Fractal Node 304 HDD cage extender

thingiverse

Some HDDs have their mounting holes spaced further apart than normal. These drives won't mount properly in older Node 304 cases from Fractal Design, since only 2 out of the 4 screw holes line up. Even with the newer revision from Fractal, only 3 holes are usable. This part extends the bottom part of the metal bracket so that the last mounting hole can be used too, yielding either 3 or 4 mounting points total depending on the Node 304 version. This remix retains the benefits of GiMo84's version, but is much easier to attach. Instead of a clip on the bracket's lower edge, it uses a "pin" that indexes into one of the bracket's smaller holes (intended for 2.5" drives). It is flush with the bracket's inner face, and the "mushroom cap" is only 0.5mm tall, so it will not compromise the vibration dampening grommets. To install, turn the extender 90 degrees while lining up the mushroom cap with the unused large rubber-grommet hole. The extender should point outwards from the bracket. The goal is to slide it into the smaller grommet hole without prying off the mushroom cap. To do this, gently bend the rectangular body to bring the extender flush with the metal panel around the hole, then slide down. Rotate 90 degrees and insert the pin--the extender is now locked in place and cannot move. For the old-style brackets, you can drill a hole where the last mount point would be. I didn't bother with the "snowman" shape, I just smushed the grommet directly into the 5/16" hole until it seated. However, I used non-OEM grommets from ebay since the original ones in my case were degrading; they might have been more flexible than Fractal's grommets. Unfortunately this doesn't work on the far-left and far-right cages, since the grommet clashes with the top channels, but you can still get decent mounting on 4 out of 6 drives. Hole patterns: https://toshiba.semicon-storage.com/us/storage/support/faq/storage-holes.html Recommended to print with 0.12mm layer height. PLA is fine.