1U P4 Systems

[Bob Drzyzgula]

On Tue, May 22, 2001 at 05:52:36PM -0400, Robert G. Brown wrote:
> On Tue, 22 May 2001, Bari Ari wrote:
> 
> > You can have sheet metal 1U enclosures with CNC mounting holes made to
> > order with aluminum front panels for under $100 US in low volume(100
> > pcs.). If you are willing to drill your own mounting holes you can get
> > off the shelf 1U enclosures for around $50 quan. 1.
> 
> Having things made is painful, but I've got a drill.  Several drills,
> actually.  Besides, I could buy a heavy-duty drill press for what I'd
> save on any significant number of nodes.

We've done the occasional modification to cases, like
when we've gotten a motherboard with a mounting hole in a
place that the case doesn't (Hi, Steve! :-) Sure, we just
pull out the cordless Milwaukee, the spring-loaded markng
punch, the tap, some tapping lubricant and deburring tools;
five minutes and you're good to go. But you wind up with
metal shavings and oil in your case and on your bench,
which is sort of a hassle to clean up, and doing it exactly
repeatably is difficult. If you want to use a drill press,
you'll probably want at least a 18 to 20" swing; these are
monsters and at a minimum will probably have to be bolted
to the floor to be used safely. You'll also probably want
an arbor press, with an assortment of punches and dies.
Maybe it would be best to get a verical mill. And with some
stepping motors and some microcontrollers, you could...

I'm a big believer in DIY, but is this really your personal
comparative advantage? Is drilling and tapping holes the
best use of your time? Heck, I know how much *fun* it is,
but... :-)

> So, how do I go about making a 1U enclosure out of a OTS case?  Do you
> have any specific cases that you care to recommend that fit (even
> approximately) the size spec?  Did you do this yourself?  Do you have
> some (or can you prepare some) GIFs or JPEGs of the process or finished
> product?

You can probably get pretty much anything you need to do this
from Allied Electronics, http://www.alliedelec.com or similar
places. Also check with EEM -- http://eem.com/ and you'll
probably find dozens if not hundreds of suppliers; see
section 1400: Cabinets, Enclosures, Racks & Chassis.

--Bob