Industrial Design, System Layout, And Usability Considerations; Figure 5-7. Example Thin Mini-Itx I/O Shield - Intel Thin Mini-ITX System Design Manual

Mechanical

Figure 5-7. Example Thin Mini-ITX I/O Shield

5.6 Industrial Design, System Layout, and Usability
Considerations
Areas to consider in general system design for ease of integration, serviceability, and
overall system mechanical performance include:
 Screws are generally better than snaps for retaining external chassis panels that
must be removed for system access. When compared to snaps, screws generally
allow the panel to be removed / installed easier and with less risk of damaging
plastic. Self-tapping screws which are driven in to plastic can work, but are usually
only good for a few installation/removal cycles before the plastic becomes overly-
deformed and weak. Machine screws driven into a threaded receiver, such as metal
studs, are good for numerous installation/removal cycles.
 Captive screws on chassis panels, HDD frames, etc, improve the ease of integration,
and reduce the chance of parts being lost.
 Minimize the number of parts which must be removed to gain access to the inside of
a system. For example, removing a chassis stand, back panel, and EMI shield to
gain access to the motherboard requires many steps. The same can be said if a
front bezel, monitor screen, and chassis components must be removed if
motherboard access is from the front. The parts may be necessary; however, the
steps needed in getting around them should be minimized.
 Provide areas and features within the chassis for bundling up excess cable to reduce
system airflow obstruction effects and provide a neater system.
Thin Mini-ITX Based PC System Design Guide 51