How to make a template?

[slifer]

So I'm trying to get into the modding community and I guess the first thing I need is a way to make templates for the pieces I'm going to make. So I'll be needing 120mm fan templates hard drive templates, and power supply template?

 

1) Where will I be able to find the hole spacings for each?

2) Whats a good program to use? (Must be able to print to scale, and is simple to use for a beginner.)

[W-L]

So I'm trying to get into the modding community and I guess the first thing I need is a way to make templates for the pieces I'm going to make. So I'll be needing 120mm fan templates hard drive templates, and power supply template?

 

1) Where will I be able to find the hole spacings for each?

2) Whats a good program to use? (Must be able to print to scale, and is simple to use for a beginner.)

 

MNPC has some good templates for fans and things, as for hard drives and PSU there are spec sheets but not many 1:1 templates. The best software for this is probably AutoCAD but is a bit difficult if you never used it before, another can be google sketchup which can do both 3D and 2D work.

http://mnpctech.com/pc-cooling-fan-templates.html

http://mnpctech.com/pc-cooling-fan-templates.html

[Fatelinha]

I don't know whereto find those kinds of templates... They should be on the internet shouldn't they? So many people making costum pc stuff and nobody ever uploaded templates??

Well you best try is to use sheets of paper and lay them over th components and mark the holes using a pencil/pen... Maybe even making your own templates and uploading them for other people to use

 

EDIT: Ninja'd

[slifer]

MNPC has some good templates for fans and things, as for hard drives and PSU there are spec sheets but not many 1:1 templates. The best software for this is probably AutoCAD but is a bit difficult if you never used it before, another can be google sketchup which can do both 3D and 2D work.

http://mnpctech.com/pc-cooling-fan-templates.html

http://mnpctech.com/pc-cooling-fan-templates.html

I want to add slots to the fan template so what would my best option be? Download the file and add in the slots for air and have it act as a fan grill or create my own?

[W-L]

I want to add slots to the fan template so what would my best option be? Download the file and add in the slots for air and have it act as a fan grill or create my own?

 

Are you getting someone to laser cut theses for you or are you planning to jsut make a paper template so you can cut it out of sheet metal or plexi afterwards, cause in industry they'll require a CAD file to be able to cut it out for you. As for creating your own template I would use that as a reference and model the fan grill separately but use that only for measurements.

 

If you want MNPC or frozenCPU has some for sale but currently FCPU is not taking orders though:

http://mnpctech.com/pc-computer-cooling-fans-grills-custom/

[slifer]

Are you getting someone to laser cut theses for you or are you planning to jsut make a paper template so you can cut it out of sheet metal or plexi afterwards, cause in industry they'll require a CAD file to be able to cut it out for you. As for creating your own template I would use that as a reference and model the fan grill separately but use that only for measurements.

 

If you want MNPC or frozenCPU has some for sale but currently FCPU is not taking orders though:

http://mnpctech.com/pc-computer-cooling-fans-grills-custom/

Yeah I'm trying to make my own, and not get them cut. So I need a template with slots, I'll most likely drill two holes at either end and get a saw to connect the dots and file it. I'm thinking about 1/4" thick slots or something smaller. But i'll use a smaller drill bit incase it is slightly off centre and file the rest. What size slots would work good and thickness of the metal between each slot?

[W-L]

Yeah I'm trying to make my own, and not get them cut. So I need a template with slots, I'll most likely drill two holes at either end and get a saw to connect the dots and file it. I'm thinking about 1/4" thick slots or something smaller. But i'll use a smaller drill bit incase it is slightly off centre and file the rest. What size slots would work good and thickness of the metal between each slot?

 

It just fall depends on how much airflow you want, the larger the slots or more open space there is the better the flow but also you wan to consider how thick your material is because if you have too many slots or not enough material between slots it can cause a structural problem. If you make them out of 1/8" plexi or something like 1-3mm aluminum it will be fairly solid and easy to work with.

 

If you are planning to make a lot of theses fan grills with slots I suggest investing in a rotary tools or Dremel they are very handy to have especially for case modding.

[slifer]

It just fall depends on how much airflow you want, the larger the slots or more open space there is the better the flow but also you wan to consider how thick your material is because if you have too many slots or not enough material between slots it can cause a structural problem. If you make them out of 1/8" plexi or something like 1-3mm aluminum it will be fairly solid and easy to work with.

 

If you are planning to make a lot of theses fan grills with slots I suggest investing in a rotary tools or Dremel they are very handy to have especially for case modding.

Yeah I can use a dremel to cut it out. As for material.. I can probably use aluminum sheets. How thick should I need the sheet to be so that its able to support a quad radiator if I plan on doing watercooling in the future? Or should I get aluminum as the outside (to make it look nice) and then get a steel plate for mounting all of this?

[W-L]

Yeah I can use a dremel to cut it out. As for material.. I can probably use aluminum sheets. How thick should I need the sheet to be so that its able to support a quad radiator if I plan on doing watercooling in the future? Or should I get aluminum as the outside (to make it look nice) and then get a steel plate for mounting all of this?

 

It just depends on the look or design you want aluminum is fairly soft and easy to work with even in thicker materials compared to steel, I personally would use ~18 gauge (1-2mm) aluminium sheets or something like 22 gauge steel. If you plan to have it seen both materials paint well but you can always create a brushed aluminum finish by running it with sand paper in one direction.

[slifer]

It just depends on the look or design you want aluminum is fairly soft and easy to work with even in thicker materials compared to steel, I personally would use ~18 gauge (1-2mm) aluminium sheets or something like 22 gauge steel. If you plan to have it seen both materials paint well but you can always create a brushed aluminum finish by running it with sand paper in one direction.

Yeah I guess I can look for those thicknesses at the metal shop. But I'll still need my template.

[W-L]

Yeah I guess I can look for those thicknesses at the metal shop. But I'll still need my template.

 

You can always do it old school by printing out to scale that fan template and drawing in the design you want to ensure it's the correct size.

[slifer]

You can always do it old school by printing out to scale that fan template and drawing in the design you want to ensure it's the correct size.

How can I set up sketchup so that I can draw it in 2d and print it to scale? I'm going to make two and just put them together to make it easier for me. What size hole should the screw holes be?

[W-L]

How can I set up sketchup so that I can draw it in 2d and print it to scale? I'm going to make two and just put them together to make it easier for me. What size hole should the screw holes be?

 

Printing I'm not too sure I haven't used sketchup in a long while, but as for the fan holes they are usually 4-5mm if you plan to use self tapping fan screws but smaller ones will work with threaded bolts if you plan to attach rads to them.