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3D Print Replica HD 20 SC Enclosure?

PotatoFi

Well-known member
Hey 68kmla! I would love to have an HD 20 SC hard drive, not so much for the hard drive, but for the enclosure. Seems like it would be a nice place for my SCSI ethernet adapter to live, and it would elevate my Macintosh SE a bit. But rather than gut an HD 20 SC, how about 3d printing an enclosure? I have a nice 3D printer (a Prusa i3 MK2S), and it looks like such an enclosure would just barely fit in the build envelope.

There would be a few challenges:

  • Need an enclosure of an HD 20 and/or HD 20 SC to create replica model from (I've literally never seen one in person)
  • I can model in SketchUp and OpenSCAD, but would probably need to learn Fusion360 for something this complex
  • Large, flat parts are fairly tricky to 3D print, as they're prone to warping issues
  • Would need to find beige and/or platinum-like colors to print in, so the enclosures match the Macs in color (I've never liked painting 3D prints... would rather just find a similar colored filament)


Any interest in a project like this? @maceffects, any thoughts? If something like this came to fruition, I'd be happy to print off a few enclosures for people, publish the files, whatever. I'm not really looking to make money on this (I mostly just want a couple for myself), but if I could print and sell a few to recuperate cost of filament and machine time, that seems like it could be fun.

 

olePigeon

Well-known member
The HD20 SC uses the Snow White design with the platinum plastics and grooves.  So if you want a drive that matches your SE, then you'd want to go with the HD20 SC.  It'll also look nice next to any II-era Macintosh that uses the same design.

The HD20 has a curvy design like a Mac Plus, and is aesthetically designed to match the Mac 128k through Plus.  Its front profile is the basis for the original HDD icon. :)

Interesting side-note:  there was a very rare SCSI upgrade for the HD20.

 

maceffects

Well-known member
@PotatoFi Printing the case would be a difficult task and would require support structures.  If you didn't spend several thousand on the 3d printer, it will probably not be high enough resolution to do a good print.  Moreover, matching platinum or any Apple color would be hard both from the perspective of filament and production. 

However, if you can get produce STP/STEP files, I could contact my prototype producer and make some clear case versions.  I'd bet that the two molds (if produced) would be around $12,000-$15,000.  That would be doubtful for production, but who knows.  Those HD20 SC's are often is sad brittle condition. 

 

PotatoFi

Well-known member
Printing the case would be a difficult task and would require support structures.
Thanks for your feeback!

Agreed, not an easy print, but I've been designing parts for Fused Deposition Modeling printers since ~2011. I'm aware of the limitations, and have some ideas for how to work around it. For example, this could be a two-piece print, with the top piece being printed on it's top. Still, I'd rather avoid that, as I find top layers of FDM prints to be more attractive than bottom layers... but that's stuff I can handle as I go.

If you didn't spend several thousand on the 3d printer, it will probably not be high enough resolution to do a good print.
I would never claim that an FDM 3D printer can achieve injection-molding-like results; it's going to be an obviously 3D printed case. But check out these little brackets I designed and printed for my Cisco switch:

IMG_0615.jpg

(For scale, the size of the bed is about the size of a Macintosh base)

IMG_20181110_150716.jpg

IMG_20181110_151038.jpg

Those were done on my $700 Prusa i3 MK2. It breaks my heart when people go out and buy a $3,000 Makerbot... they just don't produce as good of results as the Prusa. They would be obviously 3D printed parts, and maybe I'm biased, but I think these look pretty dang good.

Warping is my biggest concern. I should probably try to print a big blank box first to see how it turns out.

If you can get produce STP/STEP files, I could contact my prototype producer and make some clear case versions.  I'd bet that the two molds (if produced) would be around $12,000-$15,000.  That would be doubtful for production, but who knows.  Those HD20 SC's are often is sad brittle condition. 
Cool idea for sure, but I think that's hopelessly out of scope here. If you think it could be done then I encourage you to run with it. But me... I think it would be fun to start with some 3D prints and see how they turn out.

 
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Crutch

Well-known member
No substance here but just wanted to add, this is a great idea. I gutted a bad HD20SC (the original, no-label beige model) recently, cleaned it up then restored the case a bit with some ABS slurry, and now use it to hide a SCSI2SD for my 030-upgraded Plus (and as a little stand). I kept the original PSU in there, wired up to the SCSI2SD so the switch and LED still work. Basically it’s the fastest and highest-capacity imaginable 20SC. I love it. 

Now that’s you mention it I could definitely fit an Asante EN-SC in there too. It’s true that a classic HD20 would match the Plus better but I haven’t seen a broken one for sale cheaply...

 

maceffects

Well-known member
@PotatoFi that’s pretty impressive work you’ve done there. I don’t recommend makerbots to anyone. There are, however, some high res printers around the $3,000 that are great. For your application it looks like it fits the bill. 

I’d be happy to see if I still have some HD SC drives floating around somewhere for you to model, if not I can ask around. I don’t think buying molds are worth it but I bet for a few hundred dollars (each) I can get clear ones made from their $100,000+ machines. I know I’d like to have a clear one for myself and I bet others who backed the case project would too. I’ve considered making laser cut hard drive top covers to allow you to see inside the drive when it’s working in the SE series.  Looks like I now have extra motivation.  

 

IlikeTech

Well-known member
I have access to a 40x28 laser cutter if things need to be laser cut.  75 watt CO2.  My Dad owns it and I would just need to buy supplies.

 

maceffects

Well-known member
I have access to a 40x28 laser cutter if things need to be laser cut.  75 watt CO2.  My Dad owns it and I would just need to buy supplies.
That’s great because I have several ideas of things that would need laser cut. I don’t mind sending some money either.  I’d really like to make clear SE port bezel in the rear, I’m working with Bolle and Trash80 to convert PDS cards but have nothing to give it a finished look. I still need to engineer the the hard drive cover to make that happen. I think it would be so cool to be able to see the drive in action, especially the Mini Scribe stepper motors. 

 

IlikeTech

Well-known member
Yea I tend to agree about the hard drives.  That would be so cool. Opening one to just swap the top case is unlikely to hurt the drive.  I have access to a copy of Rhino, which is what my father uses for laser modeling.  By port bezel, you mean the little piece of plastic that covers the card slot if no card is installed?

 

maceffects

Well-known member
I’m certain it wouldn’t hurt those old drives, the data density is very low.  I like electromechanical devices. 

Here is a photo of kind of what I intend to make for the custom Ethernet card we are working on. I think both would be a good fit for laser cutting.  The engineer I’ve been working with has been busy but I’ll toss the idea at him when he is free. Or I may dabble a bit because neither should be that hard to design. 

ABB340C6-9F54-4C3E-8499-D19954FA39F0.jpeg

 

maceffects

Well-known member
Yeah, it should be straightforward I don’t have any software to create it but if it’s simple for you maybe we can work something out. 

Here is the tricky part it would actually just be a square to accommodate this coupler, that little clip would be the only hard part but really it should be decent. 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Monoprice-8P8C-RJ45-Cat6-Inline-Coupler-Type-Keystone-Jack-White/40501021?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=1884&adid=22222222228028185259&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=60058075809&wl4=pla-94244636649&wl5=9016200&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=113139629&wl11=online&wl12=40501021&wl13=&veh=sem&gclid=EAIaIQobChMItpet8MX44QIVT7jACh24BQu9EAQYBCABEgKWpPD_BwE

 

maceffects

Well-known member
Yeah, two holes for the screws and the main hole in the middle, probably the easiest think to design and cut.  One sheet of acrylic could make a ton of these little parts.  In the future I will see about making one with two WiFi antennas, but that's a bit far along.  If you want I can send you one of these couplers to take a look at?

 

IlikeTech

Well-known member
Hmm that would be great.  I wonder, what thickness acrylic do you want?  The laser can do up to 1/4 inch easily.

 

maceffects

Well-known member
Sure, send me a PM with your info and I'll have one sent your way.  If you have an SE or SE/30 you should be able to use it as reference.  As far as thickness, it would have to be strong enough to insert the coupler and not crack, but thin enough to be screwed in.  Other than that, thickness shouldn't matter much.  We've made some great strides with the ProtoCahce+LC PDS Conversion idea thus far thanks to Bolle and Trash80, and Ants provided some good feedback for making it WiFi in the future too.  That's whats great about projects like this, it brings everyone together.

 

CC_333

Well-known member
@maceffects I actually do have an HD20SC and an HD20 (which was working as of maybe 3 years ago), either of which I could volunteer for being modeled, if anyone needs.

I also have both an external 800k drive and an original 400k drive which can be modeled too. We can be ridiculous and have every SE/30 peripheral be clear like the case!

I have a feeling that would get ridiculously expensive ridiculously quickly, though.

It's beginning to remind me of the late 90s, when everything was being made curvy and translucent to match the then-new iMacs!

c

 

Trash80toHP_Mini

NIGHT STALKER
Here is a photo of kind of what I intend to make for the custom Ethernet card we are working on. I think both would be a good fit for laser cutting.  The engineer I’ve been working with has been busy but I’ll toss the idea at him when he is free. Or I may dabble a bit because neither should be that hard to design. 

View attachment 27567


Very simple laser cut clear plexi panel. Just four holes and one rectangular opening. Bolt up this this doohickey w/integrated 10" patch cable:

71QEE-Oq7jL._SL1500_.jpg.b9ef67e6b9387c5396181b21008fa4a5.jpg


$6.49 in onesies off Amazon.

edit: with CLEAR you get internal WiFi antennae on eggroll.

 
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