Lone Industries L3: Plain and Simple

[Lone]

Well, this thread is a little late with the L3 already produced and sold out.

I wanted to start this thread for existing and future L3 users. The L3 is the first case that I've produced which I would consider producing more of without any changes (or with very minor tweaks only).

I am open to feedback/change requests, and would especially love to hear from those who purchased an L3. I'm also open to colour requests. Black always seems to sell best, but the other colours are fun to do and look great also.

Current issues to look at:

1. Side panel anodize racking improvements (done)
2. HDPLEX support: Stick with current partial support, supply an optional bracket, or make standard feature. (done)
3. Dual expansion slots: The Gigabyte GV-N75TOC-2GL GTX 750 Ti Low Profile video card has a one-piece dual slot bracket, with a DVI port in the second slot that is soldered directly to the PCB. (TBD)

Thank you for the support I've received up until now.

 

[jeshikat]

Yay! I've been wondering when you'd get around to making a thread for your designs over here

The selection of low-profile gaming cards is small enough as it is so accommodating oddballs like that Gigabyte seems like a good idea if the case doesn't require much modification.

 

[iFreilicht]

The L3 really seems to be the only one of its kind, it's a beautiful and simplistic case. I'm with aibo on the topic of enabling the use of the GV-N75TOC-2GL, especially because some users might value the high number of displays you can connect to it.
The problem is that I don't really see a way of doing this that's not tailored to just this card except for making the L3 dual slot entirely, and I don't know whether that's possible.

 

[Vittra]

Glad you finally decided to post here. Welcome! I didn't end up with an L3 after the L1 sale as I've steered away from having an HTPC for the time being - in fact both my HTPC and main rig are now gone, with my Xeon rig covering all needs for the time being.

The L2 was the dual slot low profile version of the L1. The L3 essentially reorganizes the case - it removes the top 80mm intake fans and pushes everything up in order to accommodate a low profile dual slot (but single pci-bracket) card. It also introduces ventilation on the side panel to allow top down cpu coolers to bring in air.

Going to a low profile dual slot solution may be the most ideal, but the case will get larger. It should probably be named the L4 at that point as well, if only due to the logic that has dictated the current naming scheme.

 

[Phuncz]

A very nice case and I agree on the LP dual slot support being a very interesting change if it doesn't affect the case design too much.
Maybe with mDTX support it could also mean dual tuner cards, PCIe SSD and WiFi, dual quad-port network cards, dual GPUs for >6 screens or any combination of these.

 

[confusis]

As long as any modification means it can take a 210mm long board, I'd like one

 

[Lone]

Thank you for the feedback!

It definitely would be nice to be able to support the GV-N75TOC-2GL. If I had realized the DVI port on that card was fixed to the PCB, I may have reconsidered including only a single slot on the L3.

To add support I'd have to move the flanges/screws located on the backside, back to the bottom like on the L1/L2. Kinda hate to do that since I moved them to the backside on the L3 for a cleaner bottom.

Another option is to wait and see what Gigabyte does for their next model, if and when that happens. I would be surprised if they continued using the same dual slot only design. I should probably also email them, though not sure that'll get me past customer service.

 

[Lone]

As long as any modification means it can take a 210mm long board, I'd like one

What 210 mm long board are you wanting to use? This may be do-able.

 

[confusis]

ECS A960M-MV

 

[Lone]

ECS A960M-MV

Oh, sorry I thought you were referring to a long expansion card. Okay, I get it now... you want a MicroATX case! Haha

 

[confusis]

Well not quite.. M-ATX is 244mm long (high), M-DTX is 203mm long (high).. my board is 210mm

 

[iFreilicht]

And mATX is is 244mm deep, while mDTX has the same depth as mITX of 170mm.
The dimension you're talking about is called width, btw. Imagine an old desktop computer where the MB is lying flat on the ground, that's where the nomenclature comes from.

 

[confusis]

Ah, thankyou for clearing that up. 210mm(W)*180mm(H) is the official dimensions I'm working with

 

[Lone]

Anyone noticed that some of the dimensions (okay only the height) of the Dan A4 are smaller than the L3? Makes me want to shrink the L3!

 

[iFreilicht]

Anyone noticed that some of the dimensions (okay only the height) of the Dan A4 are smaller than the L3? Makes me want to shrink the L3!

Well he doesn't have to add height to fit dual slot cards like you do. You could get the same height if you were to make a true single slot L1 Rev 2, but that would make dedicated GPUs impossible without swapping coolers.

Don't be so harsh on yourself, I envy the Dan with the A4-SFX and its exposure as well. I go to the greatest lengths with my design to shave off another 2.2L of his volume but have to make great compromises to do so.
You can't always be smaller

 

[PlayfulPhoenix]

I go to the greatest lengths with my design to shave off another 2.2L of his volume but have to make great compromises to do so. You can't always be smaller

This is an important point. Minimizing volume is (of course) very important when creating SFF cases, but it isn't the end-all-be-all, and there are times where accepting a marginally larger case is the best choice. Most people (even SFF enthusiasts) would have a hard time noticing a 5% size increase, even as it could be the difference between supporting all sorts of hardware, and restricting people to a tiny few options.

Of course, when in doubt, just ask people. Comments and polls are great in terms of getting feedback and understanding where priorities lie, for those who are otherwise interested in your work.

 

[Lone]

Well he doesn't have to add height to fit dual slot cards like you do. You could get the same height if you were to make a true single slot L1 Rev 2, but that would make dedicated GPUs impossible without swapping coolers.

Don't be so harsh on yourself, I envy the Dan with the A4-SFX and its exposure as well. I go to the greatest lengths with my design to shave off another 2.2L of his volume but have to make great compromises to do so.
You can't always be smaller

Ya, that's not a path I'd like to go down. Having that extra room in the bottom of the L3 is really nice. I do have about 8-10 mm of extra clearance in the bottom I could remove. It would put more limitations on what cards would fit with an 80x25 mm fan though. But, the 80 mm fan support is really just there for those who didn't want to use the vented side panel (I sold an optional non-vented side panel). So, a little tempting.

This is an important point. Minimizing volume is (of course) very important when creating SFF cases, but it isn't the end-all-be-all, and there are times where accepting a marginally larger case is the best choice. Most people (even SFF enthusiasts) would have a hard time noticing a 5% size increase, even as it could be the difference between supporting all sorts of hardware, and restricting people to a tiny few options.

Of course, when in doubt, just ask people. Comments and polls are great in terms of getting feedback and understanding where priorities lie, for those who are otherwise interested in your work.

I totally agree. I want something easy to work in, and keep some clearance for things like wires, fingers, etc. Each of the four models I've made (two L1's) has been slightly different in size, and the place where I noticed the changes the most was working inside.

 

[Lone]

Quick update.

1. I have a new 2.5 inch drive bracket designed that will optionally allow mounting the HDPLEX 160W (or HDPLEX 250W with caveats).

2. Finally had a breakthrough with my anodizer in regards to racking my side panels without putting racking marks along the edges. This was a major hold up.

3. Considering changing vent cut outs from rectangles to obrounds (rectangles with round ends) maintaining the same offset/brick layout.

4. Dual slots is still up in the air. To make matters worse for Gigabyte GV-N75TOC-2GL (ie. less motivating for me) it's low profile bracket mounting tabs are designed incorrectly (uses the full height bracket design).

5. Just an idea at this point, but considering switching to M2 screws for mounting side panels instead of M3. Smaller size would be less obtrusive, but they may be too small.

 

[jeshikat]

Out of curiosity, what solution did you come up with for the anodizing?

I think M2 is too small for the side panels. It's very commonly used in laptops, so you could take just about any random laptop, remove one of the screws from the bottom, and see what an M2 screw looks like. They're pretty small.

 

[Lone]

Out of curiosity, what solution did you come up with for the anodizing?

I think M2 is too small for the side panels. It's very commonly used in laptops, so you could take just about any random laptop, remove one of the screws from the bottom, and see what an M2 screw looks like. They're pretty small.

Basically looking to use threaded rod attached to the side panels for racking. There's a few different ways to go about it, so just looking into which would work best. Very tempting to just go back to powder coating!

I still need to find some M2 screws, but I think you're right... a bit too small.