Custom Fan Controller

BillytheImpaler

BillytheImpaler

BillytheImpaler

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Joined
2 Aug 2005
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Cleveland, Ohio, USA
I've been throwing around the idea of building a custom fan controller for myself. It'd be great if Lian-Li made a TR-3 that actually DID control fans properly but alas, they don't. I'd base it off of a spare 5.25"drive bay cover from my V1000. It'd be a fun little challenge to see if I'm up to making my own PCBs, knobs, and surface-mount electronics. I've been working on the visual design this afternoon. I was going to the knobs all the same size all in a row but I was inspired when watching the Transformers trailer... not by the trailer itself, but by the Quicktime control buttons at the bottom center of the window.

What do you gents think of this look?:
Small version


Full size version


I took a screenshot then measured pixels to determine the sizes and relative distances based on the outer dimensions of the faceplate. It would be made of naturally colored aluminum with knobs machined from a solid round. I have access to a vertical milling machine and a small lathe so I have the necessary tools. I'd love to put a 1 mm fillet on the edges of the knobs to more accurately match the Lian-Li's rounded style but I think I'd need a CNC lathe to do that properly so chamfers will have to do. Comments are welcome.

If I get some time later I'll do a rough sketch of the PCB and post it for your perusal. :)
 
If you're really patient with lots of time on your hands you could create a fillet using decreasing angles and multiple passes, sort of like the curve of a circle reducing to straight lines the closer you look at it. Course you could just end up with a duodecagon and the chances of you actually recreating the same thing twice would be slim enough depending on how well calibrated your machine is, and your eyes.

Nice design by the way, good luck with it.
 
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Just mod a HSS lathe tool with a grinding wheel. Make your 1mm radius that way. Or file/emery/scotchbrite it on with the chuck spinning. I take NO responsiblity for this dangerous method, and believe me, if you are not careful its probably capable of killing you.
 
What is the minimum acceptable voltage for a fan? This will determine the maximum resistance of the potentiometers I'll install. I hear lots of folks run 7V but I'm wondering how low I can go without damaging the fans or making them stop turning entirely.
 
BillytheImpaler said:
What is the minimum acceptable voltage for a fan? This will determine the maximum resistance of the potentiometers I'll install. I hear lots of folks run 7V but I'm wondering how low I can go without damaging the fans or making them stop turning entirely.
Click to expand...


Some will run down to 3v but most will need 5v+ to start up. The SPCR reviews are the best places to look for what each fan can do afaik.
 
Alright, a quick chat with someone in the know indicates that I'm doing this all wring. Instead of potentiometers I'll now use a MIC2941ABT low drop-out voltage regulator. It should do just the job. :)
 
orderoftheflame said:
Good luck with it lots of updates and pictures to come I hope?
Click to expand...
But of course! I intend to document it in such a way that a reader could easily duplicate my results. An Open Source hardware project, if you will.

However, I'm in no hurry to get it done so I'll update when I have updates and that's about it. :)
 
BillytheImpaler said:
Alright, a quick chat with someone in the know indicates that I'm doing this all wring. Instead of potentiometers I'll now use a MIC2941ABT low drop-out voltage regulator. It should do just the job. :)
Click to expand...

As someone else who considers himself to be "in the know", I would be interested in hearing the reason behind making your project twice as complicated. If you dont mind. It just seems a bit of an overkill to me thats all, but I do accept I could be completely wrong!

PK!
 
The reason I switched to the MIC2941ABT is the potentiometers I was seeing were far too inefficient. I'd like to get as close as possible to the source voltage when I have it turned up all the way. With the pots I saw the maximum voltage would be in the neighborhood of 10.5V. The MIC2941ABT should let me run it up to 11.96, 99.7% of the maximum.

Plus overkill never hurt anybody. :p
 
Ok, I should have known there would be a good reason! :D

I didnt think about pots not being perfect and going down to absolute zero resistance. A sign of me knowing the theory and not having the practical experience probably, and my usual lack of thinking before I speak!

Good luck with the build, I look forward to seeing how it goes!

PK!
 
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