Material to put HDD Enclosure onto?

[mo786]

I have a scythe quiet box.

It vibrates a little. If I put it onto the fllor of my metal case the case vibrates and makes noise.

I cannot mount it - so what is the best type of material to ptu the enclosure on?

I am guessing FOAM? The harder or softer stuff?

Is there any risk of fire with foam? The pc can get hot but not mega hot - plus it will obviously be a bit away from the CP area anyway.

[Felger Carbon]

The harder or softer stuff?

White 1/4" thick soft polyeurethene foam is sold as weatherstripping in home supply houses. Cheaply. 3/8" and 1" widths are common.

You want to support the enclosure with about 2 square inches of this stuff, total. So four pieces of the 3/8", about 1.3" long each, is about right.

If you want to go for glory, don't stick the foam to the enclosure itself. Instead, cut thin cardboard about the size of the enclosure or a little less. Stick the four pieces of foam to the cardboard. Now, turn the cardboard over and stick four identical pieces in the identical opposite-side locations. Set the 1/2"-high result on the floor of your PC and set the HDD enclosure on top of this. Twice the vibration isolation, and you don't need to sully your HDD enclosure. Win-win!

Don't be tempted to use more than 2 square inches of foam, total, in each layer of isolation. That will be optimum for a 2.75lb HDD+enc total weight, honest. You want the foam to compress about 25% from the weight. If it doesn't compress, it's too rigid and won't isolate the vibration.

Oh, yes: when placing the enclosure on the foam, don't "scoot" the enclosure. Lift it into the correct position, and lower it into place. You don't want to put a large lateral force on the foam for reasons that will be obvious if you inadvertently try it!

[mo786]

Thanks for that - interesting idea with the cardboard

we work in CMs here -so i will try to convert your inch measurements

Interesting you suggest not to cover the ENTIRE enclosure with a block of foam (underneath) - but rather small areas

Do you mean 4 little squares in each corner or one block in the centre?

[Felger Carbon]

Do you mean 4 little squares in each corner or one block in the centre?

It balances better if you put them on the four corners. And it they aren't squares (say, 3/8" by 1.3" rectangles) then angle them 45 degrees in the four corners.