A300 thin case

Last crawled date: 4 years, 3 months ago

Thin case for ASRock A300 motherboard.
Dimensions for case are 150,9mm x 143,5mm x 54,4mm(not counting height of screws or taped pads if used).
Case is meant for use with Noctua NH-L9a-AM4(or Intel variant, Intel motherboard compatibility not checked) cooler and M.2 drive(s) (bottom M.2 has no ventilation). No room for SSD drives.
Different top models for different lenght M3 spacer nuts.
No stress testing done, so depending of material, might heat warp in heavy use.
Print in pictures done with Middle_with_supports.stl and Top_6mm.stl, bottom.stl made 0,5mm thicker after printing for rigidity, but not test printed after model change.
Things needed:
ASRock DeskMini A300 -> motherboard and power button+power button screw
Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 cooler or cooler with shorter height.
4 x M3 20mm screws.
4 x M3 female/female hex spacer nuts(hex size for the ones I used was 4,6mm)
4 x M3 washers, if not using countersunk ones.
Sharp knife to cut power button supports.
Print/STL notes:
TOP
M3 hex spacers inserted in each leg, pausing print, before leg ends are capped. Each model from 4 to 12 have 0,5mm extra lenght (6mm has 6,5mm etc.), with layer height of 0,2mm there's 2 layers cap before end is sealed. If pausing print manually, instead of gcode, those 2 layers go by fast, so be ready.
If no female/female hex spacers available, motherboard standoff should also work, if correct lenght and paired with screw with same thread.
MIDDLE
3 different versions of STL provided.
Middle_with_supports.stl file has custom support stuctures for both IO ports and power button. Uses more material, but IO port supports touch only top side of ports and there should be minimal cleanup if at all.
Middle_PW_button_support_only.stl file, as named, only build in supports for power button.
Middle_no_supports.stl file, no in build supports.
BOTTOM
2 different files, one for countersink screws and other non countersunk one.
Assembly notes:
After printing middle parts remove supports and cut power button free.
From bottom up, components should go as followed. Bottom, motherboard, middle and top.
Old screw that holds power button in original case used to attach power button. Easiest to attach to middle part before assembly.
Notes:
Motherboard is tight fit in middle.stl, mine was lopsided before tightening top and bottom with it and it straightened with very little force. Scale if too tight.
Models with different supports for middle part. I printed mine with custom supports one, as I haven't had much success with Curas supports.
Supports for power button can be only cut to free it, no need to remove them completely, as it has only ~1mm travel distance.
Legs in top part of the case have M3 female/female hex spacer nuts inserted mid print in each leg, for assembly.
Cooler height under 38mm needed, Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 height is 37mm and has ~1mm clearance.
Bottom M.2 slot not tested, bottom slot might have heat issues, as it has no ventilation.
IO ports in middle-model moved a little and columns in between front IO removed(those broke off easily), after I printed my case, should be better fit, but not tested.
Bottom_countersink.stl countersink size not tested.