Help Me Decide on Fan Tray Design

[jmarin]

Hey Gang, I've been working on a mod for my case as seen here. I have been working on a few different designs for a tray to hold 2 120 mm case fans and I would like some input as to which you all would prefer, or if you had any suggestions. Designs created in sketchup.

Design A: Basic Rectangle

Design B: Squares

Design C: Circles

Design D: "Figure 8"

Again, any input is appreciated. Thanks

 

[owliwar]

from my testings, round or that 8 will give better results/ lower air resistance because the whole fan will be unblocked

 

[jmarin]

from my testings, round or that 8 will give better results/ lower air resistance because the whole fan will be unblocked

I am kind of partial to the figure 8, especially since it took me the longest to get right

 

[FullForceRainbow]

I am kind of partial to the figure 8, especially since it took me the longest to get right

I think the figure 8 is gonna look really nice as well... I remember a while ago Dan from Singularity Computers was doing a lot of custom plates like that in his Bitfenix Prodigy (ugh, ik) builds. It always looked super clean, especially when he paired it with Noiseblocker Eloops. I tried to find a picture for you, but I'm having trouble .

 

[BaK]

I am kind of partial to the figure 8, especially since it took me the longest to get right

8 shape looks great indeed!
Well done with SketchUp, it misses just 4 right clicks / soften on the connexions between outer and inner circles, to hide those little vertical lines we see

Quoting you from your other thread:

The idea of the tray is to screw into the holes already in the top of the case and the fans may just sit in there without needing to be screwed in. That is also something I need to decide on.

I wonder if free fans will be going to vibrate or not...

 

[jmarin]

8 shape looks great indeed!
Well done with SketchUp, it misses just 4 right clicks / soften on the connexions between outer and inner circles, to hide those little vertical lines we see

Quoting you from your other thread:

I wonder if free fans will be going to vibrate or not...

Yeah, I've revised it a little to have holes for the fans to screw in and a hole for the cables to go through. I just realized I didn't do countersunk holes so I'll have to go back and do that quick. Does the soften thing effect how it'll be printed at all?

 

[jmarin]

Ok update. Added a hole for fan cables to sneak through, and added fan screw holes with countersink. I think the figure 8 pattern is the definite winner here.

top view

bottom view

closeup of countersink

hoping that is enough for the screw to hold on to with the 3d printed plastic. I think it should be good. 2 mm thick, with 1 mm countersink

 

[jmarin]

Update for those interested: After struggling with the 3D prints (I think where the printers are set up is not ideal), I was finally able to get a good working part and installed it today. Had to cut the front part off due to the print area, but here are a couple of pics (sorry, forgot to take one before installing)
Top view

Inside view

Pretty happy with the outcome. Unfortunately, the grill for the top is another story.

 

[owliwar]

nice job

what happened to the top grill?

 

[jmarin]

nice job

what happened to the top grill?

The printers are in a room that doesn't stay warm and gets constant drafts, so the prints warp and pop off the bed from quick cooling. The grill has been affected the most, probably from that particular printer's location being worse than the other. The design also takes a long time to print due to many (many many) holes so it is hard to try more than once a day. Draft/low quality prints are just that, and my tab design didn't come out well probably because I didn't accommodate for tolerances in printing

 

[owliwar]

The printers are in a room that doesn't stay warm and gets constant drafts, so the prints warp and pop off the bed from quick cooling. The grill has been affected the most, probably from that particular printer's location being worse than the other. The design also takes a long time to print due to many (many many) holes so it is hard to try more than once a day. Draft/low quality prints are just that, and my tab design didn't come out well probably because I didn't accommodate for tolerances in printing

oh :/ 3d printing and its quirks them. good luck on your next try!

do you have access to a cnc router or a laser cutter? I imagine a design like this would take less than 10 min in total cutting time. you could just print the tabs and glue them on or something

 

[jmarin]

oh :/ 3d printing and its quirks them. good luck on your next try!

do you have access to a cnc router or a laser cutter? I imagine a design like this would take less than 10 min in total cutting time. you could just print the tabs and glue them on or something

I wish I did, but I do not. That is something I had not thought of though

 

[Biowarejak]

One thing that might work for you is running to the hardware store and getting a sheet of styrofoam. Then you can make a box to wrap your printer with. Should help with noise as well - and if you are worried about it getting too hot you can ventilate it. I very nearly needed to do this a while back.

 

[jmarin]

One thing that might work for you is running to the hardware store and getting a sheet of styrofoam. Then you can make a box to wrap your printer with. Should help with noise as well - and if you are worried about it getting too hot you can ventilate it. I very nearly needed to do this a while back.

If this was my printer, it would be in a better location with a box of some sort around it, but alas it is the school's

 

[jmarin]

oh :/ 3d printing and its quirks them. good luck on your next try!

do you have access to a cnc router or a laser cutter? I imagine a design like this would take less than 10 min in total cutting time. you could just print the tabs and glue them on or something

After thinking about this, this is the best option IMO at the moment. So I took the liberty of designing and printing some tabs that should work, and I am now sorting through some designs for the top grill. Will make a separate post about that.