I like this pattern a lot.How about this pattern...
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Production Lazer3D LZ7 - Quiet Gaming Cube PC Case
- Thread starter K888D
- Start date
It's perspective
USB cable will plug just fine, an oversized USB drive might not thou.
Yup, as I only use a sata M.2 I can't feel the difference in speed, so in reality it's pretty fine
My only gripe right now, with the new mounting point the radiator is not centered on the side panel. But that's really minor and nitpicky.
BTW, OC3D actually test the silverstone TD03-slim with overclocked 7700k.
https://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/kaby_lake_7700k_5ghz_aio_cooler_mega_test/3
So, it's possible guys
Thanks for the info, that could be a possibility. Can you cast in real plastic though? M you understanding was that you cast a resin that sets? When I tried the corner pieces out with a resin style 3D printing method they were brittle and the screws did not bite into the material enough, it just broke down.
I can tell you that the orange panel looks so much better once it's assembled onto the case. I will see what I can do try and get some pictures on tonight.
Decisions decisions!
I think one of the key aspects that is appealing about the LZ7 is that everyone has a different opinion on colours and style, customisation is its biggest draw, but also my biggest headache!
I'm thinking that perhaps I just need to offer the base kit that gives you all the essentials and the main panels, you then go and purchase the customisable parts at the source of where they are made. This will increase the price a little, but the customisation will be unlimited with dozens of materials to pick from including different types of wood and all different types of vent designs that suit your preference. The bonus for me is that I don't have to risk bulk buying certain designs that may not sell.
You can get thermoset resins with all sorts of properties, and you can also add fillers (e.g. glass fibre or glass beads) for additional strength and/or impact resistance. Epoxy resins in general are stronger than UV-cured resins as used in 3D printers (and particularly when cast in bulk rather than cured in thin layers).
After a hard days work yesterday spent setting up, taking and editing photos, I present to you the latest LZ7 case design (work in progress):
One of the biggest pieces of feedback I received from the First Edition was the request for matte side and rear panels instead of the polished smoked transparent panels originally supplied. The original side panel does not have much of the panel surface itself exposed, most people opted for dust filters and the Full IO panel which takes up most of the panel. This got me thinking, the best way to show off matte panels would be to simplify their design and use integrated vents instead of dust filters or fan guards.
Some people will still prefer to go the dust filter or fan guard route, that option should still be available to pick from. These new designs are intended as alternative panel designs that you can choose from to customise the case to your own preference and setup.
The first new design is what I have called the ‘Aero’ vent, this is a series of hex holes giving a really nice aesthetic especially when combined with the matte black and laser etched white text:
The second new vent design is what I have called the ‘Cyclone’ vent. Although the design of this vent is not to everyone's taste, it has a very functional purpose to reduce fan noise and maximise airflow as close to a fan guard as possible: (If you want to read in more detail about this vent design, click the spoiler below)
Before I get started with all the photos, I did some testing on how each vent type performs in terms of airflow and noise. There is a significant difference between them, it is worth noting that the Wind Speed Meter cannot read below 1.4km/h, this is why some configurations show an airflow reading of zero even though some air could still be felt blowing out of the fan.
The noise and airflow were measured at a distance of 5cm from the fan with the fan set to 80% power, here are the results:
Diagonal slots were the loudest vent design closely followed by the Aero Vent pattern. The fan guard, dust filter and the Cyclone vents were the quietest with similar results not much above what was measured in an open vent configuration. In terms of airflow the Aero vents performed the worst resulting in a only a light breeze of air that the meter could not detect. The fan guard performed the best giving the most airflow by quite a margin, the Cyclone vents put in a good performance with strong airflow also.
You may prefer the look of the Aero vents, but if you are looking for maximum performance with a high end CPU then you would be better off with an open panel and fan guard or the Cyclone vents. If however you are set on the Aero vents then I would advise you reverse the fan and use the Aero panel in an exhaust setup, this greatly reduced the noise levels, but you will likely see slightly higher system and CPU temps in this arrangement.
Back onto the photos, first up here are some more angles of the standard black case with matte black side and rear panels:
As I was getting multiple side panel vent designs made for testing, I wanted to use it as an opportunity to explore some alternative colours for the panels themselves. There are a range of ‘frosted’ acrylic materials available with matte a surface finish, the downside is that they are translucent, whether this is a negative is personal preference I guess. These panels feel really nice, they have a very premium feel to them.
Remember, any vent design can be used with any panel colour if you don’t like the Cyclone vent design. First up is Mandarin Orange side panels, shown on a black LZ7 with black corner joints:
Here is the case powered on, you can see the Power and blinking HDD activity light shining through the panel:
Taking it a step further, here are the Mandarin orange panels shown with Orange corners and the addition of a Mandarin orange rear panel in an empty case:
Next up are the Azure blue panels with an open vent and fan guard, shown here on a black LZ7 with black corners. The Blue was not as vivid as I was expecting, its more of a faded toned down blue, but I actually quite like it:
Finally, here is what the Azure blue panels look like on a White LZ7 with blue corners, the Power LED lights up nicely through the side panel which looks especially good with this Blue LED fan:
I didn't get chance to build up a White LZ7 with the orange Mandarin panels and corner joints, maybe next time.
Let me know what you think and if you have any feedback, comments or questions.
One of the biggest pieces of feedback I received from the First Edition was the request for matte side and rear panels instead of the polished smoked transparent panels originally supplied. The original side panel does not have much of the panel surface itself exposed, most people opted for dust filters and the Full IO panel which takes up most of the panel. This got me thinking, the best way to show off matte panels would be to simplify their design and use integrated vents instead of dust filters or fan guards.
Some people will still prefer to go the dust filter or fan guard route, that option should still be available to pick from. These new designs are intended as alternative panel designs that you can choose from to customise the case to your own preference and setup.
The first new design is what I have called the ‘Aero’ vent, this is a series of hex holes giving a really nice aesthetic especially when combined with the matte black and laser etched white text:
The second new vent design is what I have called the ‘Cyclone’ vent. Although the design of this vent is not to everyone's taste, it has a very functional purpose to reduce fan noise and maximise airflow as close to a fan guard as possible: (If you want to read in more detail about this vent design, click the spoiler below)
Fans work best in free air with a large run up on the intake side, it is very easy to disrupt this flow and reduce performance. When a fan pulls air through a vent it can create quite a bit of noise as well as restrict the airflow, some patterns are noisier and more restrictive than others. Whereas some vent styles such as dust filters can be very restrictive yet extremely quiet.
I spent a bit of time trying to look into what causes these differences, here is what I think is happening:
As air is pulled toward the fan it passes through the vent and the air is compressed into a stream that takes the shape of the vent slot/hole/opening/perforation, this creates a series of moving air streams as well as dead zone pockets behind the covered areas. So imagine that as the fan blade is moving round it is hitting each one of these individual streams of air head on, each time it breaks through an air stream it generates noise with every impact, like a mini slap.
Another way to look at it: think of the fan blade like a wave of water, when it strikes a solid object it creates a splash, depending on the shape of this solid object will determine how much of a splash is created or whether the wave is simply deflected and flows around it smoothly, like the bow of a boat.
The theory is that if you can remove flat edges of air that the fan blades hit head on (parallel), and instead design the vent openings at shallow angles to the direction of fan blade movement so the edge of the fan blade never passes by a vent edge in parallel to the fan blade, the shallower the angle the better. In other words create a series of ‘boat hull’ style slots that the fan blade cuts through gently, rather than crashing into flat surfaces created by slot arrangements or columns of air created by holes.
This resulted in an organic shape I have called the Cyclone Vent, the noise and airflow results are very promising, with the closest values to an open air or fan guard I have tested from a solid vent style setup.
I spent a bit of time trying to look into what causes these differences, here is what I think is happening:
As air is pulled toward the fan it passes through the vent and the air is compressed into a stream that takes the shape of the vent slot/hole/opening/perforation, this creates a series of moving air streams as well as dead zone pockets behind the covered areas. So imagine that as the fan blade is moving round it is hitting each one of these individual streams of air head on, each time it breaks through an air stream it generates noise with every impact, like a mini slap.
Another way to look at it: think of the fan blade like a wave of water, when it strikes a solid object it creates a splash, depending on the shape of this solid object will determine how much of a splash is created or whether the wave is simply deflected and flows around it smoothly, like the bow of a boat.
The theory is that if you can remove flat edges of air that the fan blades hit head on (parallel), and instead design the vent openings at shallow angles to the direction of fan blade movement so the edge of the fan blade never passes by a vent edge in parallel to the fan blade, the shallower the angle the better. In other words create a series of ‘boat hull’ style slots that the fan blade cuts through gently, rather than crashing into flat surfaces created by slot arrangements or columns of air created by holes.
This resulted in an organic shape I have called the Cyclone Vent, the noise and airflow results are very promising, with the closest values to an open air or fan guard I have tested from a solid vent style setup.
Before I get started with all the photos, I did some testing on how each vent type performs in terms of airflow and noise. There is a significant difference between them, it is worth noting that the Wind Speed Meter cannot read below 1.4km/h, this is why some configurations show an airflow reading of zero even though some air could still be felt blowing out of the fan.
The noise and airflow were measured at a distance of 5cm from the fan with the fan set to 80% power, here are the results:
Diagonal slots were the loudest vent design closely followed by the Aero Vent pattern. The fan guard, dust filter and the Cyclone vents were the quietest with similar results not much above what was measured in an open vent configuration. In terms of airflow the Aero vents performed the worst resulting in a only a light breeze of air that the meter could not detect. The fan guard performed the best giving the most airflow by quite a margin, the Cyclone vents put in a good performance with strong airflow also.
You may prefer the look of the Aero vents, but if you are looking for maximum performance with a high end CPU then you would be better off with an open panel and fan guard or the Cyclone vents. If however you are set on the Aero vents then I would advise you reverse the fan and use the Aero panel in an exhaust setup, this greatly reduced the noise levels, but you will likely see slightly higher system and CPU temps in this arrangement.
Back onto the photos, first up here are some more angles of the standard black case with matte black side and rear panels:
As I was getting multiple side panel vent designs made for testing, I wanted to use it as an opportunity to explore some alternative colours for the panels themselves. There are a range of ‘frosted’ acrylic materials available with matte a surface finish, the downside is that they are translucent, whether this is a negative is personal preference I guess. These panels feel really nice, they have a very premium feel to them.
Remember, any vent design can be used with any panel colour if you don’t like the Cyclone vent design. First up is Mandarin Orange side panels, shown on a black LZ7 with black corner joints:
Taking it a step further, here are the Mandarin orange panels shown with Orange corners and the addition of a Mandarin orange rear panel in an empty case:
I didn't get chance to build up a White LZ7 with the orange Mandarin panels and corner joints, maybe next time.
Let me know what you think and if you have any feedback, comments or questions.
The matte black side panels look great! I really like the looks of the new vent patterns too.
Those look amazing, the colored and matte panels really make these shine, figuratively !
That looks really nice! Not a fan of the new matte-transparent colours, but in all black, the new side-panel design looks way less cheap than I initially thought. I hope the branding stuff is only preliminary or can at least be removed as an option. While I think the names Aero and Cyclone are well chosen, I dislike the prominent placement of them, though I understand that you want to keep them in promotional shots.
You've switched to a different side-panel model, didn't you? Can you disclose where it is coming from? Also, am I correct assuming that there is no reset switch available anymore? Not that I ever used it in the past five years or so
I'm not decided on that yet, I don't really want another option to choose from as that will double them! I like them personally, but I appreciate that they may not be to everyones taste, I guess I need some more feedback on the text!
Are you referring to the PCB with the power buttons and the USB ports? If so its not changed, it's the same model.
Yes that's correct, just the power button now. The reset button is recessed a lot further than the power button making it difficult to get the panel to bend that far.
I've gone through the whole thread over the last week and first of all I'd like to congratulate you on doing a great job designing and producing such a wonderful case and also keeping the thread up to date on all the testing and new developments. This thread was a great influencer on me really wanting to make a build in this case, I tend to take my time and carefully consider my purchases and it gives me great confidence in a product to see the effort that's gone in to it.
I also quite like the new panel options and material especially the orange cyclone. Actually I'd like to see a bit more translucent option for the hdd-panel, I'm planning to go all M2 and it'd be cool to see inside through the side wall too. And with all these new options, I hope you'll also offer the panel sets separately, there's so many great options I'd have to get more than one.
Keep up the great work and get those new cases out, can't wait to get one.
I also quite like the new panel options and material especially the orange cyclone. Actually I'd like to see a bit more translucent option for the hdd-panel, I'm planning to go all M2 and it'd be cool to see inside through the side wall too. And with all these new options, I hope you'll also offer the panel sets separately, there's so many great options I'd have to get more than one.
Keep up the great work and get those new cases out, can't wait to get one.
Ah, I thought it was different because it seems to be mounted on different points now. I can only see one screw to the side of the I/O instead of two above and below like it was with the 3D-printed mounting.
Maybe only engrave the outline to make them stick out a little less?
Those new designs look really good!
It's a shame that the aero do not perform so well compared to other, it look really really good.
For the power button, is it possible to put a sticker between the side panel and the LED?
I think with simple sticker it might be possible to achieve The glowing power button effect for cheap,and the buyer can choose to use it or not.
The next thing you know, K888D might make all clear case for those that got hit by RGB fever
It's a shame that the aero do not perform so well compared to other, it look really really good
.For the power button, is it possible to put a sticker between the side panel and the LED?
I think with simple sticker it might be possible to achieve The glowing power button effect for cheap,and the buyer can choose to use it or not.
The next thing you know, K888D might make all clear case for those that got hit by RGB fever
Wow thank you for the kind words, that's quite a task to read through this whole thread!
I am not fully sure what you mean? Are you talking about making the side panels more translucent so that you can see into the case through the side panel? Like a clear panel but with a slight colour tint?
The HDD panel is a separate panel that sits inside the case, it is optional whether you fit it or not if you don't need to mount any 2.5" drives.
Yeah I'm using a slightly different way of securing the PCB to the side panel, but I'm not 100% happy with it so I will likely be adding another screw for extra security.
OK I will see what I can do with photoshop and post some different options.
I wouldn't go that far, but thank you very much, appreciate the support! I don't get chance to do as much design work in my day job as I used to, so this project is filling a void for me!
The parts are made by Shapeways, I am hoping to set it up so that you can buy spare corner parts or different colours with custom text, accessories, etc.
Those new designs look really good!
It's a shame that the aero do not perform so well compared to other, it look really really good
I know, very annoying! The Aero vent still lets air through, it was surprising just how much of a reduction in airflow you see through perforated holes compared to other vent styles.
Interesting, definitely something to think about.
I was actually meant to put some kind of power symbol laser etched into the button area, but I forgot before I ordered the samples, doh.
But it seems quite a few people aren't keen on white contrast from the laser etching, I think I need to play around a bit with some different ideas.
More revisions and samples though means more time to get the design finished and released!
The next thing you know, K888D might make all clear case for those that got hit by RGB fever
I am indeed hoping to make the panels available to order separately, but through which platform and method I am not sure yet. There are a few hubs around the world for making panels to order which you can open a mini store on, they handle the manufacture and shipping, but the difficulty is each one has different materials available (matte materials specifically) and they charge high shipping costs if you want to ship to the other side of the world.
I estimate the cost for a set of the 3mm panels (GPU Side, Power Panel, Rear Panel) to be in the region of $35 + shipping. I know this is steep, but it will include many different panel colours (including completely clear if that's what your into!) and even different materials to choose from, including 3mm woods with a variety of finishes.
The same can be done for the 5mm panels (Front, Base and Top) which I estimate to be in the region of $45 + shipping. Again a range of Acrylic colours and materials are available including some woods, but unfortunately matte Acrylic is not available in 5mm from these hubs.
One idea I am playing with is to offer a bare bones kit which includes all the essentials, you would then go to the laser cutting storefront and order your preferred panel design and material. So if you wanted for example wood panels with the Cyclone vent you wouldn't need to order a full case + buy wood panels on top of that. Just buy the Bare Bones Kit + custom panels. The price will likely be a bit higher going this route, but you get exactly what you want.
The long term plan is to invest in a good laser cutting machine, this won't necessarily reduce the price of the case as it will be more labour intensive for me and the cost of the machine will also need to be recovered. But what it will allow is unlimited customisation for every case with different colour combinations and vent designs, etc from a single point of shipping. To achieve this I would only need to hold stock of the raw sheet materials rather than finished laser cut panels which is risky if they don't sell. That is the long term goal, something I want to start looking into near the end of this year, maybe.
I'm rambling again.
Yeah, I meant there being an option for side panel to be the same translucent or transparent material as the front and gpu panels. I'm thinking there's a way to do a really clean build by making custom length wires for the psu and it'd be nice to show it off. Obviously it further complicates the amount of different panel and colour combinations, but it seems you have some ideas brewing for that one. As a customer I'd obviously prefer to buy the exact panels I want but imo the prices you quote for the panel sets seem completely acceptable, too.
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