Zip-Tie Fan Mount Method....DIY

Control: management of fans, temp/rpm monitoring via soft/hardware

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TG
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Joined: Sun Oct 30, 2005 2:59 pm

Post by TG » Thu Nov 03, 2005 3:48 am

Bluefront,
THANKYOU!!!!!

The pictures are very useful, I hope that the link stays active for other newbies such as myself.

TG :lol:

Bluefront
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Post by Bluefront » Thu Nov 03, 2005 4:09 am

Black Knight case....I built two of them. Great deal for $50 ea. Had a neat fan control system, LED temp displays for three temps, the best front door system I ever saw, two 120mm Yate Loon fans, etc.

Very few people on SPCR ever had one....despite my glowing reviews. :lol:

Those foam side panels are dark gray SafetyMat sheets...from Sam's Club (cheap). I don't think they're available any longer. They are 5/8" thick....and I modded them using Zip Ties. I layered a carpet panel to the safety foam using zip ties, that built up an acoustic barrier almost 1" thick. No glue involved.....

Link to Black Knight thread

BrianE
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Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada

Post by BrianE » Sun Nov 06, 2005 3:41 pm

Bluefront wrote:Black Knight case....I built two of them. Great deal for $50 ea. Had a neat fan control system, LED temp displays for three temps, the best front door system I ever saw, two 120mm Yate Loon fans, etc.

Very few people on SPCR ever had one....despite my glowing reviews. :lol:
Heh heh, a few months ago I tried looking for that model of case after seeing the nice features it had and the way it looked... too bad it seems to be either rare or simply discontinued.

spiffy102
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu May 05, 2005 8:06 am

Post by spiffy102 » Wed Dec 07, 2005 1:07 pm

For my P180 / D12SL-12 mounting...

If I use the zip tie method, should I use some foam to seal between the fan and the case? (For both "flow insulation" as well as to prevent rattling)

I'm kind of surprised that the very firm zip ties don't transmit vibrations or have their own rattling effect?

Bluefront
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Post by Bluefront » Sun Jan 14, 2007 1:02 pm

I just came across another recent link to this old thread. Might as well update it.....most of the picture links don't work anymore. But you don't need pictures.

You use two zip-ties as a nut and bolt.....eight zip ties total for a fan with four holes. To isolate the fan from the panel you can use soft rubber washers, strips of soft foam.....almost anything. The small gap between the fan and the panel, can be closed with foam, if you want. I sometimes use longer strips of rubber hose as spacers. This is useful if you might want a fan closer to a heatsink. In this case you might simply wrap a piece of duct tape around the four hoses, forming a short duct.

The nylon zip ties don't transmit any significant amount of vibration to the case. Other methods of mounting using rubber cords, work very similar. But they are not nearly as strong as a zip-tie mount. I must have mounted hundreds of fans with zip-ties. Never had a fan come loose yet. Zip-ties are very useful in computer modding......there are countless uses for the things. Use your imagination...... :lol:

Felger Carbon
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Post by Felger Carbon » Sun Jan 14, 2007 1:33 pm

And Harbor Freight will sell you a gazillion of them dirt cheap! :)

keine
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Location: USA

Post by keine » Sat Jun 05, 2010 10:28 pm

Could someone update the pictures or describe the process a bit more? I'd like to do this, but am having a hard time following. Thanks.

keine
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Post by keine » Sat Jun 05, 2010 11:13 pm

Bluefront wrote:I just came across another recent link to this old thread. Might as well update it.....most of the picture links don't work anymore. But you don't need pictures.

You use two zip-ties as a nut and bolt.....eight zip ties total for a fan with four holes. To isolate the fan from the panel you can use soft rubber washers, strips of soft foam.....almost anything. The small gap between the fan and the panel, can be closed with foam, if you want. I sometimes use longer strips of rubber hose as spacers. This is useful if you might want a fan closer to a heatsink. In this case you might simply wrap a piece of duct tape around the four hoses, forming a short duct.

The nylon zip ties don't transmit any significant amount of vibration to the case. Other methods of mounting using rubber cords, work very similar. But they are not nearly as strong as a zip-tie mount. I must have mounted hundreds of fans with zip-ties. Never had a fan come loose yet. Zip-ties are very useful in computer modding......there are countless uses for the things. Use your imagination...... :lol:
I think I get the idea. Insert the first zip tie from the outside of the case...through a rubber something on the inside of the case and through the hole in your fan. Put this same zip tie through the cap of another zip tie once through the fan and pull snug. Brilliant.

willliammurray
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Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2010 3:46 am
Location: US

Nice

Post by willliammurray » Sun Sep 12, 2010 3:50 am

Very Goo Post but I didn't tape the sides of the fan (like powergyoza did), as I managed to get the fan quite close to the case. In this situation, leaving the gaps is disastrous--the fan wastes a lot of airflow sucking air through the nearby low resistance gaps instead of from the high resistance case interior.
Thank you so much for the good post.

mclarck17
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Re:

Post by mclarck17 » Mon Nov 10, 2014 12:01 am

MikeC wrote:Don't forget the incredibly simple and effective sponge foam grommet trick employed by Leo Quan (powergyoza) in his Quiet Dual MP Workstation article--

Image
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See the article link for full details: Quiet Dual MP Workstation article
This is a unique idea for hanging the fan to the casing. thumbs up!

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