Fan mounting question...

[mattgold]

Quick question for the group.  I'm getting ready to mount a couple Cooler Master fans on the back/top of my pedestal cab.

I'm working with 3/4" MDF and I have my router ready along with circle jig.

How would you do it?

1) Router hole & mount fan on the inside of the cab.

2) Router hole & router square on the interior of the cab (leave 1/4" or so) to mount the fan closer to the outside.




I feel mounting it closer to the outside would be cleaner, but then I lose the ability to secure the fan with the supplised screws.

Either way, I'll cover the hole I cut with mesh - I'm just wondering if I'm overlooking any pros/cons of doing it one way or another.

[Slippyblade]

Unless you are running super tight on space inside the cab, I'd just cut the round hole and mount the fan.  Routing the extra square mounting would only really be needed if you needed to save every cubic inch of space you could.

[mattgold]

Unless you are running super tight on space inside the cab, I'd just cut the round hole and mount the fan.  Routing the extra square mounting would only really be needed if you needed to save every cubic inch of space you could.

Yeah - no lack of space, especially where these fans will be.  I guess my only concern was if the 3/4" of material would look "odd" - although  I do plan on covering it to match the rest of the panel.


Mostly I guess it's aesthetics... I found these:

From edekoning's Magneto build:


From Marjin's Slim MvC build:




-M

[Slippyblade]

Oh, I assumed you were putting the mesh on the OUTSIDE, like a speaker grill.  If you are putting the mesh INSIDE then yeah, I'd route the square groove to thin it out.  Will look much more professional that way.

[lamprey]

Probably not worth the price, but I wanted something a little better than a plastic grill or the standard grills, so I order a couple of AC Infinity AI-CFD120BA Dual 120 Quiet Cabinet Fans last night. I haven't received them yet, so I don't know if they are as nice as the picture. But, they look pretty solid. They don't seem to move much air, but I have some other fans I can swap out if need be.

Anyway, just throwing out another option, just in case.

[mattgold]

Thats actually a great looking unit.  Price isnt that bad either, considering a couple Cooler Master fans can set you back about the same.

Lemme know how you like it.

[ChanceKJ]

5" hole saw fits the standard 120mm fan grills like a glove. Find center. Drill.  No messing with a router.

If I add fans I'll mount them right to the board and sandwich the grill between them.

[mattgold]

My fans are a tad bigger than 120mm... I actually have two 200mm fans and no hole saws that big.

The 120's would also look odd as I'm mounting them in a panel that's quite a bit larger then yours.  I also don't like the look of the finger guards on the outside (personal preference).  In any case, I cut the holes last night with the router and they are perfect.  I finished the night by drawing up where I will route around for the grill and will cut that today sometime.

Thanks.

[pbj]

No pic = no perfect hole

[mattgold]

No pic = no perfect hole

[pbj]

Well done.

 

[mattgold]

Well done.

 

Any reason to use the router is a good one.  I never used it much before this project - but man - I am slowly falling in love.

I should also mention - I used the Jasper Circle Jig to get the hole perfect.

[pbj]

Whoa whoa whoa.... how exactly do you use that thing?

[mattgold]

Whoa whoa whoa.... how exactly do you use that thing?

It's AWESOME... although you can probably get similar results with a nail and 2x4, it's a great piece to have in your tool box.

[mattgold]

This should work.  Had a slight mishap - but that's what wood filler is for.

[Slippyblade]

This should work.  Had a slight mishap - but that's what wood filler is for.

Sligh mishap?  At the same spot on both sides?  What the heck happened?

[mattgold]

This should work.  Had a slight mishap - but that's what wood filler is for.

Sligh mishap?  At the same spot on both sides?  What the heck happened?

Believe it or not... the router bit 'got loose'. I shut down the router and took it out of the left hole (in the middle) and put it back in the right hole (again in the middle) then I realized something was up.  When I shut down the router, the bit just fell to the floor.  The entirety of the damage was an extra 1/8" taken away, which the wood filler fixed up.

[Slippyblade]

Believe it or not... the router bit 'got loose'. I shut down the router and took it out of the left hole (in the middle) and put it back in the right hole (again in the middle) then I realized something was up.  When I shut down the router, the bit just fell to the floor.  The entirety of the damage was an extra 1/8" taken away, which the wood filler fixed up.

Whew.  Lucky the router didn't throw the bit, that gets dangerous. 

[mattgold]

Believe it or not... the router bit 'got loose'. I shut down the router and took it out of the left hole (in the middle) and put it back in the right hole (again in the middle) then I realized something was up.  When I shut down the router, the bit just fell to the floor.  The entirety of the damage was an extra 1/8" taken away, which the wood filler fixed up.

Whew.  Lucky the router didn't throw the bit, that gets dangerous.

I thought the same thing.

[lamprey]

Thats actually a great looking unit.  Price isnt that bad either, considering a couple Cooler Master fans can set you back about the same.

Lemme know how you like it.

Sorry to derail the thread, but just reporting back..

That unit is pretty nice. The packaging is solid. It comes with a nice aluminum face plate, fans (obviously), mounting/drilling template, "bolts" to mount it with, basic metal grills on the inside to protect your digits and everything you need to plug into an AC outlet or a USB outlet (you can daisy-chain a couple together (2 of the 2-fan models)).

As I mentioned, based on the specs and now reality, the fans don't move a lot of air compared to some other 120mm fans, but I think it'll be good enough. If not, it's a quick swap to some higher flow fans.

All in all it's a solid product. Given the price of some fans alone I think it is decently priced for everything you get in the package. I'd have no trouble recommending it to anyone else looking for some cabinet cooling.

 

I forgot to add a pic last time, so here is one:

[mattgold]

Not derailing at all.  Glad to hear the feedback.  The USB option is always nice as well as being able to daisy chain them.

Here's where I am:





I really like the look of the hexagon mesh on your fans, so this was the closest I could find.  I would have rather had the wire a bit thicker - but oh well.

Now I just have to figure out how to actually mount the fans... The mesh is held in with hot glue - but that's not gonna cut it with the fans - and the wood is too thin to screw into. Maybe a bracket to the thicker wood?

[PL1]

Now I just have to figure out how to actually mount the fans... The mesh is held in with hot glue - but that's not gonna cut it with the fans - and the wood is too thin to screw into. Maybe a bracket to the thicker wood?

So, something like the "Under Mount (Support Blocks)" joystick mounting method mentioned here in the wiki?



It's the method that EMDB used to mount his sticks.
(Disclaimer: he went a little bit overboard on the number of inserts  )



If fabricating square plates is too much work, just use two flat bars.   

Bonus points if you use vibration dampening material on the front and back sides of the fans.


Scott

[mattgold]

Yeah - That's exactly what I was thinking.

...good call on anti-vibration mounts - I was also considering some high density rubber/foam tape to wrap the fan in to keep any lateral movement down (not that I expect any).