osiweb.org

Greetings,

I'm jumping across from the Vintage Computer forums http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/

A few of us have OSI Superboards and want to build cases for them. I used to have a C2P, and really like the metal case. I can bend metal and want to re-create a case, and if it's good enough, build several for friends. IIRC, all the cases were pretty much the same, except for color and some sideplates were wood.

Can anyone take a few minutes and measure their case?

First, I recall the outer shell as being thick aluminum, and the top/inner shell as being steel - correct?

For the dimensions, I'll try my hand at ASCII Art here ,ignore periods used for spacing. (I need the dimensions with letters):

Side view top cover

....<--------- A ---------------> <----------B------------>
^..!-----------------------------!
!..!.............................!
!..!.............................!-------------------------!..^
C..!............................^.........................!..!
!..!.............................D........................!..E
v..!--..........................v......................---!..v

A = ?
B = ?
C = ?
D = ? (does D = E? I can't recall if it was a flat or tilted keyboard deck)
E = ?

Top Cover - top view:


...<----------------------f---------------------->
^..!----------------------------------------------!
!...!.............................................!
!...!.............................................!
!...!.............................................!
g..!..............................................!
!...!.............................................!
!...!.............................................!
x..!=================================!
!..!..............................................!
!..!.....@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@.......!
!..!...@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@.....!
h..!....@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@......!
!..!....@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@......!
!..!................*-------------------..........!
!..!..............................................!.^
v..!----------------------------------------------!.j..
....<------i---->..................................v.
(for i and j above, I'm looking for the lower left corner of the spacebar cutout - * - in relation to the lower left corner of the top of the case.)

f = ?
g = ?
h = ?
i = ?
j = ?

For the outer cover:


....<---------------k------------->
^.. !-------------------------------\
!..!.........................................\
!..!...............................................\
L..!.....................................................\
!..!.........................................................!..^
!..!.........................................................!..m
v..!---------------------------------------------------------!...v
....<--------------------n---------------------------------->

k = ?
L = ?
m = ?
n = ?

OK, so maybe that will take more than a few minutes, but we'd really appreciate it.

Thanks,
Crawford

ASCII art can be too confusing...

I measured my C4P:
All measurements are in millimeters, +/- about 1mm.
(Edit: Added) Clarification: All measurements are the INSIDE measurements.
(Edit: Added) Thickness of case is 1.5mm

Top Cover:
-Width=384
-Depth, front to back:
18-screw holes to attach to bottom
30-front
164-keyboard top (cutout for keyboard,see below)
32-faceplate area (Edit: was 30)
252-top
94-back (cutouts for ports etc) (Edit: was 90)
18-screw holes to attach to bottom

Keyboard cutout:
10-spacebar to front
56-left side to "ESC" key
56-right side to "BREAK" key
54-from top row to top of plate

Wood sides:
Thickness=11
49-front
194-angled edge
258-top
114-back
445-bottom

Bottom plate:
403 deep x 384 wide
two sides bent up to support top cover, with a tab on each to support the keyboard plate.
wood sides are screwed to it.

I hope this is clear. If you need more details let me know.

Steve

Steve,

Thanks so much! I'll probably mock it up in Google Sketch and ask if I can't figure out anything.

Do you have any guesses as to the gauge of the metal? I recall the base being thicker and aluminum, top was thinner steel.

-Crawford

Crawford,

On my C4P the top and bottom seem the same, about 1.5mm thick aluminum. It's almost exactly the thickness of a canadian 5 cent piece.

I took the guts out of my C4P and was hoping to make a new two-piece case with computer and drive in one unit with an external keyboard. I started building one out of plexiglass but never completed it. If I design one in metal would you be able to build it?
Can you do cutouts for keyboard and other ports?

Steve

Steve,

Yes, I can work metal, but I'll also take the plan to a local metal shop and get a price.

I've made some progress on my OSI case model in Google Sketchup.

Could I trouble you to measure the keyboard cutout? Just start at one edge (like the spacebar) and measure each of the sides (there's a bunch to go around the keys that stick out).

Thanks,
Crawford

Okay, here is the keyboard cutout, starting at the spacebard and going clockwise (again in mm):

155 (spacebar)
19
45.5
38
5
21.5
10
19
249 (top)
37.5
12.5
21
19
19
48
19

Steve

Steve,

I am very close on the Sketchup model. Something is throwing it off, I believe - the vertical end sides are too high.

Since I've never seen a C4P in person, I'm not sure about the wood end pieces (I think this was the only model that had them).

So, here's the question: do the wood end pieces extend BELOW the plane of the bottom? I think they do but cannot be sure. If they do extend below, by how much? (The current drawing looks a little like Batman's OSI, and that's not right).

Alternately, if there's anyone out there with a metal-only case (C1P, C2P) just measure the vertical dimension of the left or right side outer case.

Thanks,
Crawford

Hi,

Sorry, it appears I measured wrong or made a typo for the back dimension and top-front...
The rounded corners probably messed me up. The numbers I gave are the INSIDE measurements.

Back: looks like 92mm inside (96mm outside, which I guess makes the thickness of the case about 2mm).
Top-Front (faceplate): 32mm inside (32mm outside - this is the only side that bends the opposite way).

Yes, the wood sides protrude below the bottom by about 3mm.
The rubber feet are 10mm high.

I hope this helps.

Steve

Using Steve's measurements I modeled some case parts. I will probably laser cut the side pieces and 3D print the case skin.

Looks good. Wow that was a long time ago!

Steve