DIY computer case

[Soulhunter]

I plan to build my own case... Someone knows where I can get info about the standard dimensions n mounting holes placement of motherboards, HDDs, optical drives, fans etc.? Preferable in metric scale! :]

Tia n Bye

[dat720]

Google will be your friend on that one, specifficly search for the atx standards.....

Mounting hole placement is going to require some sort of blue print, there really is no standard for fan's/psu/hdd/optical drive placement, there is a common layout but i certainly wouldn't call it standard.

[RunningSkittle]

lian-li sells bare HDD trays, that might be something to look into :)

[saint-francis]

This one (http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210&products_id=21885) is really nice because it has the brackets to screw down the PCI cards.

I have been using cases (I use this term lightly) which I made for years now. It's no mystery. There are also Lian Li mounting brackets for a PSU which are present in all of their cases. I would recommend one of those. As for mounting HDD's, I suggest you forgo the usual methods and instead suspend them with some rubber like material so as to reduce vibration, thus increasing lifespan and reducing noise.
It's not pretty but here's (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2821464&postcount=7515) what my set up looked like about 8 months ago.

[Soulhunter]

Ok, already found the ATX specs (Inch scales) (http://www.formfactors.org/developer/specs/atx/atx2_1.pdf), and I read that the hole distance of fans can vary (for a 120mm fan up to 2mm). For the rest I have to use my caliper it seems... >.>


Thx n Bye

[Dr.Khron]

Eh, be grateful that the holes are in a square pattern... otherwise, you'd need a CMM to get a good idea of the hole geometry.

Or you can just do like an old-school fabricator: hold the mother board in place, mark the holes with a sharpie, and drill. In theory, you should be able to build a case like this with no measuring/planning at all.

[Soulhunter]

Well, I wanna make most of the case parts at work (I'm a mechanic/technician/assembly/machine-operator/more in industry n have access to all needed materials, tools n machines... some parts wanna do via CAD -> CNC-machines). So, having some sort of "blueprint" with all the measurements is a must to get it done properly... ;]


Thx n Bye

[Shinigami-Sama]

then use a piece of paper to mark the screwholes and such then take that into work and hit up the CNC machine

[RunningSkittle]

ATX 2.2 guidelines:

http://www.formfactors.org/developer%5Cspecs%5Catx2_2.pdf

Look at pages 10 and 12 for mounting hole placement. Looks like exactly what you need.