When Spencer Kern needed a new computer, he was looking for something a bit…special. Special enough that he had to make it himself. The end result was a very impressive Minecraft-branded computer that looks like it came out of the blocky world of the game.
Spencer went the full nine yards with this project. Not only is the casing made into a giant block of Redstone (with LED effects!) but the keyboard is custom-made as well, with each key looking like a Minecraft brick. He also customized his mouse and an XBox 360 controller that works with his PC (and has a chatpad).
He’s put the complete step-by-step instructions to build his case online, but be warned Kern is a professional. This was a very advanced production — he started by making 3D models of the components that would make up his case. But if you can follow the below paragraph, you should have no trouble:
Since almost the entire case was built out of either acrylic sheets or extruded acrylic bars most of the pre-fabrication work could be done with a laser cutter. This not only provided incredibly accurate and detailed cuts, it also saved a ton of time. The general design of the case is a two part frame and shell combo. Rather than having individual panels that pop off to expose the internals of the case, I created a rigid frame that acts as the mounting point for all of the electrical components and as the support structure for the thinner outer shell the slides on like a slip cover. This configuration provided the greatest amount of access to the cramped internal cavity of the case and meant that construction of the shell could be done independently from the main portion. The floor and backside are made of 5mm thick sheets of acrylic held in place by a series of 14mm and 10mm bars while the shell and internal shelves are composed mainly of 1.5mm and 3mm thick acrylic. All of these parts were assembled and solvent welded together using acrylic cement which creates an incredibly strong bond. For parts that should be removable, like the motherboard, pressure fit insert nuts were used to provide a clean metal hole with proper threading as opposed to tapping a hole directly into the acrylic.
Easy stuff, right? Spencer’s instructions, as well as a photo gallery of the case’s construction, can be found here.
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