Slashdot Mirror
Impressive Homemade Aluminum Cube Case
baschie writes "A Belgian guy, Dennis Vieren, probably designed and built the most beautiful aluminium case ever, called project "Frozen". He designed his case from the ground up using CAD software, and built it from plates of 3mm aluminium and 3 mm acrylic glass. It cost him about 300/400 euro, and took him about 250 hours to build."
It appears the /casemod subdirectory was removed from his webserver. Here's the Google cached version:
: www.vieren.be/casemod/+&hl=en
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:q2MWTRCyeksC
1 aluminium case : few hundred euros
cad software : $100
self-assembly : free
Posting 3 256kb pictures in a slashdot link : priceless
It makes me feel like I'm living in the future.
Then again, so does bubble wrap.
"'Moon Pies'? What a time to be alive."
--Jasper
From dictionary.com:
Although, after seeing a few posts here, he could have just misspelled it...;)
I'm telling you: there's a huge market out there for designer computers. If you could put out machines that weren't beige boxes but which instead were hip, you'd find a huge market with the 20-somethings.
Apple made a run at this, and look how successful they were without running the mainstream Wintel setup.
People already routinely pay 500% more than they need to for clothes (ck), home furnishings (Pottery Barn), even sporting goods just because of the brand name and for the chance to be fashionable. I can't see why computers should be any different. Pair this thing with a big flat-screen, a top-notch audio system and other similarly hip appointments, do some serious marketing, maybe brand it with known designer and I gaurantee you could sell these things for $5k each.
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
Really nice looking. Appears kind of elaborate to get into though, as far as I can tell from the photos. I especially like the logos on the side. Too bad it'll be slashdotted soon with the amount of images on the page.
The thing is truly a beautiful piece of work! I just hope for him that the light can be turned off ;) Also it appears immensely big! I mean, build a cube out of 6 full size ATX mainboards - it's bigger than that! :) hehe
I couldn't fit that where my computer is now. And I'm pretty sure my girlfriend wouldn't let me if I could
Any technology distinguishable from magic, is insufficiently advanced.
hahaha, we're going to /. the stats page showing the /. effect.
I wonder if the Al shields EMF's enought that they don't interfere with anything like phones, tvs, etc.
I find the cube to be more attractive then a bulking beige box. Thinking back to when the Apple G4 Cube was introduced, and how many of my friends said they liked the design, why is it that the consumer market is still dominated by tower-type system housings? What makes Aluminium easier to machine than say, Magnesium or Steel? How marketable are hobbyist case designs to larger consumer-market case retailers/manufacturers?
SIGERR: laziness exceeds quota
Those cases are modified. This is a brand new never-before-seen-completely-from-scratch assembly. Also, are you on crack? This case was awesome. It brought a tear to my eye and turned me green with envy. I think I would kill that guy to get one if he weren't living so far away (or just buy one from him)
Dacels Jewelers can't be trusted.
I mean sure that thing is beautiful and all, but its also fucking gigantic.
So why not utilise the extra space? Install some sort of refrigeration system -- very useful should you ever choose to overclock -- and turn it into the worlds first PC-case/Bar fridge.
You think it's a thing of beauty now, imagine reaching into it and pulling out a brewski, without getting up from your Quake session!
Awesome!
:)
Considering that it cost him about $250 in materials, I don't think so.
http://216.74.64.37/casemod/index.htm
Take a look at the modifications that extreme custom car builders do to their transport, not out of any practical reason, but for the love of building something with the most extreme quality. With imagination and hard work you can inject a LOT of style into your PC. I'd like to see systems with some insane 'tidying'... the auto customisers hidden wiring tricks, colour coded everything, even components laid out in an aesthetic manner. Not for practicality, but just -because-
If that's not your thing however - good for you. Everyone has a little excess (read: pointless but pretty) style in their life. Like the friend of mine who derides Mac cases for their 'prettiness' and claims function means all the most to her, but drives a more expensive bespoilered sporty looking car with no more performance than an average one.
While case mods are cool, they're just modifications of boring old PC cases. What's super-cool about this cube is that it was built from scratch and doesn't look like a traditional computer.
Besides, how many case modders use CAD and laser-cut aluminum? That's just nifty.
This
At least you are not an Enron employee:
401K - Unauthorized - you are not authorized to withdraw your pension until the executives have sold their shares
Looking for an Information Security student project suggestion?
Try http://dotcrimeManifesto.com/
This case is indeed looks good except that
beige face plates on cd-rom and the like
look out of place. What kind of air does this
case move?
...Dennis Veiren probably designed and built the most beautiful aluminium case ever...
Is he claiming the credit, or is there a general consensus that he is the mostly builder? And who's calling this the most beautiful case ever?
To VIEW moded cases, anyway.
http://pcdb.overclockers.com.au/ (over 3000 cases).
Best place I've found to buy parts to mod
your case would be www.pcmods.com
Beige bezels on the drives? What a cheap-ass slacker! ;-)
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
This page has a case made entirely out of legos.
This page has a custom plastic case porsche-like with a spoiler.
I know the difference between a modded case and a custom case. I just wish people would frigging take more than 2 seconds at a link before raving like lunatics.
An Education is the Font of All Liberty
Now you slashdotted netstat!! (J/k, obviously).
Wow. That is pretty cool. Speaking of cube computers thoguh, i found some other interesting designs.. check out www.soldam.com for these really nice small looking cubes... Note the price is in yen though, use this to convert.
..pcable
I use this case at my job on Wall Street where I'm a derivatives trader. The case is both aesthetically pleasing and functional for my work.
Swell. Let's see... the raw materials cost more than that, and assuming a sweatshop slave wage rate for 250 hours .. oh, it cost him about ten times as much as your bid. Don't hold your breath waiting for his excited reply to your generous offer.
The materials were bought for a single unit if you buy in bulk you get considral price breaks.
250 Hours laber was most likely in the CAD program, design work only neads to be done once.
I know I'm going to hell, I'm just trying to get good seats.
That is beautiful. It looks a lot like a non-black NeXT cube. Even the little logo is reminiscent of a Linux-styled version of the NeXT logo.
It's a shame it'll have a nst of hideous PC cables coming out the back and connecting to a butt-ugly monitor and keyboard. The peripherals are half the battle =)
I know--I use an Apple Extended Keyboard and a Mac trackball. They work well, but they look crappy in front of a nice, sleek black monitor.
Oh, yea, and those cases the earlier poster linked to are some of the more tasteless things I've seen in a while. I can't imagine someone would prefer those to the cube that the guy built.
There should be a moratorium on the use of the apostrophe.
Max V.
NeXTMail/MIME Mail welcome
Where can you buy this stuff in the US for a reasonable price?
Get that man on Sony's computer design staff, or have him make these things on the side.
I say Sony because:
1) Apple already has a great designer, Jonathon Ive
2) Michael Dell wouldn't know a good case design if it appeared as a cow with a black turtleneck shirt and spoke to him--"Dude, your cases SUCK...!!!"
3) Gateway couldn't afford to do this change
4) HP and Compaq are too wrapped up in their mutual admiration society
5) Sony understands design is important, even for PC boxes
As a preferred Macintosh user, this PC case is the most ingenious design I've seen. Nice work. Where I can get one to replace the POS with the Athlon I just assembled?
--
Vos teneo officium eram periculosus ut vos recipero is.
.. or does it just look like a rather oddly designed overhead projector?
:)
OHP's, I'm sad to say, are not my idea of the pinnacle of design, no matter how many neon lights you fit in it
Oh, and it has one of those awful doors who's only purpose in life is to slow you down when you're trying to juggle CD's.
I just wish he'd posted a model of his design for us all to use :)
*Starts dreaming up a nice little logo for the side of his case*
Last 10 visitors....
S.t.e.v.e.
This guy might want to contact Antec-Europe about their Casemod Contest. His box might actually fit in the "Others" category...
Minimalist: Minor mod, extra fan or handle
Artist: Typically not cutting the case, instead the case becomes a canvas
Exhibitionist: Windows, showing the guts of the system
Decorator: Matches case to coordinate with a room/desk
Sponsor: Case with stickers, logos, etc
Others: If your case doesn't match the above
Withdrawal before climax is very ineffective and those who try this are usually called "parents."
The big plexiglass window in the top probably does not. It's better than an all plexiglass case, but people really shouldn't leave unshielded holes in their computers.
nah, magnesium is great to machine. Cuts like butter, great finish, you just gotta keep the feeds up to make large, hard to ignite, chips. You may have to put it in an inert atmosphere to lase it. Large pieces (greater than 1/16 inch) are hard to ignite with conventional machining techniques (assuming normal cutting conditions). Can be welded with usual TIG torch (Tungsten Inert Gas). It's easier than aluminum to machine. Course, you could say I'm a professional...
The whole site seems to redirect to this page:
:)
http://case.1be.be
I'm not quite clear what he is doing. I think it might be trying to send back a permanent page redirect, and IE does not like it.
Although at one point I turned off friendly http error display on IE and then the site came right up. Next time I tried that, it said it was redirecting to 216.74.64.37/casemod which doesn't seem to respond.
To use Occam's Razor, "Never attribute to malice what can be adequatedly explained by stupidity." I don't think this was intentional, the whole configuration of that web server is just whacked.
That being said, that case is cool! I wouldn't mind something like that at home.
If you have to ask why, you'll never know.
Well, hell, I posted this as an AC, but wtf, a score of 0? Craptacular.
/., as the moron hasn't fixed the size issues.
Dennis Vieren has moved the pictures of the case to: http://case.1be.be/.
Go forth and
I looks like he forgot to cut in a nice little indentation for the AMD case badge.
I'd like to see systems with some insane 'tidying'...
Woohoo! Extreme case cleaning!
Here is a shoebox sized one for about $300 etc. With mb and powersupply. Here for the table case. etc. (*warning* Japanese)
Interactive Visual Medical Dictionary
One of the best places for all things mechanical - sheet metal, aluminum, brackets, fasteners - is McMaster-Carr. At mcmaster.com their entire catalog is online (don't even _try_ to get a paper copy) and the 'Raw Materials' section will let you sort in a myriad of different ways. Add to that incredible 1-DAY shipping, at STANDARD UPS COST, and you see why these guys are on every engineering firm's Christmas card list.
-- "They say that time changes things. The truth is, you have to change them yourself." (Andy Warhol, adapted)
We can to spell! Why, just the other day, I was adjusting my proxy to hide the Referer HTTP header and... damn. Nevermind.
In that guy's defense, all the custom by-hand jobs were after the 1st page. Still, most were hack-ups of existing cases. The suitcase ones were cool, and the lego was a nice novelty... But even counting those amongst the majority of "stock case with extra holes for fans, some neon tubes, and blue spray paint", there was nothing as cool as "Frozen".
The porsche one looked stupid, because of that ridiculous spoiler.
The enemies of Democracy are
WRONG. The original spelling was alumium. (no "in")
t ml
This was then changed to aluminum, then aluminium. Then it changed back to aluminum in the US.
See http://www.world-aluminium.org/history/language.h
But none of this really matters unless you wanna go back to wulfram, plubnum, etc. (and originally, English had no "correct" spellings for anything.)
bullshit. show me how accessable your mac cube is...
The mac cube is this accessible.
__
Choose mnemonic identifiers. If you can't remember what mnemonic means, you've got a problem. - Larry Wall
Dutch mirror with the most important pics: http://www.tweakers.net/nieuws/20762
While we're on the subject.
Standard m/board sizes only though FlexATX etc. Most of the ones I've seen so far aren't really all that different from standard ATX form factor. The SV24 would be nice but for the non standard motherboard.
Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
It could be a coffee table. That is part of it's coolness in my opinion. It's a massive beast, but it looks cool.
A friend of mine is working with me one what would make a case "really cool and effective" -- lots of ideas can be taken from this. While it's size is a deterrent for most people, it's a good setup and base design.
Dacels Jewelers can't be trusted.
Shame the nice lines are spoilt by the four nuts at the top. I think they detract from the appearance of the box. Perhaps he could have countersunk some screws in there and covered them with something....
Baz
MS specific problem (DNS reslover??):
This link works in I.E.:
http://case.1be.be/
Matt
Hey, someone mod parent up. It's the only link I see anywhere that actually works and shows pictures, at least to us using IE (gack...).
Very cool case! If cases like this where manufactured instead of custom made, I'd buy one.
--- Think of it as evolution in action ---
Next time we'll go for a hat trick. Heute Slashdot, Morgen das Sonnensystem...
-- Any sufficiently advanced level of incompetence is indistinguishable from malice
> Britain, where they sometimes actually spell it "aluminium"
0 37 610
We did this before.
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=28259&cid=3
rant
I hope he filed a design patent. This is probably one of those rare cases that deserves one.
Drat, I was gonna post the results of netcrafting their website to answer your question, but they appear not to have a web page!
~~~~~ BigLig2? You mean there's another one of me?
My brain for some reason indicates that it was Netscape who hoisted that evil header upon us, though I cannot find any supporting evidence.
Bad brain! More caffine for you!
Go visit Crate & Barrel sometime.
Sure, people view computers as utilitarian, but that's only because that's how we've trained people to view them. With the proper application of marketing dollars, you can convince people that it's worth paying $200 for a pair of tennis shoes, for Christ's sake.
The point is, this doesn't happen by itself. It happens when a company recognizes the market and spends a whole shitload on the proper marketing -- ads, commercials, product placements, etc.
Remember: You're not selling a pretty case. You're selling the image.
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
I misread it as, "aluminum can case". Well, why not? People live in bear can houses, and I've got can shelves. Crush space is one way to make something rugged. Stop me now! Someone stop me please....
DMCA, Hollings, Palladium. What might have sounded like paranoia is now common sense.
Odd, that's what someone once said when Steve Jobs and Woz were burning the midnight oil in their garage...
Perhaps this guy can start making a living building and selling them. One never knows, so one shouldn't be so quick to judge.
Virg
We use command line because we can. We use ugly beige because we must. But, we use amber because green is for plebians.
Virg
(don't even _try_ to get a paper copy)
Why not? I was looking at one on an engineer's bookshelf not more than 4 hours ago while I fixed his pc.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
Rounded cables and cable wraps - almost all case-mods have those. Helps airflow for one. Also give you a chance to use color.
That fan in front for the power supply makes me wonder about airflow problems. Eg do both blow out/opposite/in? I also think the top fan should be bigger to compensate for the two fans on the bottom pushing air in.
Interesting case design thou. I wonder if you can build one that can be made out of only flat pieces.
make Linux, not Microsoft. sin(beast) = -0.809016994374947424102293417182819
Actaully I would say the case is about 2ft on each size in size max. I use the ATX MB size as a reference so it's maybe a bit smaller.
make Linux, not Microsoft. sin(beast) = -0.809016994374947424102293417182819
Ok, so maybe an end table. I used to have an ATX mobo that was the bigger of the factors (Used the full perimeter of the mount plate) and damn that board was huge. Was a Micronix (I think.. been a few years) -- loved that board, then it caught on fire. (Literally)
Dacels Jewelers can't be trusted.
Well for big boards Micronics 486 was very large. The biggest I've seen so far was from a Compaq server. Almost 3 ft long.
make Linux, not Microsoft. sin(beast) = -0.809016994374947424102293417182819
This was for a P6-200Mhz. I loved that box like a child until it blew up. Micronics were great boards, even though they were large (excluding my fire incident) -- the VXi power card was just spiffy.
Dacels Jewelers can't be trusted.
it's about pleasant design... useful things do not need to be ugly... or unpleasant to touch...