Building my own case!

[Nat-Country]

Hi there! recently i posted about looking for a cheaper lanboy air alternative and i realised there really isn't one. So i decided I would try and make my own full mesh pc case! I ordered some bulk dust filter/mesh I'm going to use to get the lanboy air like look. I was thinking about materials for the frame. Wood comes to mind because it would be relatively cheap, but I would be concerned about the heat and flammable-ness. Any advice on what other materials i could use? like scrap metal is something i considered. And as for holding it all together, i was wondering what I would use, I guess it would depend on the material i use for the frame? Any advice or ideas would be appreciated! Thanks

[kb5zue]

You might find what you're looking for here.  Courtesy of https://www.performancepanels.com/thermal-properties

 

Thermal Degradation and Ignition Point

When the temperature of dry wood is raised above 212° F (100° C) a slow exothermic decomposition takes place. This degradation involves the loss of carbon dioxide and volatile materials such as extractives, in the form of gases or vapors. The rate depends upon temperature and air circulation.

The thermal degradation and ignition point of wood and plywood may be generalized by the following:

• 230° to 302° F (110° C to 150° C): The wood will char over time with the formation of charcoal. If the heat is not dissipated there is some possibility of spontaneous combustion. Examples of the thermal degradation of maple blocks are:
  • 1050 days at 225° F (107° C): 10 percent loss in weight and slight discoloration.
  • 1235 days at 248° F (120° C): 30 percent weight loss and a chocolate color.
  • 320 days at 284° F (140° C): 60 percent weight loss and charcoal appearance.
• 302° to 392° F (150° to 200° C): Charring takes place at a somewhat greater rate. If the heat source is close to the wood, the surface temperature may be higher than the temperature of the surrounding air due to radiant heating. Gases released at these temperatures are not readily ignited by an outside flame source. A greater chance for spontaneous combustion is present if the heat is not dissipated.
  • In tests, after 165 days at 302° F (150° C) maple blocks showed a 60 percent weight loss, and the samples had the appearance of charcoal.
• 392° to 536° F (200° to 280° C): The formation of charcoal takes place at a rapid rate. Spontaneous combustion is probable.
• 536° F (280° C) and greater: Spontaneous combustion will occur in a short period of time.

A number of attempts have been made to measure a definite ignition temperature of wood, with little success. A specific temperature is hard to define because there are so many contributing factors, such as size and shape of the material, air circulation, rate of heating, moisture content of the wood and so on. Estimates range from 510° to 932° F (270° to 500° C), but no value should be accepted as an absolute.

[RONOTHAN##]

What I would probably do in this scenario is to find a scrap case and save the motherboard tray from it, then build a metal frame around it with some scrap metal. As for holding it together, weld everything together. Either learn to weld yourself (more expensive thanks to having to buy a welder, but more rewarding in the end), or find a guy who knows how and have him weld it together. 

[Nat-Country]

10 minutes ago, kb5zue said:

You might find what you're looking for here.  Courtesy of https://www.performancepanels.com/thermal-properties

 

 

Thanks for the information! 

[Nat-Country]

9 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

What I would probably do in this scenario is to find a scrap case and save the motherboard tray from it, then build a metal frame around it with some scrap metal. As for holding it together, weld everything together. Either learn to weld yourself (more expensive thanks to having to buy a welder, but more rewarding in the end), or find a guy who knows how and have him weld it together. 

Welding is definetly something I thought of. If I wanted the case to be slightly more modular I could use nuts and bolts right? Or would something like pop rivets be better? 

[RONOTHAN##]

Just now, Nat-Country said:

Welding is definetly something I thought of. If I wanted the case to be slightly more modular I could use nuts and bolts right? Or would something like pop rivets be better? 

Nuts and bolts should probably work as well. Welding would probably just be more marginally more stable. Pop rivets would also work, and probably be the same stability as nuts and bolts.

[PriitM]

1 hour ago, Nat-Country said:

Hi there! recently i posted about looking for a cheaper lanboy air alternative and i realised there really isn't one. So i decided I would try and make my own full mesh pc case! I ordered some bulk dust filter/mesh I'm going to use to get the lanboy air like look. I was thinking about materials for the frame. Wood comes to mind because it would be relatively cheap, but I would be concerned about the heat and flammable-ness. Any advice on what other materials i could use? like scrap metal is something i considered. And as for holding it all together, i was wondering what I would use, I guess it would depend on the material i use for the frame? Any advice or ideas would be appreciated! Thanks

Have been using a birch plywood case for 6 years now. Focus on massive airflow with a SINGLE 200mm exhaust fan while keeping the overall noise level at a minimum. 12mm or 1/2" baltic birch plywood (9 layers) for sound dampening effect. Its a heavy case but you cant muffle low frequency without mass. Its the same as adding bitumen sound dampening to a metal case.   

 

I used a reclaimed ATX motherboard tray-rear IO, since everything is per standard alignment already. Plus you have the properly set up common ground path to the PSU to engage the multiple protection features if you should encounter any shorting. 

Maximum temps during a 30C heatwave and gaming: 85C (as reported in HW monitor on the GPU) without any inlet filter.  Motherboard sensors indicated 65-70C which I take as the "In case temp" 

 

No issues so far. Have been testing with multiple DIY inlet filter materials: pantihoes, range hood/air purifier/AC "carbon" foam, 110 count stainless steel mesh, standard PC mesh material (cant tell what mesh count that is since its not listed anywhere). IMHO havent had luck with any of them since my inlet area is pretty small and that 85C saw around 7-10C increase. Next design will have a massive inlet area to offset the filter density and 2x200mm exhaust fans for maximum displacement with minimum RPM. 

i7-7700K under a Noctua NH-15
Strix R9 390X 

500W passive Titanium PSU.  

[Kadzo]

Like @RONOTHAN## mentioned getting a scrap case and salvaging the mobo tray will save you a lot of time. You can make it out the L shaped aluminium bars.

There is also soldering but that requires more tools. Probably rivets and nuts will be the way to go due to availability or tools and materials needed.

[Blue4130]

8 hours ago, Nat-Country said:

Hi there! recently i posted about looking for a cheaper lanboy air alternative and i realised there really isn't one. So i decided I would try and make my own full mesh pc case! I ordered some bulk dust filter/mesh I'm going to use to get the lanboy air like look. I was thinking about materials for the frame. Wood comes to mind because it would be relatively cheap, but I would be concerned about the heat and flammable-ness. Any advice on what other materials i could use? like scrap metal is something i considered. And as for holding it all together, i was wondering what I would use, I guess it would depend on the material i use for the frame? Any advice or ideas would be appreciated! Thanks

If any of your components get anywhere near the temperature needed to cause issue to a wood case, you have other majot problems. I've been running a wood case for quite some time now with zero issues, not even discoloration.