Completed Project Thin-X case: Super small, super flexible

[aquelito]

@chx we are aiming at something smaller

 

[CC Ricers]

@chx we are aiming at something smaller

Yes, and also more square-ish in appearance. Your pics of the powered riser in use really help give some idea as to how shallow a case can be. I already picked up my GT 1030 to test a single slot low profile card, but then found a great deal today on a Radeon Pro WX4100 so I bought that too. I expect the performance to be like the Radeon Pro 460 found in some MacBook Pros. So maybe I won't need the GT 1030 after all- whoops!

 

[aquelito]

Glad you found some inspiration

I'm working on a ~3L enclosure on myself, accomodating dual slot ITX GPUs up to 150W .

 

[CC Ricers]

Looks like I'll have to make my case more rectangle-shaped than the square shape that I originally envisioned. The super low-profile heatsink and fan need to go on the side somewhere, as well as the PSU. The base will likely be some mixture of acrylic with 3D printed ABS for the sides, as they will be angled and vented, and the angles will give the illusion of a slimmer profile.

 

[aquelito]

Which hardware did you settle on ? GT 1030 or more "challenging" ?
Internal PSU or 12V AC Adapter ?

 

[CC Ricers]

I have both a GT 1030 and Radeon Pro WX 4100, but haven't decided yet. I haven't opened the box for the GT 1030 and still have a few weeks before I could return it to the store.

At first I was strictly for an internal PSU, but a AC adapter could be a good option to have. I figured out that I can keep the square box layout after all, if I use a cable extender with the riser. That would put the GPU over the chipset and RAM area, so I could use a regular low profile cooler, that's not the Intel HTS1155LP and it will not interfere with the GPU.

 

[CC Ricers]

I've went through a few designs for the case and have settled on one that I feel will be close to the one I'm going to build. Here is a render of an early version of the design. I've also updated specs of this case in the first post.

The side panels will be laser-cut acrylic fastened together with a 3D printed frame made out of ABS plastic. I currently have the frame made up of two pieces, top and bottom, but I am still making tweaks to the frame to see what design will work best for 3D printing.

Here is an exploded view with the frame and 5 of the panels. I have not yet designed the motherboard standoffs for the case.

There is some slight overhang with the square end of the frame which might make it difficult for some printers to do.

 

[Thehack]

I don't recommend going with this design, there is way too may overhangs. You can get away with a lil' bit and using supports in some cases, but the current amount of overhang you have would make it difficult to 3d print it and finish it properly. It can certainly be done by shapeways but not on a consumer level 3d printer.

I'm currently also working on a pure ITX design as well, so don't be surprised if you see one from me in the future.

I did something similar awhile ago with shapeways using 4x corner pillars. This made the shapeways print fairly cheap. The case ended up at about 2.5L I think.

 

[CC Ricers]

The overhangs were a concern for me as well. I was thinking that either they would be impossible to do, or require a workaround like adding filler material that you will remove for the final part. I'm not planning on using a home printer, but source it out to another printer, either from Treatstock or Shapeways. The idea of the frame came from the Jottwehh case that has a 3D printed skeleton with similar overhangs on the edges as in my design.

I'm guessing that this sort of design is expensive to print, then? Also, are the more problematic overhangs on the 45 degree slopes on the outside, or the borders of the screw-in locations on the inside?

 

[Thehack]

For shapeways you can get away with any kind of print. The most expensive aspect of the print is machine volume. You can upload it to get the price estimate as it is all automated. Large dimensions That makes harder to fit multiple objects increase the cost.

You can get a 1-2 mm of straight overhang. 45 degrees overhang are not a problem, only overhang that are 70-90 degrees (or 0-20 degrees in respect to the horizon). This means the problematic parts are the lips that rest against the acrylic.

You can also use supports but that means long clean up times. It becomes a bigger issue when the edges mate to 2d laser cut that is much more accurate. You then have to account for the increased tolerance due to removing supports.

 

[CC Ricers]

I quickly touched up the areas that rest against the large panels so that overhangs are limited to the areas closest to the corner screws. Here is a closeup on the corner of the piece viewed from two angles.

This should require less support material if it's printed from the bottom. Would this be a big improvement?

 

[Thehack]

I quickly touched up the areas that rest against the large panels so that overhangs are limited to the areas closest to the corner screws. Here is a closeup on the corner of the piece viewed from two angles.

This should require less support material if it's printed from the bottom. Would this be a big improvement?

Yeah. But depending on the weight, you may a bit more material around the screw hole so that the acrylic doesn't snap. I did at least 3mm all around the screw hole.

The over hang issue is limited to consumer printers. Have you tried upload the cost estimate to shapeways? It's a quick process.

 

[aquelito]

How do you add the screw thread ? Using an aluminium insert ?

 

[Thehack]

How do you add the screw thread ? Using an aluminium insert ?

Most people are using threaded inserts in official case. Made of brass or steel. I find it's not really necessary. A simple self tapping or #6 coarse screw is enough, especially on a high quality plastic like shapeways.

But the threaded inserts are good for longevity.

 

[CC Ricers]

I may use threaded inserts for the top cover only, so that it's possible to replace many times without wearing out the threads. The other panels, and mobo standoffs could be tapped directly into the plastic, as semi-permanent attachments.

I have also uploaded my base file to Shapeways and got a price of about $50 to make the case frame, in strong & flexible plastic material. Going to continue making changes to the design and see if I can get the price down without changing the exterior look too much.

 

[Thehack]

I may use threaded inserts for the top cover only, so that it's possible to replace many times without wearing out the threads. The other panels, and mobo standoffs could be tapped directly into the plastic, as semi-permanent attachments.

I have also uploaded my base file to Shapeways and got a price of about $50 to make the case frame, in strong & flexible plastic material. Going to continue making changes to the design and see if I can get the price down without changing the exterior look too much.

You can't change the price down too much without resorting to dramatically reducing the machine volume.

Your current theme is all smoothed edges. If you remove some of the smooth edges, you can simplify your design greatly. If you used 4 simple pillars (brackets), it can be brought down to $25 total cost. It'll be approx $5 per pillar x 4, and $5 shipping. Of course, multiple orders can reduce the amount of shipping charge end up eating.

Here's a rounded design during one of my failed designs:

Finally, you have expected cost for laser cutting the panels. You can reduce some cost here as well by using gaps between pannels. In my STRATOS 3 design, I left a gap between the side and bottom panel for air ventilation. It reduced the cost of laser cutting by $5 compared to my wooden design, that and using longer and simpler rectangles.

Circles and round slots eat up laser time. Some of these costs can be offset by doing a larger order so that you waste less material if you want to adhere to a certain aesthetic. The small round ventilation hole designs was an idea I had to use cardboard, which eats very little laser cost, to a contrast aesthetic.

 

[W1NN1NG]

Now I finally have the board in my hands and can start making more accurate measurements to the parts layout

The 4-pin power plug may be problematic due to the combined height with a connector. I can't lay the graphics card as close as I can to the board if I had to use it, unless I place the graphics card slightly lower. That's the only issue. The RAM slots and fan connectors are short enough not to get in the way.

Could always remove the connector and solder the power cables directly to the board ;p

 

[CC Ricers]

You can't change the price down too much without resorting to dramatically reducing the machine volume.

Your current theme is all smoothed edges. If you remove some of the smooth edges, you can simplify your design greatly. If you used 4 simple pillars (brackets), it can be brought down to $25 total cost. It'll be approx $5 per pillar x 4, and $5 shipping. Of course, multiple orders can reduce the amount of shipping charge end up eating.

Here's a rounded design during one of my failed designs:

Finally, you have expected cost for laser cutting the panels. You can reduce some cost here as well by using gaps between pannels. In my STRATOS 3 design, I left a gap between the side and bottom panel for air ventilation. It reduced the cost of laser cutting by $5 compared to my wooden design, that and using longer and simpler rectangles.

Circles and round slots eat up laser time. Some of these costs can be offset by doing a larger order so that you waste less material if you want to adhere to a certain aesthetic. The small round ventilation hole designs was an idea I had to use cardboard, which eats very little laser cost, to a contrast aesthetic.

Yep, I figured that many small holes would cost a lot of time for a laser cut. It's all about the total path length of the shapes. Kind of a pity I wanted some hexagonal mesh patterns for a few of those panels, but I'll see if I can still make that happen.

The smooth edges are definitely contributing a lot to the part cost. I could just make the bottom area rounded, and the top completely flat with 90 degree corners on the top edges. Then I can just build the frame out of one 3D printed part, with the side pillars extending to the top but removing the added surface area there.

Could always remove the connector and solder the power cables directly to the board ;p

I'd rather not, I prefer soft mods I'll use a male connector that's low profile, that is have the cable end of the connector trimmed off so it is shorter.

 

[Thehack]

Yep, I figured that many small holes would cost a lot of time for a laser cut. It's all about the total path length of the shapes. Kind of a pity I wanted some hexagonal mesh patterns for a few of those panels, but I'll see if I can still make that happen.

The smooth edges are definitely contributing a lot to the part cost. I could just make the bottom area rounded, and the top completely flat with 90 degree corners on the top edges. Then I can just build the frame out of one 3D printed part, with the side pillars extending to the top but removing the added surface area there.

It's more so laser time actually. It's kind of correlate to laser length, but what happens is the laser has to slow down during curves, especially small ones.

It's machine volume, total volume that your 3d part takes up inside the machine. It doesn't sound like your current idea reduces the volume by much. It'll reduce a good amount of material and processing cost. It'll probably reduce it by $10.

You can try to collapse the parts into each other and use small plastic attachments that you cut yourself. Similar to plastic model kits.

 

[CC Ricers]

You can try to collapse the parts into each other and use small plastic attachments that you cut yourself. Similar to plastic model kits.

Hey, that sounds like a good idea. I could have the vertical pillars detached and laid flat with the base. The pillars will have holes that attach to the base, and I could use grub screws to join them. It means more screws, but the cost savings of the 3D printing should be greater than the extra parts.