Chassis Discussion

I placed an order for a 5U Deluxe Steel on the 30th. I have an immediate DIY receipt of order but nothing about a shipment yet. That's the order day plus two business days to push it out the door. I know it's Italy and they have MANY holidays, but is this normal?

Honestly I don’t know any business that ships in less than 2 business days after order except Amazon. It usually ships in about a week. Add a couple days if you’re having machining done. Shipping is very quick for international usually less than 3 days to the midwest, usa.
 
I placed an order for a 5U Deluxe Steel on the 30th. I have an immediate DIY receipt of order but nothing about a shipment yet. That's the order day plus two business days to push it out the door. I know it's Italy and they have MANY holidays, but is this normal?


Hello Bob,


As much as we all would want to go on holiday and travel after being stuck at home for many months during the pandemic, that's not the case. We usually try to ship the next business day and that is what happens most of the times but since we are changing our FedEx account they still need to update our shipping rates and this is why it's taking some time. Hopefully your order should be shipped before the end of current week.



Thanks for your patience
 
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I received the chassis and unfortunately one of the heat sinks was damaged. DIY contacted Modu and they send a replacement with no hassle. I really appreciate that!!



But another question/problem. I purchased the Accessories Kit from DIY which included the binding posts. But the posts do not fit into the holes in the rear of the chassis. The insulator on the post that inserts into the hole is .445"/11.3mm and the hole is .429/10.9mm. Which part is the problem? I can find no dimension on what either part is suppose to be. Looks like it's time to do some drilling/filing.
 
Hello Modushop,
Thank you for taking the time to read these questions. I'm asking these to set rules for my design.

1. I use Autodesk Fusion 360 for design. Can Modulshop use a CAD file to machine the front and real panels?

2. What size/radius milling tools does Modushop use to get good results for lettering and words on the front panel?

2. Can both sides of a front panel (front and back) be machined, or just the front?
 
Hey thanks for your message. Let's have a look at your questions:

1) As long as the file is in 2D DXF/DWG format we have no problem in importing and using it


2) Engraving small logos/letters can be tricky so I suggest to make sure they have an height of at least 5mm. Otherwise you can opt for digital printing which does not have any problem even with small letters


3) Yes, both sides can be machined
 
Thank you for the reply.
Is the engrave tool .5mm, 1mm, etc? If I know the diameter that's being used, I can make sure to avoid problematic fonts and cuts.

The Slim Line 2 Units 02/280 case is available with a 10mm front panel. Is it possible to have a 20mm front panel? I ask, because the design I have in mind would be curved and this requires a lot of material removal.
 
I am also looking at purchasing a chassis to house probably 2 class D icepower 1200as2 modules, which are each 30cm long, 10cm wide and 7cm high. I would need one 2U case with a depth of at least 350mm and a width of at least 250mm or 2 cases with a depth of at least 350mm and a width of at least 12cm (to make 2 monoblocks). I like the look of a 10mm front plate with no screws in it (a solid plate).

The 'dissipante 400mm' is a good fit, can house 2 units, but quite expensive at 185 euro. I also wonder if the cooling fins really make a big difference, as I will mount the boards to the bottom of the case and not to the sides. Are the cooling fins very functional in this case?

The 'slimline 2u 350' is also a good option, but you have the ugly screws in the front which you don't have in the dissipante, so you need to buy 2 handles to hide them.

I would also like to make 2 smaller cases, but the length of the board is an issue as the internal length of your 'narrow' cases are 300mm, which is very tight, not sure if I should do this as I also need to fit the connectors. Would you have any 2u high cases which could fit a board of 30cm long and 10cm wide? I searched but could not find them.

A last question, you can buy a base plate with pre drilled holes. How much does this take away from the internal height, should I go to a 3U case if I use this base plate?

Thanks!
 
The 'dissipante 400mm' is a good fit, can house 2 units, but quite expensive at 185 euro. I also wonder if the cooling fins really make a big difference, as I will mount the boards to the bottom of the case and not to the sides. Are the cooling fins very functional in this case?

I would say it depends on how much heat you need to vent. If you plan to opt for a Slim Line chassis instead of a Dissipante chassis I would quote a brief description from the store about the side panels

The Amazingly DIY Friendly "Quasi Heatsinks" said:
They're far too thin to be called "heatsinks" with a straight face. Certainly they aren't a real heatsink, so please assume they will do very little in terms of cooling! But they would be effective at drawing away a little bit of heat from a relatively cool-running component you don't want to run warm

The 'slimline 2u 350' is also a good option, but you have the ugly screws in the front which you don't have in the dissipante, so you need to buy 2 handles to hide them.

Are you talking about the model with 4mm front panel? Because the model with the thicker front panel uses the same of the Dissipante chassis without holes in view

I would also like to make 2 smaller cases, but the length of the board is an issue as the internal length of your 'narrow' cases are 300mm, which is very tight, not sure if I should do this as I also need to fit the connectors. Would you have any 2u high cases which could fit a board of 30cm long and 10cm wide? I searched but could not find them.

Our Galaxy 387 has inner useful width of 310mm and a depth of 170/230/280mm, maybe that could work for you

A last question, you can buy a base plate with pre drilled holes. How much does this take away from the internal height, should I go to a 3U case if I use this base plate?

After mounting one of our inner baseplates, the inner height is reduced of about 5-6mm


Anytime! :)
 
Thanks!

I finally ordered some Hypex boards, and will build an 8 channel using 8 UCD400 oem boards and a SMPS3ka400, 1 2 channel for my subwoofers with 2 ucd2k and 1 SMPS3ka700 and 1 2 channel stereo with 2 UCD400 OEM and 2 e-bay SMPS 600W. I would like to finalize my order for 3 cases, but have some questions.

The UCD400 OEM boards are already mounted on a L frame with a small heatsink. The orientation of the fins is made for a vertical mount on a bigger heatsink.

ucd400 oem.jpg


I am on the fence regarding the case. For the 2 channel ucd400 stereo I would simply go with a simple case (it's for use in my home gym) without any heatsink, a compact 'Galaxy GX288'. I would remove the extra heatsink and put it on the base plate.

For the 8 channel I would need to go for the bigger box with radiators, the 3U Dissipante 400. If I use no radiators, the Pesante 400 would also be fine
For the 2 channel subwoofer I could go with the 4U mini dissipante 400, so I have enough height to mount the SMPS on the side, or also a Pesante 400 (will have a lot of room left)

I have been measuring and calculating, and would be able to mount all amplifier modules of the 8-channel on the heatsink side panels, but the SMPS3kA700 would need to be in the middle.
For the subwoofer 'mini dissipante' I would be able to mount everything to the heatsink sides.

Dissipante cases are about 2,5x more expensive compared to Sepante cases (or about 100-150 euro per case depending on size). Sepante cases are also 7cm wider (so more space between components) and you can order an optional cover with a lot of extra holes for ventilation, which you can not do with the dissipante (so better ventilation 'inside').

Now I have some questions:
for the 8 channel UCD400 (which have an L with small heatsink)
  • Are the heatsinks cosmetic or do they dissipate heat efficiently?
  • Even in a Dissipante, the SMPS would be mounted in the middle and have no heatsink. Will this cool it enough?
  • In the Dissipante you have the 'steel' and 'aluminium' option. Will the steel version be sufficient, as the amplifier boards are mounted on the sides? Aluminium is better at conducting heat, but not sure if it's important if only the SMPS is mounted to the bottom plate?
  • Do I need the extra outside heatsink for the 8 channel or is the small heatsink on the boards enough? in other words, could I use the Sepante case and have the same performance? I would like to make sure I don't get into problems for 'cheaping out' now

for the 2 channel 2x UCD2K 1X SMPS3ka700, all mountable to the sides of a mini dissipante 400:
  • Contrary to the above, the mini dissipante seems to be always in aluminium. It's 210 euro for the 4U 400, if I would take the standard dissipante 4U 400 in steel, it's 10 euro cheaper, but I would have A LOT of unused space in the middle (I could add another amplifier in there)
  • Contrary to the above the UCD2K does not have any heatsink attached to it, but if I would add a heatsink, would a sepante also be good?

A lot of questions, but it makes a huge difference in costs (in each scenario is also 1 galaxy 288 4mm, with every sepante I also took the optional aluminium cover with extra ventilation holes, always 10mm front)

  • all aluminium dissipante : 588 eur
  • dissipante in steel (mini alu): 525 eur
  • one 3U sepante, 4U min dissipante: 430
  • 2 sepante: 260 eur

So without the galaxy, difference is 530 vs 205 euro, with the question off course if I gain some performance. (also, the dissipante cases look very very good, very nice design)

Thanks!!

PS for reference, I spent 1000 euro on all the components, will probably spend about 200 on 'nuts and bolts', cables, connectors (board are without any cables), better feet, binding posts, xlr, speakon, ... and want to make sure I make the right choice on the cases. Thanks!
 
Regarding our heatsinks' dissipation ratings I suggest you to have a look at the table you can find here https://diyaudiostore.com/collections/accessories/products/40mm-heatsinks

I am no techy guy so unfortunately I cannot give you an suggestion on which chassis would be a better fit, the only thing I can say if you need to vent a lot of heat the Dissipante is the best way to go.

You may want to ask to somebody who has a bit more knowledge than me regarding the other points, sorry I can't help any further!
 
I have designed an AC panel distribution around the Pesant 4U chassis. As I was about to place the order I re-read the details and seems like the side panels are steel and thus cannot be machined. In my instance, the rear panel is solid and all the machined holes are on the 2 sides. Is there an option for customization on the side panels of the 4U chassis that I may have missed similar to the rear panel option? Thans in advance.