Completed S401: Salvo Studios <8L mITX Steel Unibody Chassis w/ GPU & CPU fans in same direction

[grsychckn]

Any consideration of putting microphone/headphone front panel connectors in?

Or having two USB-C ports? (I'm OCD, I don't like the imbalance of two different sized ports)

I agree - I don't really like the look of the Type A and Type C next to each other but right now it is very difficult to find any Type C front panel connectors. I chose these particular ones because I've also used them in the past and I have a vendor I trust to get them to me undamaged. Perhaps in a future product I'll be able to get more front panel connectors.

As far as front panel headphone/mic connectors: I figured the case is only about 12" deep and it wouldn't be too much an inconvenience to have to route the cables to the back. Plus, it reduces the price by about $8-10.

 

[grsychckn]

Impressive custom panels!

Thank you, more pictures.

 

[grsychckn]

I had a problem with the wooden vented panel as the laser cut the bottom half differently than the top. The holes were larger and thus made the resulting lattice very fragile. I believe this is due to one of two things: 1. One of the mirrors on the laser looks to have collected some debris (this would most likely cause the beam to diffuse leading to a wider cut). 2. The ideal operating temperature for the wide laser tube I have is 23C (~73F) and the laser sits in my garage exposed to the outside ambient temperature, so the cheap CW-3000 chiller was losing the battle keeping the tube cooled and even though I paused the cutting twice to let it cool down, the coolant temps got to around 31C (~86F) which is no bueno for both the power of the laser and the focus.

I just purchased a recirculating chiller that will allow me to set the desired temp on the tube but it won't be here for about 10 days. This means I'm pretty much limited to cutting in the morning when things are still cool. Even after I get the new chiller, I'm going to have to pay attention to the dew point because if the temp on the tube falls below the dew point, I'm going to get condensation on the tube and that's really bad as well.

Regardless, I might be saved as the summer winds down and the humidity lets up.

Lastly, the wooden panels were quickly done but it looks like I'm going to have to figure out what method of cleaning up the burn marks will work for me. For the pictures above I was using distilled vinegar and a rag which worked OK. I'm not sure I'll have the time to clean up the wooden panels for the price I have set. I may have to go back and rethink that or decide to include instructions on how to remove the laser residue.

 

[Jaxel]

I agree - I don't really like the look of the Type A and Type C next to each other but right now it is very difficult to find any Type C front panel connectors. I chose these particular ones because I've also used them in the past and I have a vendor I trust to get them to me undamaged. Perhaps in a future product I'll be able to get more front panel connectors.

As far as front panel headphone/mic connectors: I figured the case is only about 12" deep and it wouldn't be too much an inconvenience to have to route the cables to the back. Plus, it reduces the price by about $8-10.

What about two normal USB-A (3.0) ports? That would still fit symmetry for me... in fact, it would probably be better.

I want to be able to take this mobile to fighting game tournaments, and players able to plug their arcade sticks into the front... and possibly headphones, which is why I wanted front panel audio. I don't want people touching the back.

 

[grsychckn]

What about two normal USB-A (3.0) ports? That would still fit symmetry for me... in fact, it would probably be better.

I want to be able to take this mobile to fighting game tournaments, and players able to plug their arcade sticks into the front... and possibly headphones, which is why I wanted front panel audio. I don't want people touching the back.

Ahh, I understand that. Unfortunately, the design for the S401 is complete and the order has been submitted to the machine shop for fabrication. I am ordering 5 units that will be unpainted so it *might* be possible for me to attempt to modify one of those for a dual USB 3.0 A dongle, but I'd have to measure out the available adapters and see which would fit where the existing holes are (try to hide the existence of the original holes). Alternatively, I might be able to add a front panel interface into one of the custom side panels I'm making. That would only increase the imbalance for you though but that could be the easiest way to add those. Either way, I'd have to do some research and see what I could do based on clearances.

 

[Jaxel]

Also, I don't know how feasible it would have been with the placement of the PSU... but I think the power button should have been about half an inch further away from the top edge.

 

[grsychckn]

Also, I don't know how feasible it would have been with the placement of the PSU... but I think the power button should have been about half an inch further away from the top edge.

The power button has been moved down from the prototype revision I used for the photos above. Not a half inch, but I think about .250" and you're right that the limitation is based on the PSU clearance for the C14 connector.

 

[Jaxel]

Do you have any pictures of the current revision?

The two USB-A ports are really my only "must have".

 

[grsychckn]

Do you have any pictures of the current revision?

The two USB-A ports are really my only "must have".

I don't have pictures as I had to send the only one I had back to the fabricator for him to measure and use as the guide for the final run. I did however order a new "sample" that his team was working on last week so I expect it to be here this coming week. At that time I can post pictures. I just took a measurement in SolidWorks and the move wasn't as much as I thought - I moved the hole down 0.12".

As for the two Type A connectors, I can't guarantee I can make it happen quickly. I'm a single-man operation and am currently struggling to get things ready so I can open up for pre-orders. Once I get orders, I'm in full-production mode scrambling to assemble and ship.

Plus, we've decided to start sleep-training our 4-month old so I'm also not getting much sleep (for now).

 

[Jaxel]

Would the M.2 port on the backside of the ASRock MOBOs be accessible through the motherboard back hole?

 

[grsychckn]

Would the M.2 port on the backside of the ASRock MOBOs be accessible through the motherboard back hole?

It should. I say should because I made the back panel cutout larger than the one on a corsair access panel I have here at home. I'm pretty sure though there are no standards so I can't guarantee it. That said I'm confident if the mainboard manufacturer hasn't gone nuts you'll be fine. I could even provide you some dimensions if you thought that would help.

 

[Soul_Est]

Really enjoying how this is turned out. The vent hole sizing and spacing that you're able to achieve with 5mm thick acrylic is amazing! Definitely given me some ideas for the design that I'm working on for my build.

 

[grsychckn]

Really enjoying how this is turn out. The vent hole sizing and spacing that you're able to achieve with 5mm thick acrylic is amazing! Definitely given me some ideas for the design that I'm working on for my build.

Thank you! One last picture for the weekend.

 

[Sparkles]

Cannot wait for this case to release to "downsize" from an M1! Funny enough I'll be using mine the same as the above poster taking it to weekly arcade and fighting game (among other things) LANs. 2 USB A on the front would be more of a nice to have for that exact use-case, so if you end up with a clean mod of widening the USB C hole/appropriate cable, I'd be happy to snag a prototype if that's an option. If not, eh, I'll just flip the case around to the motherboard side. Just won't be a pretty to show off to the group. HA! :-P

 

[Poblopuablo]

Cannot wait for this case to release to "downsize" from an M1! Funny enough I'll be using mine the same as the above poster taking it to weekly arcade and fighting game (among other things) LANs. 2 USB A on the front would be more of a nice to have for that exact use-case, so if you end up with a clean mod of widening the USB C hole/appropriate cable, I'd be happy to snag a prototype if that's an option. If not, eh, I'll just flip the case around to the motherboard side. Just won't be a pretty to show off to the group. HA! :-P

Or get a hub? Lol they are like 8 bucks.

 

[Jaxel]

Or get a hub? Lol they are like 8 bucks.

More parts means more things to lose, or break.

 

[Poblopuablo]

More parts means more things to lose, or break.

If your not planning on using bottom intake/exhaust fans, you could get a slim USB hub, stick it to the bottom with 3m dou le sided tape and route the cord out the back and up the rear. You'll never loose it. And it will look pretty clean.

Would have done this with v1(salvo 400). But the the stand obstructed the spot.

 

[annasoh323]

Wow, a lot going on in this thread. I've been absorbing it all, trying to see what I like.

- The smoky acrylic strikes me as the conservative option, orange acrylic as the wild one. I like both - in fact, the failed cutouts on the smoky give it a certain asymmetric character and I'd like it if it didn't inhibit airflow.
- Burnt edges around the wood are almost attractive. It leans fully into a sort of rustic, worn character which has I can also buy into. Just hoping that the technical issues with the laser cutter and thinness of the borders gets figured out before considering it. At the end of the day, maybe metal is the safest option...
- Personally, I'm really looking forward to having any kind of USB-C on the front panel. My mobo has a USB 3.1 (I think) type C socket on the back and it's a hassle to get to. Even though it's probably going to be limited to USB 3.0 (or whatever the normal USB 3.x header is for two type A sockets), it works out to be more flexible for me in the longrun. Best of luck to those for whom the type C socket isn't ideal; hopefully a working solution becomes clear.

 

[grsychckn]

Wow, a lot going on in this thread. I've been absorbing it all, trying to see what I like.

- The smoky acrylic strikes me as the conservative option, orange acrylic as the wild one. I like both - in fact, the failed cutouts on the smoky give it a certain asymmetric character and I'd like it if it didn't inhibit airflow.
- Burnt edges around the wood are almost attractive. It leans fully into a sort of rustic, worn character which has I can also buy into. Just hoping that the technical issues with the laser cutter and thinness of the borders gets figured out before considering it. At the end of the day, maybe metal is the safest option...
- Personally, I'm really looking forward to having any kind of USB-C on the front panel. My mobo has a USB 3.1 (I think) type C socket on the back and it's a hassle to get to. Even though it's probably going to be limited to USB 3.0 (or whatever the normal USB 3.x header is for two type A sockets), it works out to be more flexible for me in the longrun. Best of luck to those for whom the type C socket isn't ideal; hopefully a working solution becomes clear.

I discovered the reason why the lower hex holes were being cut thinner. For some reason SolidWorks changed the diameter on the hex holes on the top half of my panel and thus when I exported the panel as a 2D DXF, the smaller-sized hex holes got carried along with it. That said, I liked the slightly smaller holes because it allowed the acrylic to be stronger in the lattice so instead of adjusting the smaller holes to be larger, I simply decreased the size of the larger holes on the bottom half to match the top. The unfortunate part of all this is that when I reached out to the fabricator today to inform them of my mistake they said they had already punched the vented panel according to the drawings I gave them. Hopefully they used the custom punch tool I paid for them to use (0.5" hex pattern) instead of using a combination of other punches to make the 0.435" hexes. I'll know more tomorrow on this front as I'l be sending an e-mail to get an update.

I'm currently cutting a transparent red panel now with the corrected hex holes. I'm going to also cut a light blue panel set tonight if I have time.

 

[annasoh323]

I discovered the reason why the lower hex holes were being cut thinner. For some reason SolidWorks changed the diameter on the hex holes on the top half of my panel and thus when I exported the panel as a 2D DXF, the smaller-sized hex holes got carried along with it. That said, I liked the slightly smaller holes because it allowed the acrylic to be stronger in the lattice so instead of adjusting the smaller holes to be larger, I simply decreased the size of the larger holes on the bottom half to match the top. The unfortunate part of all this is that when I reached out to the fabricator today to inform them of my mistake they said they had already punched the vented panel according to the drawings I gave them. Hopefully they used the custom punch tool I paid for them to use (0.5" hex pattern) instead of using a combination of other punches to make the 0.435" hexes. I'll know more tomorrow on this front as I'l be sending an e-mail to get an update.

I'm currently cutting a transparent red panel now with the corrected hex holes. I'm going to also cut a light blue panel set tonight if I have time.

Ah, SolidWorks. I remember being a freshman in college having to do a SolidWorks presentation. I was doing a live demo and every time I practiced it, something came out a little different much of the time. It took me a couple dozen tries to get it right and then I practiced it a few more times after that to make sure I could repeat it.

If the concern with the metal vented panels is non-uniform holes, I'm sure it won't be that big of a deal. If it was sort of haphazard with no rhyme or reason to which holes were smaller, then it might bother me. But, since it seems like each monolithic group of vents will be the same size, I'm sure it won't be that big of a deal. Red and blue sound great! Looking forward to seeing the family of side panels together.