My laser cut X16 case

[m00dawg]

My X16 Dev has been housed in a CoolerMaster Q300L. Other than a huge open space for the power supply (at some point I'll get around to making a linear PSU for the X16 to fit in that space, because why not), it's a great case. Especially for expansion cards. It's easy to get into and it's cheap. But it is a bit big if not using expansion cards. So I decided to make my own inspired by my OtterX case design. Here it is!

IMG20240217201742.jpg (1.64 MiB) Viewed 2287 times

Turned out pretty well I think! Actually the first time I tried laser cutting clear acrylic and I only did so for the front. Glad I did, I think it looks awesome! I had been averse to using it since I thought it might scratch too easily but I think I may end up using it more often.

Case is about as small as I can think to make it - any shorter and many PicoPSUs won't fit. At present, no support for expansion cards but that wasn't as much the point. I thought about cutting out some holes on the top and rear to allow for them. Case is easy to take apart for when I do need to use them though that's best for prototyping and not a proper solution. I don't have a newer Dev board (mine is the first revision) so it also doesn't have a side cartridge hole.

So it's pretty spartan but I'm happy with it just the same!

[mortarm]

Have you considered selling those?

[m00dawg]

Yep! I don't want to skirt the rules of the forum but I do sell the OtterX case I mentioned already and was planning on adding this to the lineup as well. I also am planning on releasing the source files under some CC-non-com license for folks that want to laser cut their own. I don't think it'd be great 3D printed but there are other designs for folks that want to go that route.

[mortarm]

If you come up with a version that supports the expansion slots, I'd be very interested.

[TomXP411]

Yep! I don't want to skirt the rules of the forum but I do sell the OtterX case I mentioned already and was planning on adding this to the lineup as well. I also am planning on releasing the source files under some CC-non-com license for folks that want to laser cut their own. I don't think it'd be great 3D printed but there are other designs for folks that want to go that route.

To be clear: it's fine for individual users to trade & sell stuff on the Trade & Sell channels.

We just don't want people coming in and spamming the place up.

[m00dawg]

Ah thanks for the clarification Tom!

I'll have to ponder the expansion slots, mortarm. I was thinking of something like a "chimney" kinda thing instead of just cutting out some holes (which I am still planning on having an option for). I think that would look goofy enough it might look cool. Acrylic is expensive and while I'll offer this in MDF too (and folks can cut it in any material with the source files of course), making the whole thing tall enough for half height expansions does add to the cost. That's why I wanted a minimal case for folks that don't plan on using expansion cards at least regularly. Cutting a hole in the side for cartridges is well within the realm though, I just need to do some measuring and a bit of guessing since I don't have the newer X16 (if I can get some measurements from folks that'd certainly help).

Hard to beat something like the Q300L in price and function there. Plus Lazer3D has an mATX case that can be made in X16 colors and it's quite eye catching I think. Those would have more proper card support but I'll see what I can do.

[DragWx]

With the use of a riser card, you can mount the expansion cards sideways instead of upright, and that would allow the case to have a much lower profile at the expense of maybe not supporting all three expansion ports (other than the cartridge port, which is already sideways).

[mortarm]

Here's a thought: Have a removable section over the expansion slots. That way those who use cards don't have to expose the whole board. Another idea: Put slots in the removeable section allowing the cards to poke through minimizing exposure of the mobo.

[m00dawg]

Yep! My thoughts as well. Those would likely be 3D printed additions so I'll have to think about the best way to handle that. I wouldn't have to do that but then the complexity tends to go up and the design goals of this case was to be spartan. I'd be competing with very inexpensive cases if I add too much and likewise I don't want to start playing baseball in LZ3D's football field as it were. I think the 3D printed cover idea keeps the costs and design in check and will still look decently nice I think. I could do something kinda odd like adding 3D printed brackets to hold the cutouts I already had to make in order to make the holes, so there's some room to explore there.

I think all that might have to come with folks being interested in it. Q300L isn't the most eye catching thing on the planet but has room for some modding and it's cheaper than like a tank of gas. Last I checked anyway, I drive an EV myself But point is, it's /cheap/. But it's also bigger than my pizza case which is why I started with the no-frillz-just-a-pretty-box kinda formula.

[Xiphod]

I saw a Foenix F256K Jr shoved into this CoolerMaster: QUBE-500 (I think)
https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Mi ... B0CDQTTH89

I still want a "front facing SD-card friendly" solution. In today's world, 16+ TB drive is your hard drive... While a 32-128GB SD card is your floppy

I keep one card as the "stable" releases. Then when experimenting with new software, I'd rather put that on an alternate SD card. i.e. that's why I still actually use the SD card to flip cards around. And I do like the larger SD card that you can actually somewhat put a label on (or at least a color sticker or letter identifier). So front-access to the SD card is still useful, to me. But true, most people will just have one SD card and leave at that and never need to access it (so the back-mount is fine for them).