Slashdot Mirror
Student Designs Cardboard Computer Case
SpaceGhost writes "The Houston Chronicle has a story on a Grad student at the University of Houston who has designed a cardboard case for a computer. This is not a new concept, but this one is meant to be used in manufacture. The idea is that it will be faster and easier to produce (no fasteners for example) and dramatically easier to recycle."
What's that burning smell?
from 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
to 45 2F 6E 40 3C DF 10 71 4E 41 DF AA 25 7D 31 3F
When I spray coke over it like I normally do when reading Slashdot?
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/05/recompute-a-closer-look-at-the-sustainable-cardboard-pc/ for a better description and better pictures
is grounding no longer a problem? I haven't built a computer in a while, but I'm not sure if cardboard makes a good ground.
The case is either Al or steel sheet metal, easily recyclable. The toxic sludge and heavy metals in the PCB, capacitors and solder are the problem. Call me when they invent cardboard solder.
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
I bet the case will be all eaten in a year or so.
New Economic Perspectives
Not again.
This is not the first time we have seen this idea
cardboard does not act as a Farady cage and the computer will leak large amounts of radio frequency interference so will not be legal in most countries.
They did. It's called "Duct Tape"
Brawndo: It's what plants crave!
... and the cardboard box came in metal shipping crate.
Brawndo: It's what plants crave!
As others have pointed out, the case is not difficult to recycle or toxic.
And who the hell throws away a case? It's the part that goes obsolete slowest, and several computers might occupy a case before it needs to be replaced.
# cat
Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
why the hell are desktop cases so damn expensive?
I used to have up right computer cases becasue glass monitors were getting so damn big, and thus heavy. Now with LCD monitors, I would think the desktop would come back.
It saves more space then the tiny uprights Dell sell that stand next to the monitor, and makes room on the floor.
Obviously, the people on slashdot that get in and out of there case is probably a higher proportion then most people so I can see why some of you wouldn't want one.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Actually, the ashes from this case will make an excellent soil supplement for your garden... pity about the rest of your house, however.
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Finally a use for is_computer_on_fire()
http://www.eeggs.com/items/15121.html
You could probably glue a thin sheet of aluminum foil to the inside of the case, so I wouldn't worry about the Faraday cage.
At least now the ultra-low-end Dells will look on the outside just as crappy as they are on the inside :)
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
The price of computers coming down is definitely a good thing and making them easier to recycle is great. Unfortunately there is growing trend of waste due to these cheap computers. As a consumer desktop technician I would see people replacing perfectly good hardware due to software issues. They are just so cheap and labor can be be pretty expensive, that it would be stupid to do anything else. The con is that a lot of cheap computers are going to the dump. Things would be perfect if people could learn the basics. Something as basic as backing up files and reinstalling the OS is beyond the scope of most consumers.
Pretty sure a cardboard box with a modern motherboard inside doesn't quite meet the FCC Part 15 class B regulations for unintentional radio emissions needed for residential use. That's why computer cases are usually metal instead of plastic.
Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
One of my favorite books is 'Centigrade 232'
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
You could probably glue a thin sheet of aluminum foil to the inside of the case, so I wouldn't worry about the Faraday cage.
So now my cardboard computer case needs a tinfoil hat?
This guy's the limit!
I don't have a quibble with most of your post, but cardboard is a MUCH better dampener of noise and vibrations than metal, especially thin sheet metal. Metal can easily become a sounding board for vibrations. Cardboard, not so much...
Also, cardboard is pretty structurally strong. Stronger than very thin metal. The only reason cases hold any weight is the internal frame, not the thin sheet metal and plastic most "disposable computer-grade" cases are made out of. That frame could either be retained, or replaced with some triangular corner cardboard reinforcements. It doesn't really get brittle if treated properly (seal it so the humidity remains constant and it can last FAR longer than the 5-year lifespan of the computer inside.
I see your point on the fireproof thing, though. Once you start effectively fireproofing the cardboard you'll likely undo a lot of the cost savings and environmental benefits.
"This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
I remember playing Tribes 2 on my AMD system many moons ago. It kept locking up about 12 minutes in due to overheating. Finally switched over to an AMD-approved case, and the overheating problems went away. While it would have been nice to keep an old case & keep putting better systems inside, I had no choice on that one.
I don't miss the old AT cases where to access anything inside meant having to unbolt the side-top-side u-shaped cover. The switch to individual removable sides was a good one.
Catching on fire
Getting wet
Condensation
Humidity
Supporting other objects
Stress
Changing structure
Changing composition
Bacteria
Mold
Bugs getting inside, getting them back out
Mites
Unwashable
Overheating
Weight of components
EM interference to internal components
EM interference to external appliances (possible FCC violation)
Grounding
Reusability/longevity
Papercuts
Transportability
Modification
Static
Security
Looking stupid
Did I miss anything?
"Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"
Working in a large Data Center, we explicitly prohibit staff and customers from bringing cardboard onto the DC floor because of dust. Not only does cardboard have a habit of carrying dust from the outside, it's a huge contributor of dust as the cardboard breaks down. Hopefully they plan on treating the cardboard to mitigate this decomposition.
I miss the power button actually turning the system OFF.
I also miss my old cases I could reuse as a jack stand for my car. Of course I understand why the AT standard had to be replaced.
The preceding post was not a Slashvertisement.
Actually, I read on the cover of a book once that paper ignites at 451 F.
I don't think so. Recycling is the LAST of the three. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. This will result in MORE resources being spent and LESS reuse of components.
Computer cases are one of the most re-usable elements in a system. My first PC, an 8088 PC, used a Cosmol XT case made of steel, and that case and power supply was the centerpiece of my computer from my XT all the way until my K6-2. Along that time, processor speeds increased by a factor of 100 (4.77MHz to 550MHz), memory size increased by a factor of 50 (256kb to 128MB), storage space increased by a factor of 2000(5MB to 10GB). The important standards for case design didn't change over that period, so there was no good reason to change. Also, the case was totally bad-ass. The computer I built to finally replace the aging beast used a new case, and the standards haven't changed since. I've built Athlon 64s with cases from old Pentium IIs or Athlons.
Making the case of a PC disposable crap is going to result in more waste, not less. Suddenly I won't be able to have the same case for 20 years, I'll have to replace it with every new computer(or more!). Also, it'll lead to less reuse of components. I've built 6 computers this year from parts scavenged from here and there. All of them have found homes. The parts simply wouldn't be able to be scavenged if the machines were made of cardboard. To clean the outsides of the cases, we had to use soap and water that these cases wouldn't stand up to. Some of them were left in the rain and mud for short periods fo time, and wouldn't be functional if not for the fact that they had cases that could withstand the elements.
My current case could last me another 10-20 years easily, depending on what standards do (a PC case you bought in 1999 would have an ATX form factor and could be reused today. I could see power supply standards but not case standards changing again in that time). Under this regimen, I could end up with a new case every 1-2 years or more. As others have pointed out, there will also be greater stress on components from EMI and RFI. Making less durable paper cases may be slightly easier for recycling, but it's stupid from the perspective of reducing waste.
It's been a long time.
There are plenty of computers out there which don't adhere to those standards. Something like the Dell gx270, for instance, which uses an odd ATX-wire-compatible cigar shaped power supply. Vendors seem to love making proprietary, difficult to service cases: seems like every generation of each vendors' products results in a different, difficult to service case design (including different-headed screws).
BTX is a bad design. It's not Athlon 64 or i7 compatible. ATX is. That's part of the reason hobbyists aren't interested. The fact that BTX power supplies and boards aren't as good, inexpensive, or available also has a lot to do with it - it's not the hobbyists who have nixed BTX, it's the producers. Hobbyists will move to whatever works well for the application, at a good price range.
Mini-ITX (which is what I assume you were referring to) does have a fairly broad hobbyist adoption. Why? It isn't a bad case design which limits adoption in multiple applications.
What are the applications for which ATX does not work well? And/or why do they not work well? What about the design sucks? "Clipping it to your belt" isn't exactly a valid (or honest) criticism. There's mini-ATX, as well as a variety of spec diversions - and from what I've seen, they're upwards- and cross- compatible (ie mini-ATX will work in a full-size ATX case). That works well for everything from "small desktop" on up through full-size low-end server.
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
But its probably not recyclable after it catches on fire from my overclocked processor
No worries. I think the melting point of solder is lower than ignition point of cardboard. So there's an automatic safety mechanism: solder melts, electric connections break, heating stops.
a) Who's to say you can't reuse this case?
b) Your use case is rare. 99.9% of PC users will not be reusing the same case 5 times.
c) I am guessing it takes dramatically less energy to create and recycle a cardboard case 5 times than it costs to create a single permanent steel case.
Proper building is important, e.g. in most cases you will find there are metal blanks behind the plastic blanks on drive bays, theese make up part of the shielding but are often not replaced (or even can't be replaced) when moving drives arround (PC manufacturers don't really care about this, they only care about meeting the interference regulations when the machine leaves the factory).
Remember even a 10GHz (that would about the third harmonic of the clock of a 3GHz CPU) electromagnetic wave has a wavelength of a few centimeters so small slits aren't that much of a problem.
They don't build PC cases out of metal (or occasionally metal lined plastic) for fun or to make them cheap, they do it because they need the shielding to meet interference regulations.
note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
LOL - I try not to shamelessly promoto myself
http://pizzaboxart.blogspot.com/