My custom built computer had been mounted to a sheet of plywood which was causing a number of issues with GPU sag, accessibility, and of course aesthetics.

I decided it was time to build a custom case for the computer to solve these problems.

Process

I wanted to combine interesting geometry with a material that would stand out. I chose a hexagonal antiprism (essentially a twisted hexagonal prism) for the geometry given the size and aesthetic I was targeting. 

For the material, I chose copper pipes from home depot and hand-polished them with a die grinder and wire wheel (this took quite a while).

After cutting the tubes, I coated them in clear-coat so they won't oxidize to a green color. The 3D prints were sanded and coated in gloss black for contrast. 

The CAD for this was interesting, and having good base sketches helped a lot. 

I also had to iterate several times on the tolerances and print orientations to ensure that the hand-cut tubes had enough clearance so that they could be positioned at the correct lengths, while maintaining a nice fit with the tube. 

Final assembly took a while and was done in stages, requiring frequent measurement and adjustment before drilling the self-tapping screws in.

Results

The new PC case was certainly a step up from the sheet of plywood in GPU sag, cable routing, and aesthetics.