Project: MHR²

[blackacidevil]

It seemed my former place of employment was great for finding things to mod, after all, H.A.B.T.T came from there (an old gigantic case mod i had done, that has since been scrapped), and so did these. My old store was being renovated with new paint and lights being put in, so I just had to take some of the old lights home. Can’t use em, since they require a 347 volt line.
They are high-bay light reflectors for metal-halide bulbs. Hence the name MHR²; Metal-Halide Reflectors.

I snagged 6 of the shades since those are the only part of the light I’ll use. The shade’s diameter is 16 inches at the rim, plenty of space. The bulbs have a nasty habit of exploding, so the covers prevented the bulb from showering the area and starting a fire. Below is a pic of a fully-built light.

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/mhr_raw1.jpg

Useless 175W metal halide lightbulb (un-exploded).

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/bulb.jpg

Boobies?

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/boobies1.jpg

Boobies without nipples�

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/boobies2.jpg

Screwed together

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/inside.jpg

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/combined.jpg

[blackacidevil]

Due to its odd dimensions, the only motherboard that would properly fit (other than an ITX board) is a Shuttle board. I'll be hacking up my old SN27P2 box and using that. But that comes later. First I wanted to work on the lower hemisphere first. This will contain the powersupply, optical drive, 2 120mm radiators, and possibly the pump. Yes, this will be a watercooled case. Air cooling the CPU and GPU is not feasible considering the constraints.

The finalized specs for the machine are:

SN27P2 motherboard, 450W PSU, various hacked-up pieces from the case
Athlon X2 5000+ Black Edition
Sapphire Radeon HD4870
2GB Kingston HyperX PC8500 DDR2 RAM
Plextor PX-716AL slot-load DVDRW
Swiftech H2O-120 Premium WC kit with extra 120mm rad
Swiftech MCW60-4870 VGA block
2x 120mm white LED fans
2x 80mm white LED fan
80mm aluminum fan
1 plastic 710ml Pepsi bottle

[blackacidevil]

First thing to do was get the glass out of one of the covers. This will be on the bottom of the case and will be supporting the optical drive, pump, and possibly the HDD internally.

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/glasscover.jpg

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/glass-shattered.jpg

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/coverframe.JPG

Next i started working on the frame. The cover snaps onto the lip of the reflector with these thin aluminum hooks. Two of them will be removed and serve as a starting point for mounting aluminum flats.

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/frame_hook.jpg

Popped the 2 rivets out.
http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/frame_hook_2.jpg


Basic run-of-the-mill 1/8x3/4 aluminum flats and L's. I cut the piece to approximate length and then lined it up to the frame. Marked the curve with a scratch awl.

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/frame_awl.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/alum_bar_1.jpg

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/alum_bar_vise.JPG

I cut some of the L-channel pieces and took them to task with my portable disc grinder. Sorry I don't have photos pre-cut, but these were the end results.

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/frame_L_1.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/frame_L_2.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/frame_L_3.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/frame_L_4.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/frame_L_5.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/frame_1.jpg

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/frame_2.jpg

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/frame_3.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/frame_4.jpg

[blackacidevil]

Time to work on the actual reflectors now. I'll need to cut 2 holes for the rads, and a hole & square in the back for the PSU. This is a bit tricky for the Dremel being a curved surface, and no proper way to actually stabilize it. What worked for me though was to lightly groove the surface repeatedly until it was "almost" through, and then used an Xacto blade to cut the circles out. Actually worked better than I thought it would.

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/reflect1.jpg

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/reflect2.jpg

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/reflect3.jpg

Mounting the PSU was going to be a trickier problem. It was one thing to measure/cut out the sections for the rads due to the ease of using a 120mm fan as a guide, but this was another. An old CD case cover would be the solution.

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/PSU1.jpg

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/PSU2.jpg

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/PSU3.jpg

First drilled the mounting holes and tested its fit. Good so far.

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/PSU4.jpg

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/PSU5.jpg

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/PSU6.jpg

I`ll get around to cutting the PSU fanhole and plug tomorrow.

[DonT-FeaR]

kool keep it up man nice start

[The boy 4rm oz]

Interesting idea, looking good.

[blackacidevil]

Just a quick mockup of my case. Awaiting arrival of my MCW60-4870 block.

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/MHR_mockups002.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0834.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0836.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0832.JPG

[DonT-FeaR]

:O your back... keep this thing alive!!! lol nice work

[Eclecticos]

Wow! This is really neat. +Rep

[SXRguyinMA]

looks sweet, cant wait to see more progress :up:

[Luke122]

The first shot of the two halves connected together made me think of a lava lamp! :) At first I was wondering if you were going to make a sphere shape from the two halves, but I'm glad to see that you are doing something completely unique with this.

Looks great so far, keep the updates coming!

[blackacidevil]

Been awhile I know, but thats what happens when you work retail at this time of year.

Worked on the PSU fanhole awhile back, but never got around to posting.

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/mhr_112308001.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/mhr_112308002.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/mhr_112308003.JPG

Empty beer bottles are great for sanding!
http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/mhr_112308004.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/mhr_112308005.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/mhr_112308006.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/mhr_112308007.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/mhr_112308008.JPG

Dont ask me what that is. Just some weird metal things I got out of the dumpster when some local haircutting place closed down. I assume they were mounted in their workstations to hold bottles of Barbicide or hairdryers. I have some major cutting to do though on them. Need to shorten the cylinder to about a quarter inch.

[blackacidevil]

Today I was working on the mounting of the DVD drive in the lower reflector. Originally I wanted to have the drive angled up about 20-30 degrees, and had cut pieces for such a mounting. After a bit though I realized that this was somewhat more complicated than I had thought, and would have required an extremely steady hand to properly pull off in terms of marking drillholes and the slot opening with only one hand in a very awkward position. My hands are hardly steady.

I settled on a more basic horizontal mount. Blessing in disguise as well, since doing so rotated the base frame 90 degrees. If you look at some of the photos, you'll notice that thin metal "hook" that latches around the rim of the reflector. If I had kept the mounting to the original plan, that hook would have been on either side of the case (depending which direction the drive was mounted.) It is now at the back underneath the PSU, hidden from sight.

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0895.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0896.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0897.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0898.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0899.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0901.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0904.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0907.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0908.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0909.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0910.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0911.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0912.JPG

[blackacidevil]

Crappy digicam video of the DVD in action. Ignore the lame commentary on Tom Cruise's dancing in the background. The wife loves E! Access Hollywood. :rolleyes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3OsAMgGPPw

[KiLLERMAN21]

Nice work with the fan hole and DVD hole. I like your beer bottle idea :)

[The boy 4rm oz]

Man that is some nice work. I really like how you mounted the disk drive and cut that disk slot, looks really pro.

[blackacidevil]

I try to be courteous to my fellow apartment dwellers and stop the modding by 9pm. Dremeling/filing/drilling metal as we all know can be very loud. I had to go back and cut a rectangular hole for the PSU cord and switch.

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0921.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0922.JPG

Next I drilled some holes so the circular rim base can be securely attached to the reflector. A single hook in the rear won't suffice.

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0916.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0918.JPG

Now onto the fun part! Hacking up a Shuttle chassis. Those of you that love SFF cases, please forgive me.

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0923.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0926.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0927.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0928.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0929.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0931.JPG

[blackacidevil]

Now the test fit. Due to clearance issues with the cover, I will not be able to use the standard vertical barbs on either the CPU or GPU blocks. I have some Bitspower Rotary Angle fittings on order. I also put a standard cutting disc on top of the glass to illustrate exactly how much space I have. It's only about 5/8 of an inch between the 4870 and the glass. The 80mm fan has about 2mm to spare!

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0932.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0933.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0934.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0935.JPG

Not much else I can do tonight really. I'm thinking of mounting one of the Shuttle's harddrive trays directly underneath the mobo tray for my HDD. I have really no other place to put it.

Just placing it for looks. I'll do the mounting tomorrow after work. Also need to get some rubber spacers to add a gap between the top of the drive and the mobo tray. Just a spare HDD for looks. Bad enough that my DVD is IDE, no way will my HDD use that as well.

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0936.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0937.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0938.JPG

Not looking forward to mounting the CPU block. Shuttle doesnt do anything standard, so the holes for their ICE cooler are customized for the mobo.

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0942.JPG

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/DSCF0943.JPG

[The boy 4rm oz]

Comming together really well. The test installation looks good, lots of space.

[blackacidevil]

Holidays had me working 50-60 hour weeks, so at the end of the day, too bloody tired to do anything. And the wife wanted her dining room table back for guest visits. :neutral:
Now that that's all finally over and done with, I look forward to continuing this.

As you can see in my previous post, the cpu/vga block barbs were an issue. My Bitspower fittings were delivered on Wednesday. Installed tonight. Tough little suckers to get on. I still have to come up with a fix for the CPU retention plate. The tubing's tension was lifting the CPU block up and off the proc, so you can see a reflection of my fingers holding it down in the pic.

(click to view higher-res shot)
http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/wc_cpuvga_test_lores.jpg (http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/wc_cpuvga_test_hires.jpg)

Typically, retail slows down in January, so this month I can devote more time to getting this thing finished.

[The boy 4rm oz]

I love Bitspower gear, I am going to use it in my next build.

[Kumo]

Nice and interesting project.

[blackacidevil]

Slowly but surely.....

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/hdmount1.jpg

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/hdmount2.jpg

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/cpumount1.jpg

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/cpumount2.jpg

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/cpumount3.jpg

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/cpumount4.jpg

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/rads1.jpg

[The boy 4rm oz]

Very compact indeed.

[blackacidevil]

The one thing I am NOT looking forward to is hooking all the cables and tubing up.
A few more parts needed, some wires to be spliced, and it'll be 95% done. Functioning yes, completed no. I'll need to wait 4 or 5 more months for some nice sunny dry days out to dismantle everything and give it a paint job.

[DonT-FeaR]

gunna be tight man good luck

[blackacidevil]

Almost there!!!! I had a broken rad. Just how broken? Very broken. As you can see...

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/brokenrad.jpg

Half my 1L bottle of FluidXP ended up on the dining room floor. Gonna see tomorrow if any PC shops downtown carry any.

Still to do:

Buy 2nd 120mm rad and install.
Wire up/mount power/reset switches.
Add fan grills to lower section.
Add 2nd 80mm LED fan on upper section.
Let mobo and HDD dry. :hurt:
Add plastic piece to hide big square hole in the back.
Boot.


Then come April/May, dismantle and paint.

http://www.f-thirteen.net/adam/casemods/MHR/MHR_b2.jpg

[The boy 4rm oz]

Damn man, sorry to hear about the radiator, that is quite punctured ey lol. I hope you get a new one soon.

[DonT-FeaR]

wow that looks cool....