Render Pockets - DIY Renderfarm kit

Hello all,

Inspired by Ikea Helmer renderfarms, the Render Pockets idea is born, it is a lasercut 3mm acrylic case that fits perfectly inside Ikea Helmer, so there is no need to cut any metal pieces to make your own compact little helmer farm

See more on http://www.facebook.com/renderpockets

website http://www.renderpockets.com

Cheers,

Art

We're waiting for more pics!

Premium black edition:

Nice work! Saw the ikea renderfarm years ago.

why dont you do a kickstarter bit? ill certain put money into it

Nice work. But i don't understand, why you are limiting yourself to the Helmer case. For me it looks like you are buildung the whole tray from scratch and only use the case. Is it for the EMC shielding? Because you can't/won't cut metal? I mean with your solution the front is also not covered now. If i would design a module from scratch i would build it around a big cooler, with one straight air tunnel. I think my modules would be more like 250x500x200mm...

Thanks Fooch, yes kickstarter is also a possibility, just need to figure out some business side of things.

Nice work. But i don't understand, why you are limiting yourself to the Helmer case. For me it looks like you are buildung the whole tray from scratch and only use the case. Is it for the EMC shielding? Because you can't/won't cut metal? I mean with your solution the front is also not covered now. If i would design a module from scratch i would build it around a big cooler, with one straight air tunnel. I think my modules would be more like 250x500x200mm...

Ikea helmer is just a very nice, compact storage that most people and companies already have, so combined with renderpockets its a very quick renderfarm solution. But yes, there is a chance there will be no need for helmer cabinet soon, already planning to make stand-alone shelving system with big fans on the sides for better ventilation. Depending on the need of renderpockets and how many people are interested, maybe will consider different module sizes later.

Do you mean 250x500x200mm for 1 node? because it is the size of 2 renderpockets.

Yes, for one node.

MicroATX (240x240mm) = ~250mm width (120-140mm case fan + PSU)

180-200mm for the height for bigger CPU-coolers (140-150mm fans)

450-500mm depth for mainboard +PSU and SSD

I would put the PSU+SSD in the front and the board behind it, to be able to access the ports. One fan in the front and one in the back and maybe a separated air channel for the PSU.

And an expandable rigg to plug in these modules. 10 nodes ~55x50x100 cm

Or you could build a system for full size ATX boards with one side for the cooler and air channel and the PSU placed above the (unused) PCIe slots. 1 Module =~32x30x20 cm

I see your point, but the beauty of helmer is the small size factor, 6 nodes that fit under your desk, just slightly larger than 1 full size desktop pc. Technology is trying to become smaller and smaller, going back to larger formats for renderfarm size, in my opinion, is not the future. The whole idea of renderpockets is that it can be replacement to rack systems that you have to put into seperate server rooms.

With renderpockets, for example, in a studio, each artist can have a renderfarm under his desk that cost 3-6 times less than the typical rack system. In this case, ikea helmer is perfect size, because it is designed to fit under most desks.

If you intend to overclock your rendernodes than definitely renderpockets are not for you because of the heat and there isn;t enough room to add full size cpu cooler, but without overlocking the perfofmace of i7 is very good as well, and with low profile cpu cooler like noctua and front ventilation you can get low temperatures as well. I just don't see the need to go to larger formats, you can then simply buy computer cases and stack them up on top of one another if you want to go full ATX board.

one more thing... the design with the air holes is nice, but maybe quite ineffective and noisy.

one more thing... the design with the air holes is nice, but maybe quite ineffective and noisy.

Its not final design yet, so your suggestions are welcomed, thanks!

Damn, the pockets with the thermometer on the front look sick, mate. I wish I could grab several of these already.

Lots of luck with your idea.

Damn, the pockets with the thermometer on the front look sick, mate. I wish I could grab several of these already.

Lots of luck with your idea.

Thanks, beginning of next year will have more details, hopefully online shop open for pre-orders!

Believe it or not, I was designing my own lil-Helmer-farm some time back, not so much for personal usage (I was planning on just modding a single Helmer and sharing the plans in pcfoo.com, more of a traffic thing than profit).

The wall I've hit during this endeavor, was the lack of 4-dimm slot ITX boards.

My take on it, was that for it to be more versatile, you do need to offer the option for 32GB. Not that many users will actually need it, but it is true that many do want it at least as an upgrade option should that need arise. That leaves you little (no) options for a ITX only case, but not all its lost.

The Helmer has a 9.25" wide drawer - give or take. With your laser-cut sides being a tad thicker than the thin metal drawer @ the Helmer, you are looking at less than that, but it is fine.

There is a number of B85 based mATX s1150 boards, with 4 dimm-slots that are 9.6" x 8.6". Those would be a better choice for those in need of a 32GB option. As a perk for the rest, those are usually cheaper than mITX boards too.

Adapting your desing to accommodate this bigger board is not that big of a deal. The horizontal traverse in the middle of your design doesn't need to go all the way down, can hover "over" the board. So does the SFF PSU. If you really want to push it, you can fit even ATX boards that are 8.6" wide or less - opening options for AM3+ boards.

Even thought I believe mini-ITX is perfect mobo for helmer, I see your point about the 32GB option which is not possible with mITX, so I decided to take a second look at this situation. Number of people have been bugging me about this mATX option as well, because it is more affordable but my main concern was internal ventilation (the 3 fan module, which will have to be removed to fit the mATX).

The 8.6" board you mentioned doesnt work with current design, it will block the snapping locks, but I found a few 32gb mATX boards that are only 7.6" wide which would be perfect, the only other concern would be psu, some wires will be right on top of the mobo, it's not going to look as nice as the mITX setup, but budget wise its more practical.

Thanks for the advice and to numerobis who suggested to user larger format mobo in the previous post, I will take another look at possibly adding that option for special 7.6" mATXs, not sure if 8.6" can happen without total redesign of the case...

Art

Well, I don't see how cables over the mobo would be an issue exactly. Yeah, it won't look as good, but if super clean result is your primary goal or you want your complete drawers to look super clean for marketing purposes, you could always go for modular SFX PSU (Silverstone makes one) or mod (cut) the cables of a more traditional SFX unit and shrink-wrap/sleeve them to something very close to your diagrammatic render.

Could be offered as an option for extra cost to those that really need it.

As far as airflow goes, remember that these will be systems drawing less than 100W even @ full load.

1P / 1U servers have many fans, but we are talking 40mm or so...having 2x 80mm fans cross-flowing the case/drawer (not in a direct path to short-circuit, look at my sketch) should provide more than enough airflow. In reality, just the exhaust will provide enough negative pressure for the CPU fan to draw the required fresh air from the exterior of the case - provided enough vent wholes / slots are present in the front.

Some more images:

Very nice. But i think i would consider a different mounting method for the front plate...

I agree, the "through mortise" approach is not that pretty for the fascia.

Maybe it is the clear material used...In the initial renders you were using fluo colors for the sides of the drawer that contrasted nicely with the black fascia and those were also much smaller.

* I prefer the slotted intake (black) version over the round-hole one. Better looking, and probably much faster to produce on your side. I like the holes as a more retro touch, I probably don't like that there are 2x of those symmetrical to the center...one intake would be enough maybe?

* The temp screen is also a bit gimmicky for my taste...the LED aluminum power buttons are very very cool (resisted getting one for my own case), but the temp gauge is a bit too crude for my liking in an otherwise minimal design approach.

I don't know how far this can fly for you commercially, but I really appreciate the work you seem to be putting into this, and trusting this community's feedback.

Hey Dimitris,

looking at that promo image with the cabinet under the desk, it does looks cool but the heat will be insane to have it right close to your crotch

I have 2 HP computers 2X6 core xeons in my 10x10Ft house office and in summer it get way too hot.

My question is I was considering, to move them to the garage, but I don't know what would be more reliable regarding networking signal, if using a wireless system (less reliable) one of those electric net-power connectors, or just drill holes in the walls with a very long net cable?

Between my office and garage I have about 50 or 60 Ft I think.

I appreciate your input.

Art Maknev, I am keeping a very close eye in your progress it seems like a very cool concept.

regarding building it, do you think it would be cheaper for bigger production to instead of laser cut it, to use metal sheets and send them to cut some place with the specific dimensions?

I realize its not 100% perfect, working with flat plexiglass is very limiting in what you can do. This is a product that started as a personal project for my own work, I needed quick and lightweight solution for helmer renderfarm at a new location. This actually grew into a hobby, otherwise I would've quit long time ago! If it can help other people with their work then it will be great.

The temp screen is quite nice feature, you can see if its rendering or not by just looking at the temperature, no need to check your PC, but its just an option, not requirement Some people actually love it, it makes it look more serious and many people who see this in person think it is a very impressive rendering machine (but its just a simple render node)!

It gets a bit hot, but remember, those are low energy CPUs, they don't produce too much heat, only if you are rendering animations 24/7 it might get a bit crazy if its under your desk!

regarding building it, do you think it would be cheaper for bigger production to instead of laser cut it, to use metal sheets and send them to cut some place with the specific dimensions?

Yes it might be good idea, I have to see how much more it might costs, the only concern is the weight for shipping... plexiglas is very lightweight, but its actually not cheap either!

Fransisco, Long time no see.

Yeah, the under the table idea is about looks more than utility...and it is also half the truth, or half of half the truth (much like with the new macpro tower) = lots of cables running around a "working" setup for a render farm of whichever size!

I have a mere clocked 3930K (more than 250Watts of real draw) and a 4770K close by...if I "crunch" some numbers with the 3930K (rendering), I do feel it. If I do heavy GPU usage, 2x cards (roughly 200W each) immediately start heating up the space under my desk.

Lets assume that I need those 600W close by and I cannot do without...but add another 600W on the other side of the desk? Bad idea!

Now, for the remote link...never tried AC networking. Seems promising, offers up to 500MBit these days.

Some people report issues with "noise" from the power line degrading the signal quality, but even so, I would expect it to be pretty powerful. As expected, YMMV depending on the quality but also the setup / isolation of powerlines in your house / office.

Wireless is pretty reliable. I think it might be slower, but I don't think it is that bad from a reliability standpoint. It might be expensive to get proper high speed cards + router to maintain a good connection as you move away from the source, but 50ft should not be an issue once you do. 150Mbps should be attainable.

A single LAN cable would be a good choice also. I mean, many houses have silly TV cable lines running around corners and under the carpets...for 50-60ft you might need more to properly route around corners etc, but if you stay below 100-120ft, a CAT5-6 should give you full GBit speeds. The switch can be with the nodes, or have the cable bridging a second switch by the nodes so no need to network each one individually.

If you can borrow a crimp tool for the connectors, even drilling the holes won't be a big issue...3/8" holes are enough for a single CAT 5-6 cable passing through, 1/2" can do 2-3 cables if you think you will be aggregating more than one links in the future (or you already have a NAS solution that supports that) and you want to drill once.

Yes it might be good idea, I have to see how much more it might costs, the only concern is the weight for shipping... plexiglas is very lightweight, but its actually not cheap either!

An elegant solution (from a designer's standpoint) would be figuring out how to cut the helmer's drawers themselves. Those come "flat" and ready to be bended in the IKEA packaging. Having a local place CNC cut the sheets before bending, and only engineering inserts for mounting the components and/or a fascia for the existing drawer might be a good idea for you.

An elegant solution (from a designer's standpoint) would be figuring out how to cut the helmer's drawers themselves. Those come "flat" and ready to be bended in the IKEA packaging. Having a local place CNC cut the sheets before bending, and only engineering inserts for mounting the components and/or a fascia for the existing drawer might be a good idea for you.

Its a good idea, its more like a service then, people ship you the parts you cut and ship it back, or they can find CNC at their location. There are other ways I know, renderpockets is just one of them