Ideas needed (and some drawing help)

I've gotten motivated to do some modding again thanks mostly to the work of san7a and GLScooby. You guys are doing some excellent work and are a great inspiration to all of us.

I've gotten going with some design work, but I'm hitting some problems that I need a bit of help with. The thing I'd really like to draw some design ideas from is this:

http://members.lycos.co.uk/zackbass1...660_BLU_3.jpeg

The problem I've hit is that most of the best design work utilizes 3 dimensions, while in building a case you really only have two dimensions since not much can be done with the small distance between the sides you have to work with.

From what I can deduce, the main aspects to the design are the upward traveling curves and the abundance of very small angles.

I started sketching some possible shapes for the top of the case with a handle:
http://members.lycos.co.uk/zackbass1...pTop_Small.jpg
http://members.lycos.co.uk/zackbass1...Hump_Small.jpg

As you can see, neither looks very good. I don't really know what to say about the first one other than it just doesn't look right. I know exactly why the second one looks bad though, it looks too much like The Cheat of internet fame.

Here's a CAD drawing of a partial top and handle design that looks quite a bit better to me. The problem with this one is that it's lacking any curves whatsoever which are pretty integeral to the reference design.

http://members.lycos.co.uk/zackbass1...CAD_Small2.jpg

Does anyone have some design tips that I can use? How about some sketches?

I think I've got red X disease.

All I see are X's. :(

All the pics are fixed now.

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Originally posted by mellojoe
I think I've got red X disease.

All I see are X's. :(

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I see the pics? :confused:

Zack, that 3-D drawing of your concept for the top would be absolutely SICK (The good sick)! I love the way the handle would come off the front like that. I just stepped inside from 3 degree weather... Gimme a second for my mind to warm up. I might fart out an idea or two.

I love what you're going for! :D

ok, i got pictures now.

I think the front bezel could easily replicate the front of the 4-wheeler.

that
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look would be pretty nice on the front of the case.

and I don't think I'm understanding the handle thing... would there only be one central handle on the top of the case??

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Originally posted by mellojoe
and I don't think I'm understanding the handle thing... would there only be one central handle on the top of the case??

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Yeah, just one handle in the middle like in the CAD render. The two sketches are just side views so you can't see that the handle is located between the sides.

So are these plans for a whole new case? Or are you gonna add this to your case now?

Aghhh! I want finished product PICS already! :p :D

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Originally posted by San7a
So are these plans for a whole new case? Or are you gonna add this to your case now?

Aghhh! I want finished product PICS already! :p :D

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ROFL! This is the beginning of a whole new project. I stress "beginning" as I can't do anything besides design until late May. Right now I'm completely swamped with claaswork so I can't really get into a big new project right now, but the design work makes a nice refuge from all the other stuff when I have a few hours.

I figure that if I can't build anything until late May, I'll be hard pressed NOT to have a good design by then.

Why not try to find RC suspension components? They sell full a-arm kits with tie rods and the whole bit. You could have the whole look of ATV suspension w/o having to build it from scratch.

Instead of attaining the desired shape via the frame, have you considered building the frame to suit the functionality of the 'puter and address the outside asthetics with a (sheet metal/fiberglass/plastic) skin?

Edited for spelling.

I was a little bored, and decided to draw up a sketch of an idea.

(but since my webspace is being a jerk, you'll have to grab the pic off my FTP server on my HDD. found here:
ftp://a:[email protected]/soundbytes/zackbasscase.JPG
or the original cad source here:
ftp://a:[email protected]/soundbytes/zackbasscase.dwg )

The case components are in green, the frame for the case is in black (white in the CAD file). The mobo is on the left, 3 opticals on the right, 2 HDD in the middle, and the PSU on the bottom. To stabilize the case, you would have tubes/struts coming down in the front and back with wheels on the bottom to make for easy mobility (and to get the case bottom off the ground a little)


The original CAD file is also to scale. (mobo and PSU are standard fullsize ATX, the HDDs are specced as Seagate cheetah size, and the opticals are standard 1 5/8" height and 9" deep).

There additional material over the opticals would be a sliding down door that would have the distinctive chevron pattern. In front by the HDDs and PSU you could have a large mesh opening resembling a radiator to allow air in, and then twin exhaust fans at the back under the mobo side by side to resemble exhausts.

Or at least that's how I envision it for the moment, but it's far from a final drawing, just a first sketch.

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Originally posted by GLScooby
Instead of attaining the desired shape via the frame, have you considered building the frame to suit the functionality of the 'puter and address the outside asthetics with a (sheet metal/fiberglass/plastic) skin?

Edited for spelling.

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I've been giving the whole functionality vs design problem a lot thought. I decided on two guidelines, the design must not reduce functionality, and functionality should be a large part of the design. As for how I'm going to do this, at least I have a lot of time to think about it. :)

The issue I have with a skin on the outside is that it feels "cheap" to me, especially since I'm building it. It may take a lot of time and effort to make the skin pieces, but when I'm done they will still be pieces of metal/plastic that I'm sticking onto the real frame. I figure that I can go a little wild with the frame at the top where there isn't all that much to interfere with. From there on down will probably be a much more orthadox design so I can position all the hardware easily.

I was driving home from my favorite Italian resturant and it hit me: no, not a Ford Focus, a good idea! I got home just as the simpsons were starting and got to sketching. By the time I stopped at 10pm I had a working diagram.

http://members.lycos.co.uk/zackbass1/Schematic.jpg

This is the world's first Reconfigurable on the Fly Dual TEC Water Chilling System. It uses a combination of three electronic valves to either form a two loop water chilling system or a normal single loop water cooling system. The whole system (Pelts, Pumps, and Valves) will be handled by a microcontroller. Flip one switch and you can go from chilled to nonchilled without so much as a system shutdown.

As you can probably tell, I like to start ambitious and tone it down it down as I go.

Awesome idea!

Do you know how big the rad has got to be to keep 2 pelts happy? Are you gonna make custom chiller blocks for them?

Actually, that is TFF. I have similar drawings with 2 pumps/2 res/1 rad/1 pelt chilled block loop and another with a 1/3hp aquarium chiller that could be throttled, given an external dummy load, etc. I wanted to incorporate a dual thermostat control (for redundancy) but couldn't come up with wet sensors that didn't cost more than the entire computer.

i have no idea what ya talking about i am so lost can someone help me out

wow. that's all i can say...wow. hehehe

those are some pretty awesome ideas you are coming up with. i have to admit i'm not exactly sure all of what that diagram for the cooling, etc., actually means, but it sure looks darn cool (and sounds awesome too! ;)). the whole idea of the case, though, looks pretty cool. a handle like the one idea you have i think looks quite functional as well as unique! i wouldn't mind having something like that! :)

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Originally posted by GLScooby
Awesome idea!

Do you know how big the rad has got to be to keep 2 pelts happy? Are you gonna make custom chiller blocks for them?

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I have no idea on raiator size right now, I'm still in the conceptual phase. After this comes the reality check phase, followed by the engineering phase. I figure that I can fit just about any size radiator into the design at this point.

I'm not sure about the chiller blocks. I'd be pretty expensive to go out and buy four Maze4s for the pelts (two for cooling the pelts, two for cooling the water), so I'll either have to find some cheaper blocks or make some really simple ones myself. The problem with making it myself is that I can't even come close to the performance of a commercially produced block.