Wall Computer

After some time with my old computer, I wanted to try something new for the next one. Instead of hiding it in a table, I thought on making it prominent and visible by hanging it from the wall, like a picture, like a master piece.

Photograph of the final product. There’s a corner of the desk showing part of a keyboard, mouse and monitor and hanging from the wall: the computer. it has a black support and white components. Only motherboard, graphics card PSU and CPU radiator are visible

The idea is quite simple: create a design of a 3D object that represent the support for all the components. In my case, it’s a 1mm steel sheet with cutout for components and screws. With that 3D object you can go to one of the many online laser cutters and get it manufactured for you. I chose one that also has bending services, for less post-processing.

Photograph of the “case” as received from the shop: unfinished metal with many square holes, even on the side

The first step, of course, is to decide the components to use and where to place them, as they would determine how to do the cutouts. For this project I chose a micro-ATX motherboard with connections on the back of the board. This would help hide almost all of the cables, the only one vissible is the PCIe extension cable used for the graphics card. The power supply unit (PSU) is also special, it is modular (there are no extra cables dangling) and the shift configuration makes easier to position it in a way that cables are completely hidden (the connectors are facing the wall).

So, where are all the cables? you guess it: they are behind the black support. The components are not supported by a flat sheet of steel, it has a couple of bends to allow for some space between the components and the wall. This space is used by the cables and for the hot air to flow away. Because the radiator’s fans are blowing against the wall, that air needs to go somewhere: there are holes in the top section of the “case”.

Photograph of the back of the “case”, it shows all the cables going up and down (mostly) and some horizontally

There are some cables needed to connect other devices: keyboard and mouse, monitor and power input (mains). These cables are connected to the corresponding components and then routed behind the support to the bottom part, where they are all tied together and warped in a sleeve for a tidier setup.

The final touches include a small USB board with audio connectors to place near the power button (it’s the area closest to the user). And the way to hand it from the wall: hardware for hanging headboards. These are quite strong, they need to support the full weight of the computer and allow for fine tuning and level it perfectly.

Composite of two photographs. On the right, the hardware for hanging headboards displaying a screw used for levelling. On the left, a close up of the bottom of the right side showing from the bottom: power button, two jack connectors, two USB3 ports, 2 USB2 ports and a USB-C port

As I was doing a lot of tests, I ended up doing a script to generate the 3D object that I finally send for manufacturing. The script allowed me to do fine tweaks and reposition components, so I could validate the design in a virtual space before ordering it.

Of course, the script is using the components that I needed like the micro-ATX motherboard with connectors in the back, but I believe it could be expanded easily to use other components or take them from a database directly. Would that be something you are interested in?

Back in a bit!