|
Building an Acrylic computer case
|
The first thing you'll need to do is select the components you'd like to build your computer with.
This is very important, because the size and layout of your case will depend 100% on the size and shape of the motherboard, power supply, etc.
My driving factor was size. I wanted to build the smallest computer I could (with off the shell components).
Therefore I selected the ASUS CUSI-FX motherboard as the starting point.
This board is the new Flex-ATX standard and measures 7x9 inches.
It has integrated 100 Mbs ethernet, UltraDMA/66, 2xDIMM (1 GB Max memory), Audio, SiS300 VGA and USB. It supports 133 MHZ FSB and up to 1 GHz CPU's.
For this case, I chose not to use either of the PCI expansion slots.
This allowed my to keep the size of the case to 10.5 x 9.5 x 4 inches (WxDxH)
|
|
Selecting Case Material |
I chose to use smoked 1/4 inch Acrylite acrylic for my computer case.
There are a lot of cases being made from clear acrylic, but I think it shows to much of the details. I like a little mystery to my computers.
Here is some info I snarfed off the 'net about working with acrylic:
Working Acrylic
After I had the dimensions for my case, I simply went to the local TAP Plastics store and had them cut to size. Total cost $27.50
|
|
Designing the Case
|
To design the layout of the case, I recommend the old fashioned way: Pencil and Paper.
I actualy went through several designs. I also changed my design half-way through because I changed power supplies.
Here are a couple pictures of my pencil and paper layouts:
Be sure to work with exact sizes. I measured my PS, hard drive, cdrom, DIMM's and CPU+Heatsink. I even created cardboard models of the PS, hard drive and cdrom to get better spacial relationships.
|
|
Mounting the Motherboard
|
You should leave the protective paper on the acrylic until almost done.
First, I drilled holes in the bottom sheet of acrylic using a 1/8th drill bit.
This drill bit size was perfect for the brass motherboard standoffs that I was using to mount the motherboard on the acrylic sheet.
These holes do NOT go all the way through the 1/4 inch acrylic. They are just deep enough to thread in the standoffs.
Next I mounted the motherboard onto the bottom sheet.
|
|
Bonding the Acrylic
|
To bond the Acrylic together, I used Acrylic Bond and a needle nose applicator.
The needle nose applicator is a must if you plan on doing Capillary cementing. It actualy works quite well and forms a very strong bond.
I also used a few clamps to keep the acrylic sheets aligned properly.
This process takes a while because you have to let each join sit overnight. The acrylic bonds to maximum strength after 24-48 hours.
|
|
Mounting the Components
|
My design called for mouting most of my components directly onto the acrylic sheets with screws:
The short black ones (6/32 by 3/8 inch) are for the hard drive
The brass ones (6/32 by 3/8 inch) are for the power supply
The long ones (6/32 by 1-1/4) are for the fan
Not pictured are more silver ones (4/40 by 3/8) for the slimline cdrom
I had to carefully measure and trace where the screw holes should be drilled.
I decided to mount the power supply to the back panel of the case.
The CDROM and hard drive got mounted on the top panel of the case.
This allows me to open and close the case without having to unplug components.
|
|
The Finished Product
|
I attached the top of the case with these black plastic hinges.
They were a pain to put on as the acrylic bonding tried to glue the top and side of the case together.
Once that was done, it was simply a matter of screwing all the components onto the acrylic sheets:
Finished Case
|
|
