Project: Dark Carbon

[KiLLERMAN21]

Oh man, that memory looks sweet! Great job with the painting, im really looking forward to seeing this finished.

[Boddaker]

most excellent!! :D

[The boy 4rm oz]

Nice work with the RAM and the CPU block bracket, they look much better.

[Twigsoffury]

that is some absolutely beautiful carbon fiber.

I couldn't see a wrinkle anywhere on the carbon.

[Karbon Killa]

OMG those sticks of ram and that cpu bracket look super sexy. I'm loving this mod. +Rep for the attention to detail.

[Twigsoffury]

So i noticed the double sided tape.

I want to introduce to you my close personal friend.

3M VHB.

7OtrDvDvF5I

http://i43.tinypic.com/35hloac.jpg

Here is my precious roll of the industrial grade stuff SKU:808

No bull shat this stuff is simply amazing. It's holding my cpu fan onto my heatsink by only contacting two sides. the bond now (5 days later) is strong enough to hold the heatsink itself (over a pound) by just holding the fan.


If you need it to stick and never come apart again. use that stuff. I've repaired Cars with it.

[rendermandan]

Thanks you guys.

Here is the double sided tape I'm using.
http://www.officesupplieslane.com/mmm4010.html

It has a pull strength of 2 pounds. I think that is per square inch.

[crazybillybob]

They use a version of the 3M VHB Tape to hold glass panels to Aluminum Frames In Sky Scrapers! Odds are it's also holding the plastic (rubber feeling) molding on your car too!

It's Great stuff If you can get your hands on some!

But Render,
I used the same stuff you've got on parts in my R2 Mod... He's still running and the haven't fallen off (it's been like 2+ years...lots of trips and plenty of vibration) also using it to hold the plex in Pack n Play! It will do you well and it's easier to get a hold of the VHB.

[Twigsoffury]

Thanks you guys.

Here is the double sided tape I'm using.
http://www.officesupplieslane.com/mmm4010.html

It has a pull strength of 2 pounds. I think that is per square inch.

yea that stuff is great the red stuff is the "civi" stuff. You can order rolls direct from 3m. but there huge and set you back a couple bills for sure.

You know that stuff is thermally conductive?

[DonT-FeaR]

you continue to impress me and its starting to piss me off at how awsome this is lol nice work man

[rendermandan]

Well, sorry I haven't been very active on the boards with this lately. I've been working on it alot. I just haven't had the time to post anything worth while yet. I'll try and do an update at work. That is unless I get swamped.

Oh, got some video for you by the way. :yellow_green:


And before anyone gives me the obligitory.
:pics:

Ha Ha, I beat you to it... LOL

[The boy 4rm oz]

Looking forward to the video mate.

[DonT-FeaR]

oh im waiting on my seat... not the edge cuz that hurts on this chair

[rendermandan]

Ok guys, As promised, here is an update. Most of it deals with the mess of wiring I've been organizing. But there are a few other Gems in it. LOL

I figured I'd better test the psu to make sure its working before I go voiding its warranty. So I plugged the beast in for a few minutes. I did not have the cpu installed but the motherboard still powered up and all the fans work!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6940.jpg

Here are the stock motherboard start buttons and other controls for an open case.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6944.jpg

So with the PSU in good shape, I temporarily installed the MB to see where to drill the holes for the wires.

These holes are for the Sata cables, USB headers and Power/reset switches.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6951.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6959.jpg

This hole is for the 8 pin power connector.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6961.jpg

This is the back panel of the interior box. One large hole for the Power cable and two for the Pci Express connectors on the GPU.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6964.jpg

All of these holes will of course have rubber grommets on them.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6963.jpg

The holes for the sata conectors are kinda interesting shaped as you can see in this picture. The hole is just large enough for the cable. there are actually 2 connectors there. A 90 deg. on bottom, and a straight one on top.
The holes have a slot in them that allows the connector to come through, and then rotate the cable 90 degrees. The rubber grommet covers up the view of the slot, as well as the motherboard. -How's that for wire managment?

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6958.jpg

I figured now is a good time to run the water tubing. That way I know not to get the power wires in the way. Here is the layout.

This picture is with the flash. -For some reason it turns the red translucent tubing, opaque.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6971.jpg

Here it is with the flash off. -This is more accuratly what it looks like.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6972.jpg


Next, I had to get power to the PSU from the back connector. -Remember this from a while ago? -You will notice I added a small adapter plug and switch. -That will come into play later. :)

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6967.jpg

The stock power cable was a heafty 14 ga. 3 wire cable. -I ran to my local hardware store, and all they had was 12ga. 3 wire. -So I think it will do.

You can see the size of the stock wire vs. the 12 ga. power wire.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6994.jpg

I soldered the wire directly to the psu's power connector and covered each with heat shrink.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6995.jpg

Then I sleaved it and soldered it to the rear connector.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6997.jpg

Here you can see the power cord snake through to the back of the case.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6996.jpg

Ok, now that that is out of the way, I can start on modding the PSU.
Remember this shot. Its about 50 pounds of extra copper. -Ok, maybe not 50, but its alot!
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6975.jpg

a few screws later, and the Warranty is voided.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6976.jpg

Then 24 snips from the wire cutters, -OH SH-T what have I done?
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6985.jpg

Well, I had to cut the 24 pin power cable for two reasons. First, it was too long, and second, I had to run the cable through that large hole I drilled in the back panel.

I got it measured for the right length. and then soldered and heat shrinked each color back together.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6987.jpg

Of course I reused the sleaving too. -You can see how much shorter it is now.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6988.jpg

This is how tight it fits.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6989.jpg

And here is a shot in the case.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6992.jpg

I did the same for the 8 pin wire cable. -Here you can see how I routed it around the radiator. I figured it was the best place to cause less clutter.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7000.jpg

I also did the 2 pci express connectors for the video card.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7013.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7016.jpg

And here is how they look finished.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7012.jpg

Here is what I'm left with on the psu.
I've got the SATA power connectors to 3 drives to do, and all the 4 pin molex connections to make. -FUN!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7017.jpg


Ok, enough of the boring wireing, Now for the fun stuff. :)

-My friend Gediminas (CustomElectronicsMan) Stopped by to do the final programming on the servo controller that he made.

Here is a shot of the temporary board. I'm going to have a custom board made in a few weeks that will replace this. But for now, it will do.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7009.jpg

Here is Gediminas at work programming the Micro Controller.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7001.jpg

Here is how it will work. -Remember that small power connector next to the large connector on the back of the case? Well, it provides a constant 6v power to the servo controller. This will allow the servo to move even after the case has turned off. This also provides power to light up the red Bulgin power switch. It will pulse when the computer is shut off. Then when the power switch is pressed, it goes solid and stays that way untill it shuts down. Also, as the power is turned on, it sends a signal to the controller to open the top fan and lcd temperature sensor. It will remain open while the computer is on, and then close automatically when the power goes off. -but not untill the power is completly off in the case.
The issues I had with Motorized Madness where it was controlled through startup scripts at windows login caused too much of a headache, so I went the simple route this time.

Here are some videos for your pleasure. -Sorry about the crappy quality.
The first is of the pulsating power switch.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/th_100_7002.jpg (http://s65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/?action=view&current=100_7002.flv)

The second video shows the Panel opening. You can see the switch pulse before the power is hit.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/th_100_7006.jpg (http://s65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/?action=view&current=100_7006.flv)

The third video shows the panel closing when the power is cut. I noticed the switches light comes back on after its done closing, so we fixed that so it stays on now, and then goes back to pulsing after its done moving.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/th_100_7005.jpg (http://s65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/?action=view&current=100_7005.flv)

I also have some news regarding the Anodizing I had done on the pci panel and hard drive fan frames. They called and said the parts were done. So I drove downtown today to pick them up only to find that they didn't do a very good job. The fan parts looked great, however the guy thought the PCI panel would only be seen from the outside, so they did a crappy job of holding it when they dipped it. there was a large area on it that looked like it was not anodized. It would have shown really bad and looked like crap. They are going to redo it for me.

Well, that's it for now. I'll take some better video with a digital camcorder later on when its done.

Later,

[The boy 4rm oz]

You have made some excellent progress Dan. The cable management is impeccable and your PSU mods look great, very well executed.

The vids are fantastic. I love the pulsing light when the system is turned off, a very nice touch.

Do you intend on using red fluid in the W/C? If so I would have thought it be best to use clear tube with a few UV LEDs to lightly illuminate the tubing.

[rendermandan]

Thanks!

Good point with the clear tubing and UV led's. And yes, I will be using Blood red UV reactive coolant. However, I actually don't like the look of the uv glow. Its more of a bright florescent pink than a real deep red. Besides, almost all of the tubing will be concealed under the case. so you won't see it anyway.

This is the coolant I will be using.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=24047

[The boy 4rm oz]

Ah Fluid XP, one of the best red coolants around (as is Fesser). Still I think it would look better through clear tubing but as you said the pics don't do the red tubing any justice.

[masbuskado]

wwooooooowwwwww!!! I think am in Luv...!!! just amazing....!!! the best part is I luv to see video cuz you can really notice what you have done...!!! woowww man... keep it up!!! one finest build you got there...!!!

[KiLLERMAN21]

Nice work man, it really does look great. Definately one of the best around.

[jdbnsn]

That is awesome work Dan! The cables look great too, I've done the power supply job before and know how tedious it can be so my hat's off to you.

[jhanlon303]

Just a quick request:
When you get the "real" anodized parts back could you do a couple shots of how they compare to the red paint? The paint is awesome so far and the contrast with the CF is astounding.

john

[rendermandan]

Just a quick request:
When you get the "real" anodized parts back could you do a couple shots of how they compare to the red paint? The paint is awesome so far and the contrast with the CF is astounding.

john

No problem John, Here you go.

Here are the 3 parts I had anodized. The two hard drive fan housings and the pci back panel.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7019.jpg

A little closer shot.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7020.jpg

Here is a shot with a scrap piece of aluminum that I painted with the anodizing. You can see how easily that stuff scratches and shows imperfections.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7022.jpg

If you ignore the "yellow bright area from the flash" you can see the color matches almost perfectly!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7024.jpg

The hard drive fans came red. but they didn't look so good agains the red anodizing, so I game them a shot with some paint.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7027.jpg

And here is one of the fans back together. Not to bad!
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7030.jpg

And here they both are. You can see there is a gap at the top of the frame, so I had to cover that up.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7034.jpg

Of course with a piece of CF.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7036.jpg

And here is what they look like in the case. -I still have to make a larger CF cover for the top.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7050.jpg

Sorry, this shot came out a little blurry.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7055.jpg

Next I installed the back panel.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7038.jpg

Here you can see I installed some Chromed pci vent covers. -Not sure if I should paint them black or leave them chromed. What do you think?
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7040.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7041.jpg

Oh, I also ordered some red anodized screws for the covers a long time ago.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7039.jpg

Here is a shot with the motherboard installed.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7044.jpg

One other interesting thing. Asus isntalled some kind of "heat reducing" chip directly on the opposite side of where the cpu bracket is. Here you can see that it sticks up from the bottom of the board quite a bit. The issue I am having is the back plate for the water cooling will rest against this chip. -First off, it will put un-needed pressure on the chip. It will also block any air getting to the chip. So does anyone know if this will be a problem? I hope not.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7043.jpg

-Not sure if anyone noticed but I don't have a fan controller. Well, I've been planning all along to have a windows controlled fan controller. Gediminas has been working on the electronics side of it. And here is a shot for the custom PCB I'm going to have made up. Let me know if anyone else would be interested as its not that much money to order a few more. The main cost is in the setup charge.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/pcb.jpg


And here is a screen shot of the custom windows interface. -It runs basically the same as the Lighting controller that I made for XPS Ground effects. It uses pulse width Modulation to control the fans. -It controlls 6 different fans and will hopefully read out their speeds in real time.
It will also read out the speed of my water pump.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/fancontrollerscreenshot.jpg

I've also been working on more boring wiring, so I didnt' take any more pics of the same stuff over and over again. But I'm almost done. All I have left is to wire and sleave all the fan wires. Then I can start on the outside of the case. -Wait till you see what I have in store to light up all the panels on the outside of the case. -FYI, it will use 300 red leds. Yes that is NOT a typo!!!

[KiLLERMAN21]

Looking great Dan, the anodized pieces of aluminum look absolutely great, they look even better against the CF. The fans look pretty great also. The 300 LED idea for the outside sounds pretty sweet aswell. +rep for all the work.

[SXRguyinMA]

lookin awesome! how much for one of those PCB's? and would it come assembled ready to install? and what about the software to go with it? Thanks!!

[rendermandan]

lookin awesome! how much for one of those PCB's? and would it come assembled ready to install? and what about the software to go with it? Thanks!!

We are finalizing the design on it today and hopefully ordering it soon.
Not sure how much yet. I think its an extra $15 us to order an additional bare board. And Yes, we would install and solder it all for you ready to go. We have to order some parts and get the software up and running first though. So Is still in the development stage, but I don't think it will be a problem. The two guys that are helping me, really know what they are doing. I have to give them the credit. It was just my idea, but they are making it happen.

I'll get back to you with a price that would include the assembled board, and software.

Thanks!

[nevermind1534]

Let me know about that too.

[Vital]

How much did it cost to get those parts anodized red? And where did you get it done, locally or an online service? Also, is it durable, significantly better than the red paint you were using?

I am considering anodizing the aluminum angles on my HTPC project, to protect them and add some color to the design.

[rendermandan]

How much did it cost to get those parts anodized red? And where did you get it done, locally or an online service? Also, is it durable, significantly better than the red paint you were using?

I am considering anodizing the aluminum angles on my HTPC project, to protect them and add some color to the design.

I had them anodized at a plating company locally. Anodizing is a controlled errosion process that chemically etches the color into the metal so the finish is very durable. I even took an exacto knife and made a small scratch on the back side of the fan housings to see how well it woudl hold up. The part scratched but the color of the scratch was the same so it hardly showed. It holds up much better than the paint. The piant really is just a coating and it scratches off and flakes off pretty easily. I used the paint on all the aluminum that really won't even show. The parts that show and get the most abuse is what I did the real stuff on.

They can do almost any color you want and it is pretty cheap. I had all 3 pieces done for $20 us.

Just a word of caution. tell them what sides of your piece show. that way they know not to hold the piece on an area where you need it anodized. otherwise you will see a spot where the bracket was.

[Vital]

Great to know that it isn't too pricey. Will look for plating companies in my area.

[rendermandan]

well, apparently using PWM to change the fan speeds is screwing up the pulse signal for the rpm sensor. So we are going back to the drawing board. we will have to regulate the voltage through the microcontroller. So it may be a little bit longer on the controller.

[SXRguyinMA]

no rush, just think its a neat idea :up:

[Vital]

I have another question for you. Where did you get that back panel?

[Cobra]

Anodized bits look awesome against the carbon fiber.

[rendermandan]

I have another question for you. Where did you get that back panel?

Its out of an old Lian-Li removable motherboard case. I think you can get one similar to it here.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=314&products_id=3387

[Liquid_Scope_99]

Very nice work man keep it up +rep

[DonT-FeaR]

i love this case so clean so elligant so frigan awsome!!!!

[The boy 4rm oz]

I take back what I said about the HDD cooler fan brackets looking good as silver, they look a million times better as red lol.

I can't wait to see some pics of that fan controller. The GUI looks amazing.

[rendermandan]

I take back what I said about the HDD cooler fan brackets looking good as silver, they look a million times better as red lol.

I can't wait to see some pics of that fan controller. The GUI looks amazing.

Thanks.

-The fan controller is going to be made soon, Hopefully. We are still trying to work out reading the rpm speeds of each fan. I'm also going to include a couple of inputs for Water pump speeds as well. We are having to start over because PWM screws up the fan speed sensor. but I will get done. The first version may just control the fan speeds and not report the rpms just so I have a way to control them. The rpms are only a "Nice addition" that is not absolutly necessary at this time. I plan on being done in the next month or so.

Here is the latest version of the software. I moved some things around and got the Preset radiobuttons to work. I also got the icon made to run in the right side task bar with all the other icons. I still would like to be able to have user saved presets. Where you can store the settings you want in memory. But not exactly sure how to do that yet. Have to do some research.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/Untitled-1.jpg

This weekend I also started to work on the front panel of the case and the exterior lighting.
Before I get to the lights, I had to make some templates. I will be using 1/8"t. Red Flourescent Plexi and 1/8"t. Black plexi for the trim.

Here is how the front panel looks now. Obviously, the blue is tape to protect the CF. but I just can't leave the Dvd drive exposed and the LCD panel is silver.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7063.jpg

I started by laying out the front planel on a sheet of red.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7065.jpg

This shot show where the power and reset switchs and USB ports will go.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7066.jpg

A little time spend with the scroll saw, and they are cutout.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7067.jpg

I also cleaned up the edges with some files.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7070.jpg

Here is how the front panel will be covered.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7069.jpg

The bottom trim was used as a template to cut out all the trim fro the bottom so they are all identical.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7073.jpg

I used a router table with a 1/2" dia. straight bit with a ball bearing guide on the end.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7074.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7083.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7086.jpg

I had to cut one of the panels a little different. I think you can see why.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7089.jpg

I also cut he holes for the USB/firewire/sound ports.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7093.jpg

Next I had to paint the ugly silver bezel on the lcd display.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7098.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7099.jpg


Ok, now I've come to the point of needing the leds installed. Here is what I'm using.
Its a roll of 300 red suface mounted led's. on a very thin flexible pcb strip with adheasive on the back!!! Its 5 meters long. with 300 leds. -that works out to an led every 5/8".

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7058.jpg

The led strip can be cut into 3 led segments. So I was able to cut it to the perfect length to go around the case 3 times. One at the top, and two at the bottom trim.

Here is a close up shot.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7102.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7116.jpg

Here is a shot showing the strip lit.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7106.jpg

This shot is with the flash on. You can still see the leds!
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7104.jpg

Just for a check, I placed the red and black plexi over the top and you can really see how much red glow it gives off.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7108.jpg

The cool part is you can solder wires to the back side so all wires will be hidden!
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7111.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7113.jpg

Here is the case with the top row only installed.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7118.jpg

VERY BRIGHT!!!
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7119.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7127.jpg

The leds do have a little thickness. -about 1/16" so I drilled some holes in the back side of the red plexi.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7130.jpg

Then I glued it on.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7133.jpg

Thats all the farther I got tonight.

Hope you guys like the LED's. Most of the light will be hidden behind the black plexi. but It should give a very nice red glow around the edges. -Which is what the whole design was to begin with. :)

Later!

[Spyrious]

Hello.I'm new here although i watched the forum for now and than.Your worklog was the "spark" to become a member here.I wan't to congratulate you for this extraordinary work.Very impressive.Keep it up.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Mate that looks very cool. Nice plexi accents and nice work on the front panel.

Do you have a link to where you got those LEDs? They are perfect for something I am thinking of doing later on.

[SXRguyinMA]

those LEDs are going to look sweet :bowdown: and I've got that same harbor freight file set :D

[rendermandan]

Hello.I'm new here although i watched the forum for now and than.Your worklog was the "spark" to become a member here.I wan't to congratulate you for this extraordinary work.Very impressive.Keep it up.

Thank you, and Welcome to TBCS. If you have any questions from anyone, please don't hesitate to ask.


Mate that looks very cool. Nice plexi accents and nice work on the front panel.

Do you have a link to where you got those LEDs? They are perfect for something I am thinking of doing later on.

I got them from http://www.superbrightleds.com/led_prods.htm

[The boy 4rm oz]

Thanks a lot Dan.

[p0Pe]

dude... this rocks:D bigtime!

[DonT-FeaR]

wow.... i thought u wher e gunna use individual lights lol.... soldering 300 leds....

[rendermandan]

wow.... i thought u wher e gunna use individual lights lol.... soldering 300 leds....

Well, I kinda did want people to think that at first. LOL

[The boy 4rm oz]

Well, I kinda did want people to think that at first. LOL

Oh your bad lol.

[Snowman]

Could you imagine soldering hundreds of sm LEDS. It would almost be worth hiring someone to do it.

[DonT-FeaR]

can u imaging the hired person soldering 300 leds..... almost be worth them hiring some1

[Twigsoffury]

Imagine a world if you would. Of 300 light emiting diodes. This world of diodes, feasibly might be a realical task to commision another to enter and complete this world of diodes?

[DonT-FeaR]

lol say what what?

[custom_electronics_man]

OK OK Dan I will work on it today :D

[rendermandan]

OK OK Dan I will work on it today :D

I'm getting the whip out. LOL

[Snowman]

I'm getting the whip out. LOL
While your at it change it all out to green i was too busy lurking to realize I had a chance to put my input into it and IMHO I would like to see it in green:evil:. Seriously though I will just gimp it when your done to get a different perspective, or if I get desperate I will break out photoshop. Now back to work

[Eclecticos]

Congratulations. . you've just been Featured. +³Rep

[Karbon Killa]

Congrats on being featured. +rep.

[rendermandan]

Wooohooo. Thanks for the feature!


-I was just logging in to let everyone know that I won't have any updates for a week or so. I'm heading to Florida for a week to sit on the beach and drink margaritas. "I asked for no salt..." LOL.

I will have my laptop with me so I will poke my head around once in a while, If I can break myself away from the beach babes.

Later,

[SXRguyinMA]

congrats on the feature and on the vaca...make sure to keep that red swingline stapler close by so noone takes it lol

[b4i7]

congrats on the feature!

now... on the whole soldering thing... i once had to make 100 XLR cables...that took forever haha

[jdbnsn]

Congrats indeed, a very worthy feature!

[The boy 4rm oz]

Yep congratz on the feature, I told you you would get it ;).

Enjoy your break mate.

[KiLLERMAN21]

Congrats on the feature, very well deserved. Have a safe trip to Florida aswell.

[DonT-FeaR]

bound to happen

...

habe fun on vaca

[Frenkie]

Congrats on the feature |!!

[rendermandan]

Hey guys, I'm back.

Thanks again for all the support on this.

My vacation was great. Even though the weather was unseasonably cold. It was in the 50's (Farenheit) most of the time. The last two days were nice though. I even got a little sun burn. We went to Bush Gardens, Ate tons of seafood, spend alot of time in the sand on the beach and I even got in the water once. -It was extremely cold!!!
We went to an aquarium on a rainy day and got to touch a shark, stingray and 10' boa constrictor. We also went and saw some Manatee's in the water.
Overall we had a great time. Just got back a few hours ago, so its time to unpack and get back to work on Dark Carbon...

Later.

[nevermind1534]

I'm waiting for the next update.

[KiLLERMAN21]

Sounds like you had a really nice time. Good to hear from you. Now back to work!

[DonT-FeaR]

/\ what he said

[EspoNation]

I cant wait to see what comes next! Keep up the good work :)

[rendermandan]

Hey everyone, thanks again for all the support!!!

Its been a while since I made an update, so here we go.

I finished the last update with this picture of the red plexi on the front of the case.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7133.jpg

I temporarily put the black plexi cover infront of it so you can see how the glow will eminate around the edges. Obviously I haven't removed the paper yet.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7141.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7142.jpg

I took a small break from the plexi work to route some water tubing and morewires.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7138.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7143.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7144.jpg

Here is a shot of the bottom chamber. I know its quite messy at this point, but I really don't see any way of cleaning it up. there is so much going on down in this area that its impossible to make it look good.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7147.jpg


Ok, back to the outside, I installed the remaining 2 stips of red leds around the case.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7160.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7159.jpg

Then I went back to fabricating some plexi pieces.

These are the 5/8" wide stips that will go around the top of the case
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7177.jpg

Here are the round pieces that will go around the hard drive windows.
There are clear pieces that will be the "window"
then the two rings match the trim on the rest of the case.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7161.jpg

I also started to cut the trim around the intake fans.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7163.jpg

Made a quick copy with he router.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7164.jpg

I had to route a channel out of the back side of the red plexi in some areas to fit the modders mesh. Again, I used the router.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7170.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7171.jpg

Here are basically all the pieces I hade to fabricate. This doesn't include the front panel that is already installed on the case.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7174.jpg

Then I cut some modders mesh to fit the parts.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7175.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7176.jpg


Well thats all I've done this far. I'm getting close to being done.
I still need to route some channels for the leds. Glue the modders mesh in place, and then install it all on the case. Then comes all the polishing on the edges of the black plexi. Fun Fun!

[jhanlon303]

Must have been a good vacation! Got all rested up and came back to do all this. Excellent.
john

[SXRguyinMA]

looks incredible!

[EspoNation]

wow still coming out swinging, those panels look awesome, cant wait to see them all installed.

[rithunder916]

Looking good!

[The boy 4rm oz]

I know its quite messy at this point, but I really don't see any way of cleaning it up.

Zip ties, lots of zip ties ;) lol.

You have made a lot of progree. The accents are coming allong beautifully, awesome work dude. +rep

[DonT-FeaR]

yeha thinkk ill through in a rep for ya to... excellent

[KiLLERMAN21]

Really nice plexi cuts man, looks great.

[Snowman]

Definitely plus rep. Looks great I don't know if I could ever do something from scratch.

[rendermandan]

Thanks you guys.

I've spend a little time working on the fan controller.
Here is a screen shot of the board design. If everything looks ok, I'm going to order it tomorrow. :)

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/board.jpg


You can see there are 6 fan headers that will be windows controlled.

2 fan headers that are not controlled but will report the rpms. (i'm thinking about adding a jumper to change them from 12v to 5v options). -Edit: Done!
These 2 headers can also be used for Water pump rpms.

This particular board also has my servo controller and power led controller on it. So there are headers for the servo, LED and a 6v power input that comes from a transformer plugged into a power strip.

Then there is a typical PSU Molex connector. and a USB to serial converter.

I've ordered all the parts and if the board gets ordered tomorrow, I shoudl have it by the end of next week. (Hopefully!)

Here is the latest version of the software by the way.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/software.jpg

I still have some programming to do once I get the fan controller built.

[SXRguyinMA]

nice work :D

[The boy 4rm oz]

Very nice work on the circuit board and the GUI, an amazing result. +rep

[b4i7]

that GUI made me....GUI


ive been pretty silent through this project, but have been watching closely, this is one amazing case dan mad props to you

[SXRguyinMA]

that GUI made me....GUI

http://www.postwhore.biz/albums/userpics/10082/haha.gif

[EspoNation]

dan if you were a major league baseball player you could totally hit a 600' ft home run and hit a car in the parking lot :). awesome job!

[Snowman]

dan if you were a major league baseball player you could totally hit a 600' ft home run and hit a car in the parking lot :). awesome job!

Are you accusing him of using performance enhancing drugs?:hurt:

[custom_electronics_man]

I still have some programming to do once I get the fan controller built.

You are not the only one :) I feel like BWW today. Get the hint?

[rendermandan]

You are not the only one :) I feel like BWW today. Get the hint?

Man, we just went there yesterday. LOL How about next week?

I get the hint though. :)




Are you accusing him of using performance enhancing drugs?:hurt:

-I have not "Enhanced" !!! by the way, Who's your daddy?

-Ok guys, The Custom PCB has been ordered, I should have it next Wednesday!

[Snowman]

Chinese food sounds better ahahaha...

[DonT-FeaR]

wow thats smart... lol i like it

[EspoNation]

lol. no enhancement neccesary!

@rendermandan: cant wait to see this fan controller in action!

[rendermandan]

Got an email yesterday that said they shipped the pcb boards. They should be here tomorrow!.

The parts for it arrived too. (USB to Serial, headers, and some IC Blocks).

I also did some more work on the plexi too. More of the same stuff, so I didn't bother posting any pics. Sorry.

[DonT-FeaR]

:( letting us down man!!!! lol jk

[The boy 4rm oz]

That's good news mate. I can't wait to see the PCBs.

[crazybillybob]

Ok Man,
Tomorrow is now Today! Post the pics already!!!:bunny::bunny:

[rendermandan]

So is the suspense killing you guys. Muahhaaaahhhaa (evil laugh). :)


Ok, enough playing. Here's the update.

I worked on finishing installing the red plexi pieces. I had to glue some painted modders mesh to the back side of the pieces first.

Here is the glue and accelerator I used.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7224.jpg

This is basically the back of one of the piece. You can see all the holes I had to drill (almost 400 of them!) so the pieces fit over the top of the red led light strips. You can also see the mesh glued into a channel in the back of the plexi.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7189.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7231.jpg

So basically here is one of the pieces with the mesh glued on.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7187.jpg

I then cut it to length and beveled the ends so they pieces fit together.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7186.jpg

I also glued the clear plexi windows to the rings that go around the hard drive windows.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7214.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7218.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7220.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7221.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7222.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7223.jpg

So here is the finished red plexi.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7238.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7239.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7240.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7241.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7242.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7243.jpg

And here it is with the leds on.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7244.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7246.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7252.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7256.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7199.jpg

Kinda bright?
Well keep in mind there is a layer of black plexi that goes over the top of all the red plexi. I also did not polish the sides of the red plexi on purpose. This diffuses the light better.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7196.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7197.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7201.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7205.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7206.jpg


Now that the red plexi is done. I can start to polish all that black plexi.
In fact, here are all the pieces.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7258.jpg

I picked up some different grades of sand paper.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7259.jpg

And this polishing kit.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7261.jpg

But I found the polishing wheels to be too big, so while I was in Florida at a flee market. I found these dremel polishing wheels for 50 cents a piece.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7257.jpg

I started with one straight piece to get the feel for how much work it will be.
Not too bad.
Here is a piece polished next to an unpolished piece.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7262.jpg

Thats the only piece I got done before the Custom PCB board came.

And here it is. Front side.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7263.jpg

Back side.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7264.jpg

If you look closely, you can see I even put a title on it. I also put Gediminas' and my name on it in another spot, but it came out a little too small to read.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7265.jpg

Now, I know what your thinking. It doesn't look like a pcb board. -Well, it is the same board as all other electronics, it just doesn't have the green solder mask and white silk screen printing on it. -To add those two layers, almost tripled the price. I got three of these boards for around $60 shipped. Not too bad.

Here are all the parts waiting to be soldered on.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7266.jpg

I started with the headers.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7269.jpg

Then added the Molex connector.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7270.jpg

Then I installed the voltage reguator and IC sockets and a capacitor.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7272.jpg

Next was the resistors.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7274.jpg

Some Transistors.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7275.jpg

and finally, the fan headers and USB to serial connector.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7280.jpg

All finished. :)
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7279.jpg

You may notice that there is missing IC chip. Well, I'm waiting on Gediminas to finish programming the chip first so I can't test the fan controlls just yet.
I was able to test the led power light and servo controller, and they work Perfect!

Well, thats a pretty big update for now. I'm so close to being done!!!

Later,

[nevermind1534]

Looks nice. The case and controller.

[KiLLERMAN21]

Dude the case looks absolutely fanastimagorical, its unfathomably beautfiul, its so ultra cool it deserves its own bulletproof case to fit around it!

I liek! +rep!

[nevermind1534]

I think that case is almost bulletproof on its own.

[THRASHER2]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v629/THRASHER2/yourock.gif

[The boy 4rm oz]

Plexi work is amazing as always mate. The fan controllers turned out very well, shame they aren't black though lol. I know they won't be seen but you gotta go with the theme haha.

[DonT-FeaR]

looks really really really ( 1800 billion billion times) awsome

[SXRguyinMA]

:stupid: incredible! :bowdown:

[rendermandan]

Thanks you guys!


Plexi work is amazing as always mate. The fan controllers turned out very well, shame they aren't black though lol. I know they won't be seen but you gotta go with the theme haha.

Yeah, I know it sucks being kinda yellowish. Not sure If I could paint it and still make it look good.
Most of the pcb mfr's. offer the green solder mask, but its alot more money. I don't know how much more it would be to do black too.

Here is the company I went with for the board.
http://www.expresspcb.com/

The reason I used them is they offered their "Mini Board" service.
I used their free software to design it. -As long as it fits within the maximum size limit. they produced 3 identical boards for $51 plus shipping.
They also produce and ship it very fast. Most other companies your looking at a longer turn around time.
If I wanted to do the solder mask and screen print. the price jumped from $60 to $250. SoI chose not to do it. :)
If we end up making some of these to sell. we will order them masked. but for now the prototype is fine.

[p0Pe]

looks astunishing dude (spelled?)

great work on that case!

[EspoNation]

wow dan. you always keep the good stuff coming. may i ask what you do for a living? you seem to have a very good knowledge of assembling PCB's. Electronics maybe? haha. great work!

[crazybillybob]

The green solder mask is more or less green high temp lacquer.
So If you take one of your "extra" boards and mask off the solder pads, and hit the whole thing with black engine or brake caliber paint you should have the same thing... just cheaper. (make sure the paint is non-conductive... some High temp paints have higher metal content and can be mildly conductive)


By the way this rig is Great! Love all the lights! (the fact that it's 90% Carbon Fiber just adds to the WOW!! factor!)

Keep up the good work.




(by the way, I've used straight spray paint on the High Voltage parts of custom PCB's in the past after the parts were stuffed... with good results! I didn't get shocked by 120Vac, and it looked good :) )

[msmrx57]

:eek: :bowdown: words can not describe who great this is +REP

[The boy 4rm oz]

I'll make sure I bookmark that link d\Dan, could be useful ;), thanks.

[custom_electronics_man]

wow dan. you always keep the good stuff coming. may i ask what you do for a living? you seem to have a very good knowledge of assembling PCB's. Electronics maybe? haha. great work!

it's just enough for Dan to accidentally have someone at work with that knowladge :glasses:

[The boy 4rm oz]

Hey Dan, I just had an idea. I was thinking, if you frosted all the exposed edges of the red plexi you would get a more uniform, softer, less in your face glow than the naked edges. Just a thought.

[rendermandan]

Hey Dan, I just had an idea. I was thinking, if you frosted all the exposed edges of the red plexi you would get a more uniform, softer, less in your face glow than the naked edges. Just a thought.

actually I kinda did. I sanded them with some pretty rough sand paper. In other words, I didn't polish the edges. and it does give the edges some glow. I'm in the process of glueing on the black plexi. and believ it or not, it makes them look worse. basically whats happening is when I glue the black ot the red, it removes all the air space between the two pieces of plexi. the red leds light gets mostly obsorbed by the black plexi and not transfered through. the parts that do leak out into the red plexi lights up the edges but just not as much. Hard to explain.

There is really no way for me to change it now either. Its glued for good onto the case and if I try to remove it, I will destroy the red led stip lights along with the finish on the carbon fiber. Its really not that bad. just a little different than what I was planning on. But still looks good!.

I'll ge some pics for you tonight. :)

[rendermandan]

Hey guys. Got a question for you. How bad do you think it would be if I bought some Carbon Fiber film and applied it to my keyboard and video card?
Before you get the wrong idea, I will be using real carbon fiber. Not vinyl sticker. Its just .015" thick. 1 layer of carbon fiber. I figured I could apply it to my GTX 280 and maybe the top of my keyboard. I'm already planning on pulling the orange led's out and replacing them with red leds. (Logitech G15 v2).

I just want some opinions before I order the CF.

Thanks.

[EspoNation]

Hey guys. Got a question for you. How bad do you think it would be if I bought some Carbon Fiber film and applied it to my keyboard and video card?
Before you get the wrong idea, I will be using real carbon fiber. Not vinyl sticker. Its just .015" thick. 1 layer of carbon fiber. I figured I could apply it to my GTX 280 and maybe the top of my keyboard. I'm already planning on pulling the orange led's out and replacing them with red leds. (Logitech G15 v2).

I just want some opinions before I order the CF.

Thanks.

they key board defiantly, i have the same one and i hate the orange. the cf would look good on it. it should not be a problem on the vid card. i dont think cf has any conductive properties. you should have no problem :) keep up the good work!

[Boddaker]

Great stuff there Dan! Have you tried flame-polishing the black plexi edges? Might go a bit faster than sanding. Just gotta be careful not to burn them up lol.

:)

[crazybillybob]

Go for the Carbon Vid card wrap, and the Keyboard..... In fact The mouse wouldn't be overkill! Or the monitor.

[msmrx57]

Hey guys. Got a question for you. How bad do you think it would be if I bought some Carbon Fiber film and applied it to my keyboard and video card?
Before you get the wrong idea, I will be using real carbon fiber. Not vinyl sticker. Its just .015" thick. 1 layer of carbon fiber. I figured I could apply it to my GTX 280 and maybe the top of my keyboard. I'm already planning on pulling the orange led's out and replacing them with red leds. (Logitech G15 v2).

I just want some opinions before I order the CF.

Thanks.
That would just be continuing the theme. ;) So my vote is go for it!

[rendermandan]

Go for the Carbon Vid card wrap, and the Keyboard..... In fact The mouse wouldn't be overkill! Or the monitor.

LOL, well, monitor and mouse huh?

How does this look?

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7322.jpg

Lol. My monitor has CF on the ends and my mouse already has a cf housing. -Not real of course, but OEM. Depending on how much I have left over from doing the video card and keyboard I might be able to cover the ends of the monitor with REAL CF. -Not sure how to do the mouse though. You can't bend real CF in multiple directions. Even though the stuff is .015" thick, it will still only bend around 3/4" dia.

But anyway, I went ahead and ordered the thin CF sheet. In the meatime, I'll work on getting some pictures uploaded and make a progress report tomorrow.

[DonT-FeaR]

sweet.. will look killer mate

[KiLLERMAN21]

Yes, CF film would look really good on your mouse/keyboard/monitor/video card, for sure.

[SXRguyinMA]

I agree, and the real carbon should look killer, a lot better than that fake painted stuff :D

[rendermandan]

Thanks guys.

As promised, here is the progress report. :)

I mounted the fan controller in the bottom chamber.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7286.jpg

I also started to mount the black plexi over the red plexi.

I started with the front panel.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7281.jpg

I then added a CF panel for the dvd drive cover.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7282.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7283.jpg

I also mounted my new shiny WD 750Gb hard drive. in the hot swappable tray.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7287.jpg

I also noticed that one piece of my tubing that makes a 180deg bend had a slight kink in it. It wasn't huge, but enough to cause some flow problems. So I installed some wire around the tubing.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7289.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7292.jpg

I got the rest of the black pieces polished and installed too.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7295.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7296.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7297.jpg

I installed the power and reset switches on the front of the case.
The led light ring on the power switch will fade in and out when the case is off all the time. then when the power switch is hit. it goes solid.

the resest led ring is basically the power led so it will only be on when the computer is on or in standby mode.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7308.jpg

Lastly, I made some CF panels to cover the holes in the top of the fan and hard drive boxes.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7313.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7315.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7318.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7319.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7320.jpg

Sorry, but thats all I have to report today. :)

I'm getting very close to being done with the computer, but I am going to be modding the keyboard and possibly the monitor and mouse.

Its not over yet...

[SXRguyinMA]

that thing looks MEAN! :bowdown: I actually like how you can see the slight focusing of the LEDs on the plexi edges, makes it looks neat :up:

[crazybillybob]

LOL, well, monitor and mouse huh?

-Not sure how to do the mouse though. You can't bend real CF in multiple directions. Even though the stuff is .015" thick, it will still only bend around 3/4" dia.


Umm isn't "Real CF" well a Fiber therefor it will wrap around bends tighter then 3/4" you just have to.... you know wet it with resin, and cure it and all. It's more work but wouldn't it be worth it ?


(Really I'm just busting your chops, the OEM look Goes great with the case.)
Nice touch with the fan and HDD caps, little things like that make this mod Great! Keep up the good work!

CrazyBillyBob

[rendermandan]

Umm isn't "Real CF" well a Fiber therefor it will wrap around bends tighter then 3/4" you just have to.... you know wet it with resin, and cure it and all. It's more work but wouldn't it be worth it ?



No biggie,

I was referrring to using the ultra thin sheet I purchased rather than custom forming some fabric and mixing resin. -I might try that later on. :)

When I get the sheet, I'll give it a shot and see how it turns out.

[jdbnsn]

I'm not sure what you had in mind for the keyboard and such, but if you were thinking of totally covering it I think it would look overdone. I would consider making roughly 2 inch horizontal stripe of CF across the keyboard instead which might have a better look, just my opinion though. The Mod is otherwise looking outstanding Dan!

[DonT-FeaR]

/\ agree with all of the above....

you went above and beyond on this one dan like always!

[KiLLERMAN21]

Seriously, I am going to kill you for that case.

Really, it looks abosolutely killer, definately one of the best mods going round IMO. Awesome work Dan.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Coming together really well mate, looks beautiful.

I have the same mouse as you, G7FTW!!!, you know they aren't making them anymore? I want to get a second for my laptop but can't find one at the usual places I shop here in Australia. You should totally do the keyboard to match. The gen1 G15 looks amazing as CF so the new one should look the same.

[rendermandan]

Hey guys, the Ultra Thin CF will be delivered tomorrow. So should be able to get some work done on the video card. In the mean time, I worked on the case a litte more.

I polished the edge of the window.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7364.jpg

Then I mounted it to the top CF Panel.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7366.jpg

Here is what it looks like on the case.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7372.jpg

I also pulled the paper off the bottom cover.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7355.jpg

I picked up some rubber grip feet to use.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7361.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7362.jpg


Next I figured I'd start tearing apart the keyboard.

Most of you know what a G15 V2 keyboad looks like.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_5894-1.jpg

So after removing what seemed like a million screws. I got the trim piece removed

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7329.jpg

I found the led lights that light up the keyboard.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7326.jpg

Just my luck, Surface mount LED's. -Not fun to replace.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7327.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7328.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7336.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7337.jpg

I also pulled apart the led portion and founds some more Surface mount led's.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7330.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7335.jpg

I'm not going to be able to replace those. :(
So the keys will have to do.

I used some more of those red led light strips I used on the computer to change the color from amber/orange to red.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7342.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7339.jpg

Sorry this shot is a little over exposed. It really doesn't look that bad.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7343.jpg


Next I made a template from the trim piece by first taping it to a piece of thick construction paper.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7344.jpg

I traced around the openenings and cut it out with an exacto knife.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7345.jpg

Here is the template over the trim piece.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7346.jpg

It fits pretty good.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7350.jpg

I'll used this template to cut the piece of CF once it arrives tomorrow.


I also filled the liquid cooling system with some red coolant.

Thats all I got done this weekend.

Later,

[jdbnsn]

Oh hell yeah that is going to look nice! +rep Dan!

[DonT-FeaR]

nice template man.... perfect!

[The boy 4rm oz]

Nice work. I was under the impression you were using a CF vinyl, not the real thing. Should look awesome. Isn't the surface of the keyboard slightly curved though? How will you bend the CF and keep it in place?

[rendermandan]

Nice work. I was under the impression you were using a CF vinyl, not the real thing. Should look awesome. Isn't the surface of the keyboard slightly curved though? How will you bend the CF and keep it in place?

Nope, I'm using real CF. Its just one very thin layer. .015" thick. so its basically as thick as a few sheets of paper. it bends easily up to a 3/4" dia. radius. so the slight curve the keyboard has will not be a problem. It also has a 3m adhesive on the back side. So All I have to do its cut it out and apply it. then clean up the edges. :)

It should arrive today.

[scar~face]

OMG.....a g15 with CF...... that is going to be BEAUTIFUL

[EspoNation]

wow... you never stop. please dont stop anytime soon. thank you :) looks awesome dan!

[billygoat333]

thats way cool. where are you ordering this sweet CF out of curiosity? on the net? +rep for sure.

[DonT-FeaR]

um paper is 0.09 mm thick :P so like 1 and a half sheets of paper

[The boy 4rm oz]

um paper is 0.09 mm thick :P so like 1 and a half sheets of paper

Depends on what type of paper ;). Either way it's gonna look awesome.

[rendermandan]

Either way it's gonna look awesome.

Well, I'm normally more modest, but yeah, It does look AWESOME!!!

lol.


Ok, and to prove it, here is the update.

The sheet of CF did get delivered yesterday. But it had a slight defect.

Here is the sheet.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7426.jpg

and here is the defect. Its from the damn Post office. The corner of the box was dented in and smashed, Its a VERY GOOD THING, that its happens to be in a spot that will get cut out. So its still usable.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7427.jpg


I figurd I'd start by working on the video card. Here is the EVGA GTX 280 that I'm using.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7416.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7417.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7418.jpg

I pulled the "plastic" stickers off the videocard to use as a template.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7432.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7422.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7419.jpg

After some quick cuts with the exact knife, I had my template.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7424.jpg

Here are two of the pieces layed out on the CF. You can see the damage area and how close it came to the keyboard.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7428.jpg

So I started to cut the CF sheet with an exacto knife. -After going through 10 blades, I have this.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7430.jpg

-This CF sheet doesn't cut very easily. I knew it would be difficult, but its much harder than expected. It does cut easily with Tin snips though. :)

Then, sanded the edges with some 600 grit sand paper. and applied it to the back of the video card.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7442.jpg

I used the same procedure for the front.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7440.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7446.jpg

But I forgot to do the small sticker on the edge of the card. :) -Have to do that tonight. I'd like to find a way to add "GTX 280" to the face of the card somehow in a red anodized aluminum, but not sure how to do that just yet. I need to look for some precut thin aluminum letters and numbers.


Next, I started on the keyboard. I rough cut the piece first, and then instead of using the template, I applied it to the keyboard directly first.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7447.jpg

I didnt' use the template because of knowing how hard this stuff was to cut. So I came up with a different method. I used a straight carbide tip for my dremel, and just ground away the CF. I used the actuall plastic as the tempate really. and I think it turned out great.

I did some more rough cutting before getting too close to the edges.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7448.jpg

Then I just followed the shape of the plastic very carfully.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7449.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7450.jpg

Not too bad.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7454.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7457.jpg

I finished the piece with some 600 grit sand paper to clean the egdes up, just like the pieces on the video card. Then I re-assembled the keyboard.

And here is the finished Keyboard.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7459.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7460.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7462.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7463.jpg

Damn, that is one sexy keyboard!!! :banana:

[EspoNation]

:eek: amazing! can i send you my g15? pretty pretty pwease?!?! i am actually at a lose for words. ill get back to you :)

[p0Pe]

dude... that is soo hot! i would delete my entire pron collection for that keyboard!

[crazybillybob]

I'd like to find a way to add "GTX 280" to the face of the card somehow in a red anodized aluminum, but not sure how to do that just yet. I need to look for some precut thin aluminum letters and numbers.


Drop by the hardware and get some Aluminum Flashing 20ga, or liter. Then just cut the "GTX 280" out and paint with the red Anodizing paint. With your skillz it shouldn't take too long and it will be way easier then trying to find just the right letters....that you'll have to scuff to get the paint to stick to. :)


That Keyboard is sexy! :eek:

CBB

[Spyrious]

This is awesome.Very nice.Will you make the Monitor too?

[SXRguyinMA]

that is gorgeous :bowdown: :bowdown:

[msmrx57]

:bowdown::bowdown: Good thing I've got good dental coverage, chipped a tooth when my jaw hit the floor!!!!! That is sexiest board ever! +REP

[jdbnsn]

LOL! You know we are one hell of a set of nerds to refer to a keyboard as "sexy". But I must admit, it did curl my toes a bit. :bad: Fantastic work as usual Dan!

[Tavarin]

That keyboard is so nice I don't know why it's not factory made like that.

[DonT-FeaR]

mmm looks good.. with the numbers.... get or make the letters from alumi then cut them out of the cf and like set them in... would look cool...

[KiLLERMAN21]

Holy crap... im with Pope. That is quite possibly the best keyboard EVAR!!!

Oh wait... this pretty much sums up what I feel right now, to some extent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pXfHLUlZf4

[DonT-FeaR]

gayest song ever.

[Boddaker]

I'm sorry Dan, but I'm afraid I can't look at your project logs anymore. I fear I might go blind from over-exposure to the pure awesomeness! :eek:

[rendermandan]

I'm sorry Dan, but I'm afraid I can't look at your project logs anymore. I fear I might go blind from over-exposure to the pure awesomeness! :eek:

Um, Thanks Man. I would say the exact same thing about your worklogs. Your work is impecable!!!


By the way...


ITS ALIVE!!!!! Muahahahah (evil laugh)

[The boy 4rm oz]

Man was I right or was I right. Probably the best CF keyboard mod around and the GPU cooler stickers really take this mod to the next level, it's all about the details. +rep

[rendermandan]

LOL, Yep it looks kick Ass!!!!


-Got some good news and bad news.

Good news is, I got the computer Up and running. Vista installed,
all drivers working and I'm actually making my first post from it right now. :banana:
I did get a chance to run 3d Mark 06, and got a score of around 15000. Is that good for a GTX 280?

Bad news, I wont' have time to take any final pics untill tomorrow Because I have bowling tonight. :)

Sorry to keep you in suspense... LOL

[SXRguyinMA]

I think pics of this ungodly sexy beast easily trumps bowling :D lol

[rendermandan]

I think pics of this ungodly sexy beast easily trumps bowling :D lol

LOL, I know, I know. Please be paitent. I need to wait untill I have some better light so I can try and capture that cool CF 3d weave effect.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Oh man this is gonna look insane. I can't wait for the final pics.

[jhanlon303]

I have the same cutting mat from my quilting days, the exact same xacto knife clone(very comfortable by the way), and none of my stuff looks like this!

Still in awe here.

john

[p0Pe]

i would think that 15K would be a tad low for that system. clock the hell out of it, and you will quickly flame a K or 2 more to that.
4 ghz on the cpu should do, and would be fairly easy to reach i think:)

cant wait to see the final pix! good work man:)

[rendermandan]

i would think that 15K would be a tad low for that system. clock the hell out of it, and you will quickly flame a K or 2 more to that.
4 ghz on the cpu should do, and would be fairly easy to reach i think:)

cant wait to see the final pix! good work man:)

Yeah, that score is without any overclocking at all. this Rampage Extreme motherboard has soooooo much overclocking options in the bios that I have no idea what most of it does. :)

[rendermandan]

Alright guys, My next post will be the final pictures and a video showing the motorized panel on the top and the pulsing led power switch.

I took the final pics using my Kodak digital camera and tried my best to do some photoshop editing to clean them up. Hope they look ok :)

On a side note. I don't have the fan controller finished quite yet. The actual electronics are done and it does power the fans. I also have the software program done. It just doesn't communicate with the controller just yet. I hope to have that finished in the next few weeks. I'm at the mercy of a programmer at my office so its up to him when he can help me work on it.
I can controll the fan speeds through a terminal application and just send Hex codes to it to speed them up or slow them down. So its not like I can't use it.

Ok, enough already. I'm uploading the final pics right now....

[The boy 4rm oz]

Awesome. I'll be waiting ;).

[rendermandan]

I present to you Dark Carbon.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7483.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7491.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7486.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7488.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7490.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7484.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7485.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7489.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7482.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7500.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7467.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7468.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7469.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7470.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7471.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7472.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7473.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7475.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7474.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7476.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7477.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7478.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7479.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7481.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7492.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7493.jpg

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[985323]

...:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown: I am speechless

[The boy 4rm oz]

Dude that really looks fantastic. Major props to you man. +rep from me and a Million-Dollar-PC recommendation.

[rendermandan]

I'd like to thank everyone, and I mean everyone for their support and encouragement on this project. its been fun and definetly a learing experience.

Thank you all!!!

[Boddaker]

...and a Million-Dollar-PC recommendation.

^^ Agreed! :up:

(Ok I lied before. I couldn't resist tempting fate, and blindness, by coming back and seeing the final pics. And dude, I am glad I did! Phenomenal outcome!)

[p0Pe]

HOLY SH#T!

damn... just.. damn! that came out amazingly!

i almost cant wait to see that thing up on mdpc;P
can we please have some night shots?

major rep to you!

[Franklin]

one word: BEAUTIFUL

[Mach]

Amazing work! I expect to see this on a magazine front page soon. +rep

[Spyrious]

One of the best mods ever made.Congratulations.More pics please.

[SXRguyinMA]

absolutely amazing :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

[msmrx57]

...:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown: I am speechless

What he said. WOW!!!! Major +rep

[jdbnsn]

Congratulations Dan! Another triumphant mod to add to your portfolio. You have certainly got some impressive ideas and working knowledge, I'm very thankful that you share your awesome projects with us at TBCS! +rep

[Tavarin]

That case is gorgeous +rep, for another amazing piece of work by you

[KiLLERMAN21]

Probably one of the best mods around. Awesome work, and yes, night pics please :)

[EspoNation]

I'd like to thank everyone, and I mean everyone for their support and encouragement on this project. its been fun and definetly a learing experience.

Thank you all!!!

Wow dan... I saw motorized Madness, and I thought to myself... D@MN that is hot. But you out did yourself on this one! Congrats man. Enjoy it!

[rendermandan]

Wow, thanks guys for all the very nice comments. I'll try and take some night pics later on. The reason I didn't take any is because there are so many leds that it lights up just fine in the daytime. I'm afraid if I take them at night, they might not turn out that great. But I'll give it a shot.

Thanks again for all the rep points too.

[DonT-FeaR]

ah... its bad..


i joke i joke.... thats frigan ridicuilasly good i cant even spell....(cant speel on a good day)

oh my wow... reppage

[Vitz¥^]

seriouslt awesome...

reppage done already :D

[rendermandan]

Hey guy, some of you wanted to see some night shots. Well, here you go...

I noticed that the red led backlight to my temperature monitor burnt out. -Probably becuse the resistor was supposed to be for the stock blue backlight.
Ohwell, have to fix that sometime.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7507.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7508.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7509.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7510.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7512.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7513.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_7514.jpg

[Karbon Killa]

I need new pants... 'Nuff said.

[DonT-FeaR]

/\ lol

yeah bummre bout controller... looks sweet tho mate gw

[The boy 4rm oz]

Nice night shots, really shows the effort you put into the lighting.

[EspoNation]

wow, just looks better all the time. sorry to hear about the controller. i am sure that in your infinite ability you could build one ten times better :)

[TheMainMan]

Wow... And I thought that I was taking my red and black theme a long way.
I'm completely blown away by the sheer awesome-ness of this mod.
+rep for sure!

[Helix666]

Wow...
Just... wow...
I think my brain melted... from the awesome! :D
+rep

[Langer]

Wundervoll! Fantastic job mate.

I'm impressed - you made fantastic use of the material.

[rendermandan]

Thanks again to all you guys!!!

[The boy 4rm oz]

No worries mate, you deserve the congratulations ;), it will encourage you to make another awesome mod lol :D.

[rendermandan]

No worries mate, you deserve the congratulations ;), it will encourage you to make another awesome mod lol :D.

Oh, is that a challenge? :banana:

[Langer]

If it wasn't a challenge coming from The boy 4rm oz - it certainly is from me.

I eagerly await your next project mate - you haven't stopped impressing me yet.

[XcOM]

man i need a new keyboard, im going to have to take out insurance for drool cover when i view your mods

[NightrainSrt4]

Freaking amazing! Just speechless here. Damn!

[The boy 4rm oz]

Oh, is that a challenge? :banana:

Not so much a challenge (you don't need the incentive ;)), I would call it a dare. I dare you to make a mod to top Dark Carbon lol :D.

[rendermandan]

Not so much a challenge (you don't need the incentive ;)), I would call it a dare. I dare you to make a mod to top Dark Carbon lol :D.

LMAO, Do you double dog dare me?

[Tavarin]

Make that a triple dog dare. Though I still do love motorized madness, so I think you have to top that one too.

[The boy 4rm oz]

I would double dog dare you but then it means I need to do it first. I have neither the time, money, skills or resources to make a mod to top Dark Carbon ATM lol.

[DonT-FeaR]

its not a challenge its an order

[jhanlon303]

I have a sad! All that know about working with CF I have gleaned from this log. Now it's done. The teacher has left and the student remains.

john

[The boy 4rm oz]

Don't worry, Dan has jsut srawled back into his mod cave to think up his next awesome mod lol.

[jhanlon303]

If you guys see some serious and blatant copying coming up in my project log on Bit-Tech (http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=159236 ),

I want it understood that I have nothing but props for Dan. The level of explanation and the quality photos have much inspired me.
So, I won Mod of the Month on Bit-Tech, I'm still scared silly about cutting the CF panels from Langer.

Dan had a pic of a Dremel bit he used for cutting the PCI slots. I took the picture around and it doesn't exist in Colorado north of I-70. Lowes, Home Depot, looks to be similar to a slotting saw for metal work.
NADA.

john

[jdbnsn]

Which pic with the bit? Maybe someone here can help you find one. BTW- Congrats on MOTM!

[rendermandan]

Dan had a pic of a Dremel bit he used for cutting the PCI slots. I took the picture around and it doesn't exist in Colorado north of I-70. Lowes, Home Depot, looks to be similar to a slotting saw for metal work.
NADA.

john

Um, Not sure why you can't find it. Its a dremel bit. I'll try and find the number for you.

Here you go. Its a High speed cutter # 199.
http://www.dremel.com/en-us/AttachmentsAndAccessories/Pages/AttachmentsDetail.aspx?pid=199

I'm pretty sure I got it from my Local Lowes.

But if you can't find it, Here is one place that sells them.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXC578&P=FR
I just did a google.

[jhanlon303]

I found the tiny little bit at WallyWorld of all places. Now I have the tools set up I just need the guts to start cutting.
Thanks guys

john

[Langer]

You can do what I did to cut your panels out John.

Put a jigsaw upside down in a vice/mastercraft clamping workbench (you know the one).
Pop in a cheapo generic metal blade.
Use the shifty assembly like a beefy scroll saw - I cut most of my carbon like this I'd recommend it.

[Mark_Hardware]

I gotta change my pants :eek:

[Boddaker]

Congrats Dan for winning Week 1 in the Extremetech Case Mod Contest! :D
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2345527,00.asp

[The boy 4rm oz]

Congratz mate.

[OvRiDe]

Heh, I just saw the post over on Extremetech, but got beat by Bod!

Way to go Dan!!!

[rendermandan]

Wow, thanks guys!

[DonT-FeaR]

congrats man.!!!

[Karbon Killa]

Congrats for getting on the front cover of CPU Magazine Dan! :)

[Waynio]

Woot, finally took a trip through your worklog at long last :D.
Kept meaning to properly look through this log & finally got to look through this beauty, real nice case Dan.
Love that red annodise paint stuff going to see if I can get any of that, goes awesome with the jaw dropping carbon fibre, really nicely built, the hdd windows rock, I know I'm missing many cool things to comment on, but WOW in 100 foot capitals :D.

Hmmm, the keyboard is 1 if not the best keyboard I have ever seen.

Ultra crazy cool mod Dan, you really went to town at making this ultra bada$$ :D +rep 100 times lol :D.