[Custom Case] Micro ATX Watercooling Case

Tomahok · January 14, 2017

Just thought you guys might find my custom designed computer case interesting. I am not sure if this is the right place for this stuff, but I can move it if necessary. If you have an comments or questions feel free to leave them here. I had a lot of fun throughout the project and may make a build log when I start my build inside of it. I would encourage others to design their own cases, just be prepared for the time commitment and you will likely need about 3 times as much material as needed to make one case, as mistakes will be made (Even my final version is far from perfect).

If you are interested in making

The case was made out of 1/5" plywood and 1/8" acryllic panels, cut on a laser cutter and held together with 4-40 screws and nuts.

Specs of case:

Horizontal Micro ATX Motherboard
Two 360mm radiators in basement (Lots of room, could do push pull on super thick rads)
Two 120mm fans on top
14.5x17.25x12.5
Supports Two HDD (Will just place hdd cage in bottom) and unlimited ssds (Will just hang loose, I am lazy)
Supports 120mm pump mount (Basement has 120mm fan holes)
Switch mounted on desk for clean ascetic and then I did not have to buy an ugly front io set

Problems I encountered (Look out if you want to do something similar):

Plywood panels were too thick for regular computer screws, had to countersink
I made lots of simple mistakes, ended up using about 3 or 4 times as much material as expected
Huge issue finding rear io information, all other specifics were on formfactors.org
Correct spacing from rear panel to first motherboard mounting point (To allow for expansion card metal bar thingy)
Bottom panel is only secured by screws, not the other panels, meaning you have to pick it up by the bottom solely, otherwise it will slip out. Should have moved the bottom panel up just a little bit, that way the front and back panels would wrap all the way around the bottom panel's prongs, instead of just on three sides.

So here is a video of the case, feel free to skip around:

Some Pics: