Punching 120mm holes in case? (how?)

[grafixmonkey]

I got a case that I like everything about except it has only two 40mm fans in it. I have three Vantec Stealth 120mm fans that I'd love to stick in various places. How do I go about punching or drilling the required holes?

A friend told me he used a hole saw, but that seems pretty difficult - I'd need to get a 100mm hole saw and a power drill horizontally into the case and it'd be real tight. Maybe metal punches? Anyone know where to get these? (not at Lowe's I know that) Or a better method?

Thanks!

 

[jihiggs]

dremel or a jigsaw. some metal fabrication shop might punch the hole for you.

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[grafixmonkey]

that sounds like rough edges... metal shop is a good idea though, I'll have to give one a call.

 

[jammydodger]

I used a hack saw and the holes turned out pretty pants, I reckon you would get the same problem using a dremel or a jigsaw.
What kinda case you got? The hole saw is prob the best option, but if you case is made outta thin steel then you could badly damage it.

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[grafixmonkey]

Here's my case:

<A HREF="http://www.dealsonic.com/skyhawip5ura.html" target="_new">BO Skyhawk 5U Rackmount</A>

At this point I think I'm going to put the fans in the panel that comes off the top. It seems the least structural place, and the easiest because I can just take the cover off at any point, do the mod, and put it back on. (and it's flat so I don't have to hole-saw through steel from the inside panel of a box...)

 

[Snaggle]

"A friend told me he used a hole saw, but that seems pretty difficult - I'd need to get a 100mm hole saw and a power drill horizontally into the case and it'd be real tight. Maybe metal punches? Anyone know where to get these? (not at Lowe's I know that) Or a better method?"

the best method is with the holesaw;but normally one makes holes in the removable side panel or on the top of the case...one's going to have savings everywhere if you do it on an intact case...so take everything out of the case including the powersupply unit.Measure drill a pilot hole right where you want the center of the fan,then stick the bit in the PH start the holesaw up and cut through,then file at an angle(both inside and outside) and sand it off,then drill the holes for your grill.

You can use a sabersaw/jiggsaw with a metal cutting blade;but it will not be as neat or a dremel;also not neat...lol,one can even cut a small hole and cut it cut with boltcutters-almost like scissors for steel or tinsnips for aluminum.

 

[jihiggs]

i tried that with tin snips, i just hurt my hand lol

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[Snaggle]

you need to improve you grip first setting conniber traps for muskrats...will help pay for parts too

 

[B_Man]

Use the dremel to cut the hole then simply change the bit from a cutting bit to one of the grinding wheels and deburr the edges.When you install your fans make sure and get some wire gaurds,put the fan on from the inside and the gaurds on from the outside that way incase you missed a edge it will not be exposed.Also remember to measure twice and cut once.

 

[jihiggs]

what???

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[SAITCH0]

You will never be able to get a perfect round circle with a saw or a dremel. I made two 80mm hole on my enermax case using a hole saw, I even made one in my plexiglass window. If you really want to make a good job use a press drill instead of a hand drill.Tape the surrounding area and use some oil to lubricate the tool.Have fun!!!

 

[grafixmonkey]

Drill press and hole saw it is then... and thanks Saitch0 for the oil suggestion, I know to oil a normal drillbit for steel but wasn't sure if I should oil the hole saw or not. Now, to find a 100mm hole saw... somehow I don't see very many people in a small town needing those, so I have my doubts about Lowe's and Menards. (*shudder*... I hate going in there and hearing that commercial... over and over...)

 

[SabreFan]

Greetings!

I am sure you could get something to cover the rough metal edge and make it appear to be a finished edge (similar to a piece of molding in wood working, a flexible "U" shaped small plastic piece to fit over the edge.

I have been considering the same thing. Also, what about making some type of jig for a dremmel - similar to how you work with a router in wood working.

Hope this is of some assistance!

Bob

 

[jammydodger]

www.over-clock.co.uk do blow hole rubber, Im using it on my 120mm fan holes and it makes them look a lot more proffessional.

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[grafixmonkey]

Sorry I can't seem to find that on the site you linked me to...

I used the hole saw today, and the holes came out great. They had some slivers of metal here and there, which came off pretty easily with a little bit of hand filing. The most difficult part was the screw holes, which unfortunately involved a little bit of trial and error so the screw holes all seem to be off by a couple millimeters or so, but I think I can drill them larger and cover them with the screw holes on the fan grille.

So thanks for the suggestions, mission accomplished!

 

[jammydodger]

Yeh the screw holes for my radiator were a bitch. Glad it all went well though d00d. You pleased with the result?

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[grafixmonkey]

Yeah, they came out perfectly round, nice and smooth after filing the metal slivers off the insides, and look quite nice. With fan grilles on top, they will look perfect. I put three 120mm fans on the top of the case and right now they have the fan blades exposed, and besides looking bad that makes them open to fingers poking in and objects falling through the fans onto the motherboard. (motherboard is horizontal, on the bottom of the case - like a typical computer turned on its right hand side.)

So now I'm wondering whether to use fan grilles with filters, stretch a piece of really light cloth across the hole under the grille, or what. A screw or other metallic object accidentally rolling into one of those holes would be a disaster so I need something blocking the holes, but I don't want filters because the fans are blowing air out of the case and all filters would do is collect dust on the inside.

I could also reverse the fans, use filters, and make them blow into the case. That would give me a positive pressure inside, rather than the negative pressure I'd planned, would blow air directly onto the memory, processors, expansion slots, and chipset, and would exhaust air from inside the case out through the RAID cages (4 Raptors and 4 PATA drives) in the front which have to be kept cool.

So, I'm not done figuring this out quite yet... Any disadvantages to having all of the case fans blow air into the case, instead of having them exhaust air out of it? (especially if filters are used?)

 

[jihiggs]

idealy you want equal pressure flowing in as well as out of the case. but if your case has enough breathing room you dont need fans blowing in.

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[grafixmonkey]

My Antec Sonata case cools the drive brackets by making the case very tightly sealed with few holes, and having a 120mm fan in the back blow air out, sucking air in through the case holes in front of the drive bays. I thought I might go for a similar method of cooling the drives with this case. There are very few holes in this case too, leaving the drive cages as almost the only way for air to enter. Does that sound like it will work?

 

[B_Man]

Next time you need to precision drill for the screw holes, try dabing a q-tip in ink or paint and running it through the holes on the fan while holding it in place?

 

[grafixmonkey]

The surface I had to mark was already black, but that would have worked if I had some white paint handy. First I tried a cardboard template, using the same hole saw to cut a hole in cardboard, placing the fan on top and using a drillbit to poke holes in the cardboard, then placing the cardboard template over the metal and using the hole saw in the middle to hold it in place. That was the worst method, the holes were way off. My second method was to get a drill bit the size of the hole, poke it through the fan holes while holding it down on the case panel, and spin it with my fingers. It made a little metallic dot right in the middle that I could align the drill press bit with. Seemed accurate enough at the time, but some of the holes are still just enough off that it became difficult to get the other screws in right. I think that even though I was holding the fan down with some force, it still slid around a bit. Maybe next time I'll drill one hole, screw the fan down tight, and then mark the other three.

Making stuff out of metal is hard! I have a new appreciation for Antec, and the way they get all the holes in the right places for a whole case.

 

[B_Man]

I'll keep that in mind. Hope it all works out,sounds like it will have plenty of airflow though....:<)