I read with interest lots of reviews about cases. What manufacturers have done to achieve "x" at a given price point. Most cases are pretty much the same with regards build methods. A spot weld here or a rivet there and if you're really lucky a good old fashion threaded fixing. Case modding, like overclocking is a big deal these days. Forums allow people to show off their work and hopefully get praise and recognition from the community. Talent of course does deserve credit. However I note that so many case mods now are different from the old days. New complete cases are being made by people who have designed them on a PC, then either had access to, or bought access to a CAD driven cutter. And here's my point. Whilst there is undoubtedly skilled required to design a case, that looks great and functions in the way the user/designer wants, the use of a software driven cutting platform is in my opinion cheating. Not cheating in the true sense of the word, but with regards to the Modding Scene, such as it is. I note on other forums that the number of cases that seem to win awards are fabricated by a machine and not by the designer. I would hazard a guess that 90% of PC users that wish to mod stuff don't have access to professional CAD equipment. And some I would suggest would rather do it all themselves. I think it rather unfair that people with good hand skills and clever ideas about how to make use of readily available materials are often slaughtered by CAD cases. I believe there is no substitute for some genuine engineering savvy, the use of files, grinders, the humble Dremmel and tin snips. To me modding is the creation or adaptation of structural components by hand at home, or in Metal work class whatever. Handing over your design to a firm who only need load a piece of aluminium and press the Start button is cool, but not modding. Whilst there should be a place for such constructions in forums and competitions I really feel that the work of the genuine modder is over shadowed by the “nanometre” brigade. Magazines and forums that we all pay attention to, should separate the work of the case builders in to classes for CAD Built Cases, thus focussing on the design talent and imagination of the builder and the Case Modder who is judged by their implementation of changes or additions to known cases by hand. There is a massive amount of skill out there and most don’t get a look in because CAD Built cases for some reason command the most attention.
I am in no way dissing the CAD Case Builders. There should be recognition for everyone’s skill; it’s just not done correctly at the moment by the press and forums we are absorbed by.
I am in no way dissing the CAD Case Builders. There should be recognition for everyone’s skill; it’s just not done correctly at the moment by the press and forums we are absorbed by.
