Introduction and asking for design advice

Hi all,

Long time lurker coming out of the depths.

I'm not sure if I'm in the right section here, so please move the thread if needed.

Living in Germany, i'm working as a Unity developer. Travelling my fair amount, it would be great to have small case for my workstation.

So i thought heck, it can't be too hard to make my own.

My requirements:
- sturdy / rugged for travelling
- cost-effective / cheap to make, as my budget is quite limited
- no need for mainboard IO panel or additional USB (I'm planning to have all IO to one side anyway)
- no need for HDD/SSD space, I'm planning to use only one NVME drive
- space for a Full length GPU
- SFX PSU
- simple to assemble, i'm not so good with DIY ;)
- good airflow

The plan so far is laser cut 1,5 mm steel and have it bent. Then use PEMserts for holding it all together. See attached pictures for the current design.
It consists of 3 main parts, the spine and a cover for each side. The covers are the same part, two times, to keep costs low. For build assembly it should be easy to add a cover on one side to then put hardware to the other and vice versa. Optionally a fourth part would be the carry handle, wich would also function as protecting cover while travelling ( sliding the handle inwards to the next hole and fasten there).

I'm planning to use the case IO facing upwards, "trashcan" style.
However, i want to have the option to put it on any other side as well, except the IO side.

Notes with the pictures:
- handle will be shorter ( 2 holes only ) so it can be used for protection while transport
- current screws are too high, i want shorter ones so that these sides are flat
- there's no hole right now for routing power to the GPU, but it will be below the PSU, right where the power cables come out of the PSU


Now i have a few questions about my design:

1. Is it necessary for stability to fix the riser cable on the GPU side to the spine? Or is it considered stable enough for the GPU to be locked in only in the PCI cutout? I'm asking because that complicates things quite a bit when using different riser cables, as they all have different holes.
2. Regarding steel bending. Are there any obvious problematic bends in my design?
3. See the PCI cutout for holding the GPU. Do you guys think this can work? See the detail picture.
4. Can someone recommend a good shop in Germany to do the lasercutting and bending? The rest i think i can manage doing it myself.

Happy about any input or feedback. I really enjoyed the process so far.