The History of FormD

FORMD

FormD was a two-man operation that began in late 2018 as a project to design the ultimate small form factor PC case in which they succeeded. The original prototype was called SidearmD SA4; which was later rebranded to the FormD T1 and sold via Formdworks.com. FromD T1 (the T comes from the front panel design, but is also reference to Terminator-1000 or T-1000).
Placeholder Image

The T1 was originally designed with the intention for the radiator to be located at the bottom of the case. This design idea was linked to custom liquid cooling and if a leak occurred, it wouldn’t spill onto other components according to 3FC. This is not typically how the case is used today, being the inferior cooling orientation.

FormD T1 has gone through 4 iterations as of writing. v1.0 (most of these units were sold in China, roughly 300 units, with only a few making it overseas). v1.1 was more the official release in 2020. v1.5 was skipped/complied into v2 in 2022. Version 2.0 also dropped the 2 piece front panel design and opted for single piece design. V2.1 was a smaller stealth update sometime in late 2022 or early 2023.

In late 2023, we learned of the controversial dispute between the two FormD cofounders: Kevin “3FC” & Dan “W360”. This dispute revolved around financials and the direction of the business, among other matters. This may explain the limited case availability throughout 2023.

    3FC brought the situation to the publics attention when he split from W360 to run his operations independently under formdt1.com and retained control of the existing manufacturing supply chain with T1 v2.1, after the separation. 3FC handled the the majority of the CAD/design work of the originals T1 cases to best of our knowledge. W360 handled the PR and marketing side of the business. W360 credited 3FC with final case design, CAD work, and himself with PR, marketing “the idea man, if you will”.
    Image
    Image
    Image

      You can of course, make up your own conclusion and is highly likely that design elements, manufacturing and matters of business would have been decided upon by all parties.

      In early 2024 W360 launched the T1 v2.5 under NCASE portfolio and new manufacturing process. The T1 v2.5 is absent of any FormD branding and is not backwards compatible with previous versions. The original formdworks.com website remains under the control of W360, however redirects to ncased.com.

      It is little ironic that W360 was leaning on shuttering the FormD project as per documents, but then releases a competing product under similar branding. Coincidence… It’s difficult to say giving the manufacturing changes made by NCASE which may have reduced overhead costs. It does however beg the question whether the T1 2.5 was in retaliation to 3FC or always the intention. Currently, the T1 is being sold independently by both original rights holders.