Log I designed and built my own case from scratch

hmpf

Minimal Tinkerer
Original poster
New User
Sep 29, 2022
3
8
Hello there,

I thought I'd share my build with you guys, maybe someone appreciates it or want to replicate it.

So basically it was 2018 and I wanted to set up a small NAS, nothing special, just some HDDs and Unraid as a data grave for backups and movies and the likes. As I lived in a small appartment and don't have network access in my cellar, the system would be in plain sight in my livingroom, so it had to be pretty and shouldn't necessarily look like a PC, more like an artwork. So I searched around and couldn't find a case that would be compact, had space for multiple HDDs with easy access and was affordable. All those Synology systems are hideous and cases like the recentl launched Jonsbo N1 didn't exist (which I would have bought instantly).

So I thought why not design and build my own one. I drafted everthing in Solidworks at work and bought some lasercut parts. Then some drilling, bending, sanding, soldering and fingerbending later it was done:

It could fit 8x 3.5" HDDs with a quick swap system, a mATX board, and an TFX PSU within a total size of 480 x 285 x 125 mm³ (~17 L)

It looks quite stylish imo, with matte sanded aluminium and brass srews. Here are some pics:



Let me know if anyone want to have the CAD data.