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Repair crushed computer case?

Re automotive repair shops, I had a speaker stand fall onto a Roland rack mount synth with the below results..

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I asked around a few panel beaters and they all said there's basically no chance of getting it straight again, get it fabricated. I spoke to some fab guys and they all wanted $400+ for the cover alone, much less the rail which most wouldn't even touch without a CAD file. For now it is back in my studio with a temporary perspex lid, keeping my eye out on ebay for one for parts only, problem is gear like this very rarely gets parted out, it's always a repair job, unless something like this happens to it.

As someone who has done a touch of metalworking and as confirmed by the panel guys the biggest problem you'll have will be getting the sheets perfectly flat again. The mere act of hammering pushes out material at the impact points, causing deformities and pop ups (think the dimple on the lid of a jar). A curved surface like a vehicle panel is much more tolerant of this, a flat one, not so much. The mere act of that crumpling has already introduces stretches into the metal which you'll never "recompress". You might need to keep an eye out for a new case I'm afraid. Damn shame my man, it physically hurts to see that. I hope to hell it didn't have a HDD in it when it got run over by the forklift.
 
ATSystems said:
I asked around a few panel beaters and they all said there's basically no chance of getting it straight again, get it fabricated. I spoke to some fab guys and they all wanted $400+ for the cover alone, much less the rail which most wouldn't even touch without a CAD file. For now it is back in my studio with a temporary perspex lid, keeping my eye out on ebay for one for parts only, problem is gear like this very rarely gets parted out, it's always a repair job, unless something like this happens to it.
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Now come on, really they said that? That is a simple thing is make by hand.

You can make that with a 2x4, hammer, drill and small punch tool.
 
The mere act of that crumpling has already introduces stretches into the metal which you'll never "recompress".
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An English wheel or planishing hammer can perform metal shrinking:

For example

But it's a lot of work and the everyday body people detest such work. But I did warn you...
 
Mr. Horse said:
Now come on, really they said that? That is a simple thing is make by hand.
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Yeah, seemed a little iffy to me as well, it's not like it's an an aerospace grade piece of kit. I guess it's just to cover their backside if someone kicks up a stink because it's "not to spec". You gave us the CAD file, this thing is accurate to 1/10th of a mill to the file, clear out hippy, not our fault.

Chuck(G) said:
An English wheel or planishing hammer can perform metal shrinking, but it's a lot of work and the everyday body people detest such work.
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God I love watching craftsmen do their thing, and he's Aussie! New subscription ahoy! The shrinking technique used there though would hardly be applicable to a piece of sheet metal that you need to be perfectly flat and deformation free though, unless you're ok with your PC looking like a tin roof. And in my limited experience with english wheels the whole mode of operation is compressing the metal between the wheels, forcing it out to the sides to create a curve. I guess I'll ask the panel bashers at my men's shed, my assumptions might be wrong.

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ATSystems said:
Yeah, seemed a little iffy to me as well, it's not like it's an an aerospace grade piece of kit. I guess it's just to cover their backside if someone kicks up a stink because it's "not to spec". You gave us the CAD file, this thing is accurate to 1/10th of a mill to the file, clear out hippy, not our fault.
Click to expand...

Your most likely right. It looks fixable ether way.
 
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