Concept 10.9L ATX, 17.3L EATX, dual 240mm radiator...
- Thread starter SeñorDonut
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Yeah, something like that, as I rarely use an optical drive these days. A usb external drive is far more practical.
Update time! So I figured out how to mount the keystones, unfortunately right now it's just a 3D printed bracket so it'll look a little unsightly (everything looks pretty bad in these renderings because that's just the nature of SketchUp) and I'm not sure what I'll do about the ones on the front. Also, unfortunately with this mounting mechanism, each version has one less rear keystone - so the smallest one will have no rear keystones but I imagine if you used a motherboard with its own DC jack you could swap out the C14 bracket for one with a keystone mount if you wanted.
Now for the good stuff. I figured out how to install a low profile card in the bottom slot if a Micro ATX or smaller motherboard is used. Now you can have for example a 1080 mini, TR 1950X with 240mm rad, Hyper M.2 card, and a 10Gb Ethernet card.
Also, instead of casting it, which I decided was probably too complicated, it will now be made from panels that fasten together on the inside. I'm just gonna hope that it still looks like one piece. I also designed it in a way that it now has side bezels too, meaning you can have ventilation on the side - more SkySlots! Speaking of SkySlots, I guess I should @ the man himself... @Josh | NFC is there a licensing fee or anything like that to use SkySlots on this?
Looking good
Reminds me of my project that I haven't been able to work on in a while... One of these days...
I'm super glad Josh is open to working with people to use his SkySlot design so I'll be interested in seeing what he says
Perhaps I should just go for a somewhat industrial look and leave screws out in the open. This way I could make it in a shorter amount of time, replacing the original 5mm thick front and back panels and 11mm thick side panels (which would have been a royal pain to make) with 2mm thick panels on all sides and a bit of support. With this, the need for bezels is no more as users can just make an entire custom front panel with ease. I would be using a slightly modified version of Thehack's ModCorners to fasten it together because they're way better than anything I could have come up with.
So I would be able to make it cheaper and faster, but I would have to make it 3mm wider (90ml isn't really that big of a deal though) and it wouldn't look seamless as originally intended which may deter potential buyers. How should I solve this dilemma?
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What if I were to embed little magnets in the ModCorners and then slap these 3D printed doohickeys with rubber feet on the bottom on there (also with magnets)? Can't decide if this looks really good or really bad. Perhaps a metal version would look better even though it would make the case more expensive?
EDIT: Nah, I think maybe the black accents would look pretty good
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Anyone know of a 3 prong AC connector that can fit in that red box? 10mm tall * 90mm wide * any depth
Otherwise the only way to keep the smallest one in existence would be with a pseudo pigtail cable or an inlet on a different panel, both of which are pretty dumb imo, or to increase the size which is even dumber because the medium is only 31mm taller (I increased the height of the small so that it can fit a standard IO shield and 47mm cooler like Cryorig C7)
Maybe I should just not offer this at launch? The only use case I could see for this would be a router or an HTPC but those use cases would probably be better suited to a medium or an S4 Mini.
Unfortunately, even that's too big, though only by 2mm so I might be able to fit it somewhere else. However, it's not grounded and I'd prefer to have a grounded connector if it's going to have a Flex ATX power supply.
I could restrict it to HDPlex/G-Unique and the like, but then it would fail at its main purpose (to provide the cheapest and smallest possible solution without sacrificing quality). If Flex ATX support goes, the total cost for the end user immediately jumps up by $100.
Ok, I think I'm just gonna kill the smallest one for now, a user looking for a cheap solution would most likely be fine with a jump from ~7 to ~10L. This will leave us with two sizes - regular at 341 x 322 x 94mm W*D*H and ~10.3L volume (picture 1), and large at 341 x 322 x 150mm and ~16.5L volume (picture 2), both sizes stated without the screw hider/feet thingamajigs since not everyone's using them. Now I know that 16.5L sounds like a lot, but consider that the large can fit an ATX motherboard, ATX power supply, and two 240mm radiators if you plan carefully. The regular can still handle one 240mm radiator, and while you could use it with an ATX or Micro ATX board, there will be clearance issues you wouldn't encounter with ITX. While it can't handle an ATX power supply, there's still plenty of room for SFX but with the same considerations as (Micro)ATX. You could also use Flex ATX.
3rd picture is a comparison between regular and Node 202 for fun.
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Inspired by the Lazer3D HT5. Didn't do too good a job staying away from glue on this one ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This revision is designed to have the only externally visible screws on the back, but in a way that should have negligible impact on difficulty of assembly. The size has changed slightly, this is the XL one standing at 340x340x150mm (17.34L) and now has EATX support. I have not yet modeled the regular size, but it will most likely remain 94mm tall and be about 325mm deep.
I'm hoping the change of materials in this revision will bring the cost down too. One benefit I didn't expect is that now in this revision keystone mounting will look much better. Instead of a giant unsightly 3D printed rectangle on the front, the only thing you see is the keystones.
Bring on the constructive criticism!
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Smaller one as promised. 340x320x100mm, 10.88L. The shorter depth means it's no longer compatible with EATX, and the shorter height means it can no longer fit an ATX power supply, but the added 6mm means a Flex ATX can mount directly to the back panel. You'll notice I removed the optical drive for this one, but it can still fit. That acrylic panel will most likely be removable and come in two variants, one with no holes and one with support for a slot load optical drive. As of now, there's no way to mount one on the bottom because the motherboard tray is in the way, and I'm not sure adding additional complexity is worth it because it would only fit with an ITX board. Personally, I'd be happy with just one optical drive and just stick a card reader like this in the empty space.
I liked the smaller version better i guess, but I think sticking to 3 slots would be better?
I'm not sure you would have the space to properly mount 2 gpus like this, but I know there are people who likes to split the pci lanes in this mini itx format. having a regular single slot + 2 slot gpu could be something to look for, or even a 3 slot card?
I would move the drives away from the cpu cooler, as you have space for that, and Limiting psu types and gpu length could make your case a little less customizable, but maybe a litte smaller as well?
I think there are times when its better to restrict. also I like the idea of the dvd/bluray drive. I couldn't fit one in my case and just gave up on the idea.
I'm not sure you would have the space to properly mount 2 gpus like this, but I know there are people who likes to split the pci lanes in this mini itx format. having a regular single slot + 2 slot gpu could be something to look for, or even a 3 slot card?
I would move the drives away from the cpu cooler, as you have space for that, and Limiting psu types and gpu length could make your case a little less customizable, but maybe a litte smaller as well?
I think there are times when its better to restrict. also I like the idea of the dvd/bluray drive. I couldn't fit one in my case and just gave up on the idea.
Using a bifurcated ITX board in the small, you can fit 2 GPUs, but the upper one will have trouble breathing. Assuming a horizontal mount, the lower one will also have trouble, but that can be alleviated by using taller feet or using the case in a vertical position. You could also turn to watercooling, there's room for that. I could make it 3 slots only, but at that point it has little to no advantage over an S4 Mini or similar. I don't want to make anything too close to existing products.
As far as drive mounting goes, in the final product you'll be able to mount them wherever you like. I understand that restrictions can be good, and I kept that in mind, that's one of the main reasons the small has 20mm less depth than the large - that's all it needs.
I feel like I've been coming across as condescending in these replies, but I genuinely appreciate any and all input on this project.
I see
I guess I didn't quite understand the current layout?
after I gave a better look at the internals, it look better, venting griil and all.
I liked the rail system, now I understand the 'mount anywhere' approach, quite nice.
do you have the compatibility list updated? it may help getting to understand the project a little better
also you mentioned material changes, what are you planning?
Yeah, I was afraid I wasn't giving enough detail.
Thanks! I'm really proud of it
I have not yet built a full compatibility list as the design is not finalized. Once it is though, I'll have a pretty extensive compatibility list and may even see if I can write a Java application to aid in component choosing.
As far as materials go, the rear panel and motherboard tray are still 2mm thick aluminum. The front panel is 5mm thick wood, and the top and bottom panels are 2mm thick acrylic. The side panels are fashioned from two 2mm thick acrylic panels, so they're 4mm thick in most places except for where the black panel is cut away so that you can see through the transparent panel. None of this is finalized though, primary concern is I may have to thicken the top and bottom panels.
Here's a comparison for fun! From left to right:
- NFC S4 Mini Classic (4.5L)
- NFC Skyreach 4 Mini (4.6L)
- Fractal Design Node 202 (10.4L)
- Concept (small, 10.9L)
- Ncase M1 (12.6L)
- Concept (large, 17.3L)
- Kimera Industries Cerberus (18.2L)
- Kimera Industries Cerberus X (19.5L)
- Bitfenix Prodigy (36.3L)
- Corsair Obsidian 800D (84.9L)
Looks like the only 5mm wood panel I can get is poplar, would that be strong enough? I don't know too much about wood, but I do know oak is supposed to be much stronger. If I went with oak though, I'd have to shave roughly 0.5mm off the entire thing...
