Description

Background:

This machine is the computer behind a recent project of mine - a 10ftx20ft CNC router. Picked up a frame for a very decent price last summer but never really got around to restoring it back into functionality up until now. The components are in no way useful for performance or heavy computing; just simple CNC operations. Everything was cheap and came together quite nice.

Requirements:

  • Space is very limited around the router, so mini ITX was a must

  • Fast read/write speeds for on-demand loading and rendering of CNC programs

  • Low power, "not too big of a deal if it dies" device

  • Solid, durable case for an industrial environment (collisions, dust, etc.)

  • Simplicity

Other:

  • The last few pictures are the DC motor amplifiers (black rectangles), DC power supplies, and the router frame itself.

  • The component box lineup is different than pictured. For whatever reason, the motherboard came in an AMD box (Purchased it new [which it obviously isn't] but it works just the way it should) and the power supply is no longer a slim ITX, but standard ATX.

Part Reviews

Motherboard

Intel D525MW Mini ITX Atom D525 Motherboard

Simple, cheap, quick & dirty- gets the job done. (Comes with 4Gb laptop RAM along with Intel Atom and a passive heatsink)

Storage

Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive

Fast and furious - Cranks out internal operations with blazing fast read/write speeds.

Case

Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX Desktop Case

Sleek and spacious - but tiny. This case gets the job done with plenty of room for components and cable management with a solid structure and durability.

Power Supply

CoolMax 500 W ATX Power Supply

Power is power, but this power is cheap power. If it's all you need, it'll work quite well.

Comments

  • 35 months ago
  • 4 points

Oh, it's one of those motherboards. I like integrated CPU boards; don't see them here too often. Personally, I would've gone with something a tad faster, as the Atom D525 is pretty gutless. But CNC isn't my use case, and I'd be using it for more intensive tasks, so here it matters not.

Think a Raspberry Pi plus an industrial case and the right adapters could achieve the desired results? Might be cheaper.

  • 35 months ago
  • 3 points

Ideally, I'm working towards some sort of expansion in the future- storage, maybe even new mobo- but I appreciate the input!

  • 35 months ago
  • 2 points

Good luck! :D

  • 35 months ago
  • 2 points

Really cool little machine! I had no idea that anything like that motherboard cpu thingy existed!

  • 35 months ago
  • 3 points

Plenty of motherboards with integrated CPUs exist, many of which are not listed on PCPP and are much faster than that Atom D525. Newegg has a lot of them under "Embedded Solutions", such as the ASRock J3455M. In addition to being a quick and dirty method of setting up budget computers, they're also an acceptable and cheap way to revive old prebuilt desktops with motherboard breakdowns.

  • 35 months ago
  • 3 points

Interesting. I've never known that about newegg. Perhaps I'll look into that for an upgrade further down the road. Thanks!

  • 35 months ago
  • 3 points

I've built a few boxes before using these boards before; they're some of the easiest budget computers. Dead silent, too, which is nice.

  • 35 months ago
  • 2 points

That's really cool! The More You Know♒★

  • 35 months ago
  • 2 points

Thank you, and absolutely!

  • 35 months ago
  • 2 points

Thanks! This is really one of the only applications of a board with such little power, which could be why you've not seen one until now.

  • 35 months ago
  • 2 points

Great Build!

  • 35 months ago
  • 1 point

Thanks!

  • 35 months ago
  • 2 points

A really interesting build!

If anything, I was surprised about the Samsung SSD for something like this, but I'm sure it works really well.

  • 35 months ago
  • 1 point

As much as it isn't particularly required for this kind of build.. it was more of a preference. But thank you!

  • 35 months ago
  • 2 points

I would NOT have trusted that PSU, but if it works for you, nice!

  • 35 months ago
  • 1 point

I don't trust it.. lol. To be honest, it was just kind of lying around in the shop, but it was a power supply and I had it, so why not? Thanks though!

  • 35 months ago
  • 2 points

I love to see such unique and interesting builds on this site, not just "gaming build this, and gaming build that..." 11/10

How many watts does that atom cpu use?

  • 35 months ago
  • 1 point

I'm definitely with you on that. I haven't actually done any work and testing on the computer yet, so I don't know for sure, but PCPP estimates 53 watts for the whole system. (The PSU was lying around the shop and I didn't feel like buying a new one, so it's definitely overkill)

  • 35 months ago
  • 1 point

Nice, having a passively cooled cpu should be good in super dusty conditions.

For example, one of the computers in my school's robotics shop has a gpu that would idle at 70c. After taking the gpu apart and pulling mounds of dust out of the heatsink, the card would idle at 50c. (GTS 240)

  • 35 months ago
  • 1 point

Did you say school robotics shop? Like FIRST robotics?

  • 35 months ago
  • 1 point

Team 5940 BREAD. (FIRST)

  • 34 months ago
  • 2 points

Team 1296 Full Metal Jackets

Glad to see fellow FRC people on here!

Continue this thread
[comment deleted by staff]
  • 35 months ago
  • 1 point

Yes- I do have a cabinet that I will be storing this guy in with internal dust filtration, but hearing it from a fellow machinist, I'll definitely make sure to reinforce it's protection. Thank you so much!