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Custom IO Shield

DeskRabbit

I have these legacy builds I do for old machines at work. The onboard IO is basically non existent you have to use headers on the board for ethernet,com,parallel,USB,ps/2mouse etc..thats on these boards I commonly use but, they have custom cut outs on cases or fit io shields so I've always made it work. Not going to work on any modern cases without fabrication or modification. Is there a cheap or good way to have custom io sheilds made with small lead time?

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A CNC laser cutter would be an option. High upfront cost, but quick lead times and pretty uniform manufacturing. Lots of software options for the designs, too. 

Main PC:

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X • Noctua NH-D15 • MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk • 2x8GB G.skill Trident Z Neo 3600MHz CL16 • MSI VENTUS 3X GeForce RTX 3070 OC • Samsung 970 Evo 1TB • Samsung 860 Evo 1TB • Cosair iCUE 465X RGB • Corsair RMx 750W (White)

 

Peripherals/Other:

ASUS VG27AQ • G PRO K/DA • G502 Hero K/DA • G733 K/DA • G840 K/DA • Oculus Quest 2 • Nintendo Switch (Rev. 2)

 

Laptop (Dell XPS 13):

Intel Core i7-1195G7 • Intel Iris Xe Graphics • 16GB LPDDR4x 4267MHz • 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD • 13.4" OLED 3.5K InfinityEdge Display (3456x2160, 400nit, touch). 

 

Got any questions about my system or peripherals? Feel free to tag me (@bellabichon) and I'll be happy to give you my two cents. 

 

PSA: Posting a PCPartPicker list with no explanation isn't helpful for first-time builders :)

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1 minute ago, James Evens said:

@bellabichon Laser is 2D. Your IO-shield is 3D due to the frame.

I'm having trouble visualizing this, but you're probably right. You could bend the metal, but that would add extra work. 

Main PC:

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X • Noctua NH-D15 • MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk • 2x8GB G.skill Trident Z Neo 3600MHz CL16 • MSI VENTUS 3X GeForce RTX 3070 OC • Samsung 970 Evo 1TB • Samsung 860 Evo 1TB • Cosair iCUE 465X RGB • Corsair RMx 750W (White)

 

Peripherals/Other:

ASUS VG27AQ • G PRO K/DA • G502 Hero K/DA • G733 K/DA • G840 K/DA • Oculus Quest 2 • Nintendo Switch (Rev. 2)

 

Laptop (Dell XPS 13):

Intel Core i7-1195G7 • Intel Iris Xe Graphics • 16GB LPDDR4x 4267MHz • 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD • 13.4" OLED 3.5K InfinityEdge Display (3456x2160, 400nit, touch). 

 

Got any questions about my system or peripherals? Feel free to tag me (@bellabichon) and I'll be happy to give you my two cents. 

 

PSA: Posting a PCPartPicker list with no explanation isn't helpful for first-time builders :)

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The easiest would probably be to buy existing io shields (see examples below) and then custom make stainless steel stencils (cut holes in a steel rectangle)... then you could spot weld or solder the stencil on the existing io shield

 

example of blank io shields :

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BLANK-IO-Shield-Motherboard-Backplate-Board-Port-PC-Server-2U-No-Cutouts-Opening/392343663583

 

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24 minutes ago, bellabichon said:

A CNC laser cutter would be an option. High upfront cost, but quick lead times and pretty uniform manufacturing. Lots of software options for the designs, too. 

...plus...

16 minutes ago, mariushm said:

...equals profit (probably not, but it's the right idea).

Main System (Byarlant): Ryzen 7 5800X | Asus B550-Creator ProArt | EK 240mm Basic AIO | 16GB G.Skill DDR4 3200MT/s CAS-14 | XFX Speedster SWFT 210 RX 6600 | Samsung 990 PRO 2TB / Samsung 960 PRO 512GB / 4× Crucial MX500 2TB (RAID-0) | Corsair RM750X | a 10G NIC (pending) | Inateck USB 3.0 Card | Hyte Y60 Case | Dell U3415W Monitor | Keychron K4 Brown (white backlight)

 

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Network:

Spoiler
                           ┌─────────────── Office/Rack ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
Google Fiber Webpass ────── UniFi Security Gateway ─── UniFi Switch 8-60W ─┬─ UniFi Switch Flex XG ═╦═ Veda (Proxmox Virtual Switch)
(500Mbps↑/500Mbps↓)                             UniFi CloudKey Gen2 (PoE) ─┴─ Veda (IPMI)           ╠═ Veda-NAS (HW Passthrough NIC)
╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╩═ Narrative (Asus USB 2.5G NIC)
║ ┌────── Closet ──────┐   ┌─────────────── Bedroom ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
╚═ UniFi Switch Flex XG ═╤═ UniFi Switch Flex XG ═╦═ Byarlant
   (PoE)                 │                        ╠═ Narrative (Cable Matters USB-PD 2.5G Ethernet Dongle)
                         │                        ╚═ Jesta Cannon*
                         │ ┌─────────────── Media Center ──────────────────────────────────┐
Notes:                   └─ UniFi Switch 8 ─────────┬─ UniFi Access Point nanoHD (PoE)
═══ is Multi-Gigabit                                ├─ Sony Playstation 4 
─── is Gigabit                                      ├─ Pioneer VSX-S520
* = cable passed to Bedroom from Media Center       ├─ Sony XR65A80K (Google TV)
** = cable passed from Media Center to Bedroom      └─ Work Laptop** (Startech USB-PD Dock)

Retired/Other:

Spoiler

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Blank IO shields from China and get someone to laser cut them for you. Could also go with dremel and a drill if you're feeling extra cheap lol

Quote me to see my reply!

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3 hours ago, James Evens said:

3D-printing.

Take the template, place the scan/photo on top, make the cutouts and it's ready for the printer. If you have one this is done in less then an hour.

Is there a template for this available somewhere or are you suggesting making it in cad manually/with 3D scanners? Thanks

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2 hours ago, mariushm said:

The easiest would probably be to buy existing io shields (see examples below) and then custom make stainless steel stencils (cut holes in a steel rectangle)... then you could spot weld or solder the stencil on the existing io shield

 

example of blank io shields :

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BLANK-IO-Shield-Motherboard-Backplate-Board-Port-PC-Server-2U-No-Cutouts-Opening/392343663583

 

This is a good idea, I may use this in the future if I can't 3D print them. For my current build I am using a dremmel on a sheet of aluminum haha. Thanks!

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