Small frame/box for Norco 5 x 3 HDD Cage

[Spotswood]

Prototype frame (no sheeting yet) for two of the very inexpensive Norco 5x3 HDD cages.

Dimensions are: 13x9x6 (HxDxW).

 

[Spotswood]

Done.

 

[kroem]

Oh. Damn I need those caddies, shipping is 5x the price of the cage though...

 

[Alfa147x]

Wow. Looks great. Can you post a picture of the rear?

Thanks!

 

[rubylaser]

This is awesome. I'm just looking for a price and how to order these now.

 

[NetWise]

Looks good. What is the intended use case? Just like an external JBOD towrr?

 

[rubylaser]

Looks good. What is the intended use case? Just like an external JBOD towrr?

That's what I will use these for. Run two 8087 cables out of my M1015 to an 8087 -> 8088 adapter in my computer case. Then run 8088 -> 8087 cables to these carriers. I just bought two of the Norco units a second ago. It's tough to beat buy one get one free for $14.99.

 

[NetWise]

That's a pretty valid argument . How are you handling power?

 

[rubylaser]

I'll probably just run one of my modular molex cables out of an empty PCI slot from my case to a 4 way splitter unless someone else has a better idea. I don't know of anything for power that works like the 8087 -> 8088 adapters do for SAS/SATA connections.

 

[MatrixMJK]

For power, I have a few of these power supplies... AntecPS at Dailysteals
DailySteals

I think they were posted in these forums a couple months ago and I bought 4 at $10 each, now they are $8 with free shipping.

They are nice for drives since they don't have 20/24 pin motherboard connectors, and a real power switch so you don't have to do the jumper trick to turn them on.

 

[Spotswood]

Wow. Looks great. Can you post a picture of the rear?

Thanks!

For now, the back is completely wide open.

I could add some mesh, for example:

The simple design of this "box" lends itself to easily expanding to house any number of cages.

I just ordered one of those PSUs to see how best to incorporate it into this idea.

 

[rubylaser]

For power, I have a few of these power supplies... AntecPS at Dailysteals
DailySteals

I think they were posted in these forums a couple months ago and I bought 4 at $10 each, now they are $8 with free shipping.

They are nice for drives since they don't have 20/24 pin motherboard connectors, and a real power switch so you don't have to do the jumper trick to turn them on.

Yeah, this PSU is an AWESOME deal and seems perfectly suited for this application! Thanks for sharing. This could easily end up being the cheapest JBOD setup ever.

Spotswood, it would be nice to have a way to mount a PCI adapter for an 8088 -> 8087 adapter like this in the case as an option. This would allow for a very clean traditional JBOD case setup.

 

[Spotswood]

Yeah, this PSU is an AWESOME deal and seems perfectly suited for this application! Thanks for sharing. This could easily end up being the cheapest JBOD setup ever.

Spotswood, it would be nice to have a way to mount a PCI adapter for an 8088 -> 8087 adapter like this in the case as an option. This would allow for a very clean traditional JBOD case setup.

That adapter could be mounted almost anywhere inside the case (remove the PCI bracket; using the board's mounting holes and some spacers/standoffs). But, what about there being (not) enough room for all of the cables?

 

[rubylaser]

That adapter could be mounted almost anywhere inside the case (remove the PCI bracket; using the board's mounting holes and some spacers/standoffs). But, what about there being (not) enough room for all of the cables?

That could be a problem, but a 8087 to SATA breakout cable isn't super massive either It's hard to tell how much space is behind the Norco bays.

 

[Spotswood]

That could be a problem, but a 8087 to SATA breakout cable isn't super massive either It's hard to tell how much space is behind the Norco bays.

1.75-inches.

 

[rubylaser]

1.75-inches.

Yeah, so my idea was terrible, an adapter plus the cables would be a VERY tight squeeze... oh well, it seemed like a good idea at the time

 

[Spotswood]

Yeah, so my idea was terrible, an adapter plus the cables would be a VERY tight squeeze... oh well, it seemed like a good idea at the time

No worries, the case can be made at any depth.

 

[Entz]

In theory if it was a tad bit taller could you get a flex atx PSU and the card in the top?

 

[Spotswood]

In theory if it was a tad bit taller could you get a flex atx PSU and the card in the top?

An ATX-size PSU fits just fine, inside another chamber/box (I love this building material).

 

[rubylaser]

An ATX-size PSU fits just fine, inside another chamber/box (I love this building material).

This is really cool. I love how modular this appears to be.