Xbox 360 LAN Box, 16 player system link for Halo 3
This is my WIP design for an Xbox 360 system link permanent set-up, with built in cooling fans & networking.
All the end user(s) will need to do to get the 16 player local gaming setup will be to plug in the box to the power & plug in the 4 HDMI cables.
I decided to design this box with all the stuff needed to host a 16 player Halo LAN party preconfigured as to make hosting as easy and as painless as possible. This might allow me to loan out the set-up to friends in the future if it works out to be robust enough to tolerate transportation. For the most part I have all the materials required for building the box and the networking/gaming hardware on hand, so the cost of fabricating a prototype for me isn't prohibitively high, though it's still expensive enough to stop me from impulsively building it over a weekened like my arcade machine!
The front, the alternative view is almost symmetrical.
The UNSC symbol will be laser engraved onto the side panels
Rear view, there are two 80x80x25mm 12V DC fans for each Xbox 360
The bottom 3 fans are for the 5 total PSUs
The fan underneath is an intake fan for the ATX PSU which will be powering the fans and any future axillary hardware, such as a micro-controller for temperature sensing and control
A view from the rear without the wooden box. All of the essential network/gaming hardware is accounted for, with a bit of room to spare. Not great service access at present however
Dimensions & shin bumping predictions
I expect the final box to measure in at 43.7cm wide, 36.7cm deep & 51cm tall.
Though, this isn't taking into account the height added by the small furniture wheels I've been considering. I'll make my decision on those once all of the important stuff works, I'll only add them if it ends up being too awkward to carry any further than a small set of steps.
This photo is a decently accurate estimate of how the large the box will be in real life once its finished
An earlier image while I was still blocking out the original dimensions.
Service access
Here is what I've got going so far in the ways of performing maintenance of the set-up. The Xboxs will not be able to fit out of the front of the box so that they don't fall out in transit, they will only be accessible once a wing nut or two on the back panel is unscrewed allowing the door to hinge open.
Before the hinged door can open, the small panel below it needs to be pulled out from a pair of [I can't remember what they're called and I forgot to put them in my spreadsheet]. This small panel will also be where the HDMI cables are accessed from, each cable being 10 meters, allowing for a comfortable distribution of screens.
The final access panel down at the base is the most complex & most important, it houses two separate chambers each containing power supplies. I haven't designed this panels access mechanism yet.
An old video I recorded to track my progress
