Introduction: Zero Cost Laptop Cooler / Stand (No Glue, No Drilling, No Nuts & Bolts, No Screws)
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NOTE: THIS ITEM CAN BE USED AS A VERY UTILITARIAN GIFT FOR ANY HOLIDAY OR OCCASION!
As seen from the picture and title this instructable is about how to make a zero cost laptop cooler / stand from salvaged items from your local scrapyard or around the house.
Please be advised that though this laptop cooler can truly be made at zero cost, for some steps you may want to substitute a tiny bit of money for less hassle and trouble, throughout this instructable i shall be pointing out these steps and how you could do so.
BTW this laptop cooler build can seriously take a lot of weight, so don't worry about structural integrity when using.
^_^
Step 1: Materials
If you're reading this step then i guess you're interested in building a Zero Cost Laptop Cooler / Stand of your own, if so, go salvage / hunt for the following materials
1. Small size disposable BBQ grill rack grid X1
(i got mine from a BBQ party i went to which had extras)
2. PC fans, preferable as large as you can find X2
(i got mine from a discarded tower chassis server in a junkyard, they are 8cm x 8cm, the normal ones found in most PC are 5cm x 5cm)
3. 12v wall-watt / adapter-plug / 230v-to-12v-transformer, min 400mA rating X1
(i got mine from the same junkyard as the PC fans)
4. Small zip ties X min 10 pieces
(i got mine from shimming open used zip ties found on cabling in PC located at the same junkyard)
5. An female barrel plug compatible with the wall-watt (optional)
6. Some lengths of wire and electrical tape (optional)
{BTW do check all electrical parts for working condition before salvaging them, many a time i have heard of people making a trip to a junkyard and coming back with up to 90% spoilt electrical parts}
1. Small size disposable BBQ grill rack grid X1
(i got mine from a BBQ party i went to which had extras)
2. PC fans, preferable as large as you can find X2
(i got mine from a discarded tower chassis server in a junkyard, they are 8cm x 8cm, the normal ones found in most PC are 5cm x 5cm)
3. 12v wall-watt / adapter-plug / 230v-to-12v-transformer, min 400mA rating X1
(i got mine from the same junkyard as the PC fans)
4. Small zip ties X min 10 pieces
(i got mine from shimming open used zip ties found on cabling in PC located at the same junkyard)
5. An female barrel plug compatible with the wall-watt (optional)
6. Some lengths of wire and electrical tape (optional)
{BTW do check all electrical parts for working condition before salvaging them, many a time i have heard of people making a trip to a junkyard and coming back with up to 90% spoilt electrical parts}
Step 2: The Structure + Hardware
This step deals with the structure (BBQ grill rack grid) and hardware (PC fans) of the laptop cooler.
BBQ Grill Rack Grid
1. Take your laptop and center it on the BBQ Grill Rack Grid
2. Leave a buffer of 2-4cm and make a mark on either side of the laptop
3. Bend the BBQ Grill Rack Grid along those lines to form a U-shaped structure
PC fans
1. Take the 2 PC fans and center them on the underside of the BBQ Grill Rack Grid
2. Use the zip ties to secure the fans on to the BBQ Grill Rack Grid (see picture)
[The picture shows 2 zip ties at each corner but 1 is enough if you don't mind the vibration generated during usage, also, a used store bought zip ties for pure convenience sake, you could do so too]
BBQ Grill Rack Grid
1. Take your laptop and center it on the BBQ Grill Rack Grid
2. Leave a buffer of 2-4cm and make a mark on either side of the laptop
3. Bend the BBQ Grill Rack Grid along those lines to form a U-shaped structure
PC fans
1. Take the 2 PC fans and center them on the underside of the BBQ Grill Rack Grid
2. Use the zip ties to secure the fans on to the BBQ Grill Rack Grid (see picture)
[The picture shows 2 zip ties at each corner but 1 is enough if you don't mind the vibration generated during usage, also, a used store bought zip ties for pure convenience sake, you could do so too]
Step 3: The Electrical Wiring
This step deals with the electrical wiring of the laptop cooler.
Electrical Wiring
1. Run the fan wires to the edge of the BBQ grill rack grid by either weaving them in and out of the grid or using zip ties
(in the picture i used the weaving method, cos it is much neater, but takes a lot of time)
2. Using whatever misc connectors and wiring you have been able to salvage, splice the fan connections together, you want to connect the 2 PC fans in parallel to the wall-watt
(the inner part of the wall-watt barrel plug is + and the outside -)
(the PC fan red wire is + and the black wire is -)
(in the picture i used some hot glue to insulate my connections however electrical tape can be used instead, i just used hot glue cos i ran out of electrical tape, the glue serves no sticking purpose!)
3. Note: Some of you may notice the 2 little green things, they came attached to the PC fans and are used to regulate the speed of the fan, as they heat up they cause the fan speed to increase, thus i located them next to my laptop's fan exhaust.
Electrical Wiring
1. Run the fan wires to the edge of the BBQ grill rack grid by either weaving them in and out of the grid or using zip ties
(in the picture i used the weaving method, cos it is much neater, but takes a lot of time)
2. Using whatever misc connectors and wiring you have been able to salvage, splice the fan connections together, you want to connect the 2 PC fans in parallel to the wall-watt
(the inner part of the wall-watt barrel plug is + and the outside -)
(the PC fan red wire is + and the black wire is -)
(in the picture i used some hot glue to insulate my connections however electrical tape can be used instead, i just used hot glue cos i ran out of electrical tape, the glue serves no sticking purpose!)
3. Note: Some of you may notice the 2 little green things, they came attached to the PC fans and are used to regulate the speed of the fan, as they heat up they cause the fan speed to increase, thus i located them next to my laptop's fan exhaust.