Custom wood/aluminium cases

[Kamjam21xx]

Im considering manufacturing wooden/aluminium & stamped steel computer cases. So im really curious what input the community has.

 

If it was exceptionally well made, would you be interested?

[Hellfireuzu]

Hi,

 

I'd would totally be interested in some custom made case. What I am not so certain is whether you have the proper equipment and knowledge to make such custom wooden case safe though. As you are certainly aware it is not really simple matter to make electronics equipment from flammable material.

[Daniel644]

depends what they end up looking like, you need to do up some 3d renders, I had a thought of getting a Corsair 570x then modding it by replacing the glass on the the top and behind the mobo tray with wood panels cut to match the original glass pieces sizes

[RollinLower]

as stated above, i would atleast need to know what the case looks like, what hardware it would support and all that before i would know if i am interested.

usually i love tiny cases with lots of watercooling potential tough

[Kamjam21xx]

Soo i havent even drawn anything up or made any models and renders yet...

 

But i have the knowhow and am purchasing the equipment ti manufacture other stuff, figured why not use it for something thats really cool to me personally.

 

Getting a cnc machine, 3d printer, got all the stuff for casting, got property ti mill my own trees, a chainsaw, a mill, know a kiln to dry it all, and idk if id call myself a master carpenter... but i was taught by a one.

 

Was more just looking for if people would be interested in the idea period. 

Atleast before i invest any time in it.

 

Really love the input though, thanks guys. Any amount is welcome.

[Daniel644]

1 minute ago, Kamjam21xx said:

Soo i havent even drawn anything up or made any models and renders yet...

 

But i have the knowhow and am purchasing the equipment ti manufacture other stuff, figured why not use it for something thats really cool to me personally.

 

Getting a cnc machine, 3d printer, got all the stuff for casting, got property ti mill my own trees, a chainsaw, a mill, and idk if id call myself a master carpenter... but i was taught by a one.

 

Was more just looking for if people would be interested in the idea period. 

then you know it's YEARS from the time you chop a tree down till it's dried enough to be good for finish carpentry of the quality one would expect from a case (so the wood doesn't dry out and crack after it's been fitted to the case)

[Kamjam21xx]

1 minute ago, Daniel644 said:

then you know it's YEARS from the time you chop a tree down till it's dried enough to be good for finish carpentry of the quality one would expect from a case (so the wood doesn't dry out and crack after it's been fitted to the case)

Yeah 1 year for 1inch generally. I got white and brown maple drying out right now, but i can take it to a kiln.

 

Edit: was thinking it would mostly be 1/2"-3/4" pieces for a case.

 

[Jtalk4456]

As long as the wood is paneling and accent, not the whole case

[SpaceGhostC2C]

33 minutes ago, Hellfireuzu said:

Hi,

 

I'd would totally be interested in some custom made case. What I am not so certain is whether you have the proper equipment and knowledge to make such custom wooden case safe though. As you are certainly aware it is not really simple matter to make electronics equipment from flammable material.

I strongly recommend you to check the Youtube channel DIY Perks. It's a British guy who has done several such projects for silent PCs, screen-less laptops turned HTPCs, etc. He works with several materials, including aluminum and wood, so you can check which techniques and tools he uses.

[Kamjam21xx]

1 minute ago, Jtalk4456 said:

As long as the wood is paneling and accent, not the whole case

If you draw something up, ill take it into consideration. Even just 2 or 3 people being interested is enough for me to model something up. 

 

Ill start work on a concept tonight.

[geo3]

6 minutes ago, Jtalk4456 said:

As long as the wood is paneling and accent, not the whole case

Ew, no. That would look tacky AF. I would want the whole thing to be wood. As few pieces as possible.

[Daniel644]

6 minutes ago, Kamjam21xx said:

If you draw something up, ill take it into consideration. Even just 2 or 3 people being interested is enough for me to model something up. 

 

Ill start work on a concept tonight.

my ideal case would be a mix of metal, wood and tempered glass, support for a full ATX motherboard, dual 360mm rads (one in front, one in top), support for multiple 3.5" hard drives, minimum 2, preferably 4, PSU shroud that covers PSU and HDD's while still allowing clearance for a front rad and fans, basically take a 570x, swap a few panels for wood panels, do a full length shroud and replace the top rad holder thing with one that holds a 360 rad properly offset to allow heatsink clearance on the motherboard tray. something along the lines of the Inwin 806 would also be acceptable.

[Kamjam21xx]

Just now, Daniel644 said:

my ideal case would be a mix of metal, wood and tempered glass, support for a full ATX motherboard, dual 360mm rads (one in front, one in top), support for multiple 3.5" hard drives, minimum 2, preferably 4, PSU shroud that covers PSU and HDD's while still allowing clearance for a front rad and fans, basically take a 570x, swap a few panels for wood panels, do a full length shroud and replace the top rad holder thing with one that holds a 360 rad properly offset to allow heatsink clearance on the motherboard tray.

Unfortunately i dont work with glass, but i like that idea. I suppose i could learn. I think they might cut it on a table, but idk how much one of those costs. 

 

Ill look into it.

[Daniel644]

1 minute ago, Kamjam21xx said:

Unfortunately i dont work with glass, but i like that idea. I suppose i could learn. I think they might cut it on a table, but idk how much one of those costs. 

 

Ill look into it.

maybe if I look at getting the case and supplying the dimensions you could create the parts to mod the case with instead of building one from scratch so you don't have to deal with the glass part of it.

[Jtalk4456]

4 minutes ago, geo3 said:

Ew, no. That would look tacky AF. I would want the whole thing to be wood. As few pieces as possible.

Heat + Wood is not the best idea, and wood will hold heat in more than metal. Also I'm not fond of the look of wood when it comes to computer cases

Something like this is more what I mean, and it looks a lot better

[Computernaut]

You could also experiment with different shapes and lay-outs.

[Jtalk4456]

To clarify since it seems you are trying to start your own business, I can give feedback, but i won't be buying one as I am working on building a desk pc at the moment. I'm happy to tell you what I would buy if I were in the market for a case though

[geo3]

On 5/8/2018 at 4:43 PM, Jtalk4456 said:

Heat + Wood is not the best idea, and wood will hold heat in more than metal. Also I'm not fond of the look of wood when it comes to computer cases

 

Something like this is more what I mean, and it looks a lot better

Neither of those look good IMO. If the bottom one were all wood it'd look nicer.

 

Also metal or wood isn't really relevant to cooling as you should never be relying on your cases thermal conductivity to cool it. This is why you have air flow through the case.

[SpaceGhostC2C]

5 minutes ago, Jtalk4456 said:

Heat + Wood is not the best idea, and wood will hold heat in more than metal.

I'd say acoustics (due to resonance) is a downside an order of magnitude more important than heat. In then end, a PC's thermals are handled more by airflow and ventilation than by passive dissipation through the panels, and that's something you can achieve as well. But when it comes to noise reduction, it may be better to use a different material and give it a "wooden look" than using actual wood, unless you go for a zero-moving-parts build.

 

[Jtalk4456]

3 minutes ago, geo3 said:

Neither of those look good IMO. If the bottom one were all wood it'd look nicer.

 

Also metal or wood isn't really relevant to cooling as you should never be relying on your cases thermal conductivity to cool it. This is why you have air flow through the case.

Oh it's definitely not a big deal, but why go with a meterial that will catch fire when you could go with one that doesn't. And as shown in the top pic, all wood doesn't look very good, it's cheap looking, not well refined

This is the closest I could come to an all wood case that didn't look terrible, and it has metal in it too

[geo3]

On 5/8/2018 at 4:53 PM, Jtalk4456 said:

Oh it's definitely not a big deal, but why go with a meterial that will catch fire when you could go with one that doesn't. And as shown in the top pic, all wood doesn't look very good, it's cheap looking, not well refined

This is the closest I could come to an all wood case that didn't look terrible, and it has metal in it too

If your PC is reaching temperatures that could ignite wood you're fucked anyway.

 

That look awful. Again an all wood version if that inwin would be sick. 

[Kamjam21xx]

On 5/8/2018 at 4:53 PM, Jtalk4456 said:

Oh it's definitely not a big deal, but why go with a meterial that will catch fire when you could go with one that doesn't. And as shown in the top pic, all wood doesn't look very good, it's cheap looking, not well refined

This is the closest I could come to an all wood case that didn't look terrible, and it has metal in it too

Thats ugly, its like art deco mixed with a modern look.

 

I think done right, it would look really cool. Im just not sure anyone has done it right yet. Either way ill have a better idea after some concepts.

 

Edit: the inwin idea us cool for a closed case. Would a lot of forming, solid wood would probably be too expensive.

[Jtalk4456]

On 5/8/2018 at 4:57 PM, geo3 said:

If your PC is reaching temperatures that could ignite wood you're fucked anyway.

 

That look awful. Again an all wood version if that inwin would be sick. 

not saying your computer should be that hot, but why would you intentionally go with a higher thermal resistance material. Also consider wood will be thicker yet weaker, and will weigh significantly more. Also metal is great for thermals not just due to the conductivity of the material, but because it is easy to make vents in, such as this

With wood, you won't be able to make those small precise holes, so you'll just have slabs like in the pics above which limit air movement drastically

 

On 5/8/2018 at 4:59 PM, Kamjam21xx said:

Thats ugly, its like art deco mixed with a modern look.

 

I think done right, it would look really cool. Im just not sure anyone has done it right yet. Either way ill have a better idea after some concepts.

 

Edit: the inwin idea us cool for a closed case. Would a lot of forming, solid wood would probably be too expensive.

And i guess just agree to disagree on what looks good

[Canada EH]

1 hour ago, Kamjam21xx said:

Im considering manufacturing wooden/aluminium & stamped steel computer cases. So im really curious what input the community has.

 

If it was exceptionally well made, would you be interested?

the terminology you used is interesting to say the least

technically its right but you making it sound more then it really is

a basement or garage business of making computer cases out of wood, alum or steel.

not like an actual warehouse and assembly line

cottage industries are good, extra income and all that.

do you plan to incorporate or sole proprietorship?

if inc then how many shares and of what type?

who will be your Directors?

Do you plan to carry liability insurance?

or even errors and ommisions insurance?

do you plan to employ people?

sales tax number?

 

there is a lot to consider, all easy information to gather up and have a meeting with your lawyer(s)

 

[geo3]

24 minutes ago, Jtalk4456 said:

but why would you intentionally go with a higher thermal resistance material

Because it literally doesn't matter. Air flow is what cools the PC.

 

And a vent is just a hole. You can make holes in wood. It's not hard.