need to fabricate some type of insulated computer tower mount

[jesusgatos]

I finished-up the last of the cabinets and all of the woodwork at Davis Cabinets last week, and now I'm working on the electrical and plumbing and all that fun stuff.

One of the things I need to do is design/build some type of insulated mount for my computer, which is going to sit in this cabinet (on the slide-out tray). I'm going to be living AND working out of this vehicle, so I wanted to make room for a fullsize tower.

Here's a picture to help everyone see what I'm working with:



So how would you guys tackle this? I was thinking about sandwiching the tower between two pieces of foam (top & bottom), like we do with radiators on off-road vehicles. I figured that I could make a little sheetmetal top-cap and then use something like tie-down straps to keep things tight. Any better ideas?

Here's a picture of a rig from the outside:

[bmonday]

Honestly, I'd ditch the case entirely. Cases are filled with too much empty space most of the time, and will probably inhibit cooling in an enclosed spot like that. Bolt everything to a sheet of plywood that can slide in there, or screw it directly to the sides of the enclosure and use the leftover space for something else.

Just make sure you ground everything back to the power supply. And if you're feeling adventurous (I'm confident with a rig like that, you're somewhat adventurous), put a small opening in the back of the cabinet so the power supply's fan can vent outside the enclosure.

Beau

[Bodo]

I like Beau's idea. But I would change it up a little. I'd find a motherboard tray with the I/O plate that's attached and screw that to a piece of plywood.

Kind of like what this guy did: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article237-page1.html

You don't have to enclose the whole thing like he did, but it should give you a couple ideas.

[angusdevil]

I would HIGHLY suggest getting more air flow and cooling into that cabinet. I used a lot of towers in road cases when I traveled with a band recording them. After the first two shows, we had to add in 2 6" fans front and back to keep the air moving through there to keep temperatures down.

What's your reasoning for needing insulation? Cold will not be an issue.

I say put your tower in there, and find a way to strap it down, add a couple in and out fans to the side and call it a day. You can even have the fans be powered off the motherboard so you're not having to do any more electrical runs. The goal is to get as much airflow in there that you can.

[ntsqd]

Water cooled CPU

Insulation or Isolation?

If the latter, and I can see that this might be necessary, I'd look into the various vibration isolators on the market. McMaster and Reid Tool are decent starting points.
Tension strap the tower (lacking it's cover?) to a base plate that is then vibe isolation mounted to the tray.

Might see about ducting the heat to someplace beneficial like the enclosure for the water heater or......

[Cody1771]

yeah i definatly agree that you should put some fans on the case, nexxtec makes 120V fans and there are tons of 12V fans around. and even 24 for that matter. as far as vibration goes we used these guys to make vibration dampers for the alarm and monitering computers on the ship we work on http://www.barrycontrols.com/ i know for a fact they take one HELL of a beating since we see some pretty hairy weather. im sure they will work great for your applications.

ill get some pictures up in a while. after dinner maybe

Edit managed to dig up the exact model of isolators we are using : http://www.barrycontrols.com/defense...untSeries.aspx

[jesusgatos]

What's your reasoning for needing insulation? Cold will not be an issue.

Insulation or Isolation?

Yeah... the second one. I'm concerned about vibration, not regulating temperature.

I guess it might not be a bad idea to ditch the whole case. I'll have to think about that, but I know that some CPU's actually run hotter without their cases because the fans. It's kind of hard to see in that picture, but that cabinet door is cut out (I put a mesh screen over it) and I'm planning on putting an exhaust fan/vent in the outside wall.

Thanks for all the input.

[Incusus]

If you must put it in a cabinet (which I actualy think is a good idea because you can build in air filtration...) add two 120mm case fans from a server, server cabinet, or gaming pc. mount one in front pointing in, one in back venting. This should give a decent enough air exchange to keep the internal temp moderate.

I wonder if you couldn't build a small module on the side of the enclosure with a heat exchanger of some sort where you can direct the liquid from the cooling system and cool it there, further lowering the cabinet temp?

for isolation from vibration, maybe turntable vibration units??

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/Magazin...onshootout.htm


cheers, wonderful vehicle, by the way!

[RHINO]

so should i ask the obvious question about why not a laptop?
as for isolation, i dont think you'll have much to worry about, foam pad should be just fine.
this place has some real neat ideas, most cost money but you can get some ideas anyway. http://www.mp3car.com/

[jesusgatos]

so should i ask the obvious question about why not a laptop?
as for isolation, i dont think you'll have much to worry about, foam pad should be just fine.
this place has some real neat ideas, most cost money but you can get some ideas anyway. http://www.mp3car.com/

Well, I've got a Macbook Pro that I use most of the time, but it doesn't run SolidWorks as well as my dedicated CAD workstation. And thanks for the link to that forum. Actually just registered there earlier today.