After waiting over 3 months, I finally obtained a 104HP palette to join my two 7U 104HP performance cases. By Default, I am sure the assumption is that you place the palette in front, and the stacked 7U cases behind it…
Well at least for me, that arrrangement sucks. having three 3U rows, two 1U rows and the palette tools between you and that vertical case is horrible. you better hope that the modules in that case are “set and forget”, because after 3 hours I could feel it in my back and arms. I was leaning forward just to reach.
So I finally executed my plan - make some brackets so you can mount that palette up high. The brackets are two aluminum plates from 2"x1/8" flat stock (Home Depot to the rescue), and four longer screws and nylon bushings to add 5mm on each side of the palette to get the alignment right. The four mounting holes took some careful measurements to get the angle right. I originally planned for the palette to be perfectly vertical, when the 7U cases are resting on the joiner plate feet - but I went a little overstated and have the pallete leaning towards me by 7 degrees. Mouning the modules takes a little more caution - but after an evening of using both seated and standing (my system in on an Autonomous.ai standing desk), it is the most comfortable setup I can imagine.It is extremely sturdy - the only wobble/slack in the whole system is from the 7U case joiners, which is normal, but the palette and upper 7U case are like a solid unit.
Word of warning - this basically renders the upper case as useless for travelling - as the mounting is attached on the insides of both the 7U case and the palette.
I’ll probably take the brackets off again when it warms up and die-grind the edges to match the Intellijel radii.
The next step is to fab up some new side plates for the palette that have actual joiner plate bottoms on them, so I can just snap the palette in on top - but for that I’ll need to send my CAM files to a fab shop.
Now if Intellijel actually does some 126HP cases… I’m going to be a bit frustrated… mostly because it will mean I will be tempted to expand past 520HP (I have three modules incoming that will fill my system to exactly 520HP).
I am sure most of us on this forum are biased - but the Intellijel cases are the best by a longshot.
This was the only thing I felt was missing.
Side detail of the plates. They need a but of polishing and edge rounding - but I didn’t want to put any more effort in until I knew how they fit and felt ergonomically.
Second shot is that feeling of being in a starship cockpit. Interesting side benefit of the downward angle - no glare from the lights on the Mordax DATA screen.
The better solution would be to just fab up these alternate side panels I’ve been working on. They would slide right into the joiner slots on an inverted 7U case.The palette would have the two plugs sticking out when you removed it, but it would make the whole system very portable.
other than getting this actually cut, the other thing that could be an issue to work out is the width, it may require a 1-2mm shim on one or both sides to get the palette plates wide enough to smoothly slide into the slots on the 7U case - but that would be easyto solve - worst case is adding 6 washers on the inside between the case/rails and a side plate. Better would be a thin slice of plastic as a shim, cut to the profile of the case.
Here is an update:
I disasambled my cases and traced out a joiner plate and palette side panel to make a template for a stacking palette side panel.
I busted out the dremel and carved up the remainder of my 2"x1/8" aluminum flat stock. I have a nice drill press, but my unibit cannot make countersink holes the right size for the Intellijel screws. However, for a scratch prototype, the new side panels are awesome. Exactly what I envisioned when Intellijel released the Palette 104.
For the palette to slide into the 7U case slots nicely, The new side panels need to have a spacer to extend the width by about 5-6mm. At first I used 5 nylon bushings, but realized all I needed was to sandwich one of the side panels on one side - looks almost invisible - and the palette slides off the 7U case with ease.
This is amazing, I have the same case configuration so this is a dream set up. @Danjel any plans to sell intellijel version of these??? I thought originally when the palette came out that was going to be one of the features but maybe i dreamt that up.
If you’re looking for the standard Intellijel case joiner plates to connect two 7U performance cases, I have mine for sale on Reverb…
As for the custom palette side plates that stack the Palette 104 on the top - I sold my prototype ones with my palette to a fine gentleman who now has the full stack of Intellijel goodnesss.
I didn’t finalize any CAD files @SetField - sorry. The 3D model shown above was never tested.
I’ve since built my dream studio console with 720HP of 3U and 120HP of 1U and 20A of power. I still have a single 7U case, for if I was ever enticed out of the studio. I really do love the Intellijel cases, IMHO the best portable/travel cases in Euro, but I just started thinking about the reality of taking 416HP+ of modules out into the wild… I don’t think insurance would cover that, and considering the current market conditions it would take upwards of 6-9 months to repurchase some of the modules I have.
I think so, and I guess also accounting for the angle you want it to sit at. I might take a stab myself. Maybe. I have a 62hp Palette I want to swap out for another 104hp one, but only if I’m able to place it above my 7Us. I even have an old 7U carry strap that I could possibly re-use the metal parts.
Yes trace the side panels, and then trace the 7U joiner plate connector coming out of the bottom. I positioned it so that the palette would have ~1cm gap between it and the 7U case, so I could pass cables through, and angled forward so it would tilt towards me by about 5 degrees.
Holy smokes this is awesome! I just modded my 104 so I can have the 1U row in the center AND use it at a steeper angle (ie with flipped the sides upside down). But this this some next level shit! I love it. I gotta do this… It would make a perfect place for my effects rack. Also love how you have Data in the center.
I had a guy make me a 100HP skiff that sandwiches between joiners. I cut the joiners so they wouldn’t bump into the wall. The knobs screw down and tighten everything in place once you choose your angle. www.bosswoodcreations.ca did the work. I can only post a single photo so I hope this one makes sense. I had him make a 4HP hole in the back for a Row Power 45.
