Production Lazer3D LZ7 - Quiet Gaming Cube PC Case
- Thread starter K888D
- Start date
Would it be impossible, while staying under 7L, to add colour accents via "underplates" similar to how Parvum System does it with their cases?
If there was enough interest and you got your own laser cutter, I could see this as a nice way to customize the front plate with an accented design/logo.
This is most definitely possible, there is already a panel that sits behind the front panel that the HDD's are mounted onto, so technically this HDD panel could be cut from a different coloured sheet, the front panel could then as you say have a design cut into it to reveal the HD panel, here are some examples:
The cutouts will provide some extra ventilation as there is a 2mm gap between the front panel and HD panel:
I've had the case top and front off and back on again a good 10 times now, the screws are still holding strong and don't feel like they've lost any strength yet. The important thing is not to over-tighten the screws and the threads will remain strong.
Yes there are some vents near the front to encourage air to flow accross the front mounted 2.5" drives, there are also vents in the middle of the motherboard which hopefully with the positive pressure will push air under the motherboard to escape through these vents and cool an M.2 Drive. I will need to carry out some testing to verify if these vents make any difference, by testing with and without the underside vents covered.
Does anybody know what software to use to stress an M.2 Drive? and also what software will tell me the M.2 temperature? I have a Samsung PM951.
This is most definitely possible, there is already a panel that sits behind the front panel that the HDD's are mounted onto, so technically this HDD panel could be cut from a different coloured sheet, the front panel could then as you say have a design cut into it to reveal the HD panel, here are some examples:
The cutouts will provide some extra ventilation as there is a 2mm gap between the front panel and HD panel:
I've had the case top and front off and back on again a good 10 times now, the screws are still holding strong and don't feel like they've lost any strength yet. The important thing is not to over-tighten the screws and the threads will remain strong.
That red logo makes me think of the DOTA2 logo. Getting even a single member of a professional team showing off an LZ7 with custom logo would likely do wonders for exposure.
I've uploaded the latest design files to i.materialise, but unfortunately their prices are allot higher than Shapeways, i.mat are coming in at around 35% more expensive for a 1 off across all 4 parts, that gap reduces to 10% more expensive if you order 20 of each part.
But the gap increases even further once you start adding in finishing processes such as polishing and colouring, with i.mat being around 90% more expensive for a 1 off and around 50% more expensive if you order 20 sets.
Printing in steel triples the price, maybe its due to the size of the parts, steel printing may be cheaper for very small parts?
Having that customisable front will be a huge deal! You could offer a custom cut on the front for an additional fee. This case is going to sell like hot cakes, I'm starting to want one with my logo on the front
I would love to offer some kind of service like this, as you say customisation would be a major selling point. But this kind of business model would be reliant upon investing in a laser cutting machine of my own, this way I can control production in 1 off's for much lower prices and shorter timescales.
LASER CUTTING OPTIONS
I've been looking into the various options for laser cutting, if I base the business model around using external manufacturers for the laser cutting, based on the quotes I have received I think the price will likely end up rising a bit, the case will also be limited to a select few colour options.
But if I invest in a laser cutter I should be able to hit the price target comfortably, its just a much higher risk business model (for my own personal finances), if I only end up selling say 20 cases in total before interest dries up then I won't have recovered the investment by a long way.
If I do decide to invest in a laser cutter, there is then the decision of what level of machine to buy. I've had a look into the options, there are either Chinese imported machines at very reasonable prices, or local sourced branded machines at around 3 - 4 times the price. Nothing seems to exist in between!
CHINESE IMPORTED MACHINE
Purchasing a Chinese import has many positives and negatives. The outlay is very minimal to the point where if these cases are not a success I won't have lost much money, so the risk is low, I reckon I would need to sell around 30 - 40 cases to recover the cost. Laser cutting quality is said to be good, but machine reliability is reported as a mixed bag depending on whether you get a good machine or not. As its an import you most likely don't have a great warranty to back your machine up. But one major positive is the massive difference in price to a UK sourced branded model is enough to buy a crap load of replacement parts many times over if anything ever does go wrong.
LOCAL SOURCED BRANDED MACHINE
Purchasing a local branded machine would mean I would need to sell in the region of 150 - 200 cases before the cost was recovered, this is a massive risk. But it would be a long term investment and I would look to find other ways to try and recover its cost. The other major benefit of sourcing from a local company is the support and warranty. I've found a company that provides training, support and replacement parts. The machine itself will also be of higher quality and less likely to break down, less maintenance, less faffing, less stress.
This decision needs some serious thought. I'm looking to get a small run of 10 cases made by an laser cutting company for the LZ7 v0.2 within the next few weeks, if those cases go down well then maybe it will convince me to invest in a laser cutter!
That would be great, its just finding a way of doing it!
I am very new to the whole online community thing and I'm probably only scratching the surface with whats possible for getting exposure for this product. At the moment the LZ7 is only being displayed on this forum and also a 'work in progress' website HERE.
That may be a case for doing an IndieGoGo campaign or something.
Make sure you are charging enough to fund third party manufacture as the fallback, but if you hit your target (and properly calculate it), then you can get the printer and should already have the MOQ required for the return on investment.
Make sure you are charging enough to fund third party manufacture as the fallback, but if you hit your target (and properly calculate it), then you can get the printer and should already have the MOQ required for the return on investment.
Remember that time is money! As you have to operate the machine, you'll have less time to deal with R&D, your website, customer support and all that stuff that you already have to do! Always, always include your own labour in the cost calculations! Just because you do it yourself, doesn't mean that cost is suddenly gone.
Why not make an interest check? I did that for the FSP500 and it was extremely helpful! A lot of potentially interested people are lurking on threads and don't reply or even have an account in the first place. Put up a short google form where people can just check in to say whether they buy one or not, whether they want a customised front, a few things like that. Then see how many people answer the form.
Doing a crowdfunding campaign wouldn't be a bad idea either.
Also holy crap, you've already got a website set up, nice work on that.
Thank you for the suggestion, I've created a spreadsheet for people to register their interest HERE.
The price for 1 prototype is £150, the more people that register and pick the same colour combination the price will reduce as per the figures listed in the spreadsheet. If 20 people order the same colour combination the price will reduce to £105 per case + shipping, which would be nice!
That is a very nice spreadsheet, reminds me of mechanical keyboard group-buys. I'll be signing up, be sure of that, even if the price is very steep right now.
I really want an orange, black and white colour scheme, but I have no idea which components should get which colour.
I really want an orange, black and white colour scheme, but I have no idea which components should get which colour.
Registered..
But for me, as we discussed, I would go for lz12 (or even a little higher) to be able to fit a massive, tall GPU (triple slot, etc..)
You might want to start a thread over at [H]ardforum, OCN, and other select PC enthusiast websites to gain exposure and support. Especially [H]ardForum given the exposure and success of NCase over there. You might pick up a few people for the v0.2 prototype.
K888D, out of curiousity what part of the world are you in? Looking at the price in pounds, I'm assuming it's the UK? If so I was thinking you might want to contact Parvum Systems about possibly partnering for some of your manufacturing. They are based out of Essex and do a lot of beautiful work making larger cases.
Just a quick question:
What's the distance between the GPU and the side panel?
You seem to be getting good temperatures for your card
The gap is 3 - 5mm, it depends on which Graphics card you are using as they are all slightly different. I have posted a reply in more depth on your Wooden ITX case thread.
Yes I'm located in the UK, but up north. I think Parvum machine their panels rather than laser cut, so I'm not sure whether the smaller details would work with the manufacturing process. I also don't want to tread on their toes!
Similar threads
