Custom case

**n8scstm** · 12-02-2004, 06:39 PM

Just thought Id start a thread for my project. I work at an aerospace manufacturing company so I have access to alot of cool stuff. When I get to the fiberglass part, we have all the materials too plus alot of knowhow. BUt for now here are the cad pics of the case I designed to go behind my rear seat. Its less than 5 inches and houses a full size motherboard with a 2.4 proccessor, along with the inverter, power supply hard drive, fuse block and volt meter. ( Thats why its so long; g oes across the whold width of the truck) I'll post more as I get them, along with some actual pics.

**n8scstm** · 02-10-2005, 12:19 PM

Finally got the case done. What do you think, aside from the need for some wire management?
More pics

**Grimey** · 02-10-2005, 12:23 PM

SCHAWING! That's pretty sweet dude!

Just curious, what CAD Program are you using? Doesn't look like any I use (SolidWorks 2005 and ProE Wildfire 2).

**n8scstm** · 02-10-2005, 12:31 PM

Mechanical desktop 2004 DX. Basically it's auto cad but it's way better for solid modeling.

**Grimey** · 02-10-2005, 12:35 PM

Oh yea? Hmm I haven't really heard of that one. I've obviously heard of AutoCAD but that's pretty sweet. You can do some pretty cool stuff with solidworks too:

My Garage in SolidWorks

**n8scstm** · 02-10-2005, 01:46 PM

Its exactly like auto cad. Same company and everything. Everything you do in auto cad is identical in MD. All the commands are the same. Plus it has an entire solid modeling suite of tools that are very similar to Solid Works. It creates a part history so you can easily modify solids just like in Solid Works. I also have Catia which blows everything else away, but it costs about $30,000. Its mainly used in aerospace. Here are some other models ive done in MD.

**n8scstm** · 02-10-2005, 01:47 PM

Couple more

**Grimey** · 02-10-2005, 01:50 PM

Wow that's pretty sweet. Yea I've heard of Catia but I've never been at a place that uses it and I obviously can't afford it myself. I still prefer ProE over SolidWorks anyday but SolidWorks has it's perks.

I'd be interested to try out what you use too, I'll have to see if I can find a copy.

**Skipjacks** · 02-10-2005, 04:32 PM

Dude, you used software for aerospace designing to build your computer case....

THAT'S SO AWESOME!!!

It's overkill...but that's what makes it awesome!

**n8scstm** · 02-10-2005, 05:51 PM

Actually, its not so much overkill. I put all the motherboard holes in the case. I didnt drill them, they were all laser cut. Which means I needed the software to create the laser path. They need to be pretty precise. Then we have these cool stand-offs that press into the aluminium on one side and provide a nice threaded riser on the other to mount the MB. We used to make Rugged Portable Systems (RPS) for the military, so we have a lot of stuff like that lying around. It's completely flush on the back side. I should have taken some pics before I assembled it but I was too anxious to get it done.