Commander X16

I couldn’t find measurements from a brief search…does anyone know the LxWxH, please?

I’ve been really getting into unusual cases and props for my computer studio area…I had a custom fit hollow book safe made to hide my Elgato Stream Deck inside. I’m in the process of building and decorating it onto a stand and printing custom adhesive cutout inserts so it looks like I’m opening a magical book, and voila, the buttons look like glowing “rune stones” sticking up through the page cutouts.

Having similar thoughts about the X16, but obviously there would be issues like needing more port access and heat venting and so on. Still…with a big enough ancient tome…hmmmm…

GUEmpire wrote: ↑Thu May 25, 2023 4:11 pm I couldn’t find measurements from a brief search…does anyone know the LxWxH, please?

MicroATX form factor. From Wikipedia:

In computer design, microATX (sometimes referred to as μATX, uATX or mATX) is a standard motherboard form factor introduced in December 1997. The maximum size of a microATX motherboard is 9.6 × 9.6 in (244 × 244 mm).

Thanks very much!

Jestin wrote: ↑Fri Mar 24, 2023 1:29 pm I think there's been some ideas floating around about how to extend this 3D printed case to fully enclose the Gen1 board:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5170783

Perfect! A perfect fit to the micros of the time.

I've decided against extending my wedge-shape case for now. Sadly I could not get the Xtrify USB keyboard working with any passive or active PS2 adapter... Finding a different one which would fit the case AND works with PS2 would be hit and miss.

Instead I went for a "as slim as possible" new case I've designed and printed: Top cover is acrylic I've ordered online fit to measurements. The board just looks too gorgeous to hide it . The power button I will swap with one having the power led integrated, just didn't have one left.
Of course it's not tall enought to host any expansion cards. If I'll ever use one I have to work with a raiser card or add some cutout in the glass. It's only 60mm tall in total, including the rubber feet.
At the front you also see the reset (red) and NMI (black) buttons.

I have my dev board in the official case from Laser3d, which is very cute and, not surprisingly, fits the board completely snug. It also takes up significantly less space than any other microATX case I could find.

That said, when I had the board installed in a very typical inexpensive Thermaltake case with a glass cover, it also looked quite good, and it felt right at home as a very good fit. The power and reset buttons, HDD activity and power LEDs, etc., worked as expected. The only downsides were the greater footprint of the PC case and the lack of a rear panel cover--everything just sat loosely.

AndyMt wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2023 11:34 am I've decided against extending my wedge-shape case for now. Instead I went for a "as slim as possible" new case I've designed.

That was definitely the right decision, as the multi-container systems of the 80s, for example, were just expensive, space-consuming and cumbersome.

AndyMt wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2023 11:34 am Top cover is acrylic I've ordered online fit to measurements. The board just looks too gorgeous to hide it.

I have exactly the same opinion, but that's not the only reason for me. What I still miss on the current board are corresponding measuring points that allow signature analysis to isolate errors. The other would be a sufficiently large number of status LEDs that indicate the respective operating status of the system. These should later be retained in the series product so that users can also benefit from them.

AndyMt wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2023 11:34 am Of course it's not tall enough to host any expansion cards. If I'll ever use one I have to work with a raiser card or add some cutout in the glass. It's only 60mm tall in total, including the rubber feet.

A cutout in the glass would be an extremely bad idea, simply because of the dust that will accumulate over time, not to mention the fact that it will look ugly! If I were you, I would leave the case as it is for now and then make a higher one later if necessary. In the meantime, it would make more sense to develop a back panel made of aluminium or thin stainless steel sheet so that the housing is finally closed.

MicroMagic wrote: ↑Wed Sep 27, 2023 3:31 pm ... In the meantime, it would make more sense to develop a back panel made of aluminium or thin stainless steel sheet so that the housing is finally closed.

That's on my todo list, for sure. But I'll just print it, that's a lot easier.

I'm presently designing my own case for my CNC. It will be a cherry/walnut case with an aluminium bottom and back panel. I'm also thinking of making the badge with a mix of brass, copper and aluminium.

Ooo, that's gonna look so cool. Look forward to seeing the completed case.