My First Build: Project TBD

[Profound]

So Im building my first computer and I've decide to build it from the ground up, so I'm building a case from the ground up.
I think I'm going to build it out of 1/4" Plastic that I can get quite a bit of for free, Is this a good idea or is metal much easier? Also what is the best way to bond plastic pieces together?

This is my initial design, a few things are missing such as the hole in the middle of the layer 6" off the ground, the bottom compartment is made to hold a radiator and pump, and also possibly a power supply which in this drawing is located at the top.

Any suggestions would be welcome and appreciated - I will update with new designs dimensions are 24" height (changed too 22" in 2nd design) x 10" x 20". Contains 3 200mm fans and 3 120mm fans. The 3 fans around the middle are intakes. The other 3 are outgoing.

[ultimatedesk]

Looks interesting, but there are a few things I noticed:

- Are you planning on running your motherboard inverted? I noticed that you have your I/O shield location on the left side of the case, as opposed to the right.

- 1/4" plastic is generally not very strong. You may have to put some strategic "ribs" in the case to give it rigidity or use thicker plastic in strategic areas.

- Bonding acrylic / lexan is pretty easy, though you will need to make a few practice runs on scraps. The way I've applied it is with a small syringe bottle.

- Think about the steps you will take to assemble it, it will help out a LOT when you go to decide the dimensions you need to cut all the pieces.