I've always fantasised about being able to use granite or similar to make a pair of ridiculously heavy, inert loudspeaker cabinets, but this guy's used it to make a PC case...
http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2008/05 ... m-may-08/5
Lots of opportunity for silencing (e.g. hard-mounting HD's would make zero difference, as long as there wasn't a direct sound path out of the case) but silencing doesn't seem to be a focus of the project.
Granite Case
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Devonavar
Yeah, if I was investing that much time, effort, tooling (and presumably money) in a case made of granite I'd like to think I could come up with something a bit more interesting than an ATX layout. Granted, without serious skills you are limited to a boxy design, but there's still plenty scope for, um... creative boxiness?!
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JazzJackRabbit
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Kind of wondering about the choice of granite
Natural thermal sink, great sound resonator, heavy as heck.
Not too bad. Esthetically, it's excellent and impressive. From an engineering standpoint, very poor, as has been noted. The windows will leak noise. There's a lot of holes in the case, and are those 80mm fans and a 60mm fan? For comparison they use a cellphone, but the EMI leaking from the case could interfere with it's reception, or the cellphone tower signal could easily interfere with the hardware since it is not shielded. I've worked with granite, and while it is solid as a rock, it's also fragile while simultaneously heavy; if a part falls over, it can shatter. It isn't the ideal material for a computer case (metal weighs less, electronically shields, is more workable, lighter, more durable, and standard). Some of that was admitted in the article.
On the other hand, if Caesar had a PC, it would look something like that.
On the other hand, if Caesar had a PC, it would look something like that.
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Ralf Hutter
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Keep things in perspective guys, this never appears to have been designed as a "silent" or even quite PC case. He just wanted to make an ATX case out of granite, and it looks to me like it pulled it off quite well.
All things considered, I think it's a very nicely done case. Of course it doesn't hurt to have the services of a stone cutting company at your full disposal!
All things considered, I think it's a very nicely done case. Of course it doesn't hurt to have the services of a stone cutting company at your full disposal!
)I did this with speaker cabinets years ago. But better stuff to use is Corian or Caesarstone. PaperStone(tons easier to work with - similar to HDF) would also work. Starbucks uses this stuff for their counter tops, btw. It's *TONS* cheaper than the other options.
Well, relatively speaking. He'd still end up spending $300-$500 for a case made out of it, about the same as granite, but it's machinable and much tougher.
Well, relatively speaking. He'd still end up spending $300-$500 for a case made out of it, about the same as granite, but it's machinable and much tougher.
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spookmineer
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In his worklog he states he got the granite for free, as it was just laying around.
The reason for 80 mm fans as opposed to 120 mm fans: in his parents' shop there are no 120 mm diamond drills.
There are 120 mm fans in the case (front), and he decided to drill holes there.
The project took nearly 2 years (!) to complete...
The reason for 80 mm fans as opposed to 120 mm fans: in his parents' shop there are no 120 mm diamond drills.
There are 120 mm fans in the case (front), and he decided to drill holes there.
The project took nearly 2 years (!) to complete...