Thread: Bending aluminum into a case.

[QUOTE=Giuliano]Both great ideas..


And as for punching a clean hole, compression-type hole punches really only work well for smaller holes, and larger hole saws can be difficult to use without a powerful hand drill or drill press.. neither of which I have.


[QUOTE]
How big a hole do you want to cut these go to 50mm.
The hole cutter you tried was proberly a cheaper one meant for wood they go blunt quick. If you try an electrial supply place (for trade users) or perhaps a plumbers merchant they sell hole saws to cut metal with and alluminium is real easy to cut. Watch when it breaks through or you end up with a twisted piece of metal spinning on the end of a hole saw

http://www.rapidelectronics.co.uk/rk...4566&XPAGENO=1

Originally Posted by old_lou

How big a hole do you want to cut these go to 50mm.
The hole cutter you tried was proberly a cheaper one meant for wood they go blunt quick. If you try an electrial supply place (for trade users) or perhaps a plumbers merchant they sell hole saws to cut metal with and alluminium is real easy to cut. Watch when it breaks through or you end up with a twisted piece of metal spinning on the end of a hole saw

http://www.rapidelectronics.co.uk/rk...4566&XPAGENO=1

The holes I would need to cut for a fan would be either 60mm or 80mm, because that's what the major PC-sized fans are sized at.

But the problem isn't the hole saw itself, it's the power tools I have, being cordless, don't have enough power to drive the larger hole saws easily.

Originally Posted by Giuliano

The holes I would need to cut for a fan would be either 60mm or 80mm, because that's what the major PC-sized fans are sized at.

But the problem isn't the hole saw itself, it's the power tools I have, being cordless, don't have enough power to drive the larger hole saws easily.

Just an idea
Looking at your pics, if your mounting your pc in the top of your dash with your moulding knowledge make a duct to blow air from your aircon into the case, and in the winter allow air from outside to circulate around the case (with a membrane around to prevent the ingress of damp)

Originally Posted by old_lou

Just an idea
Looking at your pics, if your mounting your pc in the top of your dash with your moulding knowledge make a duct to blow air from your aircon into the case, and in the winter allow air from outside to circulate around the case (with a membrane around to prevent the ingress of damp)

Well, I didn't want to cut into the A/C ducts, because to replace the ducts means taking out the entire dash..

But yes, I was planning on mounting a slim fan on top of the frame, and venting the air out the top of the plastic cover on the dash.

And for winter, I could probably make the fan so I can reverse the polarity to blow warm air in from the defroster blowing warm air on the windshield.

A reversing switch would be easy to make with a Double-Pole Double-Throw (DPDT) switch, with a wiring diagram as shown.

The Red (+) and the Black (-) lines are the power to the switch. The Green and Blue lines are the wires going to the fan.

With the switch covering the left pair of poles, the fan gets normal power. With the switch covering the right pair of poles, the fan gets a reversed polarity power, and should run backwards.

And if you get a triple-throw double-pole, you can leave the switch in the middle to turn the fan off completely.


However, I would imagine that I would have the fan connected to the motherboard, and the system would control the fan speed based on temperature.

Originally Posted by Giuliano

The holes I would need to cut for a fan would be either 60mm or 80mm, because that's what the major PC-sized fans are sized at.

But the problem isn't the hole saw itself, it's the power tools I have, being cordless, don't have enough power to drive the larger hole saws easily.

You'll probably want smaller than 60mm and 80mm since (I believe) that includes the case at the edge of the fan. I'm actually measuring my fans to determine the hole size I need. I'm probably going to get a set of hole cutting drill bits from home depot ($70) which go up to (if I remember correctly) 2.5" in diameter. I really need 2.75" for the biggest fan I'll have. I'd assumed that was 80mm but doing the maths it's clearly a 70mm fan. I also have some 60mm fans I'll be using. Home depot sells all of the hole cutting bits individually, so you could buy one slightly smaller than 60mm and one slightly smaller than 80mm + the central axle bit for about $25-30. Either that or the set is the route I'm going.

Originally Posted by Arathranar

You'll probably want smaller than 60mm and 80mm since (I believe) that includes the case at the edge of the fan. I'm actually measuring my fans to determine the hole size I need. I'm probably going to get a set of hole cutting drill bits from home depot ($70) which go up to (if I remember correctly) 2.5" in diameter. I really need 2.75" for the biggest fan I'll have. I'd assumed that was 80mm but doing the maths it's clearly a 70mm fan. I also have some 60mm fans I'll be using. Home depot sells all of the hole cutting bits individually, so you could buy one slightly smaller than 60mm and one slightly smaller than 80mm + the central axle bit for about $25-30. Either that or the set is the route I'm going.

Well, the 60mm or 80mm dimensions are supposed to be the diameter of the fan opening itself, and they're fairly standard, with 80mm and 120mm fans being more common on PC's.

However, what fan I'll really end up choosing depends on the clearance I'll get in the case after the motherboard is mounted, and whether the fan will be on the inside or the outside of the case.

I'm also planning on trying to fit a 2.5" laptop hard drive and a slim CD/DVD all in that same 7"x7"x2", so I may not actually be able to fit all that..

Originally Posted by Giuliano

Both great ideas..

I'm not sure I can work an external heatsink into the design, as it would only dissipate the heat into the air in the surrounding area.. I'd still have to ventilate it.

It's actually relatively cool inside the dash of a WRX.

At the top of the space where you're putting the screen, you have two massive A/C ducts that are very cool to the touch when the A/C is running. If the A/C isn't running, then ambient shouldn't be all that hot!

C!

Originally Posted by C4M

It's actually relatively cool inside the dash of a WRX.

At the top of the space where you're putting the screen, you have two massive A/C ducts that are very cool to the touch when the A/C is running. If the A/C isn't running, then ambient shouldn't be all that hot!

Glad to hear that..

I was more worried about cooling for over-temperature conditions, such as if the pod housing had been baking in the hot sun for a few hours, and the area needed to be ventilated prior to start up.

Or if the motherboard's thermal sensors detected a too-high temperature, and the MB could then activate the fan automatically.

Originally Posted by Giuliano

Glad to hear that..

I was more worried about cooling for over-temperature conditions, such as if the pod housing had been baking in the hot sun for a few hours, and the area needed to be ventilated prior to start up.

You might want to invest $5 on a cheap thermometer - I don't have my machine in there, and although my VIA 800 requires no external cooling (ie I can grab the processor or northbridge with my hand after 2 hours constant operation), YMMV as mine will have more circulating air available situated under the drivers seat (or, for the US, passenger seat).

C!