dunecase

About a year ago, I took a bunch of standard PC components, and built a cylindrical case around it. I considered where to put the MOBO/GPU/CPU and cables; I thought about thermals and ease of accessibility. I even went so far as to have my friend CAD design a prototype, mill the aluminium, and build a case. Only, it didn’t meet my one directive – a case that was more appliance than cable monster.


 

 
Stage 1: Prototype 1 (Standard PC Parts) - January 2015


Parts:

·       Silverstone 450W SFX PSU Gold

·       MSI 780 GTX Gaming

·       MSI ITX motherboard

·       16 GB Ram

·       500 GB 2.5 inch Segate HDD

·       intel i7 4770k CPU

We measured each part, loaded them into CAD and milled the aluminium. The process took a long time. Biggest challenge was to remove visible lines from the top of the case; which we overcame using a combination of methods. We then installed the parts in the case and stress tested it using Prime95. The result: we needed a fan to aid airflow; we needed a better way to manage cables.

 

 
Stage 2: Prototype 2 (Fine Tune) - April 2015


 


Parts: Same as Prototype 1 plus a new 140mm Thermalright fan

I took the outer case we built and redesigned the inside. I used a 3D printer to do the front panel, and painted it gold. I then installed a 140mm fan on top of the case and noticed an immediate improvement in internal temps. Hot air naturally rises; a fan at the top pulling it upward accelerated the natural process – hot air was coming out quicker. But, I still wasn’t happy. The case was too tall and didn’t look right. While it was nice to have a full size GPU, more powerful mini-ITX cards (like the 970 GTX) were coming out and it was time to integrate them into my thinking.


 
Stage 3: Prototype 3 (Making it shorter) - June 2015

 


Parts: Same as Prototype 2 but removed 780 GTX and replaced it with mini ITX 970 GTX

I reached back out to my CAD buddy and asked him to recalculate every part. While he was doing that, I had an idea for managing the cables. What if we mounted the GPU on to a door, so when you open the door you have access to everything else – HDD, cables for power and SATA? It changed everything. The inside of the case became so much more appealing! As far as I know, no other case has this feature. We had another go at the design and once we finished another prototype, I was finally satisfied.


 
Stage 4: Final Version - September 2015

Parts: Same as Prototype 3

We did a quick 3D print of most of the parts and CNC’d a new case and bottom. I asked my buddy to make the door’s contour match the round top. We sanded down all the parts and put it all together.  

The result was amazing. We continued to tweak the internal design – creating a special container for the power supply which helps direct the air from the bottom, leaving no place for hot spots.
Next step – create a polished version that we would paint, assemble and test.


 
Stage 5: Final Version Part 2 - October 2015


Now that we had a working version we all liked, we needed to recreate it with precision. After a year of design, redesign, testing, tweaking, and modifying, i finally finished the case. I love the design and that I can customize it how I want with mini-ITX components. It’s upgradeable, and the premium quality materials we used (high-grade aluminum, electronic paint finish) give it the look I set out for – an aesthetically pleasing computer case that’s as comfortable in a living room as a gaming system or in an office as a workstation.



Would love to hear the Linus community about my build
Alexander Gomez

Wasn't one of these cases just announced/released a couple weeks ago? 
 
/cool nonetheless. 

Wow that's cool really cool

That case would go hand in hand with the airplex GIGANT: http://shop.aquacomputer.de/index.php?cPath=7_31_2026
Might eat up some height, but it would allow for even a high end pc to be put into it.

About a year ago, I took a bunch of standard PC components, and built a cylindrical case around it. I considered where to put the MOBO/GPU/CPU and cables; I thought about thermals and ease of accessibility. I even went so far as to have my friend CAD design a prototype, mill the aluminium, and build a case. Only, it didn’t meet my one directive – a case that was more appliance than cable monster.


 

 
Stage 1: Prototype 1 (Standard PC Parts) - January 2015


Parts:

·       Silverstone 450W SFX PSU Gold

·       MSI 780 GTX Gaming

·       MSI ITX motherboard

·       16 GB Ram

·       500 GB 2.5 inch Segate HDD

·       intel i7 4770k CPU

We measured each part, loaded them into CAD and milled the aluminium. The process took a long time. Biggest challenge was to remove visible lines from the top of the case; which we overcame using a combination of methods. We then installed the parts in the case and stress tested it using Prime95. The result: we needed a fan to aid airflow; we needed a better way to manage cables.

 

 
Stage 2: Prototype 2 (Fine Tune) - April 2015


 


Parts: Same as Prototype 1 plus a new 140mm Thermalright fan

I took the outer case we built and redesigned the inside. I used a 3D printer to do the front panel, and painted it gold. I then installed a 140mm fan on top of the case and noticed an immediate improvement in internal temps. Hot air naturally rises; a fan at the top pulling it upward accelerated the natural process – hot air was coming out quicker. But, I still wasn’t happy. The case was too tall and didn’t look right. While it was nice to have a full size GPU, more powerful mini-ITX cards (like the 970 GTX) were coming out and it was time to integrate them into my thinking.


 
Stage 3: Prototype 3 (Making it shorter) - June 2015

 


Parts: Same as Prototype 2 but removed 780 GTX and replaced it with mini ITX 970 GTX

I reached back out to my CAD buddy and asked him to recalculate every part. While he was doing that, I had an idea for managing the cables. What if we mounted the GPU on to a door, so when you open the door you have access to everything else – HDD, cables for power and SATA? It changed everything. The inside of the case became so much more appealing! As far as I know, no other case has this feature. We had another go at the design and once we finished another prototype, I was finally satisfied.


 
Stage 4: Final Version - September 2015

Parts: Same as Prototype 3

We did a quick 3D print of most of the parts and CNC’d a new case and bottom. I asked my buddy to make the door’s contour match the round top. We sanded down all the parts and put it all together.  

The result was amazing. We continued to tweak the internal design – creating a special container for the power supply which helps direct the air from the bottom, leaving no place for hot spots.
Next step – create a polished version that we would paint, assemble and test.


 
Stage 5: Final Version Part 2 - October 2015


Now that we had a working version we all liked, we needed to recreate it with precision. After a year of design, redesign, testing, tweaking, and modifying, i finally finished the case. I love the design and that I can customize it how I want with mini-ITX components. It’s upgradeable, and the premium quality materials we used (high-grade aluminum, electronic paint finish) give it the look I set out for – an aesthetically pleasing computer case that’s as comfortable in a living room as a gaming system or in an office as a workstation.



Would love to hear the Linus community about my build
Alexander Gomez

Hey guys, thanks for the positive comments on this case  Its been a year in the making and after four prototypes we finalized the case. I know there has been concerns on how it is all put together. Please look at this image is it gives you a better idea on how the thermals work. We didn't just throw standard parts into a cylindrical case .. no .. First we measured the standard parts and designed it to look good in the case while maintain good thermal dynamics and good cable management. 
 

I hope that helps to give you an idea of how the thermals work and cable management.
 
Alexander Gomez
 

Hey guys, thanks for the positive comments on this case  Its been a year in the making and after four prototypes we finalized the case. I know there has been concerns on how it is all put together. Please look at this image is it gives you a better idea on how the thermals work. We didn't just throw standard parts into a cylindrical case .. no .. First we measured the standard parts and designed it to look good in the case while maintain good thermal dynamics and good cable management. 
 

I hope that helps to give you an idea of how the thermals work and cable management.
 
Alexander Gomez
 

That looks really great! But instead of real glass try plexi glas, that would probably be cheaper ;) .
 
The best imho is your gold version(sept 15) with plexi in the middle and black steel/alu on top and bottom.
 
I don't know if that's possbile but you could make a headphone holder to clip on top or sth like that, that would be awesome :D
 
 

I am an electrical engineering student (master degree). I do work part time and about two years ago I had to desing a smal mechanical part for a test equiment for internal use. So i got an introduction form a college and worked about 4 days on the model. It was 3D printed afterwards.
thats all experience I had from work, but I liked the programm so I used for my three private projects. I'm far off of beeing a power user and I reuse a lot models provided by grabcad.com. But I make incremental steps everytime I use it. As for production, I know how to use a drill and so on. But I don't know how to weld for example. But I have someone that can give me some advise when I don't know how to manufacture something. I'm familliar with electrical stuff.
All knowledge I needed for the project I got by reading on the internet, common sense as well as try and error. And I also spend a looooot of time on this projects. The planing and sourcing of the parts is extremly time consuming. But it's my hobby and I like to do it, so it's fine.
 
 
 
 
 

Amazing case. I would DEFINETELY have bought it had I known about this 5 days earlier. Instead got the BitFenix Prodigy, whihc is a good case but this looks awesome.
 
P.S Couldn't rip off the Mac Pro more if you tried, v.hilarious

Looks smacking!
May purchase at some point if it becomes available!

Here's a crazy idea - replace the mesh top with a radiator mount. You could AIO your CPU for even better airflow, or just install a fan if your not into AIO. Would be cool.