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I can't find a decent computer desk to my specifications anywhere so I'm going to build one. I thought I might incorporate a 'case' into the desk so I can stealth a larger, household-type fan (12" or so) into the desk instead of using a bunch of noisy case fans and get better cooling besides.
I'd like to mount a box to the underside of the desk's main surface towards the back of the desk, with a removable 'tray' so I can get the computer in and out easily. The tricky bit is going to be the optical drives, LCD (if there is one), power & reset switches and floppy drives. What I'd really like to do is have all or most of these components in their own compartment and have them pop up through the desk in some convenient location so I can use the CD/DVD/floppy and such. (The LCD may be permanently mounted somewhere for 'pretty'.)
The idea I had was to use a weight heavy enough to raise the entire assembly and lock in the 'up' position using (whatever works). It would lock down using something like those spring-loaded magnets you see on glass doors in entertainment centers (or again, whatever works).
But I figure someone really l337 & [H]ard would use electronics to accomplish the same thing in a more elegant fashion and, as a [H] wannabe I'm willing to go that extra mile.
There are some problems that I can see with doing this though.
First, the power & reset switches always need to be accessible but I don't want to reach under the desk to get to them. I could hard mount these somewhere but that leads into another problem; If I want to remove the entire computer all I want to do is unplug everything from the back, unlock the tray and yank it out, including the optical drives and whatnot. Okay, I'd have a couple more things to do if I have a LCD mounted somewhere, plus possibly a raise/lower switch. But nothing else, I don't want to be mucking about with unplugging the power/reset buttons or anything like that.
Another tricky bit is that the container for the optical drives etc. will be flush with the desk's surface when in the 'down' position, but at the same time it has to be mounted to the removable tray and easily removed along with everything else. This means that either the whole tray will need to drop down enough so I can slide it out, or else I'll have to add something to the CD/DVD/floppy assembly to drop it down (around 1", the desk's surface will be 3/4" thick.) I'm leaning towards the latter solution there, shouldn't be too difficult to figure out.
Finally, space will be somewhat limited, as there will be a second level to the desk above the main surface that the monitor(s?), speakers and such will sit on. Ideally when the CD/DVD/floppy tray pops up it will go until the top of the assembly will sit flush with the bottom of the upper level. Plus I'd probably want it flush front-to-back, though if I have the CD/DVD assembly sit an inch or so in front of the second level of the desk I *could* put the power/reset buttons so they're accessible in both the 'up' and 'down' positions. (Hopefully I didn't confuse everyone with this paragraph.)
Anyways, does that sound feasible? If someone has already done something like this I'd like to know (but not copy, I have my own ideas.) Especially the bit about the CD/DVD/floppy etc. where you can raise/lower a tray; I don't have any ideas that I really like about how to do that electronically.
[edit] Oh yeah, can someone point me to a reputable place where I can host/hotlink to pics. I'm completely willing to pay for the service. I'll read up on the rest of the forum because I've seen some info about that... somewhere.
I'd like to mount a box to the underside of the desk's main surface towards the back of the desk, with a removable 'tray' so I can get the computer in and out easily. The tricky bit is going to be the optical drives, LCD (if there is one), power & reset switches and floppy drives. What I'd really like to do is have all or most of these components in their own compartment and have them pop up through the desk in some convenient location so I can use the CD/DVD/floppy and such. (The LCD may be permanently mounted somewhere for 'pretty'.)
The idea I had was to use a weight heavy enough to raise the entire assembly and lock in the 'up' position using (whatever works). It would lock down using something like those spring-loaded magnets you see on glass doors in entertainment centers (or again, whatever works).
But I figure someone really l337 & [H]ard would use electronics to accomplish the same thing in a more elegant fashion and, as a [H] wannabe I'm willing to go that extra mile.
There are some problems that I can see with doing this though.First, the power & reset switches always need to be accessible but I don't want to reach under the desk to get to them. I could hard mount these somewhere but that leads into another problem; If I want to remove the entire computer all I want to do is unplug everything from the back, unlock the tray and yank it out, including the optical drives and whatnot. Okay, I'd have a couple more things to do if I have a LCD mounted somewhere, plus possibly a raise/lower switch. But nothing else, I don't want to be mucking about with unplugging the power/reset buttons or anything like that.
Another tricky bit is that the container for the optical drives etc. will be flush with the desk's surface when in the 'down' position, but at the same time it has to be mounted to the removable tray and easily removed along with everything else. This means that either the whole tray will need to drop down enough so I can slide it out, or else I'll have to add something to the CD/DVD/floppy assembly to drop it down (around 1", the desk's surface will be 3/4" thick.) I'm leaning towards the latter solution there, shouldn't be too difficult to figure out.
Finally, space will be somewhat limited, as there will be a second level to the desk above the main surface that the monitor(s?), speakers and such will sit on. Ideally when the CD/DVD/floppy tray pops up it will go until the top of the assembly will sit flush with the bottom of the upper level. Plus I'd probably want it flush front-to-back, though if I have the CD/DVD assembly sit an inch or so in front of the second level of the desk I *could* put the power/reset buttons so they're accessible in both the 'up' and 'down' positions. (Hopefully I didn't confuse everyone with this paragraph.)
Anyways, does that sound feasible? If someone has already done something like this I'd like to know (but not copy, I have my own ideas.) Especially the bit about the CD/DVD/floppy etc. where you can raise/lower a tray; I don't have any ideas that I really like about how to do that electronically.
[edit] Oh yeah, can someone point me to a reputable place where I can host/hotlink to pics. I'm completely willing to pay for the service. I'll read up on the rest of the forum because I've seen some info about that... somewhere.
