Hi Everyone.
I have been away for a bit but figured its time i come back and share what has been occupying my free time as of late. I have been designing a simple 7.5L HTPC case with a focus on storage. My design goals were simple: don't use any risers or extensions, design around standard sff parts (sfx psu mostly), support a few drives, have some front IO, and look good in a living room
I feel like I mostly have what I set out to make. The sheet metal design is almost done, just needs to be triple checked and I will start looking at manufacturers near me to prototype with.
I already designed and prototyped the front IO PCB. The case sports two usb3.0 ports running full usb 3.0 speeds, and a cherry switch for power button.
For storage you can fit four 2.5" drives. Max GPU length is 204mm with 2.25 ish slot thickness. Although an SFX-L psu will fit, the vents are only designed to accommodate an SFX.
The cpu cooler is limited to 65mm tall, but really that will choke the fan. Practically I can only see this working with around 45mm tall coolers.
To help with cooling a 120mm fan can be mounted in the front.
Without further delay, some renders and pictures. Let me know what you think!
Update march 2024: first prototype is made!
Update August 2024:
I decided I want to try to do this for real and try to bring it up as a low volume product. To that extent I had to put the project on a small hold while I started building up supporting infrastructure. I opened a sole proprietorship in my province and built a website to host my current and future work. You can check it out below, as well my Instagram redshift.project. I also added hardware compatibility graphcis to this post.
For the case itself, i did notice some minor tweaks need to be made. Some of the screw holes don't line up perfectly (though they are so close i didn't notice until i was auditing the cad model, the actual prototype it was not evident at all). Im also battling with some tolerance issues with the wood. I need to make a bunch of prototypes tweaking the wood slightly until its a good fit every time. I also chose not to 3d prin the button but isntead go for an off the shelf keycap. I also need to see how to best tweak the front IO PCB. It works but, it could be better/easier to make. I will also be finishing the last 3 prototypes.
I have been away for a bit but figured its time i come back and share what has been occupying my free time as of late. I have been designing a simple 7.5L HTPC case with a focus on storage. My design goals were simple: don't use any risers or extensions, design around standard sff parts (sfx psu mostly), support a few drives, have some front IO, and look good in a living room
I feel like I mostly have what I set out to make. The sheet metal design is almost done, just needs to be triple checked and I will start looking at manufacturers near me to prototype with.
I already designed and prototyped the front IO PCB. The case sports two usb3.0 ports running full usb 3.0 speeds, and a cherry switch for power button.
For storage you can fit four 2.5" drives. Max GPU length is 204mm with 2.25 ish slot thickness. Although an SFX-L psu will fit, the vents are only designed to accommodate an SFX.
The cpu cooler is limited to 65mm tall, but really that will choke the fan. Practically I can only see this working with around 45mm tall coolers.
To help with cooling a 120mm fan can be mounted in the front.
Without further delay, some renders and pictures. Let me know what you think!
Update march 2024: first prototype is made!
Update August 2024:
I decided I want to try to do this for real and try to bring it up as a low volume product. To that extent I had to put the project on a small hold while I started building up supporting infrastructure. I opened a sole proprietorship in my province and built a website to host my current and future work. You can check it out below, as well my Instagram redshift.project. I also added hardware compatibility graphcis to this post.
For the case itself, i did notice some minor tweaks need to be made. Some of the screw holes don't line up perfectly (though they are so close i didn't notice until i was auditing the cad model, the actual prototype it was not evident at all). Im also battling with some tolerance issues with the wood. I need to make a bunch of prototypes tweaking the wood slightly until its a good fit every time. I also chose not to 3d prin the button but isntead go for an off the shelf keycap. I also need to see how to best tweak the front IO PCB. It works but, it could be better/easier to make. I will also be finishing the last 3 prototypes.
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