Putting Holes in Cases...

[thegisguy]

I'm planning to mod my Antec 900 MB tray to allow for better cable management. My question is am I better of using a Unibit (Stepbit) or can I get away with using a hole saw?

Anyone want to weight in?

 

[jdkick]

What diameter? If you're just running cables through then i'll assume 1" or so. A decent hole saw should be fine and fairly affordable, tho a step-bit could offer some convenience at a higher cost. In either case you will need to clean up the holes a bit afterwards with a file or rotary tool anyway, so what you make the hole with isn't super critical IMO.

 

[aigomorla]

hole saw would be my best recomendation if you just need a hole. Also the cleanest solution.


Use Tape, and lube and go slowly!

 

[Modelworks]

Dremel with the cutoff disk, the ceramic ones that are really thin.
It will cut through the case in seconds.

I use it to cut a small square then round it off.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

For anything under an inch I use my uni-bit, I often even drill a pair of holes next to each other with the unibit and connect them with snips or a dremel. For anything over an inch I use a hole saw if it's a new hold or dremel/jigsaw for cutting out integrated grills.

 

[thegisguy]

Yeah I was thinking about 1inch. I have a rotary tool, but I'm not great with it so far as cutting goes. I was planning to use it for sanding the hole.

DerwenArtos1 thanks for the tip about combining two holes. I was wondering about running the 24 pin MB connection. I think your suggestion will be perfect.

Can I use WD40 for lube?

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: thegisguy

Can I use WD40 for lube?

Yep

 

[thegisguy]

Cool. I'll try to take pictures as I go to post later.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: Modelworks

Originally posted by: thegisguy

Can I use WD40 for lube?

Yep

For drilling into metal. I wouldn't suggest it for many other purposes though, it's oil based.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: thegisguy
I'm planning to mod my Antec 900 MB tray to allow for better cable management. My question is am I better of using a Unibit (Stepbit) or can I get away with using a hole saw?

Anyone want to weight in?

I hope you people don't mind if I hijack this thread a bit. My question is, afterall, about cutting holes in cases!

I was going to buy that very case (see OP quoted above) at Newegg yesterday (Antec 900), but the price had jumped $20 from the day before, so now my thinking is instead to modify my current main PC's case, which is a pretty standard computer show cheapie ($25 including L&C PSU, which is still working like a champ in my alternate PC), a midtower ATX case.

That case supports 80mm case fans, two at the back. I want to modify the case to feature 120mm case fans, one exhausting at the back and one blowing in at the side (I plan on making some filters for the fans). In order to do this, I will need to cut holes for the fans. At the rear, there's barely room for a 120mm fan. If the maximum dimension of the fan is exactly (or less than) 120mm, it will just barely fit. Not having the fans yet, I don't know, but I measured an 80mm fan and it was a bit under 80mm max, so I'm optimistic.

What can I use to cut holes in the case's steel for the 120mm fans? I have a jigsaw, and maybe I can do it with that. Of course, the holes need to be circular. I have a hole cutting set, but it was designed for wood. I suppose it might work for steel, but it might be slow going and it might dull the saw. That set has blades up to 5" in diameter. I have a dremel too, with a pretty good assortment of accessories.

The Antec 900 features 3 settings for the case fans. Can I work that out somehow for my modded case? Or something similar, maybe 2 speeds? I don't think I need to run the fans at full speed, since my CPU and vid card aren't all that intense (AMD Athlon 3200+ 2.2 GHz, which I will maybe OC, and gForce 6600GT AGP). I really want a quiet PC.

I'd also appreciate suggestions for 120mm case fans, what to get and where. I'm hoping for very quiet fans that will last and not too expensive. Thanks.

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: Muse


I hope you people don't mind if I hijack this thread a bit. My question is, afterall, about cutting holes in cases!

I was going to buy that very case (see OP quoted above) at Newegg yesterday (Antec 900), but the price had jumped $20 from the day before, so now my thinking is instead to modify my current main PC's case, which is a pretty standard computer show cheapie ($25 including L&C PSU, which is still working like a champ in my alternate PC), a midtower ATX case.

You do not want to use a jigsaw for cutting metal like pc cases, the teeth are way too coarse and the saw is going to jump too much.

Use the dremel tool
They make a ceramic cutting blade for them that will cut metal like its butter.
The blades break easy, but they give you 20+ of them in a pack for like 5.00

In the end you might just be cheaper to get the antec 900 case.
Its a great case, I love mine.

By the time you add up fan controllers, fans, the time to cut the case you have, mounting hardware, the antec 900 becomes a pretty good deal.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: Modelworks

Originally posted by: Muse


I hope you people don't mind if I hijack this thread a bit. My question is, afterall, about cutting holes in cases!

I was going to buy that very case (see OP quoted above) at Newegg yesterday (Antec 900), but the price had jumped $20 from the day before, so now my thinking is instead to modify my current main PC's case, which is a pretty standard computer show cheapie ($25 including L&C PSU, which is still working like a champ in my alternate PC), a midtower ATX case.

You do not want to use a jigsaw for cutting metal like pc cases, the teeth are way too coarse and the saw is going to jump too much.

Use the dremel tool
They make a ceramic cutting blade for them that will cut metal like its butter.
The blades break easy, but they give you 20+ of them in a pack for like 5.00

In the end you might just be cheaper to get the antec 900 case.
Its a great case, I love mine.

By the time you add up fan controllers, fans, the time to cut the case you have, mounting hardware, the antec 900 becomes a pretty good deal.

I disagree entirely, I've used jigsaws on steel computer cases quite a few times and with a good metal cutting blade they work well. You certainly don't want to get a 10tpi wood/plastic blade and try and cut the case with that but, anything over 20tpi will cut metal very cleanly and with much les mess and hassle than ceramic cut-off disks.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Modelworks

Originally posted by: Muse


I hope you people don't mind if I hijack this thread a bit. My question is, afterall, about cutting holes in cases!

I was going to buy that very case (see OP quoted above) at Newegg yesterday (Antec 900), but the price had jumped $20 from the day before, so now my thinking is instead to modify my current main PC's case, which is a pretty standard computer show cheapie ($25 including L&C PSU, which is still working like a champ in my alternate PC), a midtower ATX case.

You do not want to use a jigsaw for cutting metal like pc cases, the teeth are way too coarse and the saw is going to jump too much.

Use the dremel tool
They make a ceramic cutting blade for them that will cut metal like its butter.
The blades break easy, but they give you 20+ of them in a pack for like 5.00

In the end you might just be cheaper to get the antec 900 case.
Its a great case, I love mine.

By the time you add up fan controllers, fans, the time to cut the case you have, mounting hardware, the antec 900 becomes a pretty good deal.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing before they hiked the price. Maybe I'll call Newegg and see if they'll give me the price it was at when I decided I wanted it.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12

Originally posted by: Modelworks

Originally posted by: Muse


I hope you people don't mind if I hijack this thread a bit. My question is, afterall, about cutting holes in cases!

I was going to buy that very case (see OP quoted above) at Newegg yesterday (Antec 900), but the price had jumped $20 from the day before, so now my thinking is instead to modify my current main PC's case, which is a pretty standard computer show cheapie ($25 including L&C PSU, which is still working like a champ in my alternate PC), a midtower ATX case.

You do not want to use a jigsaw for cutting metal like pc cases, the teeth are way too coarse and the saw is going to jump too much.

Use the dremel tool
They make a ceramic cutting blade for them that will cut metal like its butter.
The blades break easy, but they give you 20+ of them in a pack for like 5.00

In the end you might just be cheaper to get the antec 900 case.
Its a great case, I love mine.

By the time you add up fan controllers, fans, the time to cut the case you have, mounting hardware, the antec 900 becomes a pretty good deal.

I disagree entirely, I've used jigsaws on steel computer cases quite a few times and with a good metal cutting blade they work well. You certainly don't want to get a 10tpi wood/plastic blade and try and cut the case with that but, anything over 20tpi will cut metal very cleanly and with much les mess and hassle than ceramic cut-off disks.

I probably have the requisite blade. I have several metal cutting jigsaw blades. Thanks.

I'm having a hard time visualizing the process of cutting holes for a 120mm fan with a dremel, although I do have quite an assortment of dremel accessories including diamond blades that I believe have steel underneath the glued diamonds (shouldn't shatter).

 

[WoodButcher]

I use most of the already mentioned methods depending on what, where, and how neat the work must be. No matter what method you choose, practice. Don't make your first attempt on the case, use scrap metals or if you must go buy new and call them scraps. If you do run into trouble it's always better if you don't wind up calling your new case "scrap metal"

 

[Modelworks]

You also don't need to cut a circle, that is making it more work than it needs to be.
Instead you can cut a 8 sided shape, with each corner an angle.
Then drill out a hole in each corner to mount the fan screws.

These are what I'm referring to.
http://www.dremel.com/en-us/at...188549&G=66367&I=66374

 

[thegisguy]

Yeah My understanding was that Jig Saws were an ideal tool for cutting metal with the correct blade of course. I also thought the general rule of thumb was that straight cuts were better suited to jig saws, and circles were better off left to dremels.

By the way I picked up a hole saw at Home Depot. I'm going to map out my cuts tonight and hope to start chopping up my MB tray tomorrow. Happy easter to me...

 

[Modelworks]

some cool designs cut with a dremel
http://www.mnpctech.com/Dremel.html

 

[LittleNemoNES]

This works too:

Try this

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
You also don't need to cut a circle, that is making it more work than it needs to be.
Instead you can cut a 8 sided shape, with each corner an angle.
Then drill out a hole in each corner to mount the fan screws.

These are what I'm referring to.
http://www.dremel.com/en-us/at...188549&G=66367&I=66374

In a previous post you said to use a ceramic cutting wheel, and I scratched my head on that one. Your link is to several types of dremel accessory, and I'm guessing you really meant fiberglass reinforced cutting wheel.

It would be possible to cut an octagon as you say or a 12 sided shape, or 16 even and then use a circular wheel with a spindle on it such as you put in a hand drill. I have things like that. With that, you could put the curve into the cutout and make it actually circular without great difficulty. Remember, the grade of steel isn't very hard. It's not carbon steel, and it is quite thin. I don't know what the issues are in terms of sealing off airflow. I haven't BTDT, but there's a good chance I will shortly. Thanks for the ideas.

I remember once trying to cut a large circular hole in the side of a case and giving up. I used a hole saw designed for wood. I'm not giving up this time.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
some cool designs cut with a dremel
http://www.mnpctech.com/Dremel.html

At this page I found links to this excellent video that pretty much lays it out how to cut holes in a case.

Using that method, it's basically a snap to cut a big round hole in a case for a fan. Put tape over the panel, mark where you want your cut (a compass would do it for circular), cut a hole with a dremel, a straight cut that you can insert your jigsaw blade into, cut your hole, smooth it out with a file, then sandpaper for extra smoothness... remove tape, drill holes to secure your fan.

In the video, he's cutting out a hole for a transparent plexiglass window, not all round, but same idea.

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: Modelworks
You also don't need to cut a circle, that is making it more work than it needs to be.
Instead you can cut a 8 sided shape, with each corner an angle.
Then drill out a hole in each corner to mount the fan screws.

These are what I'm referring to.
http://www.dremel.com/en-us/at...188549&G=66367&I=66374

In a previous post you said to use a ceramic cutting wheel, and I scratched my head on that one. Your link is to several types of dremel accessory, and I'm guessing you really meant fiberglass reinforced cutting wheel.

There are ceramic cutting disc that you can use on the dremel.
They break easily but make a finer cut than the fibergalss ones.
http://www.dremel.com/en-us/at...188549&G=66367&I=66368