STL and Sketchup source files:

Case Faceplate and Drive Bay: Revised 1/23/2022

Motherboard Standoffs (superglue or 3M tape mount):

this is amazing, thanks so much for doing all the work and documenting the process of recreating your final build so well. I have a 486 SBC and backplane that were looking for a home, both of the "eligible" enclosures in my stable lack a 5.25" drive bay and I'm not fond of external CD-ROM drive solutions... this looks like a perfect alternative. Time to get the Ender 3 working!

Superb...... Does this fits.all baby AT cases? The mounting screens behind.

No, it is made to DIY your own acrylic (or other 1/8" thick material) enclosure on the back side.

I put cutouts for 10mm cube mounts on the back.

Waiting on some Aliexpress buttons and switches to finish up the front panel.. Grabbed a $30 motherboard. PC Chips M326 v5.2. It gets through some of the POST, but fails before it gets to a memory check. The battery corrosion got under the AT 12-pin connector and ate away the 12V pin and trace, and the keyboard connector. I was able to clean up everything, reapply solder mask, and run a new wire (24ga)to the back side of the board. I also replaced the keyboard connector. Still waiting on the new AT power connector to arrive from Mouser.

That printed faceplate looks great. The only downside is that it does not have a smooth surface, due to the printing technology. But I guess this will also improve with time. Will this plastic get yellow?

I don't believe it will yellow.

If you want a smooth surface, you can print in ABS and then use acetone vapor smoothing.

Depending on the 5.25 and 3.5 bay device selection, it can get quite heavy hanging off the faceplate and cause some bowing outward. I have revised the faceplate to include 2 more cube mount locations to hold the faceplate to the side panels to prevent this. If you already printed the rev2 faceplate, you can just superglue some of the cube mounts to that location.

Design files updated in post #2. (only the faceplate was updated to rev 3)

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Test fit with all the parts.. the only thing that doesn't fit is the LEDs inside of the LED retaining rings. I need to make a cutout on the backside to allow for expansion of the retaining rings once the LED is inserted. I'll work on that soon and upload the revised model & STL files.

For the parts, I might switch over to a black surround to the red power switch. It seems like it would go with the reset button, turbo button, and LED surrounds a little better. The white is a little too bright. But I do like the switch. It has a huge "thock" to it when switched, and the travel distance is pretty decent.

Rev 4 is printed.. LED holder fits great now. I just have to print out another drive holder and verify the fit, then I'll upload the final rev of this case faceplate if it is all good.

Uploaded the newest revision.. everything fits. I'll consider this the first fully working/fitting product. Print at your leisure..

Did a little test on an old rev print. The lettering on the button panel can be marked with sharpie.. turns out ok. Looks excellent from more than a foot away. Other markers may be more suitable, or even some sort of dye/paint if you could apply it cleanly enough. Or you could always take the sketchup model and export everything to STL on the faceplate except the text, then print the text seprate in a different color and glue it on afterwards. (or obviously print in 2 colors if you have a dual head machine)

This project just evokes such a wonderful tingling retro vibe. ☺️

Thanks for sharing this with the world!

You're welcome. If I have some time, I'll do another variant in a different style. Or if anyone else wants to, feel free. I'm about to be real busy at work for the next 2-3 months with 72-80hr shifts, so not a lot of free time.

Hey @wiretap, would it be possible for you to share the STL/3d-model files?

alpm wrote on 2022-01-23, 16:52:

Hey @wiretap, would it be possible for you to share the STL/3d-model files?

They are in post #2.

wiretap wrote on 2022-01-23, 19:07:

alpm wrote on 2022-01-23, 16:52:

Hey @wiretap, would it be possible for you to share the STL/3d-model files?

They are in post #2.

Thanks!! 😁

Added some motherboard standoffs to the 2nd post in this thread. They can be stuck down with automotive grade 3M sticky tape, or superglued in place. I'm using them by screwing them to the board first, then laying the board where it needs to go and marking the mounting locations for where the standoff mounts sit. Then superglue them in place. They are a tight fit with 6/32" screws, and also fit M3 screws, but don't overtighten.