# (Searching) Custom built HDD mounting solution



## William (May 1, 2014)

Anyone good with bulding stuff?

I'm on the lookout for someone to build me 2 custom  48 HDD mounts in a custom form factor.

Specifications:

48 HDDs with one side screwed (24+24)

Mounts for 120mm fans (2 screwholes are enough) on front per 3 HDDs

Must have mount for 1 ATX mainboard on the side

Must have mount for 3 PCIe x16 risers ( http://www.amazon.de/Express-flexibel-Extender-Extension-Verl%C3%A4ngerungskabel/dp/B00CZCAGUA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1399002818&sr=8-3&keywords=pcie+riser ) 

Must have this 3 raisers fixed next to each other and a small mount/screw terminal for 3 single slot PCIe x16 cards (HBAs)

Must have mount (bracket) for 1 ATX PSU

Optional: Mounts for 2x 2,5" somewhere (side/top?)

Here is a simple paint drawing of the basic design idea. Budget ca. 300EUR each (with risers, without mobo etc.). I prefer alu/steel. Must be shipped to Austria.

https://imghost.li/di/4CX6/Untitled.png


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## willie (May 1, 2014)

I worked at a place that had custom enclosures made for its storage servers.  Details were different from yours, but bent sheet metal is kind of the same everywhere.  Thousands of servers were involved and yet it was still ridiculously expensive per unit.

I think I'd try to find an off the shelf enclosure: Supermicro has some storage servers that might be pretty close to what you want.

The Backblaze DIY pods might also be of interest: http://blog.backblaze.com/category/storage-pod/


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## William (May 2, 2014)

That's all over budget sadly, i'm also looking for a custom built due to the design involved (it will get some blue/red light and be a piece of art basically, the 2 towers will mirror each other)


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## blergh (May 2, 2014)

I think the price per box is too low for anyone to have these custom made for you. You could possibly have some luck if you befriend someone who's working with "stuff like that" but for a shop to do this you'd probably have to up it to at least 500 or more if you need them to do the CAD'ing too.

A friend of a friend had his storage-pods built by a shop, they might look pretty primitive but fit 27-28x3.5" and one or more SSD's depending on how you'd place them. The case is up for sale even, but outside your budget.

Early version;


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## William (May 2, 2014)

I'm ready to up to 500 if thats required and flexible in material - I just want to mount 32+ HDDs, how is not that much relevant.


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## Damian (May 2, 2014)

Before I say "yes, I can do this" (I have a background in metalworking), can you talk more about:



> Must have mount for 3 PCIe x16 risers ( http://www.amazon.de...ords=pcie riser )
> 
> Must have this 3 raisers fixed next to each other and a small mount/screw terminal for 3 single slot PCIe x16 cards (HBAs)


I'm not quite getting a good image of this in my head


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## William (May 2, 2014)

i need a way to mount 3 full size PCIe cards via this risers (3 HBAs), so there must be some sort of screw terminal to fix them on when plugged into the risers next to each other (or on top of each other, however cabling of the risers fits, i'm entirely flexible)


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## Taronyu (May 2, 2014)

What size? (Height, width and depth)

Verstuurd vanaf mijn iOCEAN X7 met Tapatalk


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## Damian (May 2, 2014)

Got it, I'll come up with something tomorrow.

Just doing some basic maths, it looks like it's going to be about 0.8 meters tall.


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## earl (May 2, 2014)

Not sure if it would meet your budget, but would it not be easier to just buy a couple of those norco cases?


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## trewq (May 2, 2014)

earl said:


> Not sure if it would meet your budget, but would it not be easier to just buy a couple of those norco cases?


From what I understand this is a functioning art instillation.


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## drmike (May 2, 2014)

Good on the Norco cases.  Foxconn certainly has mass density cases also top loaded just like the BackBlaze design.  Quanta probably does also.

I went out looking for something similar a while back for mounting small form factor boards plus drives - so double density issue and more complex.   Lowest cost I could get for fabrication was $2500+ for a few units and that is per unit pricing.  So I refused to pursue my idea as 10k on 4 empty chasis isn't my idea of money well spent.

If you are in your own rack and the datacenter won't mind, you certainly can DIY style something like this with the help of someone experienced in metal working.  Still won't be cheap, even rack depth angle iron/steel is $20+ a piece x  8 = $160 + fasteners and other materials.

I like the racker Blergh posted, given those are screwed in place real good (each drive).  Most DCs I know would have a damn fit about such though.


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## drmike (May 2, 2014)

trewq said:


> From what I understand this is a functioning art instillation.


I have an older similar unit and think it has 16 drive trays up front.  It's doable and has been for years.  The gear isn't real abundant and showing up in mass for nickels on the dollar though.  People hold this gear, swap the controller, throw new drives and keep rolling with the stuff.


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## msg7086 (May 4, 2014)

If you are building a storage box, have you thought about having separate box that connected with each other?

one for holding the board, several cube boxes for mounting the HDD and connected by screws or something else.


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## William (May 6, 2014)

Yea, likely will end up with a Norco case - Pricing is not really worth it for the nice/interesting looks even with a large buffer when the Norcos are barely 300EUR.


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## blergh (May 6, 2014)

William said:


> Yea, likely will end up with a Norco case - Pricing is not really worth it for the nice/interesting looks even with a large buffer when the Norcos are barely 300EUR.


https://ri-vier.eu/rivier-4u-24bay-storage-chassis-with-sgpio-rv432401a-p-285.html?cPath=1_3_7

or

https://ri-vier.eu/rivier-4u-24bay-storage-chassis-minisas-backplane-rv4224-p-370.html?cPath=1_3_7


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