How to Make an Awesome Midplate

[Deftin]

Hmm, I like this a lot. would look great in my Shinobi XL.

 

Another thing to add to my long list of 'things I hope I have the time to do on my current rig'

[ManWithBeard1990]

That looks fantastic! It always amazes me what uses people can come up with for laser cutters.

[pdv789]

I would definitely pay for one. I am starting to get into modding my case and have no access to a laser cuter and mine has no cover for the bottom to hide the PSU or the bugle fan slots there. Pm me if you do this, consider me a customer already

[jonn.]

are you engraving the lines? (so that the lines are indented) if so how do you sand it so that the lines are transparent since it would be indented?

[Destroyer]

Would you guys be willing to pay £130 + shipping for one of these midplates with your custom design on it? perhaps £100 + shipping for a smaller size? or £60 + shipping for a less complicated design? really the larger and more complicated the design the more expensive it will be but just show me your interest and i may start producing them.

 

Yes! this is awesome! currently my mid plate is ghetto as it's a cut up cardboard box spray painted black  

 

I really wish I had the materials to do this, might think about it for my next build.

[MrFodds]

With the midplate, is it the design that is etched, or everything else? I have access to a Laser Printer and was wondering how I'll need to set it up.

[decripple]

This is a pretty good guide that I will make use of me thinks.

[Keeper_of_Precepts]

this is awesome!

I think i will try this. How much did it cost you to engrave the entire thing? Im in melbourne and each place is quoting between 100-200 dollars

[You_are_a_cunt]

I need this.

[You_are_a_cunt]

Does the thickness of the plexi really matter all that much?

 

Unfortunately I can't find any supplier of custom dimension plexi around here. All I've been able to find so far are 1500x1000 mm at least and that's far too expensive and way too much material for my needs (unless I find the time and funds for other projects that might benefit from using it).

 

Also, if I decide on doing everything myself, how should I approach cutting to desired dimensions? I've done some reading on the matter at one point and I've found many people saying I could cut it with a simple boxcutter, sharp utility knife, hobby knife, dremel or even a table saw (of these I only have the bladed tools and an electric saw I've used for cutting wood, and it might be far too powerful for thinner, more brittle materials).

 

On the matter of aesthetics etching seems out of the question, since I can't see a reasonably easy way of doing it myself by hand, so I'll most likely print out the pattern I want on adhesive paper (or plastic) which I would proceed to cut and stick to the acrylic before a couple of coats of black paint. I would like some input on this idea.

 

For reference, my case is a Corsair Spec-01. I know that a midplate wouldn't help me all too much except for aesthetics (which I highly value, since the case has a somewhat transparent side panel and once I figure out how to illuminate it I don't want to see the clusterfuckery that is the cable management I was able to do with my non-modular PSU) I also intend to use the newly created "basement" as a cable dumping site, freeing up some space on the case's backplate where I intend to mount at least one drive. I also intend to remove the drive bay altogether, moving the HDD(s) into the 5.25 bays with the help of a couple of 3.5 to 5.25 mount adapters. To avoid compromising the airflow I am considering building the midplate as a 6-piece shroud that would look kinda like this (excuse the rough ASCII drawing) Give me a minute to remake it, since it looks differently in the editor rather than in the post

 

 

Piece 0 is the top side

Piece 1 serves to cover the side of the PSU

Piece 2 serves to cover the cable area. I intent do add a hinge that connects it to either piece 0 or piece 1 so I can maintain access to the cables when needed

Piece 3 is fixed, continuing to cover the cable area

Piece 4 is the slope that should direct air from the intake fan into the case

Piece (5) is under debate. It would be a further cover-up for cables, possibly leaving me with space I can later use as a storage expansion area.

 

 

Since you obviously know more about this type of mod, any feedback or ideas/improvements upon my rough design are welcome