I’ve seen so many 10" servers that look amazing from the front and very polished, but then having a rats nest of cables and a mess at the back.

After 62 iterations and many 3D prints, blood, sweat, profanity and tears. I my design and implementation is finally done. image

This is Before: image

And the After: image
The ducky adds 200MHz

The front of my mini-rack is actually still somewhat of a mess, I thought I’d focus on the back first.

I’ve published it in excruciating detail on my GitHub Leave a Star if you like what you see

  • Fmstrat@lemmy.world
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    8 hours ago

    This looks great! Any thought on relay control? I built an 8 outlet box with relays inside so I can direct control power to each server with a Raspberry Pi. It runs PiKVM and is also attached to an 8 port KVM for control.

    • Legion739@piefed.zipOP
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      3 hours ago

      Uggg don’t give me ideas, I’ve already sunk way too much time into designing this 😅️🤣

      So you could just put a relay between my power-module and your server, and it’s problem solved.

      A redesign to incorporate one of these would be great, there are also variants that monitor power draw, so you’d be able to see each servers power usage and switch it on or off remotely. image

      Why are you doing this to me?

  • Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world
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    21 hours ago

    I don’t understand the purpose of the exposed daisy chained cables. If it is not meant to be frequently unplugged, then why not wire an internal bus of 14 awg with Wago?

    • Legion739@piefed.zipOP
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      20 hours ago

      I want it to be modular, so if I add another 2 servers, I can just add the server module in front, and its power module at the back.

      • LastYearsIrritant@sopuli.xyz
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        10 hours ago

        It is pretty awesome, only real problem is that if you have to replace anything in the middle, you have to shutdown everything above it too.

        That being said, it’s pretty fucking rad.

  • bootstrap@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    24 hours ago

    How is the power wired exactly? It looks like youve piggy backed off each cable before it, meaning the first cable is carrying the load from all after it which it usually isnt designed to do, should be fine if appropriately rated to the equipment.

    Looks mint!

    • Legion739@piefed.zipOP
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      23 hours ago

      Yea each one runs through the previous module, so all the power goes through the first module.

      IEC 13/14 connectors are rated for 10A (2300 W at 230 V) which isn’t much lower than what you can run through your wall outlet. And in reality they can probably handle 15A as they are commonly refereed to as “Kettle cords” and used by kettles which draw ~13 Amps.

      That’s very high, to give you an idea the 6 things I have plugged in draws ~240w, so I could chain up ~60 mini PC’s and only then would I be over the ~2300w limit.

      I do now mention this in the Safety section of my “How to build this” write up

      • bootstrap@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        23 hours ago

        Looks like youve done your research!

        Depending on the kettle model, most draw just under 10A these days. General household outlets (at least in australia) are only rated for 10A anyway.

        Ive used hundreds of kettle leads in my time and never seen one used for an actual kettle funnily enough

        • fozid@lem.radiantfig.fyi
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          22 hours ago

          uk can go to 13A peak load on the standard 230v socket, but drawing that for a prolonged period will nuke the socket. 10a prolonged is perfectly safe in the uk.

    • Legion739@piefed.zipOP
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      23 hours ago

      Sure thing, there’s lots more details on my GitHub Write-Up including how to wire it up etc.

      image image

  • nomad@infosec.pub
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    24 hours ago

    Cool build. Please be aware there is a reason that Sockets are made from a plastic that does not melt nor burn. Everything near power connections is a potential fire hazard.

    • Legion739@piefed.zipOP
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      23 hours ago

      Thanks yea I made sure to add this Safety section to my write-up on how to build this yourself, and I reference back to it a lot, so it’s painfully clear.

      I printed this in PETG which can take the heat easily, but ideally you use UL 94 V-0 which is also flame retardant.

      I did make sure everything is very well insulated, and pulled hard on every connection to make sure it’s held down properly.

      **Safety**  
      
      This part carries live mains. Mains wiring kills people who get it wrong, and a fault in a printed enclosure can start a fire.  
      
      Do not build it unless you are competent to wire mains and permitted to do so where you live. Sleeve or shroud all live terminals. PLA softens around 60 °C, PETG around 80 °C. Neither is flame retardant. Only a UL 94 V-0 filament is.  
      
      Wire the protective earth if anything you plug in needs it.  
      
      Build it at your own risk. I take no responsibility for injury, death, fire, or damage resulting from anything in this repository.  
      
      • snrkl@lemmus.org
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        8 hours ago

        I don’t want to be the “Deputy Downer” here, but I can’t stress the important of the v0 (we say v-naught) plastics in keeping you safe when it comes to electrical installations - for those that aren’t aware, they are plastics that have to self extinguish once the fault trips the electrical protection, should a fault occur that sets them on fire. (ie: once the electricity isn’t making it flame anymore, it has to put itself out)

        Here is an example of how even low voltage DC can fault, and had the LED strip diffuser plastic not been v0 rated, we would have had a late night house fire into the roof when kids were asleep…

        Laundry Light Fitting Failure

        PETG in this kind of situation just becomes fuel and possible a very, very, very bad day…

        I know v0 spools are more expensive, but cheaper than just about any of the disaster situation alternatives, so I always suggest you prototype with PLA/PETG but print v0 for the finals…