[mcpetrolhead]

Fuse

Purpose:The purpose of this build is to make a case to house my new personal server and media player. It will be sitting next to my TV most of the time so I want it to be unobtrusive and small enough that I can cart it around with me when going away from home. The server will be running 24/7 and running several services for uses on my home network and over the internet.

Design:To suit it's purpose the case must be small, to this end all of the components will be fitted in to very tight places, this means restricted airflow, I am only planning on having 2 case fans and so I will be sealing certain sections of the case so that I can direct the airflow over all components. As it stands I will not be using any expansion cards as they are not needed, however when designing the case I will keep them in mind so modifications are possible to include them at a later date. The case will be designed around a box frame with plates attached as the panels. I am choosing to construct the case out of aluminium due to its weight and malleable properties, this makes it very easy to work with.

Components:The following components were chosen for a number of reasons. The motherboard utilises one of AMDs newest processors dubbed "Fusion", it uses an E-350 APU which consists of a dual core AMD CPU paired with an AMD Radeon HD6310 graphics processor. This board was chosen because of its low power usage, physical size and the fact that the integrated GPU can output 1080P videos, this makes it perfect for 24/7 operation and media display. The power supply and RAM are both leftover parts from upgrading my main computer, the Western Digital hard drives are also coming from my main computer.

• ASUS E35M1-M PRO motherboard

  • AMD E-350 APU
  • AMD Radeon HD6310 integrated graphics

• 2x2Gb Kingston HyperX 1600MHz DDR3 RAM
• 500W no name PSU
• Samsung 500Gb Spinpoint F3 (boot drive)
• 1+2Tb Western Digital Green (media storage)

 

[mcpetrolhead]

Table of Updates
Update 1 - Parts ordered
Update 2 - Hardware arrived
Update 3 - CAD motherboard plate
Update 4 - Component placement
Update 5 - CAD Model
Update 6 - More CAD
Update 7 - Aluminium
Update 8 - Final CAD

 

[mcpetrolhead]

Update 1 - Parts ordered

Last night I ordered the main components for the build.

The RAM in that order is to replace the RAM in my main rig, and the old ram is going into this server. The silicon sheets are to reduce the noise of the PSU and fan(s), I also bought some new tubing for my main rig when i get around to redoing my water loop.

The orders were sent today via express airmail so I'm hoping it will get delivered tomorrow, if it does get delivered it means I can get A lot more design work done over the weekend. I should be able to get purchase the aluminium and fasteners on Monday, after that I'll dedicate my spare time to getting the frame together.

I have already started designing the case, so far I have got the component layout pretty much set and I have worked out where the motherboard mounting holes have to be and the location of the I/O shield aperture. I'm waiting on the physical components to confirm the layout and to get total dimensions finalized. I am planning on doing some 3D designs for the build as I find neat drawings makes things easier to plan out.

 

[mcpetrolhead]

Update 2 - Hardware arrived

Got home last night after my 5 hour long delayed flight, and i had all my parts waiting for me. I'm currently getting stuck into the designing and getting some 3d models and engineering diagrams drawn up, its taking a while but in the long run it will bu MUCH better going off CAD drawings than my scrawlings on random notebooks of paper

I don't have a fancy camera and the lighting is pretty poor in my room where I'm currently working out of so this is the best i can get. Enjoy.

500Gb Samsung F3 drive for OS.


My generic PSU, I will be trimming and changing most of the cables to fit the case, it should make for a clean wiring and decent airflow.


The obsolete RAM from my main computer.



The star of the show, the ASUS E35M1-M PRO, I'm quite excited to see how this performs.

I'll keep pushing on with the CAD drawings and hopefully i will be able to work out how much material i will need to do the build by monday, then i can go pick up all the aluminium and fasteners while at work.

Stay tuned

 

[mcpetrolhead]

Update 3 - CAD motherboard plate

I haven't used this software for about 4 years now and I'm surprised how quickly i picked it up again. This is just the motherboard plate so far, it has taken me a while to work out the size and such, I used a piece of cardboard with lines drawn everywhere on it to represent different components, so i think i have the final layout. I will put some pictures up of the component layout in a little bit.


This is the basic size and shape of the motherboard plate.


This is the motherboard plate, but with more details added. The dotted lines are there to keep everything aligned, it might be a bit hard to see but there is a rectangle in there that is the outline of the motherboard. The larger holes are for cable pass throughs, the one to the left is for the 4 pin CPU power, top is the 24 pin, and to the right is for the front panel LEDs and switches. The corners have 10x10mm notches out of them, these are where the frame will come through.


Just thought i should extrude it to give it a bit of perspective, that is 3mm thick.

I'll get some photos off the camera about the component layout inn a few minutes, it's currently 3PM and I haven't eaten anything yet today.

 

[jjjc_93]

Looking good. I've been looking at setting up a small fusion setup myself as a low power server / media player so interested to see how this one turns out.

Are you going to be able to fit an optical drive in this mod?

 

[mcpetrolhead]

I'm just putting the next update together with the component layout, you will see.

 

[mcpetrolhead]

Update 4 - Component placement

This is a critical point in the designing phase as the case measurements are derived from the component spacing.


I put the motherboard outline onto a piece of cardboard to put all the other components in perspective.


Working out the positioning of the DVD drive.


Sorting out how much of a gap I wan't for the hard drives to get decent airflow.


This is the final layout I decided on, to the bottom of that photo underneath the HDDs I will put in a 120mm fan to keep the air flowing through.

 

[mcpetrolhead]

Update 5 - CAD Model

I have been working on the model for about 6 hours now, i think i have most of it done. It took quite a while to put the 3D model together but i think it gives the case some more perspective, not 100% on the actual height of the case yet but it should be around 240mm.



I have had enough for today, tomorrow i will finalize things and check all the measurements are correct

 

[robbo2]

Very interesting dude! Subbed after seeing how good all your other home made stuff came out

Funny how you have put so much time into and yet to actually build anything

 

[mcpetrolhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robbo2 Very interesting dude! Subbed after seeing how good all your other home made stuff came out Funny how you have put so much time into and yet to actually build anything

Hahaha, cheers. Yeah i have spent about 10 hours on the project so far, but this includes writing out the build log and getting heaps of measurements for the case.

I am still yet to put in the PSU hole inn the back piece, plus I need to put in some fan holes.

 

[mcpetrolhead]

Update 6 - More CAD

Been plugging away with the design work again today, I was originally intending to cut out all the aluminium and holes by hand, but after designing this thing down I don't think I will be able to cut accurately enough with hand tools, that is why I have pretty much decided to get the aluminium panels laser cut. It does largely depend on the price but I am confident that that is how I will do it, I will still be making the frame by hand however because I won't really know ho i will mount the hard drives and DVD drive until i have the case together.


Started off today by adding in some side ventilation, I have circular holes there, but if I'm getting it laser cut I might change the design to something a bit more interesting.


Just a quick update of the model with the new side panel design.


This is what I spent most of my time on today, it took my a long time to just get my head around the positioning of the screw holes and the opening, you can see how many measurements there were to take into account, and that wasn't even all of them. I think it was worth the patience because the end result looks good.


Thought I would throw in another shot of the overall model, it's really starting to come together now.

I still have a few more things i need to sort out, for example I want to fit in a 120mm fan above the motherboard to give it decent airflow but I haven't done all the measurements to make sure there is enough height above the motherboard. I also need to put in a fan hole in the back plate to supply airflow to the hard drives. There are a few more things I could ramble on about but I want to post this update.

Stay tuned.

 

[dmanstasiu]

Fusion CPU/GPU.... cool
Small HTPC....coool
UV Reactive smart coil... WATERCOOLED HTPC???

 

[mcpetrolhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmanstasiu Fusion CPU/GPU.... cool Small HTPC....coool UV Reactive smart coil... WATERCOOLED HTPC???

Bit of a misunderstanding there, the tubing was for my main rig. There is nothing in the HTPC build that needs water cooling, the CPU/GPU has a passive heatsink on it.

 

[dmanstasiu]

Simulacrum

Oh well, still interesting, you know, despite that

Never seen the Fusion used

 

[mcpetrolhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmanstasiu Simulacrum Oh well, still interesting, you know, despite that Never seen the Fusion used

Yeah, well last night I booted up and installed windows on it, it is all running well.

I have pretty much confirmed that I will be getting the panels laser cut, today i'll ring a few places up for some quotes, but from what a workmate told me he can get stuff done for around $60. Today I will also go and get some fasteners from my supplier.

I should have an update this afternoon, even if it is just a picture of bolts

 

[robbo2]

Want to see the start of this!

 

[mcpetrolhead]

Today I ordered 4 meters of 10x10mm square extruded rod, It should be ready for pickup on Wednesday, I also bought a box of M5 socket head cap screws, I'll put up a picture tonight but its nothing special. I am yet to get into contact with the laser cutting company but i was flat out today and so i didn't/dont have much time.

 

[mcpetrolhead]

Pretty boring post, but I just took a photo of the bolts I got, they are M5x10mm socket head cap screws. For 100 bolts it cost $10, then for the 4m of aluminium rod it was $13, so its not like this is costing me too much

 

[mcpetrolhead]

Quick little update, my aluminium arrived today, so I will be picking it up tomorrow, more good news, I figured out how to get my CAD drawings into the format the laser cutters want.