Concept RSC - Really Small Case

[jeshikat]

Don't forget to round the corners!

 

[Soul_Est]

Don't forget to round the corners!

When I'm done, you won't see any corners unless you turn off AA!

 

[jeshikat]

 

[ricochet]

Any interesting updates on the RSC?

 

[Soul_Est]

Any interesting updates on the RSC?

Yes. I will be posting about that later today.

 

[ricochet]

Hopefully your case design is still around the 4.1 L size (310 x 245 x 55 mm)...

 

[Soul_Est]

Hopefully your case design is still around the 4.1 L size (310 x 245 x 55 mm)...

I will try to. I may trade some width for height to fit the cooling.

 

[Soul_Est]

Venting, Mounting, and Powering

After some work over the past weekend (last week was hectic), I have gotten to this stage:

 

[ricochet]

I will try to. I may trade some width for height to fit the cooling.

Just as long as the HDPLEX 160W DC-ATX Direct-Plug still fits!!!

 

[ricochet]

I like that vent style, maybe slightly narrower though to keep stupid curious fingers out. Will you add a C14 AC input option as well for internal AC-DC adapters? Is this going to be an either/or standing tower-HTPC orientated case?

 

[ricochet]

What riser are you thinking on using for this case?

 

[Soul_Est]

Just as long as the HDPLEX 160W DC-ATX Direct-Plug still fits!!!

It should. I will be doing compatibility testing once I place the fasteners and finish the top part of the case.

I like that vent style, maybe slightly narrower though to keep stupid curious fingers out. Will you add a C14 AC input option as well for internal AC-DC adapters? Is this going to be an either/or standing tower-HTPC orientated case?

Thank you for the compliment. I will be tweaking their size as needed. I may add a C14 AC connector if I can fit it. This case is designed to lay horizontally.

What riser are you thinking on using for this case?

No idea yet. I'd like to get a custom HDPLEX riser but I will settle for a Sintech riser If I cannot get it.

 

[ricochet]

Some food for thought: a dual (multi-use) DC / C14 AC input plate would offer a lot of compability options for different DC PSU set-ups.

 

[Soul_Est]

Some food for thought: a dual (multi-use) DC / C14 AC input plate would offer a lot of compability options for different DC PSU set-ups.

Been looking into this. Will check out compatibility once the top cover and faceplate are completed.

 

[Soul_Est]

On The Home Stretch

After pulling some long nights, I nearly finished modelling the case.

Edit: And yes, @Aibohphobia , ALL of the corners are rounded.

 

[ricochet]

Looking good... any epiphanies or progress updates?

 

[Soul_Est]

Looking good... any epiphanies or progress updates?

A few epiphanies for sure:

1. I cannot prototype the completed design anytime soon due to lack of funds.
2. The case will use M3 screws for all of the screw holes except for the fan mounts.
3. I nixed the 2.5" HDD mount for now.

I still have to test out the fitment for the various components in the case which has led to interesting finds:

1. To work on an assembly in the Assembly 2 Workbench each imported file must have ONE visible object. There can be no assembly of assemblies or groups of objects.
2. I do not (yet) know of a way around that restriction and creating these components in FreeCAD is extra work on top of what I am doing for RSC.
3. Figuring this out will benefit future work and the FreeCAD community at large once the solution is posted.

Right now, however, I'm at an impasse. This is mostly do to funding. I'm hoping to rectify that issue sooner rather than later. I will still tweak the design though.

 

[Soul_Est]

Been looking into this. Will check out compatibility once the top cover and faceplate are completed.

@ricochet I checked to see if a panel mount C13 socket would fit within the case's current dimensions and it won't. That is not to say that it won't fit as I continue working on RSC. ITX-sized video cards tend to be rather wide as you may recall...

Spoiler

The outline for the C13 socket is on the left and the outline for the DC-IN jack for the HDPLEX are on the right. The measurements were taken from here.

 

[GentlemanShark]

Very interested to see how it turns out.

 

[Soul_Est]

Very interested to see how it turns out.

Thank you!

I've been plugging away it and got to test fitting the motherboard and video card:

Spoiler

Which turned out pretty well.

Spoiler

Especially for the cutout and the retention tab for the videocard. Not so much for the rear I/O cutout for the motherboard though.