Open Frame Modular SFF PC Case

Overview

Role - Mechanical Designer | Product Designer | Rapid Prototyping | Manufacturing & Assembly

Tools - AutoCAD, Fusion 360, 3D printing, Hardware Integration

Skills - Mechanical Design, Product Design, Design for Manufacturing, Modular Design, Rapid Prototyping, CAD Modeling, User-Centered Design 

Design Process

The objective of this project was to design a compact, modular small form factor (SFF) PC case that showcased the TRYX Panorama SE CPU cooler while minimizing material usage and maintaining compatibility with high-performance desktop hardware. The design prioritized modularity, manufacturability, cable management, and ease of assembly.

A key design intent was to move away from conventional fully 3D-printed panel-based SFF enclosures, which often rely on multiple flat printed surfaces joined at weak interfaces. Instead, the structure was designed around a hybrid construction system using 3D-printed connectors and ¾-inch wooden dowels.

This approach was selected to separate structural roles within the design:

• Wooden dowels act as continuous load-bearing members, providing rigidity over long spans

• 3D-printed components function as precision joints and interface nodes

This separation allows the printed parts to be minimized in size and complexity while maintaining a structurally efficient frame architecture.

As a result, material usage was reduced to approximately 350 g of filament, achieved without compromising overall system stability.

The frame was designed around standardized PC hardware, supporting Mini-ITX motherboards, SFX power supplies, full-length graphics cards, and radiators up to 360 mm. Cable routing was intentionally consolidated toward the rear of the case, with internal channels integrated into the structure to maintain a clean external appearance.

Modularity was a core system requirement. The frame was developed as a set of interchangeable sections that can be removed, reconfigured, or expanded. This enables future variants such as ATX power supply support, additional storage modules, and NAS-oriented configurations without requiring a redesign of the base structure.

Multiple iterations were made to printed connector geometry to refine tolerances, improve assembly behavior, and ensure compatibility with standardized M3 hardware and heat-set inserts.

Results

The completed design produced a lightweight, modular SFF PC case requiring approximately 350 g of filament while supporting a wide range of high-performance PC components.

The hybrid dowel-and-printed-frame system successfully demonstrated that structural performance can be improved while reducing material usage by separating load-bearing and interface functions across different materials.

This architecture introduced several tradeoffs inherent to its design approach:

• Reduced physical enclosure and protection due to open-frame layout

• Increased part count from modular segmentation

• Requires deliberate assembly sequencing to ensure correct alignment of modular structural components

• Dependence on accurate alignment between printed joints and dowel members

Despite these tradeoffs, the final design achieves a balance between structural rigidity, modular expandability, and material efficiency while maintaining compatibility with full-performance desktop hardware.

The project was published on MakerWorld as part of the TRYX Panorama SE design competition and represents my first publicly released design and first competition submission.