I came up with this idea simply because my macbook would overheat when I would leave it on for hours on end. I was simply too lazy to buy one, so I found inspiration at home.
When building this laptop cooler, I found the most troublesome thing with the process for me was folding and lining up the box together so it could get taped down easily. The cardboard was very thick and heavy, so it was actually a little troubling to tape it down. After awhile of lining up the two halves together perfectly, the structure of the laptop cooler finally came into place. After I was able to get the structure down and get the holes lined up, the rest of the process was essentially a breeze if done carefully. Also considering I live in an area not close to any major retailers (and not having a car), finding a minifan for the laptop cooler brought adversity to the whole process. My only solution was to take a bus to downtown Hamilton to find a suitable minifan for this project. I share to you these final thoughts to shed light to any problems you might have trying to build this homemade laptop cooler, so you know how to deal with them before they arise.
Friday, October 26, 2012
The Steps (In Correlation w/ the Images Posted)
Materials Needed:
- MiniFan (see step 1)
- Cleaned out pizzabox
- Pair of scissors
- Tape
- Bunch of aluminum foil
1. You need a small minifan that is not more than a few inches in width. This is probably the only thing you need to buy from a store, and you can generally find them at any wholesale electronics store or online retailer. They are also relatively very cheap.
2. With the scissors, cut the pizza box into two halves.
3. For the next step, learn where the battery on your laptop is. In this case, the battery is somewhere near the middle of the bottom of my laptop, so I am going to put the holes that blow the air from the fan in relation to this positioning. Put one halve of the pizza box on top of the other. With the scissors, poke 5 holes through both halves (as they are on top of each other, both halves should have 5 identical holes)
4. This image shows how the holes are identical on both halves.
5. With the base half of the box (usually the thicker one), fold the corner flaps (as per the image), so when you place the base half on a flat surface, you can still access underneath.
6. Now put the other half (inside side facing up), with the holes lined up, on top of the base half. Begin to tape the edges (where the two halves touch) to secure the two together. This image shows the taping of the front view of the two halves.
7. This image shows the side view of the taping of the two halves.
8. This image shows the backside view of the taping of the two halves.
9. Now with the two halves secured together (make sure the holes are lined up so air can get through!), use the aluminum foil to cover the top part of the box. This is where your laptop is going to be placed.
10. This image shows a closer view of the aluminum foil taped carefully onto the top face. This step will probably take you the longest.
11. This image shows the backside view of the aluminum foil taped.
12. This image shows the frontview of the aluminum foil taped over the front flap.
13. Now with the scissors, carefully through the bottom underneath (not the top, as this will usually mess up the aluminum foil), poke the holes so they are now visible through the aluminum foil. Make sure the holes are substantial enough so air can get through.
14. Now, get the minifan and place it underneath the box. Place it underneath the 5 holes for optimal air flow to your laptop. The plug for the wire can be wired through a small hole through the back of the box and into a plug. You are now done your homemade laptop cooler/chillmat!
- MiniFan (see step 1)
- Cleaned out pizzabox
- Pair of scissors
- Tape
- Bunch of aluminum foil
1. You need a small minifan that is not more than a few inches in width. This is probably the only thing you need to buy from a store, and you can generally find them at any wholesale electronics store or online retailer. They are also relatively very cheap.
2. With the scissors, cut the pizza box into two halves.
3. For the next step, learn where the battery on your laptop is. In this case, the battery is somewhere near the middle of the bottom of my laptop, so I am going to put the holes that blow the air from the fan in relation to this positioning. Put one halve of the pizza box on top of the other. With the scissors, poke 5 holes through both halves (as they are on top of each other, both halves should have 5 identical holes)
4. This image shows how the holes are identical on both halves.
5. With the base half of the box (usually the thicker one), fold the corner flaps (as per the image), so when you place the base half on a flat surface, you can still access underneath.
6. Now put the other half (inside side facing up), with the holes lined up, on top of the base half. Begin to tape the edges (where the two halves touch) to secure the two together. This image shows the taping of the front view of the two halves.
7. This image shows the side view of the taping of the two halves.
8. This image shows the backside view of the taping of the two halves.
9. Now with the two halves secured together (make sure the holes are lined up so air can get through!), use the aluminum foil to cover the top part of the box. This is where your laptop is going to be placed.
10. This image shows a closer view of the aluminum foil taped carefully onto the top face. This step will probably take you the longest.
11. This image shows the backside view of the aluminum foil taped.
12. This image shows the frontview of the aluminum foil taped over the front flap.
13. Now with the scissors, carefully through the bottom underneath (not the top, as this will usually mess up the aluminum foil), poke the holes so they are now visible through the aluminum foil. Make sure the holes are substantial enough so air can get through.
14. Now, get the minifan and place it underneath the box. Place it underneath the 5 holes for optimal air flow to your laptop. The plug for the wire can be wired through a small hole through the back of the box and into a plug. You are now done your homemade laptop cooler/chillmat!
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