Completed Pluto: a 13L wood top tower by Artesian Builds

[SFFMunkee]

These look great, definitely a lot of choice for cooling etc in the revised design!
By the way, what software are you using to design / render the above images?

 

[Dynamite]

The riser cable mount has been made adjustable such that you can mount a single slot GPU with a waterblock closer to the side panel, freeing up more room for a thicker radiator or a push-pull setup. If using dual slot gpu the maximum radiator + fans stack thickness is 70mm (although recommend no more than 60 since otherwise the gpu can choke the bottom fan). This will allow you to use any radiator and pair it with the new 30mm thick fans. If using a single slot GPU moved closer to the side panel, the maximum radiator + fans stack thickness is ~90mm (thickess of the gpu backplate will make this a bit less). This allows for a push-pull config with 25mm thick fans and standard 30mm thick radiators (for both 240 and 280 radiators). It also allows you to fit thick radiators like the nemesis GTX and GTR models,

Also, by popular demand, I have been working on a glass side panel option with a half vented front. Although I am not sure if the pilot batch will have this, I want to make it an option in the future. There is still a lot of opens on this one like if it can be tempered glass or if it should be plexiglass and the associated costs.

Great idea to incorporate adjustment of the riser cable to permit thicker radiators. This allows the possibility of a thicker 280mm radiator and a glass front panel so you can accommodate high end hardware with a custom loop and show it off too!

Passive intake through the vented front/bottom and active exhaust through the radiator should keep the temps reasonable.

 

[jauris]

Hello everyone.

So, here are the updates I have been working on. I sent all of these to the manufacturer already, waiting to hear back and will change the official specs once they green light the changes.

1) The case has grown to be 13L internal volume instead of 12. The new dimensions are 360mm x 343 mm x 142mm external, 328mm x 315mm x 126mm internal.
This means the new max gpu length is ~318mm but naturally the longer it is the harder it will be to fit. The distance between flanges (the "opening") is 314mm. The width didn't change so still 2.5 slot.

2) The side radiator brackets now have mounts for SSDs. You can mount up to 4 SSDs (2 per bracket) in lieu of a second radiator if you wanted to. The original SSD mounts on the bottom of the case under the radiator has been mirrored to also exist on the top. This bring the total maximum SSD space to 9 (but forces you to use a 240mm radiator).

3) Now support 280mm radiators. Technically two of them (although im not sure if tube routing will become impossible). The side mount has been adjusted to accept a 280mm radiator. This configuration will prevent you from mounting any SSDs to the frame, and will force you to use the side brackets. The side brackets themselves can also accept a 240 or a 280 radiator.

4) If using a 240mm radiator and only putting SSDs at the top, the bottom of the case can now accept an additional 120mm fan. If not using a bottom fan, a total of 5 SSDs can fit directly to the frame with a 240 radiator (depending on choice of radiator and ssd thickness)

5) rear of the case now has tube pass throughs. You can mount an Alphacool dual 60mm radiator externally (or internally), or you can mount the iceman reservoir pump combo for the ssupd meshlicious there. It fits almost perfectly. The dual 60mm fan mounting from the back panel is mirrored onto the front panel so you can mount a ddc pump in any of those areas.

6) The riser cable mount has been made adjustable such that you can mount a single slot GPU with a waterblock closer to the side panel, freeing up more room for a thicker radiator or a push-pull setup. If using dual slot gpu the maximum radiator + fans stack thickness is 70mm (although recommend no more than 60 since otherwise the gpu can choke the bottom fan). This will allow you to use any radiator and pair it with the new 30mm thick fans. If using a single slot GPU moved closer to the side panel, the maximum radiator + fans stack thickness is ~90mm (thickess of the gpu backplate will make this a bit less). This allows for a push-pull config with 25mm thick fans and standard 30mm thick radiators (for both 240 and 280 radiators). It also allows you to fit thick radiators like the nemesis GTX and GTR models,

Also, by popular demand, I have been working on a glass side panel option with a half vented front. Although I am not sure if the pilot batch will have this, I want to make it an option in the future. There is still a lot of opens on this one like if it can be tempered glass or if it should be plexiglass and the associated costs.

I think this size increase brought with it a lot more flexibility that the case was previously lacking. Please let me know if there is a specific setup you want to see visualized and ill try to render it up for you.

Can you confirm if the side bracket mounted rad will fit 25mm thick 120mm fans? Also, any rough estimates on when preorders might ship?

 

[Shatrod]

These look great, definitely a lot of choice for cooling etc in the revised design!
By the way, what software are you using to design / render the above images?

Thanks! I do everything in Fusion 360.

Great idea to incorporate adjustment of the riser cable to permit thicker radiators. This allows the possibility of a thicker 280mm radiator and a glass front panel so you can accommodate high end hardware with a custom loop and show it off too!

Passive intake through the vented front/bottom and active exhaust through the radiator should keep the temps reasonable.

That's what im hoping for. Il probably try to cram a black ice nemesis GTX280 in there.

Can you confirm if the side bracket mounted rad will fit 25mm thick 120mm fans? Also, any rough estimates on when preorders might ship?

I can confirm that the side bracket mounted rad will fit with 25mm thick fans, if your pump block is about 50mm tall. Please see below images, I just tried it for you on the original prototype. There is enough room to do this and have two more fans on the back next to the motherboard. There is technically enough clearance for two radiators to fit.... I measured about 40mm between the fans, but I can not imagine how you would route your tubes if you had two radiators. It likely wont work with two AIOs (at least i dont see how it could, given the tubes).


In other news. The design changes have been green lit by our manufacturing partner. We ordered a pair of prototypes (frames only, no side panels or side brackets) just to confirm everything still fits as it should (like the GPU, since I changed the riser cable mount). ETA on that is roughly two weeks, after which we will set it in stone. There is still every chance we will be able to ship the first production batch in December (although its looking like it will be tight, a lot of things would have to go just right).

 

[SFFMunkee]

This is looking awesome! And prototyping already, so keen to see the end result!!

I considered 280mm rads for my design but because they’re longer than the current-longest part (GPU) it would add a lot to the overall size. Glad you were able to keep Pluto to a reasonable volume

::EDIT:: Also @Shatrod I’d be happy to help with developing your product manual if you want a second pair of eyes / content drafting / proofreading etc (will give me some practice doing F360 too if needing help with the graphics )

 

[Shatrod]

Yeah I originally wanted to stick to 240s but the volume increase is small and the performance difference is so large that it just makes sense to push for 280s. Besides fitting even longer GPUs is always a plus
With the redesign both radiator mounts can support 280 rads, so if its possible to fit dual 240s it should be technically equally possible to fit dual 280s....

I appreciate the offer of help. Il let you know, proofreading it could be very useful. Artesian has significant resources and are helping on this front as well, product page, manuals, packaging ect. Its all in the works.

Also, I obtained a second radiator and did some testing.
Confirmed, dual rads with 25mm thick fans on both physically fit in the case. You would absolutely have to be doing an open loop to route the tubes though.

 

[Poblopuablo]

If using the Iceman externally, will there be an opening for the tubes at the rear of the case?

 

[Shatrod]

If using the Iceman externally, will there be an opening for the tubes at the rear of the case?

Yes, but with caveats. I do not have the iceman reservoir on hand to measure so have been relying on pictures and the dimensions provided on the manufacturers website and google. Unfortunately none of these pictures tell me where the inlet and outlet ports actually are exactly. From what I can tell they are not perfectly centered, biased a bit to the left. Some pictures also make it look like the inlet is just a bit higher up than the outlet but the dimensions picture on the manufacturer website does not show this. I based my 3d model of the res from that picture and it looks like it will work out... may need to use fittings with a smaller external dimeter or a male-female spacer though.

 

[Mackan]

Really good layout for the case, in my opinion. However, my head starts to spin with the weird angles. I am right that the panels are having some angle to them? Otherwise I am tempted to preorder.

 

[Shatrod]

Really good layout for the case, in my opinion. However, my head starts to spin with the weird angles. I am right that the panels are having some angle to them? Otherwise I am tempted to preorder.

You are right about the angles. The inside frame is a perfect rectangle but the wood top is a parallelogram (and the bottom is a mirrored parallelogram). The aluminum side panels are not bent at 90 degrees but they do meet flush-ish at the front diagonal seam. It is very difficult to photograph this.

 

[beerdwolf]

So how do I know if I made it into the first 100 club? Ordered the other day - artesian is killing it in shipping costs btw lol.

 

[Mackan]

You are right about the angles. The inside frame is a perfect rectangle but the wood top is a parallelogram (and the bottom is a mirrored parallelogram). The aluminum side panels are not bent at 90 degrees but they do meet flush-ish at the front diagonal seam. It is very difficult to photograph this.

Thanks. Some further questions, if you have time.

• Are the render pics from post #20 the final design of the case?
• What material and thickness is the case made from?
• Does the case need a brand specific riser? From the pictures in #20, it seems you mount it on standoffs. However, some risers are not centered in their pcie bracket (or how I can explain it), i.e. if you pick another brand, it could end up with the graphics card not aligning with the back pcie slot bracket. I guess comptibility will be increased if the riser can slide on rails at the bottom, instead of fixed standoffs. I hope you know what I mean, since I have seen other case makers make this "mistake". Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any real standardization among risers.

 

[Shatrod]

So how do I know if I made it into the first 100 club? Ordered the other day - artesian is killing it in shipping costs btw lol.

I will inquire and PM you but I am confident that you did. We didn't exceed 100 total yet.

Thanks. Some further questions, if you have time.

• Are the render pics from post #20 the final design of the case?
• What material and thickness is the case made from?
• Does the case need a brand specific riser? From the pictures in #20, it seems you mount it on standoffs. However, some risers are not centered in their pcie bracket (or how I can explain it), i.e. if you pick another brand, it could end up with the graphics card not aligning with the back pcie slot bracket. I guess comptibility will be increased if the riser can slide on rails at the bottom, instead of fixed standoffs. I hope you know what I mean, since I have seen other case makers make this "mistake". Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any real standardization among risers.

always have time for this

• are the renders from post #20 the final design - I do not plan to make changes but we are still waiting on a prototype after this redesign to confirm fitment of the crucial parts. like the GPU and motherboard and radiator. Mostly the GPU since I moved it and made a new mount for the riser cable. Want to be really sure it does in fact still fit well. If any changes are to happen, it would be just to make fitment better and only if necessary. So from a visual perspective you can consider it final but from a production perspective, maybe not yet but 99% there.
  
  This is also partly why i didn't update the first post with the new information yet (and the title for that matter since it grew a liter). Once we have a prototype and all is confirmed il make it official. We are expecting it this coming week.
  
  
• What material and thickness is the case made from - 18 gauge steel frame. 1/16" aluminum side panels.
  
  
• Does the case need a brand specific riser - Yes it does. In fact this is actually the reason I changed how it mounts. we moved to a different - brand specific riser. I definitely understand what you mean, but specifically because there is no real standardization in risers its difficult to design something that will accept all of them. or even most of them. For all we know, tomorrow a new riser will come out with new hole spacing yet again. For this reason I don't think its a "mistake" rather a necessity.
  
  We are trying to mitigate this potential compatibility pitfall by including a good riser cable right out of the box. It will be a Linkup pci-e gen 4 cable. Nevertheless I did make note of this concern and will try to think of a way to better compatibility with other risers in future revisions.

 

[Mackan]

I will inquire and PM you but I am confident that you did. We didn't exceed 100 total yet.


always have time for this

• are the renders from post #20 the final design - I do not plan to make changes but we are still waiting on a prototype after this redesign to confirm fitment of the crucial parts. like the GPU and motherboard and radiator. Mostly the GPU since I moved it and made a new mount for the riser cable. Want to be really sure it does in fact still fit well. If any changes are to happen, it would be just to make fitment better and only if necessary. So from a visual perspective you can consider it final but from a production perspective, maybe not yet but 99% there.
  
  This is also partly why i didn't update the first post with the new information yet (and the title for that matter since it grew a liter). Once we have a prototype and all is confirmed il make it official. We are expecting it this coming week.
  
  
• What material and thickness is the case made from - 18 gauge steel frame. 1/16" aluminum side panels.
  
  
• Does the case need a brand specific riser - Yes it does. In fact this is actually the reason I changed how it mounts. we moved to a different - brand specific riser. I definitely understand what you mean, but specifically because there is no real standardization in risers its difficult to design something that will accept all of them. or even most of them. For all we know, tomorrow a new riser will come out with new hole spacing yet again. For this reason I don't think its a "mistake" rather a necessity.
  
  We are trying to mitigate this potential compatibility pitfall by including a good riser cable right out of the box. It will be a Linkup pci-e gen 4 cable. Nevertheless I did make note of this concern and will try to think of a way to better compatibility with other risers in future revisions.

Thanks for answering.

Regarding the riser, it could be that the prototype you show in post #26, which seems to use Type D riser (compared to Type A in post #20) isn't that bad when it comes to accomodation. I have several of that type, and while some have different hole distances, the most common distance is at least used by ADT and 3M, Li-Heat, and so on. It is the Type A that I am suspicous about, since I have several of that one as well, that differ from each other, not just hole distances, but whether the pice slot is centered to the mounting pcb. I have no experience with Linkup, unfortunately.

I understand your stance on this though, and thanks for noting it down.

 

[Tanax]

Amazing case! Without a GPU, can you fit more than 9 storage drives?
And are there any 3.5" supports, or only 2.5"?
Even if it's only 2.5", would you recommend any hard drives in those spots? Or are SSDs the only supported type of 2.5" drive?

Would looove to use this as a homelab server case!

 

[Shatrod]

Thanks for answering.

Regarding the riser, it could be that the prototype you show in post #26, which seems to use Type D riser (compared to Type A in post #20) isn't that bad when it comes to accomodation. I have several of that type, and while some have different hole distances, the most common distance is at least used by ADT and 3M, Li-Heat, and so on. It is the Type A that I am suspicous about, since I have several of that one as well, that differ from each other, not just hole distances, but whether the pice slot is centered to the mounting pcb. I have no experience with Linkup, unfortunately.

I understand your stance on this though, and thanks for noting it down.

Thats the original prototype but that is not the riser we are going with. We will be shipping with what you refer to as type A. The angled one.

Amazing case! Without a GPU, can you fit more than 9 storage drives?
And are there any 3.5" supports, or only 2.5"?
Even if it's only 2.5", would you recommend any hard drives in those spots? Or are SSDs the only supported type of 2.5" drive?

Would looove to use this as a homelab server case!

Thank you!
You can actually fit 10 drives, with a GPU (but itx motherboards usually have only 4 sata ports). Fitting 10 drives though would require you to air cool. A 240mm radiatiator will require at least 1 ssd to be removed to make room for the end tanks. This is all for the design-updated version.

Having said that, this is just official support; that is places you can screw in an ssd. If you resort to just double sided taping them in various places im sure you can fit a lot more. There is no 3.5" support. all 2.5" drives will work, the 2.5" HDDs and SSDs have the same hole spacing. HDDs will likely vibrate against the case though, wont be quiet.

 

[Ickonus]

Hi Shatrod,

I ordered the Pluto and looking forward to get the case, but I still have some questions.

Can you tell how much space is in front of the radiator(30mm) with std. fans? I got a ek ddc pumpcombo and its 70mm wide and if I read this correctly internaly is 126mm width, there would be 55mm for rad+fan and 71mm for the pump?
in your post with the renderings you showed a window glass side panel, any idea when this will be available? I'll add an external radiator so the less air intake should be no problem in terms of cooling...

 

[Shatrod]

Hi Shatrod,

I ordered the Pluto and looking forward to get the case, but I still have some questions.

Can you tell how much space is in front of the radiator(30mm) with std. fans? I got a ek ddc pumpcombo and its 70mm wide and if I read this correctly internaly is 126mm width, there would be 55mm for rad+fan and 71mm for the pump?
in your post with the renderings you showed a window glass side panel, any idea when this will be available? I'll add an external radiator so the less air intake should be no problem in terms of cooling...

Thank you! I look forward to delivering it. There are delays

Your math is correct. The total internal space is 126mm which will leave 71mm for your pump. The mount that is built in to the front of the case however does not bias the pump all the way to the side panel, so you may be unable to just screw it in. I just measured my DDC xres (admittedly it's old) and it came in at 64mm wide. Looks like the new ones are a bit bigger, il look into this and maybe bias the holes a bit. Alternatively you could mount the pump to the back, over the motherboard. Then radiator clearance isn't an issue, just harder to tube up.

Regarding the window side panel. I have the design but we are going to put a pin in it for now. It's coming later, il try to make sure you can purchase it separately as well. But we are focusing on trying to release the vented panel model and get at least the pilot batch made before we start adding more SKUs. It's more prototyping time and trying to get this option at launch will delay everything by some months.

 

[Shatrod]

I have a big update.

We got the new prototypes in and confirmed fitment of the motherboard/psu/gpu and at least one model of a 280 radiator. The final dimensions are 360mm x 345 mm x 142mm external, 328mm x 317mm x 126mm internal. Which computes to just a tad over 13L of internal volume. We are proceeding with production after this update, still marching towards a mid December launch. The final model looks like the renders seen in post #20, sans window side panel.

The first production batch will be vented panels only.
We have settled on a riser cable for the case, all units will ship with a pcie gen 4 riser.

Most importantly, the first production batch has been ordered! We are now waiting on all the parts to arrive and for us to do final assembly. If there are no significant shipping delays we should be able to start shipping units mid December.

The enhanced product page is coming together, and the manual is almost complete. I am looking forward to sharing those with you.

Updating the first post now

 

[SFFMunkee]

I have a big update.

We got the new prototypes in and confirmed fitment of the motherboard/psu/gpu and at least one model of a 280 radiator. The final dimensions are 360mm x 345 mm x 142mm external, 328mm x 317mm x 126mm internal. Which computes to just a tad over 13L of internal volume. We are proceeding with production after this update, still marching towards a mid December launch. The final model looks like the renders seen in post #20, sans window side panel.

The first production batch will be vented panels only.
We have settled on a riser cable for the case, all units will ship with a pcie gen 4 riser.

Most importantly, the first production batch has been ordered! We are now waiting on all the parts to arrive and for us to do final assembly. If there are no significant shipping delays we should be able to start shipping units mid December.

The enhanced product page is coming together, and the manual is almost complete. I am looking forward to sharing those with you.

Updating the first post now

Aw yissssss great work @Shatrod, wonderful news