I would like to design a case for the Framework laptop. Ideally the way I want to orient the mainboard is the other way around. That is have the heatsink facing the sides of the air vents.
Would it be possible to let the fans spin the other way? And if so does that mean the direction of suction is reverse? If this is not possible would it be possible to physically reverse the fans? Or use aftermarkets fans?
You can technically take another fan that fits into your chassis and wire the fan to match the Framework connector I think. That’s how I did for my desktop and laptop fan headers in the past.
No, those fans are radial fans, they suck air in at the “middle” and push it out to the side. This would not change with reversing the rotation. The middle/center of the fan is routed towards the bottom of the laptop so it sucks air in from there.
However I don’t really understand exactly what you are trying to do, maybe there is a way to achieve that somehow. Aftermarket fans should work though if they have the right rating (voltage/power)
@mcz If I understood you correctly I don’t need to reverse the fan at all. If you look at the framework the CPU + Heatsink is at top side, Air is pulled from the bottom side and pushed out through the heatsink. In the case I design I want pull in air from the same side as the CPU and Heatsink is on.
If the fans can pull in air from either direction then that’s fine with me as well.