Production Theez Designs - HUMBLE - customisable sub 7L cube case

Theez

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Feb 2, 2019
21
31
Hey good people of the SFF community!

A long time lurker, first time poster here. And with this first post of mine i would like to introduce you to my hearts creation: HUMBLE!

HUMBLE is yet another take on the SFF case genre as a whole but something i have not seen in other cases yet.
And that is the freedom to customize, modify or recolor your case without having to disassemble the hardware or dramatically change/modify one or more of the case's vital parts to the way where is no turning back.


This has birthed an idea. An idea with the smallest PC case possible for mini ITX hardware, without using extension cables for graphics cards or special power supplies, but still having the option to mod the hell out of it if i wanted to. Just to have an idea the final product measures 160x207x230 millimeters with 6.6-litre inner capacity.
Now let me share with you briefly the work and design process i have gone trough in the past few years to be able to present you HUMBLE.


For years i have been looking and searching, and this forum was one of the best places to get ideas and further develop an addiction to ITX PCs. Yet when i started my case design it was only for myself and never thought i would open to the world with my idea.
But i figured that i must not be the only person on this planet who have not found the perfect case for herself/himself, so here we are!


The design process itself started something like 3-4 years ago. I used SketchUp as it was more then enough for the complexity of the case. Yes, i wanted it to be as simple as possible. That means no bends and no inserts. Only sheet material.

For connections i used cube joints, which i have been working with since a long ago. They greatly helped me building different amplifier enclosures in the past so it was a no-brainer to use them in this project. The only backdraw is cost. They are not cheap to manufacture, but they are replaceable if something goes wrong during a modification process. After all none of us likes unreplaceable, ripped screw threads eh?

Anyway these principals allowed me the kind of freedom i needed to create a -semi simple- case that is highly customizable with detachable side panels.

So sheet material it was, but what? The first prototype was made out of plexiglass. The cutting process is laser as cnc routing is not widely available where i live and it's much more expensive. Don't even mention small quantities for protos..
So i made 2 prototypes. One with 2mm thick plexiglass and one with 4mm. I used these cases for almost a year. And they were great but the thinner one was a bit flimsy for my taste and the thicker one was too thick. And both of them had a bend on the side panels as they were not rigid enough to give a smooth connection.
Besides these visual/structural defects the price is what made this a no-go. It was horrendous to have them lasercut.

After a small search i have found that even stainless steel sheets were cheaper then plexiglass where i live. From this forward plexiglass was forgotten and the only way was stainless steel.
After few design iterations i settled with 2mm thick side panels as they were visually stunning, gave much more rigidity even compared to thicker plexiglass and was widely available.
I looked for a metal manufacturing company who were willing to cut the small quantities i needed and did not charge extra.
So i had my parts, assembled the case and i was satisfied finally. For a while at least.



Stainless is awesome, even without bends the sheets were so strong. But there was a backdraw. It was freaking heavy! The empty case was like 5 kilos and quickly a situation jumped in to my mind where it is not sitting on my desk, rather i want to take it with me to my dudes to play some games together. Oh boy..

What then? I did not want to sacrifice any of the goals i reached at this point but yet i had a new one: to be a bit lighter. So the baseplate which holds the motherboard and the backplate were left stainless steel as these parts were the core elements, the spine of the design.
The only material i knew was widely available, had more the enough rigidity although much weaker than steel but with this it is much lighter as well was aluminum.

A year passed with work, some flat renovation and whatnot. During this time i redesigned the cut outs on the side panels to be fully symmetrical and universal and quickly reached out to the laser cutters to make my parts. I was in love with the design! i wanted it to be my last proto. And so it was.
The case became much lighter although it was still darn rigid assembled. Even without the side panels on it's not wobbly at all. It radiated strength and quality.

The last part to a complete project was finding a suitable finish, but before that the parts had to be sandblasted as the laser cutting leaves an edge which has to disappear before applying anything to the surface.
So after some research i found that powder coating is what i need as it is very durable and available in almost any color and even some degree of textures. I figured the folks would love this. A coloring of your liking! So i reached out to a company who does powder coating and they were more than happy to help me out.
I asked them to coat the cases in the more standard colors for presentation purposes which you can check out on the website: theezdesigns.com


This was in last fall and i was indeed overjoyed with the final products. The only thing left is to create a website so i did.
And now ladies and gentlemen let me invite you to theezdesigns.com where you can read some more technical information about HUMBLE and even check out some shots and make orders if you like.

With questions, orders, anything really please do find me and ask away either here in this forum post, PM, on the site via email, or even on instagram and facebook.
I hope that HUMBLE will reach many like minded SFF enthusiasts as myself.
And please stay tuned as i will just start tinkering with the different accessories in the near future and i also encourage my future buyers to do the same!


I do apologise for my english as it is not my native and of course for the wall of text!

Tom@theezdesigns


!!! EDIT !!!

I managed to find another company to do the metal work with. This brings the total cost down by 40USD, so that is represented in the price as well.
Also, there are a few build logs now uploaded on the site which although are with dated hardware but representative enough to have an idea about clearances and whatnot. There are some mods with plexi side panels and RGB going on so check it out!
And check out our Instagram and Facebook profile too where i try to upload some nice shots every few days! Ryzen build log coming soon as well!
Cheers!

After the introduction post it only felt right to share with you an in depth look and some key information about HUMBLE.

The case is now in production and available to order at www.theezdesigns.com




Clearance diagram:




You can get HUMBLE in any color you wish, even differently colored side panels are possible.

With any type of question please ask away either in a post or PM or alternatively you can contact us on Instagram as well or visit the site theezdesigns.com

Cheers!
 
Last edited:

Windfall

Shrink Ray Wielder
SFFn Staff
Nov 14, 2017
2,117
1,582
Hey good people of the SFF community!

A long time lurker, first time poster here. And with this first post of mine i would like to introduce you to my hearts creation: HUMBLE!
HUMBLE is yet another take on the SFF case genre as a whole but something i have not seen in other cases yet.
And that is the freedom to customize, modify or recolor your case without having to disassemble the hardware or dramatically change/modify one or more of the case's vital parts to the way where is no turning back.

This has birthed an idea. An idea with the smallest PC case possible for mini ITX hardware, without using extension cables for graphics cards or special power supplies, but still having the option to mod the hell out of it if i wanted to. Just to have an idea the final product measures 160x207x230 millimetres with 6.6-litre capacity.
Now let me share with you briefly the work and design process i have gone trough in the past few years to be able to present you HUMBLE.


For years i have been looking and searching, and this forum was one of the best places to get ideas and further develop an addiction to ITX PCs. Yet when i started my case design it was only for myself and never thought i would open to the world with my idea.
But i figured that i must not be the only person on this planet who have not found the perfect case for herself/himself, so here we are!
The design process itself started something like 3-4 years ago. I used sketchup as it was more then enough for the complexity of the case. Yes, i wanted it to be as simple as possible. That means no bends and no inserts. Only sheet material.

For connections i used cube joints, which i have been working with since a long ago. They greatly helped me building different aplifier enclosures in the past so it was a nobrainer to use them in this project. The only backdraw is cost. They are not cheap to manufacture, but they are replacable if something goes wrong during a modification process. After all none of us likes unreplacable, ripped screw threads eh?

Anyway these principals allowed me the kind of freedom i needed to create a -semi simple- case that is higly customizable with detachable side panels.

So sheet materal it was, but what? The first prototype was made out of plexiglass. The cutting process is laser as cnc routing is not widely available where i live and it's much more expensive. Don't even mention small quantities for protos..
So i made 2 prototypes. One with 2mm thick plexiglass and one with 4mm. I used these cases for almost a year. And they were great but the thinner one was a bit flimsy for my taste and the thicker one was too thick. And both of them had a bend on the side panels as they were not rigid enough to give a smooth connection.
Besides these visual/structural defects the price is what made this a no-go. It was horrendous to have them lasercut.

After a small search i have found that even stainless steel sheets were cheaper then plexiglass where i live. From this forward plexiglass was forgotten and the only way was stainless steel.
After few design iterations i settled with 2mm thick side panels as they were visually stunning, gave much more rigidity even compared to thicker plexiglass and was widely available.
I looked for a metal manufacturing company who were willing to cut the small quantities i needed and did not charge extra.
So i had my parts, assembled the case and i was satisfied finally. For a while atleast.
Stainless is awesome, even without bends the sheets were so strong. But there was a backdraw. It was freaking heavy! The empty case was like 5 kilos and quickly a situation jumped in to my mind where it is not sitting on my desk, rather i want to take it with me to my dudes to play some games together. Oh boy..

What then? I did not want to sacrafice any of the goals i reached at this point but yet i had a new one: to be a bit lighter. So the baseplate which holds the motherboard and the backplate were left stainless steel as these parts were the core elements, the spine of the design.
The only material i knew was widely available, had more the enough rigidity although much weaker than steel but with this it is much lighter as well was aluminum.

A year passed with work, some flat renovation and whatnot. During this time i redesigned the cut outs on the side panels to be fully symmetrical and universal and quickly reached out to the laser cutters to make my parts. I was in love with the design! i wanted it to be my last proto. And so it was.
The case became much lighter although it was still darn rigid assembled. Even without the side panels on it's not wobbly at all. It radiated strength and quality.

The last part to a complete project was finding a suitable finish, but before that the parts had to be sandblasted as the laser cutting leaves an edge wich has to disappear before applying anything to the surface.
So after some research i found that powdercoating is what i need as it is very durable and available in almost any color and even some degree of textures. I figured the folks would love this. A coloring of your liking! So i reached out to a company who does powder coating and they were more than happy to help me out.
I asked them to coat the cases in the more standard colors for presentation purposes which you can check out on the website: theezdesigns.com
This was in last fall and i was indeed overjoyed with the final products. The only thing left is to create a website so i did.
And now ladies and gentlemen let me invite you to theezdesigns.com where you can read some more technical information about HUMBLE and even check out some shots and make orders if you like.

With questions, orders, anything really please do find me and ask away either here in this forum post, PM, on the site via email, or even on instagram and facebook.
I hope that HUMBLE will reach many like minded SFF enthusiasts as myself.
And please stay tuned as i will just start tinkering with the different accessories in the near future and i also encourage my future buyers to do the same!


I do apologise for my english as it is not my antive and of course for the wall of text!

Tom@theezdesigns

This is Awesome, as no bending= CHEAP. I have a very similar concept, but more focused on modularity, an a whole lot bigger.
 

Tazpr

Master of Cramming
Aug 7, 2018
553
429
Welcome! And what a way to introduce yourself, I really appreciate the simplicity and no-fuss direction of the case, while still maintaining a minimalist and stylish design.

As a curiosity, due to the way the case is assembled, would there be the potential to down the line extend the case, so it's a bit long to allow for longer GPU's, and perhaps move the PSU to allow for taller air coolers?
 
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Theez

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Feb 2, 2019
21
31
Thanks guys for the kind words! Really appreciate it!

@Tazpr Yes you get the idea, i already have a type of extension in my mind which allows a full length gpu with a small AIO on the front or some 3,5 HDDs. Depends. I was not thinking about moving the PSU just yet but that coud be done too i think without much fuss.
But first things first, the goal was a tiny footprint because thats how i like it on my desk :D
 
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K888D

SFF Guru
Lazer3D
Feb 23, 2016
1,483
2,970
www.lazer3d.com
Hey @Theez, welcome to the forum!

Just thought I'd point out you may need to make it more clear that the 6.6 Litres volume you are quoting is referring to the internal space of the case, according to your size specs of 160 x 207 x 230mm your total case volume is 7.6 Litres.
 

Theez

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Feb 2, 2019
21
31
@InfernoZeus i can see them while not logged in so i guess they should be visible?

@K888D Thanks! And thats right, thanks for the clarification. The inner capacity is 6.6 Litres.
The 207mm depth is with the "wings" on the back included. (where the I/O are located, because there are cables there anyways)
 
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rfarmer

Spatial Philosopher
Jul 7, 2017
2,588
2,702
Design looks much nicer but is very similar to Elite 110's layout. What is your CPU cooler clearance with the SFX PSU? I think adding a bit of extra room for a front mounted AIO would be a good way to address the limited cooler height.

I just noticed that with the way your PSU is mounted the fan is at the top of the case, but there is no where to exhaust above the PSU.
 

Theez

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Feb 2, 2019
21
31
That's correct. This way the PSU fan is looking upwards but one can change the orientation and figure out other cooling method for their parts. Thinking about positive or negative pressure here. Or some kind of push-pull situation with the cpu fant and the psu.

The max cooler height is 60mm although 64mm fits in theory but already touching the psu. Could work with certain type of coolers though!
I could not really get into experiment without many different hardware parts, but as time goes i plan to build build more and more different setups and check them out.

AIOs were not in the design philosophy to save space but a possibility non the less...if only someone would try to put the radiator on the outside..hmm..

Anyway more info about thecase, dimensions and whatnot can be found on the site under the "More" tab.
 
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Smanci

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Apr 21, 2017
126
160
If you made just a tiny bit more room for triple slot GPU heatsinks, this could possibly(?) fit aftermarket heatsinks, and make it the best small cube in terms of cooling. Using HDPlex would also mean room for Coolers like Silver Arrow ITX.
 

Theez

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Feb 2, 2019
21
31
I had no idea there are 3 slot half length cooling solutions. Could you point me to one?
Although i do believe that my approach might work better, as if someone would detach the original GPU shroud, a 120 or 140mm slim fan would fit on that side panel allowing for a -possibly- more adequate(?) cooling for the gpu. Still have to try that one out though as there are so many possibilities!
But the standard coolers just work fine even in this tiny space!
Using a RX570 from Sapphire and a 7700 non K with NH-L9i and i must tell, even under load this is not getting loud. Can not measure though and this is subjective ofc.
 

rfarmer

Spatial Philosopher
Jul 7, 2017
2,588
2,702
I had no idea there are 3 slot half length cooling solutions. Could you point me to one?
Although i do believe that my approach might work better, as if someone would detach the original GPU shroud, a 120 or 140mm slim fan would fit on that side panel allowing for a -possibly- more adequate(?) cooling for the gpu. Still have to try that one out though as there are so many possibilities!
But the standard coolers just work fine even in this tiny space!
Using a RX570 from Sapphire and a 7700 non K with NH-L9i and i must tell, even under load this is not getting loud. Can not measure though and this is subjective ofc.

I think there is just the one, EVGA RTX 2060.
 
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Theez

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Feb 2, 2019
21
31
I see, its a brand new stuff!
But this is not an ITX card with a length of 189.89mm. Even the PCB is longer than standard ITX.
It wouldn't fit anyways 1 mil too long for my case :D
 

Smanci

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Apr 21, 2017
126
160
Was referring more to things like AC Mono Plus and Thermaright Shaman. It's a selling point with tangible benefits to the customer as well, if you market it clearly. Ncase + Accelero got relatively popular when somebody figured it out.
 

rocklobster

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Nov 30, 2018
93
23
Loving the design! Reminds me of the M61 and M66 off Taobao. The size looks about right too, I feel 5L cases are too restrictive when it comes to cable management and ongoing tinkering, I end up having to remove 2-3 panels to if I want to move things around internally.

Are you able to prevent the threads from the mounting cubes from stripping?
 

Theez

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Feb 2, 2019
21
31
Thanks! Yes the designs allows a lot of tinkering if one likes to mod every now and then. Side panels have to be removed here too to be able to move things around inside but it's only 4 screws/panel.

I can not prevent ripped threads.. If that happens by acciedent you can turn the mounting cube around, as it still has 3 unused sides!
But if it gets totally destroyed at one point it's easy to replace with a brand new one from the site!
 

Beardedswede

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jun 9, 2018
191
158
Website is not working :)
Would also be good if you wrote where you are located so we know for shipping and custom reasons .
 

Theez

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Feb 2, 2019
21
31
Website is not working :)
Would also be good if you wrote where you are located so we know for shipping and custom reasons .

Cheers for the heads up! Got a domain problem, should be fixed in 48 hours they said..
Untill then some info: shipping from Hungary and the shipping cost is included in the price. Costums will depend on the import taxes of your country.
 
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