Concept Project Simplicity

iFreilicht

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Feb 28, 2015
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Will have to bring a few change to the design. Especially the i/o shield cutout that is too close to the bending line. The closest edge will likely twist during the bending process.

It really depends on who's making the case. My manufacturer can do 5mm distance from the bent surface to the nearest feature, 4mm for additional charge. But if you plan on making it more easy, then yes, that will certainly help.
 

GuilleAcoustic

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It really depends on who's making the case. My manufacturer can do 5mm distance from the bent surface to the nearest feature, 4mm for additional charge. But if you plan on making it more easy, then yes, that will certainly help.

The video said "a good 15mm" and the manufacturer's online tool doesn't accept any cutout nor punch hole within 13mm from a bending line.

The manufacture is closed during august, so I can't ask them for othet possibilities. From their process video, they can do things not allowed by their sheet metal webapp (curved cutouts, punchout cuts, etc).

I changed my design to expand the io shield cutout across the motherboard. This was the opportinity to add a CPU cutout too.



This is viewed from the back and from the motherboard. I planned to use L-bar screwed to the wood and rivet the structure to it, but I found that solution not elegant.

I added tabs at the bottom and will use threaded insert in the wooden base to create mounting point.
 
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GuilleAcoustic

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That's quite the interesting stand

Thank you !

Update:

Never talked about the front panel. I'm thinking about a perforated U folded thick metal bar, with an organic rope laced onto it.



That would look nice with what I thought about for the finishing touches:
  • Bee wax for the wood
  • Linseed oil for the metal
 

GuilleAcoustic

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If you feel it's needed to protect the intake. It looks great to me as it is.

I do have kids, cat and I love to play with paper planes :D.

About material, I mentioned bee wax. I think I'll make a change and reduce the material to 3:
  • Raw solid wallnut wood
  • Raw steel
  • Flax / lin
Flax / Linseed oil can be used as a finish for both wood and metal. Flax is also used in textile and to make rope ... Rope ?

The rope will be made of flax, the same vegetal that will provide oil to protect the wood and the metal of this project. This rope will be the link between wood and metal :).
 

GuilleAcoustic

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Huge dilema .... (j0rd, I see you coming) .... Won't be using a GPU.

I'm tempted to get a thin mini-ITX board and shrink the design. The thin ITX does the DC-DC stuff, so no need for an HDPLEX.

Hesitating because of budget and not sure I can sell the Z87 Gryphon + Thermal armor. Plus I'd have to buy SO-DIMM.

The board I have in mind is the Asrock H81TM-ITX R2.0:



Was thinking about the Asus Q87T first, but this is 170€ vs 75€ ... o_O

Edit: Maybe I should just stop thinking, been a too long day....
 
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CC Ricers

Shrink Ray Wielder
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If you are going to install a GPU directly to the board you'll have to consider the subtle difference in the PCIe slots between the Asrock H81TM and ASUS Q87T. The Q87T does not have an opening going out of the front of the PCIe slot, meaning that you either will need a 1x to 16x riser adapter to connect the GPU, or carefully saw/cut an opening through the slot, voiding the warranty. The Asrock can readily accept a 16x card without additional parts or modifications.
 

GuilleAcoustic

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If you are going to install a GPU directly to the board you'll have to consider the subtle difference in the PCIe slots between the Asrock H81TM and ASUS Q87T. The Q87T does not have an opening going out of the front of the PCIe slot, meaning that you either will need a 1x to 16x riser adapter to connect the GPU, or carefully saw/cut an opening through the slot, voiding the warranty. The Asrock can readily accept a 16x card without additional parts or modifications.

Thanks for the information.

I think I'll keep things as designed. Been a long and exhausting day at hospital. This is my 3rd week there and I'm like running in circles.

My mind is kinda blurred and I feel like I don't know anything anymore.
 

GuilleAcoustic

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We're here for you, @GuilleAcoustic .

Thank you.

I'll go with the Thin mini-ITX and split workstation and entertainment rig.

Here is a very quick mockup:



Dimensions (D x H x W): 240 x 210 x 140mm

Front fan is a Noctua NF-S12A PWM, below is a 85x30mm graphic LCD.

Since thin mini-ITX as an UART header, I wanted to add an LCD. It gives the chassis a kind of HiFi look.

Speaking of HiFi, the base will house a USB DAC. A USB header provides 2x USB, one will be used for data and the other, once filtered, will provide +5V.



DAC specification:
  • Sabre ES9023
  • Asio drivers
  • Direct out (no capacity on the signal path)
  • Low jitter TCXO oscillator
 
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