[Scratch Build] Rocket - Wood, Cylinder, Watercooling

[sharedknowledge]

Hello people!
I am a manufacturing engineer who has worked for different industries over the years, oil and gas, automotive and now aerospace. Over the past year or so I decided to design my own case and this is the result.

I initially set myself a couple of goals:
- Wood must be part of the design;
- Cylindrical shape;
- Full support for watercooling (and full lengths GPUs);
- Relatively compact.

Personally I think I have ticked all of the boxes above and this thread's purpose is to share the design with you guys to get general feedback and receive suggestions for potential improvements.

A keen eye would be able to identify which component goes where. If not, here are some rendering which may help you visualize it better.

Initially the project was personal, as a hobby. One day I mentioned this idea to a couple of (rather nerdy) friends and they were pleasantly surprised. One was not particularly keen on the wood design and together we came up with a 100% aluminium alternative.

At this moment in time I have ~10 friends who would like to have purchase off me this case. Then someone mentioned that a crowdfunded campaign could help drive the cost per unit down and give the possibility to other people to possess such item. Why not, I thought.

So here we are. You may have some questions to ask and I am more than happy to answer them. I have two for you:
1. What feedback can you provide to the design?
2. Would you be interested in this case if it launches on Kickstarter?

[sharedknowledge]

 

FAQ

 

I have decided to give this design a name, Rocket.

 

When would I be able to see pictures of the case with a full watercooling loop?
As of 22/08, the case as shown in the renders has finished manufacturing and it is on its way to the paint shop to be powder coated. Given this is summer time, delay may be expected.

As of 30/10, another prototype has been manufactured while #3 is on its way. Anodizing was tested but it resulted in poor finishing. Powder coating is the better suited choice for this case.

As of 23/12, watercooling build has been completed. Test fit passed with flying colours.

 

What components is Rocket compatible with?
Mini ITX motherboard, SFX and SFX-L PSU, Full sized GPUs (max length 307mm), 2x 2.5″ Hard Drives.

 

What are the watercooling options?
Rocket can support up to 1x 240mm and 1x 140mm radiator both standard thickness, 25mm with standard sized fans (25mm thick). A pump support can hold either a DDC or a D5 pump.

 

What materials were chosen?
Aluminium is the primary material, thickness 4mm or 2mm. Plywood, mixture of thicknesses, was chosen for the exterior.

 

What are the dimensions/volume?
Wood Enclosure:
Height: 441 mm
External Diameter: 299 mm
Volume: 30.9 L

 

Aluminium Enclosure:
Height: 425 mm
External Diameter: 267 mm
Volume: 23.8 L

 

How does the GPU connect to the motherboard?
A PCIe extender brings the PCIe connection on the other side. If you are worried about long term reliability of the connector, don't be. I am writing this post from an early prototype which has been working with no issues for the past 3 months. I will update this part if any issues arise.

 

[Derrk]

this is pretty cool

[Giiman95]

@sharedknowledge

Bro...

I'll take like 5.

This is really sweet.

Few Questions:

Is the drive cage removable/modular?

What type of wood material is that? 

 

Recommendations if you do start a Kickstarter campaign:

For powder coating, limit it to only one color option unless it would be very cost effective to do more. One I would like to see if available is a Space Gray color for an all aluminium case.

Change your specs to say 2x120mm instead of 1x240mm. Keeps the specs uniform.

[HolaImBob]

This case looks great. is the 240mm rad mount removable, so you could fit a larger air cooler in there?

 

 

[sharedknowledge]

9 hours ago, Giiman95 said:

@sharedknowledge

Bro...

I'll take like 5.

This is really sweet.

Few Questions:

Is the drive cage removable/modular?

What type of wood material is that? 

 

Recommendations if you do start a Kickstarter campaign:

For powder coating, limit it to only one color option unless it would be very cost effective to do more. One I would like to see if available is a Space Gray color for an all aluminium case.

Change your specs to say 2x120mm instead of 1x240mm. Keeps the specs uniform.

The case is semi-modular. With this I mean that the drive cage, radiator mount, PSU mount, PCIe bracket, feet, pump mount are all screwed in.

As of today, everything but the components below can be taken out. In other words, the components in the picture below are welded together while the rest is screwed in.

 

 

I went with a lightly coloured wood so it would fit well in a variety of indoor environments. Going with a stronger colour (walnut, any red wood) would make it rather challenging to place it on your desk and make it look good. 

 

Agree with you on Space Grey.

 

9 hours ago, HolaImBob said:

This case looks great. is the 240mm rad mount removable, so you could fit a larger air cooler in there?

 

 

 

Yes! Max height for air coolers is 120mm. Which means you can fit rather big ones such as the Noctua D9X / D9L, but not huge ones such as the Noctua DH15. 

Although you can use 120mm, 140mm, 240mm AIO coolers without any issue by mounting them either at the bottom or on the radiator mount.

[Giiman95]

6 hours ago, sharedknowledge said:

(Abbreviated)

Awesome, thanks for answering those questions. When planning this case for water cooling, did you have soft or hard tubing in mind?

[Giiman95]

2 minutes ago, Giiman95 said:

(Abbreviated)

Just saw the bottom rad mount. Nice touch.

[BeardRex]

Well damn, this is fine!

[sharedknowledge]

6 hours ago, Giiman95 said:

Awesome, thanks for answering those questions. When planning this case for water cooling, did you have soft or hard tubing in mind?

I planned for soft tubing as it would make the assembly easier. But then again, you look at some of the builds online where they manage to fit hard tubing in very small cases (ie SFF) and you look at the build log wondering how the hell they managed to do that.

I guess the beauty of hard tubing lies not only in the looks but also in the challenging assembly process, where the owner of the build had incredible satisfaction at the end of the project. 

 

So it is totally doable to do hard tubing, I can't guarantee it will be easy, but certaintly rather satisfactory. 

 

6 hours ago, Giiman95 said:

Just saw the bottom rad mount. Nice touch.

[sharedknowledge]

Update!
First prototype is out! I decided to experiment with anodizing, and while on the photos it looks alright, the finished product is quite poor regarding finishing. Due to welding / rolling of aluminium during the manufacturing process, it is full of scratches and uneven colouring. I am glad I did an anodizing trial with the first prototype to prove that anodizing is not a suitable choice.

There is a quite visible vertical line on the outside of the external enclosure. The second prototype will be welded, polished and powder coated thus the joining line will disappear.

[Zandvliet]

Amazing case, I'm interested to see what it looks like when it's water cooled  

[Ross Siggers]

This thing looks amazing, I can't wait to see a prototype of the wooden exterior too...

Are you planning on producing many of these? Maybe LTT could do a showcase on it, although if it takes off the interest may be overwhelming...

[sharedknowledge]

On 10/30/2018 at 3:32 PM, Ross Siggers said:

This thing looks amazing, I can't wait to see a prototype of the wooden exterior too...

Are you planning on producing many of these? Maybe LTT could do a showcase on it, although if it takes off the interest may be overwhelming...

 

Surely sir.

I am actually based in the UK, Nottingham! I chose to manufacture it locally and I am very happy with the quality. Even better, volume pricing is in line with Dan Case A4 / NCase M1. Going local means I have no upper limit on how many I can produce.

 

 

 

 

 

I tried to not make it look like a wood bin, the one you find in posh parks. I think I may have achieved that. What do you think?

[Ross Siggers]

Looks great, a varnished and finished case like that would definitely stand out! 

The only thing I would say is to add a portion of a slat around the rear I/O, for the gap to appear less obvious  

[Giiman95]

@sharedknowledge It’s looking fantastic! I know companies like Apple even have anodizing issues. My jet black iPhone 7 plus has quite a few scratches from just moving around in my case. I love your comment on the trash bins. I think you managed to avoid any confusion.

[sharedknowledge]

Good news everyone!

I have finished putting together the watercooling components in the case Good news, everything fits!

Here some pictures while the build was coming together. 

[sharedknowledge]

And here the finished build

 

Aluminium

 

Wood

 

And here's my desk  

 

Any tips / recommendation, please! Happy to hear them.

[LaserLion]

Damn.