FTR Architect - A Fully Custom PC Case

Inspired by the swing arm of the Indian FTR 1200, architectural/structural elements, and the use of aluminium rails as part of CNCKitchen's knife sharpener, FTR Architect is a total redesign of Crooked Convection, abandoing the test-bench style arrangment for a much more conventional layout, with a few added twists. The best of which being: Modular Rails!

This design is something no engineer would build. It is effectively an open C structure with the corner that provides the most stability removed. It looks nice though :D. The use of 10mm rails opens a huge degree of flexibility for customisation. In fact, the rails would be great way to add things like a proper front IO panel. I'd love to see what you can come up with! Theres also some space to run, tie and wrap cables. Hiding them is the cowards way out. Manage them properly and they're as beautiful as the rest of the build. It retains the open-air concept, however the rails now act as easy mouting points for any water cooling hardware that could be added in the future. 

Unlike Crooked Convection, I do think this thing is worth building! The feet make it super stable and it's happy to run both in the displayed orientation and a more conventional vertical one.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: I recommend either printing a test part and adjusting your X-Y hole compensation, or buying a 10mm oversized reamer to bore out the holes for the rails in the various parts.

Printed Parts List:

• 3x Frame Upper Halves

• 3x Frame Lower Halves

• 2x PSU Suport MK2

• 2x PSU Suport MK2 Mirrored

• 1x GPU Support Crossbar

• 1x GPU Support Left Hand Bar

• 1x GPU Support Right Hand Bar

• 1x Motherboard Support Bar

• 1x Motherboard Lower Support Bar

• 4x 2.5" Mounts (plus 2 for a second 2.5" drive)

• 1x Foot 

• 1x Mirrored Foot

• 2x Filler Block

Hardware List: 

• 6x 15x8mm Dowel Pins

• 4x 24x4mm Dowel Pins

• 2x 18x4mm Dowel Pins

• 6x 465x10mm Aluminium/Brass/Steel/Carbon Fibre/Plasteel/Adamantium etc. rod or pipe

• 12x M3 Heat Set Inserts

• 10x M3x27 Flanged Button Head Screws (M3x25 if you don't want to modify any screws)

• 2x M3x6 Thumbscrews

• 4x M3x8 Socket Countersunk Screws for one 2.5" Drive, 6x for 2

Build Guide 

This assumes you're familir with PC building and have already tested your components to see that everything works. Make sure your CPU cooler is already attatched to the motherboard, as are any back-mounted M.2 drives you wish to use. If you're stuck or confused, reference the, 'Case With Computer', model to understand the orientation (or pop me a message!):

1. Drill out any holes that may require it. I recommened giving any hole that needs a rail or dowel pin a quick go-at with a drill bit and/or a hand reamer.

2. Glue the Frames together using the 8mm dowel pins and epoxy. Make sure to rough up the 6 mating surfaces and mask off areas that should remain epoxy free beforehand.

1. Heat set the inserts into the bottom (outward facing side) of the motherboard supports. The screws will pass all the way through the supports to screw into the bottom of the inserts.

2. Use dowel pins and epoxy to assemble the GPU Support. The angled extrusion on the bottom of the left- and right-hand support should face the, 'Show Side', of the PC

   

3. Heat set insets into the GPU support.

4. Screw the 2.5" Drive Mounts into the sides of the SSD/HDD.The cavity in the figure below is the area where the cables plug in. The SSD will project out from between the rails so that it's outer face is flush with the back of the motherboard supports. The connectors and their release catches will face the back of the case so they can still be accessed. This is a bit easier to understand when the whole thing is assembled. If you orient the drive and it's supports like the figure below, the underside of the drive is what will face the back of the motherboard.

   

5. If you're adding a second drive, use 2 more SSD Supports and flip them so they curve to the inside of the SSD instead of outside. The figure under step 6 makes it clear what this means.

6. For my prefered configuration (with pins for the PSU, and 2 feet), from left to right: 

   1. Slide the rails into the first (leftmost) Frame.

   2. Slide one PSU Support onto each pair of rails at the top and the bottom.

   3. Place in the PSU and slide in 2 more PSU supports, then slide on the second Frame. 

   4. Slide on your preferred Lower Motherboard Support and the GPU Support.

   5. Add as many 2.5" Drives as you want to use and the Top Motherboard Mount.

   6. Add the 2nd Foot and final Frame. The picture below is what it should look like without any PC parts added.

      

7. Screw the motherboard into the supports. 

8. Run the power and SATA Cables.

9. Plug in your GPU and it's power connectors.

10. Screw the GPU into the support using the thumbscrews.

Et Voila! The build is complete.

N.B. If you're adding the 3rd foot, slide it on before the leftmost PSU support on the bottom rails.

Additional Parts

For those with sturctual or transport concerns, here is an additional parts list: 

• For additional rigidity, print:

  • 3x Carry Frame Uppers

  • 3x Upper Frame Clamps

  • 3x Carry Frame Lowers

  • 3x Lower Frame Clamps

  • 1x Mirrored Foot

  • 1x Filler Block

• And the additional required hardware: 

  • 6x 15x8mm Dowel Pins

  • 18x M3 Heat Set Inserts

  • 18x M3x15 Socket Head Cap Screws/Equivalent

  • 2x 427.5x10mm Aluminium/Brass/Steel rod or pipe

The feet are addded under the frames to support the corners.

The additional Carry Frames should be added adjacent to the existing frames, as seen below. They are designed to be assmbled in the same way as the frames and easily removable, thanks to the many screws holding them together. To be honest, a strap to stop the frames flexing outwards is all that's really needed to make this thing feel pretty secure during transport. Or you can be smart and carry it from the bottom.

My example is printed in Motorsport Green PETG from 3DQF and Polymaker Polylite Gold PETG. I get my hardware from GWR Fasteners and my rods from Metals4U.

Please do ask if you need help or clarification, share your makes and any mods/remixes you make! The rods add so much flexibility, I'd love to see what uses other people might have for them. I myself am hoping to comission some of my very lovely artist friends to create artwork that can be added to act as cable covers and cosmetic panels

If you took the time to read this, thank you very much and have a very lovely day :D.