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Loriano Pagni
United Kingdom
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Posts 195
07 Dec 2009 17:53
| Hi everyone,
You might know me for designing and producing the Minimig cases and the 1541U cases for the Commodore 64 (more specifically for the 1541 Ultimate board for the C64, C128, Vic 20 and Plus 4).
EXTERNAL LINK
As you know I have been working on a new computer case for some time, on and off for about three maybe four years.
It is only now that I have finally managed to reach a stage where a fully working prototype can be made.
Originally this case was going to be a dedicated case for the SAM and the Natami (when it becomes available) but with time it developed into something that, hopefully, will attract more buyers since it is going to accommodate different motherboards standards.
Specifications:
Low Profile Case
Accepts Mini ITX, Flex ATX and Micro ATX motherboards
Space for one 5.25 inches drive (DVD-RW/Blueray)
Space for one maybe two 3.5 inches hard drives
Space for one maybe two 3.5 inches drives (floppy disk drive or card reader)
Space for one picoPSU (at the moment I think the most powerful is the picoPSU 150W by minibox)
Accepts ONLY Low Profile cards
I would like to get some input from you guys.
Could you please let me know what you think is the most powerful system that can run on a 150W-200W picoPSU?
Not just Amiga related (SAMs, Amiga Ones and so on) but also x86 based.
So if you had 150W maybe 200W of power to play with what is the most powerful system you could build?
Consider:
CPU (any)
DVD-RW/Blueray
Low Profile Graphics Card (in PCI, AGP or PCI-Express form) I am particularly interested in this!
Two to four 3.5 inches Drives
Up to two PCI Expansion Cards
Once I have gathered enough data I will see if I can have a fully working prototype made, hopefully by the end of this year maybe January 2010.
PS: If you have a C64 with a naked 1541 Ultimate board please consider buying a case for it as this money will go towards this new project.
amigarulez@hotmail.com
Thank you!
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Tomasz Malinowski
Sweden
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Posts 14
07 Dec 2009 20:49
| I'll bet that Pico PSU ~180/200W will be enough for low power-consuming Natami. That is a nice idea to have a dedicated case for Natami. I've seen your designs before, and I think you have better experience than me. I was thinking about building (I have very small experience with laminates) new home-computer case with a "back to the roots" feeling, something what we could describe as future A1200 standard case:
EXTERNAL LINK (just as an idea) Would you consider a bit different design, maybe for your second Natami-case?
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Ajc ;)
United Kingdom
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Posts 688
07 Dec 2009 22:27
| This is a little off topic, but I'd love a nicer case for a CD32. The grey brick never looks good :( Actually that's always been one of my plans once the NatAmi is complete, to attach a slot loaded CD/DVD drive and make a low profile CD32-esque case for it :) Andy
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Loriano Pagni
United Kingdom
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Posts 195
08 Dec 2009 13:13
| Tomasz I can't really show you anything at the moment but soon...very soon. :-) I can't connect to the link you have posted unfortunately.
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Loriano Pagni
United Kingdom
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Posts 195
08 Dec 2009 13:15
| Andy, >>This is a little off topic, but I'd love a nicer case for a CD32. I have never opened a CD32...but I wonder if it might fit in a standard micro ATX case if so maybe it can fit in my case too. Need to check this...good idea! :-)
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Ajc ;)
United Kingdom
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Posts 688
08 Dec 2009 14:28
| I doubt it'll fit sadly, the board takes up the full length of the CD32 case:
EXTERNAL LINK
EDIT: In fact since uATX is 171x171, or 6.8inches to a side, and the CD32 is approx 6x12inches you could almost squeeze two small uATX boards into the CD32! :D
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Tomasz Malinowski
Sweden
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Posts 14
08 Dec 2009 14:48
| Loriano Pagni wrote:
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I can't connect to the link you have posted unfortunately.
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The page is currently down. Found this pics in my "temp" EXTERNAL LINK
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Loriano Pagni
United Kingdom
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Posts 195
08 Dec 2009 17:21
| I wonder how you can expand that...it looks nice though.
Making something like that would be expensive! :-)
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Andreas G. Szabo
Germany
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Posts 134
08 Dec 2009 18:09
| bartek, this looks absolutely promising! awesome. how much will the price for that custom case be? i bet the board alone is cheaper... ...maybe sell two versions, one with custom case? besides i personally would prefer the caseless version because i want to add expansions and cards...
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Bartek "Banter" K.
Poland
| | (Natami Team)
Posts 2277
08 Dec 2009 18:11
| Erm... this is just a fan (fun?) art only ATM:) However, I do not mind if this project will become something more, though:) Take care
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Loriano Pagni
United Kingdom
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Posts 195
08 Dec 2009 18:26
| Bartek Are those renderings? Maya? How much will it cost to produce?
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Bartek "Banter" K.
Poland
| | (Natami Team)
Posts 2277
08 Dec 2009 18:28
| Hi Loriano, Yes, these are renderings in 3D program. As I said these is just a visualization, done mainly just for fun, so I got no idea how much could it cost ATM. But we can try to find out:D What do you think about estimated costs? Regards
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Loriano Pagni
United Kingdom
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Posts 195
08 Dec 2009 18:33
| Not sure yet as we need to know the materials and production numbers. The case I am working on has taken a few thousands of £ in the last 3-4 years. I would estimate the same for a custom case like that. The production numbers are vital. If small you are looking at a very expensive case :-(
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Yannick G.
Germany
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Posts 43
09 Dec 2009 16:09
| I would prefer a more "Bauhaus"-styled casing rather than the example posted by Bartek. Looks to me like it stood in the sun for too long :P. But the rendering is well done. Just my two cents.
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Loïc Dupuy
France
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Posts 253
09 Dec 2009 16:53
| I'd like very much the integrated keyboard of Bartek Kuchta. I would have love to have a 1200 with this stylish look. But i would rather buy a "minimig style" case for pragmatic reasons. Keyboard and mouse are the most moveable things on my desk, with an integrated keyboard design, moving the keyboard is an hassle with all the cables and weight. It was one of my driving concern to buy an A4000 to replace my A1200 (the blizzard060 was not out yet, and i need some crunching number power for university).
I've got more thing outside the computer than inside (CD,3"5HD, genlock, digitalizer, all connections cables,...), with the A4000, i've gotten a big boring box, but everything was inside and my keyboard was easy to move (and i've got an high density disk drive, commodore bastards)
Finally, i could have haven the 060 for the 1200 before the 4000 and i was a bit regretful by the swap
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Loriano Pagni
United Kingdom
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Posts 195
09 Dec 2009 18:23
| It's a difficult decision to make but having spent 3-4 years on this I can't pull out now. Some people like cube cases, some like tower cases etc... Many will like it, many won't... I'll post pictures here and on amigaworld.net when the prototype is ready.....soon :-)
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Mike Barr
USA
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Posts 1
10 Dec 2009 21:56
| Bartek, that is a beautiful design, and one that would probably have a lot of appeal to classic Amiga users (which I would assume is the primary market.) The only thing I would do is flatten the keyboard. Going with a micro atx form factor would eliminate the whole case issue- get whatever case you want.:)
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Flash Lab
Netherlands
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Posts 166
10 Dec 2009 22:35
| Looking at Bartek's design I estimate that for the two case shells the mold cost for injection molding would be around 50 to 60k in Euros. The produced parts itself would only be around a few Euros. But if you want custom keys (like in the design) you need more tooling that can be very expensive. Some keyboard keys are made with two component plastic tooling. So the key symbol on the key is actually a different material; the key symbol therefore can never be rubbed off or wear off. Even if you use only single component keys you need a lot of molds for the different keys. Maybe a design based on an existing keyboard would be more realistic. If I were to look at making a cheaper case in low volume, maybe sheet metal is an option. But sheet metal cases are heavy and don't offer a lot of design possibilities. So maybe a custom case without keyboard and suitable for standard parts is best? A bottom part made in sheet metal with a custom plastic top. This can be made with injection molding; if series are too low vacuum forming can be an option. Interesting can also be rapid prototyping techniques or silicon molds. For the first Natamis I would just buy a standard case to be honest. But I do agree that a custom case would be very cool for future versions!
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Dag Jacobsen
Norway
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Posts 78
11 Dec 2009 04:04
| Id settle for a slimline case with a keyboard outside .. :-)
Maybe with a slimline or slot in DVD/optical as an option.. I guess its still needed even though a lot of people dont need more than a USB stick/SD/CF cards ..
And if nothing else custom, there should be a nice raised sticker with NATAMI - ADVANCED AMIGA COMPATIBLE...I think a minimig style case is enough for a start ..
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Do you have questions about the Natami?