How do I cut a fan hole in my case?

Enclosures and acoustic damping to help quiet them.

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d3v
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Feb 29, 2012 6:10 am

How do I cut a fan hole in my case?

Post by d3v » Fri Mar 23, 2012 2:57 pm

Hi all, I want to cut a fan hole at the top of my Coolermaster Elite case and was thinking of buying 110 mm holesaw and arbour for my drill but I don't want to spend £25 on something I will only ever use once, so was wondering what other methods of creating a hole for a 120mm fan in a PC case are there??

lodestar
Posts: 1683
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 3:29 am
Location: UK

Re: How do I cut a fan hole in my case?

Post by lodestar » Fri Mar 23, 2012 3:22 pm

The odd Elite case I've seen in the past had quite restrictive internal and external fan grills. If this applies to your case, I would say that the first step should be to cut out those grills which ought to improve air flow significantly. Why do you think you need to cut a hole in the top of the case?

d3v
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Feb 29, 2012 6:10 am

Re: How do I cut a fan hole in my case?

Post by d3v » Fri Mar 23, 2012 3:28 pm

I just want to, do you know any methods of cutting a hole without using a holesaw?

Mr Evil
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Re: How do I cut a fan hole in my case?

Post by Mr Evil » Fri Mar 23, 2012 4:32 pm

A rotary tool with a cutting disc (actually lots of cutting discs, because they wear out and break a lot). You need a steady hand to get a neat hole this way, but you can cut holes of any shape and size with the one tool.

ces
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Location: US

Re: How do I cut a fan hole in my case?

Post by ces » Fri Mar 23, 2012 4:55 pm

Use a Malco hole cutter
viewtopic.php?p=537088#p537088

None of the other solutions works very well... except for a Greenlee Knock Out Punch... which it way way too expensive. The Greenlee Knock Out Punch is what the pros use.

themaster1
Posts: 95
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Location: Southern France

Re: How do I cut a fan hole in my case?

Post by themaster1 » Sun Mar 25, 2012 3:59 pm

I have asked the same question to a guy who made a neat mod (cut a hole on aluminum) a while ago and he advised me to use a this tool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iMiH8wYTDY (cutting hole demo at 2.46)

You cut a small hole first and then at the right diameter it's easier. The sharp edges can be dealt with sandpaper (double sided)

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