread and loose weaved around the open space of the sandwhich hiding the internals and allowing air to escape. To top "bun of the sandwhich could go one of two routes for me. Two slim profile 120mm fans side by side blowing downward, or a single 200mm fan also blowing down onto the components. I guess a radiator blowing out could be done as well but would again take away from the look. Some sort of grill will be placed over the fans to prevent damage. I have not decided yet how I want to do that. To make it thin enough the video card will be connect via a ribbon to the mobo and placed next to the mobo. Gaffer tape will cover all of the internal wood and the video card will be "staked" for lack of better term into place using nylon stand offs to prevent too much wild shifting.

Now this is where I get a little tricky. Both the mobo and video card will be placed slightly back from the edge of the chassis. I really want enough room between the components and the 550 cord screen to be able to hide the attachment points. The 550 cord screen will be velcroed at one end so you can still get at the connections but I want the cords to "dissapear" into the chassis. IF I can pack it up each night and put it in the closet so my two year does not destroy it, It will have served its purpose. Too bad Im still finishing up my first build and this second build will take some time to come about. I may just build the chassis for fun anyhow.

This is really just an idea I have and really want you opinions about it. I think this could look pretty slick if done right.

I envision putting a mini-itx board with built in wifi and m.2 as the guts. Intel I5 and a 1050ti or a 1060 video card. Pico PSU for power.

 

[EdZ]

Without drawings, it's pretty difficult to envisage how the chassis will be laid out. Will you be putting the wooden 'end caps' at the top and bottom, and 'hanging' the GPU and motherboard vertically with the I/O ports pointing up (a little like the Silverstone FT03 & FT03 Mini)? Or will the wood form the 'walls' of the chassis with the motherboard mounted flat to one piece (acting like a traditional motherboard tray) and the GPU mounted to the opposing piece? Or some other arrangement?

Having the other walls be composed of woven cord is a novel idea, and one I can't recall being done before. For keeping the cords tidy and hiding the ends, you could make frames that fit onto the chassis sides and mount the cords top those. These frames can then the mounted to the chassis with screws, screwless retention clips, or even magnets.

 

[2Kitty]

I am imagining the wood acting more like a traditional mother board tray. The video card would be laid on the wooden tray (Some sort of thermal pads to prevent direct contact to the gaffer tape) directly next to the motherboard. I think this would keep it simple enough for me being my first "custom build" and only my second pc build.

I do like the idea of the frames for holding the cord. I had not thought about that. That would go along way to the minimilist / industrial look I am am going for. Hopefully I will get a chance to putter around in my shop this weekend to make a mock up.

 

[EdZ]

Ah, so an 'unfolded' design like the Fractal Node 202/Silverstone RVZ01/02? With a design like that, it may even be worth omitting the 'opposing' wooden panel entirely: by keeping that large side open using the cord, you would increase the airflow available to those components.

 

[2Kitty]

I had not thought about that. That could leave it like a mini test bench of sorts. That would be interesting suspending the fan over the components. That would certainly make it easier than mounting the fan to the top. The posts themselves would be more for aesthetics. Ohh more designs swimming in my head now. really hope to cook something up now to post pics. It certainly wont be fancy or complete by any stretch of the imagination.