Cutting a hole in side of case and how to deal with the grill...

[Cheetah8799]

OK, you've all seen cheap cases that have the grills pre-cut into the side of the case for "airflow"... Anyway, I am going to be cutting a 92mm hole into the side of my case with a hole saw. This grill poses a problem though because half the hole will be directly through the grill. I've done it before and just hacked it up. The hole saw always catches on the grill holes and it makes it hard. This time I don't want to mess up the case, since I do like it.

My only idea is to trim the grill with a dremel before using the hole saw. That way the hole saw won't catch on the grill. Not the ideal solution, since it will take a lot longer, but it's all I've come up with so far.

I'm using this case here. You can see the grill on the left side.


Anyone have any suggestions on how to get through this problem? (don't tell me to get a new case...)

 

[Xemus]

From the pic, it looks like the grill is at the very bottom.
You'd be better of putting the whole directly over the CPU, as it will pull air right onto it versus possibly getting blocked by your video card or other cards.
Why not move it up?

 

[Cheetah8799]

Because I want it blowing over the video card. There is still enough room for a 2nd 92mm fan over the CPU if I choose to do that in the future.

 

[klah]

Use a drill press.

 

[Cheetah8799]

I have a drill press. The problem is that the hold saw gets caught on the grill that is molded into the piece of metal I am cutting. This is what I need help on. If I simply put the hole saw directly to the grill it will get caught and likely damage the metal and paint.

 

[0roo0roo]

oy, thats weird. i guess you just have to live with a little pre dremiling. but it doesn't really look like the grill holes are that far up. you could hole saw right above it and still have the lower portion of the fan blowing over the vid card i'm guessing, agp port is on top after all.

 

[Cheetah8799]

It's a microATX case, so the AGP slot is almost even with the top of the grill. That's why the 92mm fan will be half above the grill and half below.

 

[beatle]

Have you considered using a 120mm fan that will blow over both the CPU and video card? That's what I'm planning to do when my case goes under the knife later this month.

 

[Cheetah8799]

ya, I thought about that, but I already have the 92mm fans that I want to use, and I was able to borrow a 92mm hole saw. I also have a Vantec fan controller, so noise also isn't an issue.

Either way though, I'd still have to deal with cutting through the grill.

 

[coolroyboy2]

If you can angle the table on your drill press slightly you may be able to cut most of the hole before cutting into the grill and then finish off with a dremel or some snips. A scrap of wood will shield the table from the hole saw and take out the some of viberation while cutting.

 

[Gaunt]

If it's really going to be that difficult, why not just use a dremel alone and skip the hole saw? If you put some trim around the hole or use a fan grill afterwards, and make sure to file the edges properly, you notice any slips of the dremel once you're done.

 

[drx9175l]

I ran into a similar problem when installing a window into a Enlight 7237. Like your case it had grills cut into the bottom of the left side panel. The right side did not have these holes. The side panels are reversible, so I was able to simply swap them. See if you can do the same. It may allow you enough room to mount the single 92mm fan now, but will probably become an issue if you ever do decide to add the second fan later. Good luck.

 

[MDE]

Can't you use a drill press and clamp the case panel down?

 

[Cheetah8799]

Originally posted by: drx9175l
I ran into a similar problem when installing a window into a Enlight 7237. Like your case it had grills cut into the bottom of the left side panel. The right side did not have these holes. The side panels are reversible, so I was able to simply swap them. See if you can do the same. It may allow you enough room to mount the single 92mm fan now, but will probably become an issue if you ever do decide to add the second fan later. Good luck.

Thanks for reminding me. I was going to check to see if the other side would work by switching them. At first I didn't think it would work, but I tried it and I can use the right side. It doesn't have the grill, so it will work fine.

I'm going to cut 2 holes, one above the video card, and the other above the cpu. Both fans will fit PERFECT!

So, problem solved. Thanks.