This is a suggestion I got from my Grandfather in regards to quieting a computer case. He is a self-taught mechanical engineer, and it sounded a bit hokie to me until I thought about it.

Basically his suggestion was to place rubber emasculator bands as "washers" between any two things to be screwed together. In particular between the case and the fan to dampen the vibration of the fan against the case. It isn't perfect because the screw still transmits some, but you don't have the fan vibrating directly against the case.

Here is a link to them that includes a picture. They are about the size of cheerios, and run for about $1.00 per hundred of them at feed stores.

Here

Before you ask, they are used to castrate animals.

Wow, that's creative. How soft are those bands? Softer than a regular rubber washer. As soft as a foam earplug? I bet you could do something like this:
[|___|||||-

Bear with this poor ascii art side profile. Imagine the red stuff as a small diameter bolt with a nut (diameter is narrow enough to not touch any part of mounting holes). The |___| is the fan frame. The 2 green things are those bands (or could be soft foam). The grey vertical line is the case.

It might not be too practical, but I was just brainstorming anyway....

On that site, is it $ 1.35 shipped for a 100pack of those? Or is that per band?

I've seen lots of inventive cross-polination of technologies here: Lawn mower intakes used as filters, Pringles cans used as ducts, Car radiators used for cooling, etc, etc......


But Castration Bands!?! for that you deserve some kind of award.


Nicely done

$1.35 should be for 100 of them. I know the feed store I used to work in (circa 1991) charged $0.50 for 100 of them. They are the size of a cheerio, softer than a washer but harder than a regular rubberband. They are designed to cut off blood flow the the part being removed so that it drops off. To put them on for that purpose requires a special tool that expands them.

I used that site becasue it was the first image of them I found. You can find them a lot of places by searching for "Emasculating Band" or "Castrating Band". However, chances are unless you live in the middle of NYC or LA, there is probably a place within 10-15 miles of your house that sells them. Just look in the phone book for "Feed Store" or "Animal Supplies." They are a one size fits all type of thing, so the same size is used for dogs, sheep, and cattle.

I was gonna post that, but thanks for doing it for me. The very thought of using something on a fan used to castrate animals creeps me out in some way...

They are thicker and softer than a normal washer. Therefore, I believe they should dampen vibration better.

Of course if a bunch of people start ordering them for delivery to urban areas, I wonder what the retailers of them are going to think?

EDIT1: Before anybody asks, I am going to try them myself when I build my wife's computer. The computer will not be totally silent, but will be a little quieter than some. I have been thinking of place besides just fans I could use them, on a trial basis.

Call me paranoid, but placing devices used for castration anywhere a wife will have easy access seems like a very, very bad idea.

LOL Im with rusty on that one, i dont want a woman near any product with castration in the name. Also you could try using foam or shoestring to wrap the bolt so it doesnt touch the case.

Castration bands? By the hundred?

You must really hate your cows...

On that note, the earplug idea intrigues me. Perhaps an extra-narrow screw running up the middle of an earplug would be enough to firm a fan to the case, without any hard contact between fan / screw / case?

Whoa, I never thought of that, earplugs would probably work, im gonna try that now LOL

Hahaha, well I just finished my silent computer, and one of the tricks I used was using ear plugs cut in half to use as screws between the fan and the computer case itself. Works great, the foams are stiff enough so the fan doesn't sag but soft enough to allow some flexibility so that the vibrations from the fan hardly seems to transfer over to the case. If anyone cares for pictures let me know and I'll go take some.

Sunny.

We always love to see pictures. Please show and tell...

Yea id like to see some pictures too, that is a great idea, I cant believe i didnt think of it

Alright uploaded them
http://www.sunnychow.com/gallery/silentpc

enjoy

Sunny.

Very nice skchow,

good thinking, I'll have to remember your idea for later

Very nice, much better earplugs than the crap one I once tried. Yours have the right length. But I guess if they were too short you'd be able to superglue a couple together anyway.

Don't use these unless you're prepared to superglue two together - one is too short!

The ones I got were the cheapest ones at the local drug store. If you could get better quality ones with better compression, it might make the installation easier. For me, when you cut the earplugs into halves, it expands too quickly to thread through the holes so I had to force them through.

Sunny.

Wire grills? For shame

oops

HOLY COW!

I really enjoy the cross-discipline suggestions. However, won't using these in your computer cause all the nuts to drop off over time?

hehe

Hmmm, that's a good point. I guess it might be a good idea to Loc-tite everything if you're going to use those bands.

I'm sure some of you have seen these but for anyone else, rubber grommets, the best solution:

http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/scr-10.html

At $0.60 a pop ($2.40 / fan) these are pricey, but a quick search could yield some better prices, somewhat hard though considering most people want you to buy 1000+ pieces. If anyone finds a seller, do tell.

Ummm...I think he was making a joke.

I would go with the stuff from frozencpu. They will probably work best for you. The castration bands are pretty hard. Won't squish or absord as a softer rubber would.

I know this because I grew up on a farm and for no other reason than that.

These grommets, from SubzeroPC.com, seem similar to the aforementioned FrozenCPU.com grommets, but are somewhat cheaper.

Methinks the computer component shops are well overpriced for grommets (links to SubZero & frozenCPU). I have a local "mon and pop" electrical store that sells light bulbs, plugs, sockets etc as well as grommets for 5p each, that is about US $0.07!

Are these the same grommets available at from the PC shops?
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?c ... =64%2D3025

Looks like a good deal

Yeah - those are the things. Except instead of a mixed bag you want a bunch the same: I am no good at imperial measurements but mine look like 3/8" outside diameter.