INTRODUCTION
It is a known fact that laptop computers get really hot. I think they are first cousins to the "electric hot plate" (you know those things with two heat plates that you plug into the wall to heat up your ramen soup when you're a poor college student). On the subject of cooking, I wonder if you can use a laptop to heat up food? That may be the subject of a future homemade project. I heard that the Army used to have a Jeep that was configured to warm up food. They would pop the hood and place a special metal contraption to harness the excess heat from the engine. Maybe a coffee warmer attachment for a laptop would be a good idea. I love my coffee. It's the only reason I get out of bed in the morning, but I have to have it with flavored with "liquid coffee creamer". I prefer either the vanilla or the nut flavors. If I run out of coffee creamer, then I don't drink any coffee. Now back to the laptop. If you had a coffee warmer on your laptop, you would have to be careful not to spill coffee on the laptop. The liquid could short circuit the motherboard or any of the electronics located inside the laptop. When the coffee dries it can make your keyboard sticky or short it out altogether.

Next week we will cover how to make a homemade "BigDog" robot.

PROJECT: HOMEMADE LAPTOP COOLER
Ok, on to our Laptop Cooler project. This week we are going to create a cardboard laptop cooler to help your laptop run cooler. The only real costs will be that of the box and the fans. You can always get a free box by recycling an old box. If you're looking for a cheap laptop cooler than this might be the perfect solution for you.

STEP 1: GATHER YOUR TOOLS AND MATERIALS
Ok, on to our Laptop Cooler project. This week we are going to create a cardboard laptop cooler to help your laptop run cooler. The only real costs will be that of the box and the fans. You can always get a free box by recycling an old box. Looking at the photo you will see that you need a box, a straight edge, fine point marker, utility knife, packing tape, and fans.  You don't really need the scissors seen in the photo.

STEP 2: CHOOSE YOUR BOX
The box is the heart and structure of your new laptop cooler. The better the box the more durable your laptop cooler will be. For our project we choose a sturdy box with a 65 lbs rating. Look that box was made in Albuquerque, New Mexico! When your laptop cooler is complete you can claim it was "MADE IN THE USA" since most of the parts come from the United States and since it was assembled in the United States.

STEP 3: FOLD AND TAPE YOUR BOX
Ok, now we need to form our box. Unfold the box like shown in the photo.

Here's another view of the box

FOLD THE FLAPS - Ok, you want to fold the smaller flaps first as shown in the above photo.

STEP 4: TAPE YOUR BOX TOGETHER
Now with the flaps folded down you want to tape it with your packing tape as shown in the above photo.

STEP 5: SELECT YOUR FANS
We selected a high quality fan with brushless design for less noise and longer life. Since this is just a cardboard laptop cooler, just about any computer fan will work.

STEP 6: FIGURE OUT AN AIR FLOW STRATEGY
The first thing you need to figure out is which way you want the air to flow. Most manufactured laptop coolers like the "QuadCooler" (QuadCooler.com) draw the air down and away from the laptop. This works best for most applications and this is how we will design our homemade laptop cooler. Please notice from the photo that each fan is marked with arrows that indicate both the direction of the rotating fan and the direction of the air flow.

STEP 7: MARK THE FOOTPRINT OF YOUR LAPTOP
Set your laptop on the box and mark the footprint with a marker. Since I had a little extra room on my box, I decided to set the laptop back to allow the front of the box to function as a wrist rest.

Measure and make a note of the location of the CPU fan located on the bottom of the laptop. I decided to make a hole in my cooler directly below this fan to allow it to push the hot air down and into the laptop cooler. I will later make side vents to dissipate the warm air.

STEP 8: MARK THE LOCATION OF ALL YOUR HOLES
This laptop design calls for 3 holes. You will need 2 holes for the cooler fans and a third hold to allow the laptop's fan to blow hot air into the laptop cooler. The fans will be mounted facing down to draw the warm air down into the laptop cooler. There will be side vents cut into the side of the box.

STEP 9: CUT THE HOLES
Now it's time to cut the holes out with your utility knife. The holes are circular, so you have to cut them a little bit at a time working the blade in and out.

STEP 10: TRIM THE HOLES
I decided to place extra tape to make the box a little stronger. I then had to trim the excess tape from around my holes.

STEP 11: MOUNT THE FANS
Now you will need to flip the box upside down and mount the fans with screws.

STEP 12: INSTALL BATTERY PACK
Now you will need to install a battery pack on the inside of the laptop cooler and wire it to the fans.

STEP 13: CUT THE SIDE VENTS
You are going to need side vents to allow the warm air to escape from the cardboard box and out into the atmosphere. Cut a long rectangular hole on either side of the box. You want to make your side vent large enough to stick your hand inside, so that you can change the batteries on your battery pack.

STEP 14: TEST YOUR LAPTOP COOLER
Now it's time to test your little cardboard creation. Place batteries into the battery pack and the fans should start turning. If they do not turn, then it's time to troubleshoot your fan/battery pack system.

STEP 15: TAPE THE BOTTOM
This is basically the final step the Homemade Laptop Cooler project. If everything is working, it's time to seal up the bottom of the laptop cooler. Fold in the shorter pair of box flaps first and then fold the longer pair of box flaps and then tape them with packing tape just like you did in STEP 3.

The project is complete. Now you have an awkward, but functional cardboard laptop cooler to keep your laptop running cooler. However, don't try packing it into your laptop carrying case, because it's not going to fit. We don't recommend you take it to school, because cardboard isn't exactly what you call stylish. However, it's fine for hanging out around the house where you can slip into your pajamas and cuddle next to your laptop and your new cardboard laptop cooler and do whatever it is that you do with your laptop computer.

STEP 16: THROW AWAY OR RECYCLE YOUR WORTHLESS CARDBOARD CREATION AND BUY A REAL LAPTOP COOLER
There are many good laptop coolers on the market today. I would recommend just doing an Internet Search for "Laptop Coolers" and finding a laptop cooler that suites your needs. I personally like the 4 fan QuadCooler laptop cooler, but there are many other brands as well.

HOMEMADE CARDBOARD LAPTOP COOLER BLOG - Learn how to make a BigDog Robot
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