Dark Carbon

[rendermandan]

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/jdbnsn/worklogbanners/darkcarbon.png


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

This project is called Dark Carbon. Mainly because the custom built case is built almost entirely out of Carbon Fiber sheets. I am using a 2X2 Twill pattern so it will have that cool look similar to the carbon fiber that is used in Ferrari's and other expensive sports cars. :)

Here is a synopsis of the design before I get to the rendered images.

1. Carbon Fiber is very Rigid and Durable. It is lightweight, and overall just looks cool. It is very expensive and sometimes difficult to work with. I laid out the parts in Autocad so this should go together without much trouble.
There will also be Carbon fiber tubes for case feet.

2. For the shape of the case, at first I though about building a typical tower case, but then I thought that it would be too similar to other cases. I wanted to think outside the box. So I chose to go flat. And instead of a rectangulare case, I chose an Octagon. this way I will have 8 sides plus a top to show off the goodies (more on that later). It will have a clear or smoked plexiglass window in the top as well.

3. Lighting. Anyone that knows me, knows I love the color blue. But this time, as I was thinking outside the box, I figured why not try Red? So this case will have red backlighting behind Black plexi that will hopefully glow like in the pictures.

4. Equipment. -This case is going to have (2) raptor windows with the hard drive disks exposed. a DVD drive, Red LCD panel. A "Hidden" power supply. Water cooled of course, a removable hot swappable hard drive, and some temperature monitors. -Oh and possible some motorization. I don't think I can bring my self to not put some type of moving part in it. :)

5. Cooling: The CPU and possible the Video card, and NB will be water cooled from one 120mm radiator. There are (2) 120 mm fans in 2 oposing sides. and an exhaust fan on the top of the case. The power supply fan will draw cool air from underneith the case. Lastly a single 80mm fan will exhaust hot air out the back. The bottom chamber of the case will be vented as well through modders mesh.

This case should prove to be a challenge for me. I've never worked with carbon fiber before. Nor have I ever built a scratch built case. It will take some time to complete. I want to build this case to exacting standards and amazing attention to detail. All wires will be sleeved, shortened if needed, and hidden! All edges sanded and polished. Etc.

Here are some rendered screen shots for you. The final case may evolve slightly from these images. But for the most part, you can see what it will look like.

Enjoy!

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

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/DarkCarbonGlow2.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/DarkCarbonGlow3.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/DarkCarbonGlow4.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/DarkCarbonGlow5.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/DarkCarbonGlow6.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/DarkCarbonGlow8.jpg

So what does everyone think? I would really appreciate anyones input or quesitons.

this should be a fun build, I hope you like it as much as I do!

Dan

[rendermandan]

Thats a pretty cool technique for painting carbon fiber. That gives you the effect of a "plain weave" pattern. I am going to be using 2x2 twill. this pattern gives you the effect of a herringbone pattern. -Plus painting does not give you the depth I'm looking for. Real carbon fiber will "shift" under the light as you move around it, and you can actually see the fibers weaved together. Besides, I've already ordered the panels. :) They should be here in a few weeks. The anticipation is killing me.

-Oh and yes, it will be 8 individual sides rather than one continuous piece to form the octagon.

[rendermandan]

This is going to be slow going at first as my parts come in. Today I got my first pieces of carbon fiber. I bought 8 20mm high carbon fiber spacers that are used for bicycle handle bar spacers. I am going to use these as the feet of the case. (might as well start at the bottom). :)

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_5595.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_5598.jpg

-these are in a plain weave pattern. -and they look amazing. Pictures really don't do them justice.

[rendermandan]

Well, I'm at it again, SPENDING MORE MONEY!
I just ordered an OCZ EliteXStream 1000W PSU.
That should give me enough power to for a long time with this computer.
I plan on putting (2) GTX 280's in this rig in the future. So I figured why not spend a few extra bucks now and be ready for it later on.
I also ordered a LG 22x DVD burner with Lightscribe. Not sure if will ever use the lightscribe as I've only used the one I have now once. But you never know. :)

Well, back to work. I have to pay for all this stuff somehow...

[rendermandan]

Small update, or rather need your input on something. I ordered some fluorescent plexiglass samples. Hoping that the Red would actually be red instead of pinkish that is shown on the website. Well, no luck It is pink, VERY PINK! And that just won't do. So I decided to render out some of the other options I had. I rendered a Fluorescent green Which actually does look pretty sweet, and would look pretty good against the carbon fiber. I also did an orange. however I could not get the render to look as bright orange as the actual sample so it came out kinda orange/brownish. My only other option is to use Clear plexi with Red led's behind it and sand instead of polish the edges so they glow red.

Here are the three options again.

Green http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/Green1.jpg

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

Red: -again this would be clear plexi with red led's.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/DarkCarbon-Gloweffect.jpg

So what do you guys think? which one do you like the best.

I'd like to order my plexi so it will get here by the time I get back from vacation in three weeks so I can get started on this build. The Carbon Fiber should be done by then as well.

[rendermandan]

What about doing them all? Isn't there a type of LED or something that can change color to whatever you'd like? Thought I saw that somewhere.

Anyways, if it had to choose... green? I like them all to be honest. lol

Um, do you mean the led controller I built, XPS Ground effects?

-Yeah i thought about doing that, If I choose the clear plexi I can do that option, I never really intended this to change colors. some things like the fans and switches would not change color. and its going to take alot of led's to light up all the little pieces. those rgb led's are not cheap!

Thanks though.

[rendermandan]

Small update. I've decided to go with the Red color. but its going to be a little different. I used some red leds and white led's to light up the samples that I got and I found that the Red fluorescent with a red led actually give a pretty good red glow. And when the light is off, it looks orangish. so I've decided to go with that.

I placed an order for the plexi yesterday. I got some 1/4" black plexi for the bottom of the case. and some 1/8" black plexi for the trim as well as the red fluorscent. I also got a sheet of 3/16" smoked plexi for the top window :banana:

I also picked up some 1/2"x1/2" aluminum angle and red anodizing paint. this will be used for the support braces to hold it all together.

Lastly I ordered some red led's for the lighting.

Now I just have to wait for all this stuff to come in and I'll be ready to start when I get back from my trip.

[rendermandan]

Well guys, tomorrow my Plexi should arrive. Today I placed an fairly large order for some parts. Fans, switches, sleeving, LCD, etc.

Unfortunately, I'm heading out of town tomorrow for some work training and then a long overdue vacation so I won't be back for another 2 weeks. Hopefully when I get back, all my parts and materials will have arrived and be ready to go.

So expect the work log to really startup in a few weeks.

Until then,

Peace out!

[rendermandan]

Ladies and Gentleman, THE CARBON FIBER WAS DELIVERED. -Most of it. :)

Yes its true, today I finally received most of my carbon fiber order. I say most of it because I got almost all of the pieces and scraps that I requested except for 3 of the sides and some detail pieces for the interior. For some reason they are missing. And to be honest, I doubt I will be getting them. However they did send an extra piece of carbon fiber that I hopefully will be able to cut them out of. Most of the pieces I ordered were made from 3mm to 4mm sheets. However the extra sheet they sent me is 5mm thick! Its strong as hell but might be a little too thick and cause some alignment issues. -We'll see.

Here are some shots showing the pieces. They came nicely individually packaged in plastic to protect them. -keep in mind this is real 2x2 Twill carbon fiber that I had them make Double sided. Most carbon fiber sheets are shiny on one side and dull/textured on the other. This stuff is a mirror finish on both sides. These pieces were also cut out with a water jet.

Here are Most of the smaller pieces. I'm keeping them in the plastic untill needed to protect them.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6027.jpg

Here are 2 of the sides and the extra 5mm sheet they sent.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6028.jpg

and the mother board tray. I included a standard size tape measure so you can get a feel for the size.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6030.jpg

Here is the top panel.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6042.jpg

You can really see the refection in this shot.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6046.jpg


Now for the bad things I noticed about the panels. Some of them had "air pockets" that formed in the middle of the panels. Some were small and not really that big of a deal. but other sheets had some huge ones.
Here is a shot showing the edge of one of the pieces that had a huge air pocket. I'm spreading the sheet apart with my finger. Hopefully I can inject some epoxy into the holes and clamp them down to seal them up.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6049.jpg

I also noticed that the panels were not a consistant thickness. Here is a shot showing the typical 4mm thickness at one corner of the panel.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6060.jpg

But at others it dropped down quite a bit.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6062.jpg

There were some minor imperfections in the surface of some of the panels too. but due to their design, I can just flip them over and use the better of the two sides on the outside of the case. The inside won't be seen as much.

Overall I'm Impressed with the panels I got. The air pockets is discouraging and missing several pieces is really a bummer, but I may have a way to work around it since they sent the extra piece. The look of carbon fiber is just amazing and I doubt any camera can capture the effect it gives. So keep that in mind when you view the shots.




And now my first official progress update....


I started by pulling a motherboard tray out of an old case of mine.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6051.jpg

I proceeded to drill the rivets out so I can use the back panel.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6053.jpg

Here you can see the back panel on top of the CF panel.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6054.jpg

I taped the panel off to protect it.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6063.jpg

Then I measured and taped off an area and sanded it to give it some Tooth for the epoxy glue to bite into.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6065.jpg

I cut a piece of 1/2" aluminum angle to form a support. This will become the mounting method for the motherboard tray.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6055.jpg

Using some Red anodizing paint. (Which is kick ass stuff by they way) I painted it red.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6056.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6057.jpg

I mixed up some epoxy in little measured cups. My first batch was about 20 times too much! Lesson learned. :)
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6067.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6069.jpg

Then I placed the angle on the CF panel and clamped her down to dry.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6070.jpg


That all I was able to get done tonight.
I'm so happy to finally be working on this, I want to go down and do some more right now. But I need to sleep too. I hope you guys like how this mod is going. As always I'm open to any comments, or suggestions you may have.

-Sorry for the long post. But I had a lot to cover. :banana:

[rendermandan]

Small update tonight.

I had to do some repair work on some of the panels before I could go any farther. So I mixed up some epoxy resin and filled the air pockets in the sides of the panels I was working on.

You can see the entire back edge of the motherboard tray needed to be filled. I used 10 clamps to hold the pieces together while the resin cured.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6071.jpg

Here is the back panel that had some gaps around one egde.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6072.jpg

I also spent some time gathering and organizing tools, and setting up my workstation.

Work Table.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6075.jpg

Tool Table.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6074.jpg

Misc. tools and parts to come....
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6076.jpg

Here is the router table I made a few months ago in anticipation of this build.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6077.jpg

Thats about all I got done today. Waiting on the resin to cure before I continue.

[rendermandan]

As usually here is my nightly update.

I was able to finally drill the mounting holes for the back panel in the motherboard tray. Here you can see how it will be mounted. I only used 2 bolts to temporarily hold it as I will need to install and remove it a number of times.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6079.jpg

This is the underside.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6080.jpg

I laid out and marked where the 7 slots will be cut for the bottom of the add-on cards and slot covers.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6082.jpg

Taped them off so I can see the lines more easily. When you cut this stuff you get a lot of white powder dust, so its hard to see where your cut line is.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6083.jpg

First I drilled some small holes at each end of each slot. then I used a dremel with a small cutting wheel to cut the slot. this was much faster than using a scroll saw!
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6085.jpg

And here they are cut and filed smooth. :)
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6086.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6122.jpg

Lastly I laid out the location of the motherboard mounts. Drilled and tapped the holes and installed the brass standoff mounts.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6088.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6090.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6092.jpg

The aluminum parts on the back of the case will be painted with the same red anodizing paint. I don't think I will do this until final assembly. As I noticed the red anodizing scratches and chips really easy so I don't want to ruin the finish while I'm building.

Oh and by the way, I ordered my motherboard from NewEgg, It should be here later this week.
And its a killer MB! Hint: I'm going on a Rampage!

[rendermandan]

Glad you like the red. I like it too. There will be a lot more of it!

-I had to pickup a 10" disk sander so I could continue working tonight.

Here it is. This will be used for beveling the edges of the CF sheets. and fine sanding of some of the parts.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6126.jpg

I also picked up a resperator because that CF dust is some nasty ****!
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6127.jpg

Here you can see me sanding the back panel at a 45 deg. bevel to match the angle of the case.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6128.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6129.jpg

And for fun, here is a shot of me. I'm smiling, can you tell?

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6131.jpg

After I got the back panel beveled, I started to test fit one of the sides that goes next to the back panel. Because I'm missing parts, I figured I'd use a different one for now. I discovered an issue that I had not thought of before.
Can you tell what it is?
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6134.jpg

My plan is to install a hot swappable drive bay in this location. and the back panel extends past into where the drive will go. UGHHHH I'll have to cut out the back panel and part of the aluminum angle bracket. FUN! Oh well, live and learn.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6135.jpg

Here is a shot of the drive bay itself. I've got 2 of these, but I can only use one. :(
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6137.jpg

I think I'm going to be forced into ordering some more CF too. The 5mm sheet is just way to thick, and honestly too short. Its exactly 24" long and I need 3 8" pieces. -That leaves no room for the kerf of the blade. So each piece would be slightly too small. Plus the thickness would cause some issues with how the outside corners join. So I think I'm going to order some CF from a different company.

So, does anyone want to buy a sheet of 5mm thick Double sided CF? 12"x24" Double sided meaning both sides are finished smooth. -Not sure how much though. I'd entertain a reasonable offer. -Come on Langer!!! You know you want it for your build!

In the mean time, I can start on the front of the case and work my way around with the 4 sides I do have. I just hope the new CF looks the same as my current 2x2 Twill does.

Later.

[rendermandan]

Well guys, not much of an update tonight. -Spend a little time researching some CF suppliers online and on Ebay. I think I found some that might work but I might have to laminate 2 pieces of it together to get the double sided finish.
It might also be a week or two before I get it. So progress may slow down for a little bit.

I am going to start mounting the front panel and the two side front panels where the hard drive goes, so that will keep me busy for a few days. :)

[rendermandan]

Update time.

I started to mount the front panel to the motherboard tray. I cut some more aluminum angle, filed the edges and painted them with the Anodizing paint.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6141.jpg

Then I glued them onto the back side of the panel similar to the back panel.
Then I simply drilled a few holes and added some nuts and bolts.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6142.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6143.jpg

I taped off the rest of the side pieces that was sent to me.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6144.jpg

Here's a mockup of what they should look like.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6145.jpg

Then just like the other panels, I made some aluminum brackets.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6146.jpg

Glued them on.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6153.jpg

and mounted them.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6158.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6156.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6161.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6160.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6159.jpg

I took the last side and marked it for a large 120mm fan hole.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6154.jpg

2 scroll saw blades later. -YES it took 2 to cut it out.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6155.jpg

And here it is mocked up in position.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6162.jpg

I also got another goody delivered to me. the Motherboard.
Its an Asus Rampage Extreme water cooled Beast!!!
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6147.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6150.jpg

Damn this thing is going to look sexy with the matching red water block and red accents :banana:
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6151.jpg

Thats all I've got right now. -I won the auction for some scraps of CF to replace the missing side pieces that I should have gotten. Hopefully those will come soon so I can continue. I can work on some small stuff but I really need those sides to do much more.

I also made some calls to a local plating company to have some real anodizing done on the back panel and slot covers. I think the paint looks good for the most part, but its really not that durable and scratches very easily. I think having the back panel anodized in red will hold up much better.

Later.

[rendermandan]

wow, that motherboard does look hot! As for the PSU, that is a nice psu, but you won't be able to see it in my case. Its going to be hidden in the front. and from the looks of it, it huge! so It probably wouldn't fit. But thanks anyway!
and thanks for the rep.

[rendermandan]

Alright, here's another weekend update for ya.

I got the side panel with the 120mm fan hole mounted. -no pic. but I think you got the idea.

I did take some pics with the top on just for fun. I couldn't resist.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6174.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6175.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6176.jpg

I did some work on the small 80mm exhaust fan in the rear. Here are the CF pieces that make up the cover.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6163.jpg

I used an adustable clamp to hold the pieces while the epoxy cured.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6164.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6165.jpg

Here it is almost done. I still have one more side to glue on.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6179.jpg

I also picked up some 1/2"x3/4" aluminum angle for some more brackets. These are going inside the case to hold the panels that go around that large square hole toward the front. It will contain the PSU, DVD and other goodies..

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6181.jpg

Here is a shot with them clamped on for drilling the mounting holes.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6180.jpg

I anodized them as well, but didn't take a pic.

Here is the DVD burner I bought just so you know.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6173.jpg

and here is the 1 Killowatt PSU I orderd too.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6172.jpg

Just in case your wondering, here are the specs.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6171.jpg

My original idea was to have it fit here. The wires would come out the back and the power cord would be routed around the inside of the case bottom and out the back. But I found that there was not enough room for the power cord to bend. And I couldn't find a 90 deg angled one.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6166.jpg

So I decided to turn it 90 deg's and have the wires come out the sides. This setup works much better than before as I have more room for wires that come out of the motherboard. -hard to explain.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6182.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6192.jpg

You can see that I did my homework (a long time ago!) the wires come out directly under motherboard tray.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6191.jpg

However before I had the psu rotated and was not concerned about the power cord. Well, now I am and it sat up too high. So I had to do a little "Trimming".

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6187.jpg

It fits now.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6190.jpg

I will still route the power cord under the motherboard tray and to a psu style power plug in the back.
The fan on the psu will face down and be vented through a hole in the bottom of the case. -This is the reason for the 20mm tall case feet!
Remember these?
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_5598.jpg

Thats it for now.

Later.

[rendermandan]

Good news. The replacement CF sheets I ordered on ebay came today! :banana:

Tonight I'm going to head over to my dads shop to do a little rough cutting to get them to size. I'll try and take some pics before I cover them in tape to protect them.

Peace!

[rendermandan]

Pics. Ask any you shall receive!

Last time I made some brackets to hold the interior walls. well, Here they are all painted and bolted together.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6200.jpg

Here is one of the panels it holds.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6193.jpg

I also finished the fan box.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6201.jpg

I cut some modders mesh left over from MM. to fit

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6214.jpg

But I had to thin down the fan to make room.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6213.jpg

I also started working on the aluminum brackets for the top of the case. These will go into the corners to hold everything together, and also give me a place to mount the top panel.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6215.jpg

Here is how they will go together.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6216.jpg

And here are all 16 of them for the top. I filed all the edges to get them ready for paint.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6218.jpg

OK, here are the repacement CF sheets I bought.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6219.jpg

Half a roll of blue painters tape later. they are protected. Both sides!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6220.jpg

So I headed over to my dads shop to use his table saw.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6223.jpg

He's got this nifty jig that makes cutting this stuff really easy.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6221.jpg

And here's a shot of me in action. Notice I'm wearing the resperator!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6222.jpg

And now we have all the pieces I was missing. 10 Pieces in all. and I still have a large section of 5mm left over.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6227.jpg

Thats all I got done last night. :banana:

Later.

[rendermandan]

well, just spent some more cash. Here is what I ordered.

Radiator: Black Ice® GTX Gen Two Xtreme 120

CPU Water Block: Swiftech APOGEE GTZ Ultra

Resevoir: EK-Multioption RES 150 Rev 2

Tubing: Feser Tube Active UV Hose - 3/8" ID -Red


Fluid: Fluid XP+ Ultra LT w/ z7 - Non-Conductive 32 oz. Superior Cooling Fluid - Blood Red

Polishing Kit: Novus Polish Kit

I also ordered about 20 clamps and some 90 deg. angle fittings.

As for the pump, I'm going to pull the pump out of Motorized Madness.
Its a Swiftech MCP355


I also did some work last night on the interior panels, but I forgot my memory card at home, so I can't upload them. Maybe tonight.

[rendermandan]

Thanks guys.


Small update tonight.

Here is a shot of the exhaust fan with the painted mesh on it. I think I'll paint the fan housing black before I mount it for good.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6228.jpg

I added a few side brackets to the interior of the case as well.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6229.jpg

I cut some more aluminum and painted it. I mounted it to tie the sides together.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6231.jpg

Inside. that really won't be seen.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6234.jpg

Here is a shot from the bottom.
With Flash.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6243.jpg

Without Flash.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6244.jpg

I also got all the angle brackets painted.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6240.jpg

Here they are bolted together.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6242.jpg

Now I just have to epoxy them to the back of the side panels. Once I get them done that is. :)

Later.

[rendermandan]

Bob, no worries. The fans are red led fans and the paint I'm using requires the surface that your painting to be shiny like aluminum or chrome. Its semi-transparent. But, tonight I painted part of the fan as you will see later in this update.

So some more bracket work. Here is a corner bracket to tie the front panel into the interior panels.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6266.jpg

After these cured, I added a few bolts, and man that really stiffened things up!

I also started to epoxy on the corner brackets I made a few days ago. these will also give me a way to attach the top panel.

This shot shows how I had to trim the interior panel to make room for the bracket. You can also see how I scuffed up the surface of the CF Panel to give the epoxy something to bite.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6280.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6267.jpg

next I worked on building the 120mm intake fan cover. Its similar to the exhaust fan cover, only bigger.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6277.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6279.jpg

I also cut some modders mesh and painted it to dress up the interior. There will be the same on the exterior, but that will come much later.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6303.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6297.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6316.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6315.jpg

I also had to thin down the rear exhaust fan some more to make room for 2 layers of modders mesh. One on each side of the fan.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6290.jpg

I then painted the ugly sticker on the fan since it will be exposed to the back.
so I painted it black.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6319.jpg

While I was at it, I painted the 120mm fan as well.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6323.jpg

Then I simply glued it and clamped it in place.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6291.jpg

I spend a little time cutting out the vents on the 3 panel sides. One of them has a rectangle to make room for a hot swappable hard drive bay. I went through 7 scroll saw blades to cut these 3 holes. Man CF is tough!!!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6294.jpg

Here it is mocked up.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6295.jpg

I also did a small amount of work on the electronics.
Here is the usb panel for the front. Notice it has 90deg. pins. well those will get in the way of the PSU, so I have to remove them and resolder straight pins on.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6268.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6269.jpg

I also removed an power plug from an old PSU so I can mount it in the back panel.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6275.jpg

Lastly I cut some more brackets for the 3 sides and glued them in place. Clamped them together and set them aside to cure. -But I forgot to take a pic.

Thats about all I got done this weekend.


I know this is all pretty repetitive right now. But when your building a case from scratch, and there are 8 sides to it, it tends to get repetitive...
Tomorrow I should be able to get the 3 remaining sides mounted to the case.

Later!

[rendermandan]

Thanks to everyone for their support on this!!!


Small update. I got the side panels mounted.

Here you can see all the clamps I used to hold everything together.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6347.jpg

And here is a shot of the bottom brackets.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6336.jpg

I decided to check the fit of the top panel with the shape of the octagon.
It came out pretty good. with the exception of a few sides that I had to make frome that sligtly thicker CF that I ordered.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6345.jpg

The thicker sides also caused a few joints to not align perfectly.
YOu can see how the thickness makes the one panel stick out form the other on in these shots.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6349.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6350.jpg

I'll have to figure some way to clean these up.

Now that the sides are done, I can proced to mount the top panel. cut and mount the bottom panel. I still have a lot of work to do on the side panels cutting holes for the radiator exhaust, holes for the Raptor Hard drives. etc.

FUN, FUN!!!

[rendermandan]

:pics: lol

Wow, give me a chance... LOL

Here you go.

Here is what came via Mr. Brown today!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6356.jpg

I did some test fitting of the parts today. Looks like my radiator is a lot thicker than orginally planned. here is a shot showing one fan installed and where it will go. The case is standing on the side for easy of fitting.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6357.jpg

And this shot shows how the inlet and outlet extend down into the bottom chamber of the case. So you won't see these tubes.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6359.jpg

Those pictures only had one fan installed to see if it would fit. But I plan on using 2 fans.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6375.jpg

You can kind of see where the hole is for the radiator that I planned for. It need be be a lot deeper.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6372.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6371.jpg

I also mounted the rear fan.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6368.jpg

Back of the case.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6370.jpg


I made a few very small brackets to mount the side intake fan too.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6366.jpg

You can barely see the brackets at the top inside of the fan case. They are mostly covered with the clamp.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6367.jpg

I also needed to cut a small corner out of the back panel to allow for the hard drive swap bay. I decided to try a different method than using the scroll saw. the CF dulls the blades way too fast. so I decided to try some Diamond coated cutoff wheels! -Cut like a hot knife through butter!!!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6360.jpg

Here is the small corner I cut out.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6362.jpg

And here you can see the drive bay and why I had to cut the small corner out.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6363.jpg

Bottom of the case.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6364.jpg

I also took a shot with the drive removed. So you can see the drive cage.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6365.jpg

Well, thats it for tonight.

[rendermandan]

:O wow man very nice..

i might get one of those dimond discs for my dremel but i heard the snap well shatter.... if you apply the wrong angle...

Well, I've only used it for a few cut so far with no trouble. I know the fiber disks willl shatter if you bend them but these have a metal disk for the base material so I don't know what will happen if they break. The packet came with 5 disk and the shaft for $3.00 from Harbor Freight. So they were really cheap. Here is the link http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=31501

[rendermandan]

Hey guys, Thanks again to everyone for their comments.


Here's my weekend update.

Last time I left you, I got the hot swappable hard drive in place, but not mounted. Well, I bent a few angles for some mounts. And this is the result.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6423.jpg

I was able to get only one on this side. it will have to do.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6424.jpg


I also made the opening for the radiator a little deeper. So now it fits!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6419.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6420.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6422.jpg


I also started to work on the CF panel that will support the dvd and PSU.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6429.jpg

This is how it will sit in the case.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6430.jpg

I cut out the hole for the PSU to vent properly.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6431.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6433.jpg

Then like the others, I made some aluminum mounts.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6436.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6441.jpg

Here you can see the PSU in place.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6437.jpg

Which brings me to this question. Do you think OCZ was planning on people mounting this PSU in a different room than the computer. Look at how long the wires are. HOLY COW!!! This is to say nothing about the number of wires. They are just way too long!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6438.jpg


Lastly I started on the bottom of the case. I used a piece of 1/4" black plexi. and before anyone says anything, I know its not CF. I could not justify spending that kind of money on a piece that will never be seen. Its the bottom of the case!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6427.jpg

A few chops later.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6428.jpg

Then I simply marked and cut a hole for the PSU intake fan.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6445.jpg

The last thing I did was make some brackets at each corner for the bottom to mount to.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6446.jpg

thats it for now. :banana:

[rendermandan]

Sorry guys, I took a few days off to spend some time with the family for the holiday. Hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving. (Those of you that celebrate it, that is.)

Here is a small update for you.

I got the bottom of the case mounted after drilling some holes and tapping them for some more cap head screws. -Man I'm using a lot of them.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6447.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6448.jpg


I also took the side off the case that the radiator will vent though and cut the hole for the fan.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6457.jpg

I also cut a piece of CF for the dvd mount on the other side. I still have to mount it though.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6462.jpg


I then took a break from the case and decided to work on the feet for a little while. I started buy using a 2" dia. hole saw.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6463.jpg

I cut out 8 blanks out of 1/4"t. black and 1/8"t. Flor. red plexi.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6467.jpg

Here is a shot to compare the size between the bottom feet and the CF tubes I bought a long time ago.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6450.jpg

I made a makeshift lathe out of a drill and some clamps and a block of wood for the tool rest. Not bad!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6468.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6469.jpg

I rounded over the top corner.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6470.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6471.jpg

Then while the piece was still in the chuck, I did some polishing.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6472.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6473.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6474.jpg

here is the red plexi. I Beveled its edge.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6475.jpg

Then I drilled the center hole out larger to make room for the bolt head.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6476.jpg

All 8 of them. glued up.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6477.jpg

This is what they look liked stacked together.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6452.jpg

Then I hot glued some red led's onto the red plexi.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6480.jpg

Added the CF tube.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6482.jpg

And a resistor and soldered it up.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6484.jpg

And here is the result. Not bad but not perfect. I wanted the red ring to glow evenly. Instead you can see through it too much. It looks kinda spotty. Keep in mind the red is not polished. It is sanded to give it a "Frosted" look. So I'm not sure what else I can do. :(

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6486.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6485.jpg

There will be 8 of these total for the feet of the case. I still have to build the others, but I want to make sure I get the glow right before I do the others.

Thats it for now.

[rendermandan]

Well, I thought about the el wire idea. I used it in Motorized Madness and after a while the High pitch whine that came from the 3 transformers was driving me batty, so I switched them off. Plus the el wire isn't as bright as I wanted. trust me, I have something cooked up for the lighting in this case.

And I'm glad that everyone liked the feet. However I did make a small change.
I remade the bottom of the case feet. -Yes Another 8 round blanks out of black and red plexi. But this time I didn't glue them together. I noticed on the one that I had glued that as soon as the two pieces were fused together, the red stopped "Glowing" having no air between the two pieces caused all the light to be absorbed by the black and having small bubbles in the glue is what was causing the "Spotty" look.

So after remaking the pieces and only gluing the very inside edge. (still strong enough!) I gave another one a test. And this is the result.

Before:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6486.jpg

After:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6493.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6494.jpg


I think everyone will agree. this is a much more uniform glow. It does have some hot spots, but its better than the first round.

Here is a bunch of them all wired up.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6492.jpg

Here is what they look like on the bottom panel.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6496.jpg

I also spend a little time today building the cover to go over the radiator and fans.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6500.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6501.jpg

I would have gotten more done but I had to wait for some epoxy to dry.

Later.

[rendermandan]

look awsome... nice work... what voltage does each one run at??? i must of missed it

They all run at 12v. I used a 220 ohm resistor for 3 led's in each foot.


love those feet, look much better second time round :D

Just wondering tho, is it essential to glue them at all? could you not just drill the hole to the right size for the bolt and alow that to hold them in place like you want? just an idea, feel free to shoot it down in flames if you like :D :lol:

How dare you suggest that. LOL> Just kidding.

Actually I used only a slight amount of glue on the inside where the bolt hole is at that way it didn't wick out to the outside edge. I had to use some type of glue because the bolt head pulls against the red plexi, not the black. The hole in the black is large enough to fit around the bolt head. If the bolt head were to pull against the black, then it would stick out of the bottom of the foot. This way it is recessed inside the foot.

-I'm going to add some felt pads to the bottom to cover the bolt heads and so the feet don't scratch the table. Plus they make good vibration isolation.

Thanks though.

[rendermandan]

Ok, another update to keep you guys satisfied... LOL

In my last post, I was showing the radiator/fan assembly cover. Well, here it is finished and mounted. I added some modders mesh to match the intake fan on the other side. and the exhaust fan. I'll be using alot of that later on, on the bottom.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6514.jpg

I also got all the case feet mounted and wired up.

here is a shot with the bottom mounted to the case.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6505.jpg

This is the underside of the bottom. -Does that make sense?

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6503.jpg

Here is a shot with the flash on. The red glow is so bright you can still see it over the flash on the rear feet!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6521.jpg

And here they are all lit up. -again, the board is upside down. I had to pull some power from Motorized Madness to test the lights. I destroyed my test psu for parts. :) Also, the color looks a little orange in the pictures, but trust me, they are a deep red color, just like I wanted!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6522.jpg


Lastly I worked on the DVD mount. here are the two panels. You can see I cut slots in the panels so I can adjust the depth as needed if I ever change out equipment.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6517.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6516.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6518.jpg

I set the lcd panel inplace just for fun.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6519.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6520.jpg

Thats it for tonight.

[rendermandan]

Thanks again guys! It really is encouraging to see that so many people like the build.

I checked out the lcd display, and yes it is red. I need to come up with some custom logo or text though.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6529.jpg

[rendermandan]

Hey guys small update tonight.

I did some work on the back of the case to cover up the hard drive swap case and bolts for the feet.

Here are the pieces that I cut to make the covers. I cut two triangular pieces for the top and a couple rectangles for the sides. I then beveled the front edge of them so they fit tight against the case.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6538.jpg

here you can see the bolts for the feet and the wires for the lights.
You can also the the covers I made. this is before I painted them.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6544.jpg

And here they are installed. :)

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6539.jpg

I also cut a piece of CF to cover the bottom black plexi. the Black plexi looks good by itself, but I had an extra piece that just about fit it perfectly so I went ahead and did it.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6545.jpg

Then I just epoxied it to the bottom panel. -All done with that.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6550.jpg

I also spent a little time with the lcd temperature monitor. This is the same one I used in Motorized Madness. many of you will remember what it looked like before.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Motorized%20Madness%20Case/100_2858.jpg

Here is the temperature sensor that I will screw into my resevoir.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6534.jpg

Well, the blue just wont do at all. So I popped it open and modified it a bit.
Here is the result.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6556.jpg

What do you think? The red looks so much better!

[rendermandan]

Hey guys, Sorry its been so long since I've made an update. Been really busy with work and Christmas parties. So without further adue....

I worked on mounting the Reservoir I purchased.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6561.jpg

Its about 2" in diameter so I used a hole saw and cut a large hole in the motherboard tray.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6560.jpg

The hole was slightly larger than it needed to be, plus I wanted to clean up the edges a bit so I took some rubber edge molding and cut one side of it off.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6564.jpg

Then I glued it around the inside edge of the hole. Essentially I made my own 2" diameter rubber grommet. :)

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6565.jpg

Then I slid the reservoir in through the top and here is a shot of how the holes extend out into the bottom chamber of the case.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6624.jpg

this show shows how much clearance there is with the bottom on. -about 1/4".

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6622.jpg

Side note, not sure if I ever showed this shot, but here is the bottom of the radiator that sticks down into the lower chamber.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6625.jpg

Now the reservoir fits fairly snug in the grommet, but it still wiggles around so I wanted to make an aluminum mount for it. So I started with a 1" wide piece of aluminum and drew out a template.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6626.jpg

A few cuts with the scroll saw later, and I have this.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6627.jpg

Then I bent the tabs as needed.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6628.jpg

Then I used that same 2" dia. hole saw to bend it into a round shape to fit around the reservoir.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6629.jpg

And here it is.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6630.jpg

Some test fitting.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6632.jpg

After drilling the mounting holes, I shot it with some Anodizing paint.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6638.jpg

And here it is all mounted.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6640.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6641.jpg

And here is how it extend up into the case from the top.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6642.jpg



Next task was to work on the the motorized temperature display. Yes I said motorized. You didn't actually think I would build a case without putting some type of motion into it did you? LOL

I started with some rectangular scraps of CF.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6633.jpg

Cut some brackets and made a frame.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6636.jpg

Then I laid out some cut lines for the temp monitor and a few holes for some leds.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6643.jpg

Here is the monitor and one led in the panel. I've ordered the other one but it won't be here untill next week. These two lights will be for hard drive activity and something else. Not sure what.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6645.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6646.jpg

Then I set it in place in the case and tilted it up to give you an idea of what it will look like.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6648.jpg

In the top of the frame I'm going to mount another 120mm led fan. This fan will exhaust the hot air that comes out of the PSU below. it will also help to cool the dvd drive and lcd panel.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6649.jpg

I have to cut the top panel out of the case top yet before I can mount the fan. And I have to mount the frame to the case to make it tilt up. Still lots to do, but that's it for now.

Later,

[rendermandan]

ok, got another update for you.

today I finished mounting the top flip-up panel. But before i could go any farther, I had to modify the mounting sides to the lcd panel. they extended too deep into the case and the mounts interfered with the bolts on the side of the flip-up panel.

Here you can see one side stock and the other side after a quick snip with tin snips.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6651.jpg

I also reshaped the bottom of the sides to allow them to a little more room to tilt up.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6652.jpg

Here is a shot of the hinges I made out of some long hex head screws and nuts.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6655.jpg

You can see how much room I have behind the lcd for wires.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6658.jpg

And like before, here it is mounted.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6659.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6660.jpg

I still have to figure out the servo mechanism, but I don't think that will be a problem.


I also mounted the power plug in the back panel of the case.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6666.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6667.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6668.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6669.jpg

Next came mounting the top panel. I took another shot looking down into the case. Man that's a lot of CF!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6677.jpg

So here are my thoughts on the top of the case. I've done everything in my power to keep bolt heads from showing on the outside of the case, (except for the back panel). I really didnt' want to just bolt the top of the case on and have 8 bolt heads sticking up out of the top. So I did some thinking and came up with this.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6678.jpg

Door magnets. I can mount these on the sides of the case up under the edge where you can't see them and the top would be held on by magnets. Then if you needed to open the case, simply pull it off. :)

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6679.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6680.jpg

Here is a shot showing the metal plate that I attached to the top panel. I used some of that clear double sided super sticky tape as a temporary mounting to test it out first before I did anything permanant. It worked pretty good!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6682.jpg

I installed one in the center on the back panel. and two up front that will be concealed inside the "Box".

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6683.jpg

I have to pickup a few more for the other sides of the case. But the 3 I have already installed are doing a great job and holding the top on. And obviously I will be painting them black. All they had in stock was brown. :(

That's all for now.

[rendermandan]

Got a pretty small update tonight for ya.

My water pump finally arrived. Its not the best or most powerful pump, but its shallow and will fit under the motherboard nicely.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6685.jpg

My thoughts were to mount it in this position on the bottom of the case. It has to be mounted in such a way so when the case is sitting upright, it is in the correct orientation.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6686.jpg

So I made a bracket out of some 1" wide aluminum that would attach to the bottom of the motherboard tray and the back of the case.

Basically like this.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6691.jpg

However, after bending and cutting the aluminum I realized that there was no way for me to attach the aluminum to the back of the case and still mount the pump. In other words, the pump was in the way of mounting it to the back and if I removed the pump to mount it, there was no way to tighten the pump mounts. So I had to come up with a better solution.

So I made a trip to my local hardware store and brought home some aluminum stand offs and some machine screws.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6692.jpg

I had to use (2) 1" tall standoffs and cut one down to 1/2" as that is all they had. But basically I made two standoffs that extend from the bottom of the motherboard tray and support the pump. Keep in mind these pictures are of the bottom of the case and its currently upside down. once I flip the case over, the pump will be in the correct position.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6696.jpg

I then painted the standoffs to match the rest of the aluminum but I have to wait until they dry to take a picture.

Sorry but that's it for tonight.

Later,

[rendermandan]

I got some more work done in the past few days. here's an update.

I've come to the point at which I needed to cut a large rectangular hole in the top panel.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6697.jpg

I taped it off and laid you where I needed to cut.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6699.jpg

The only problem is, How do I make the cuts so as to only have the kerf of the blade and perfectly straight edges? I cannot drill a hole large enough for a scroll saw blade. Plus If I slipped ever so slightly I would ruin a very expensive piece of carbon fiber.

So I came up with this idea. I would use my dremel with some diamond cut off wheels.

I had to make the cuts straight down through the material so I used a flexible shaft attachment on the dremel. the end is like a pencil so its diameter let me lay it flat against the top to make the cut.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6700.jpg

No, how do I make them perfectly straight? -Well A fence was needed, so I cut a short section of aluminum angle and clamped it in place. Then I just used it as a guide for the bit to make a straight cut. -Perfect!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6701.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6702.jpg

Not too bad...

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6706.jpg

4 cuts later and some corner cleanups. Its done.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6707.jpg

I attached the top back onto the case to check the fit.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6708.jpg

Here is how the fan will sit in it.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6710.jpg

and here is the top back in place.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6711.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6712.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6716.jpg

I used some epoxy to glue the top panel onto the tilt up frame.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6728.jpg

While the epoxy was curing, I cut some openings in the sides of the dvd supports. This way the fan will draw air through these holes to the sides of the equipment below and mainly the psu that sits at the bottom.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6731.jpg


Now that the epoxy has cured, I installed the fan.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6732.jpg

You can see the aluminum angles I glued onto the sides of the frame to hold the fan in place.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6733.jpg

Forgot to mention, I also cut and painted some modders mesh for the top.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6734.jpg

and here are the final shots.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6737.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6739.jpg

Now I just have to mount the servo. -My friend, Gediminas, built me a small servo controller, but that will come later.


I also cut the smoked plexi window for the top.

Here are the cut marks laid out.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6743.jpg

And here is how it will fit the top. (underside)

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6744.jpg

Here is the top on the case. with the widow. -Obviously, I still have the paper film on it. I need to pickup some more clear double sided 3M tape to mount it. -But basically the top is done. :)

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6745.jpg

Later,

[rendermandan]

well guys, Apparently, what I asked for from Christmas was too expensive for Santa, so today I ordered the rest of my components. Here's what I got.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz

OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Dual Channel Memory

EVGA 01G-P3-1284-AR GeForce GTX 280 SSC Edition 1GB

-The only other piece of equipment I need is hard drives. But I plan on pulling my raptor drives with the windows out of "Motorized Madness" -they will be seen through windows in the front panels.

I also need a backup storage drive for the hot swappable drive cage. But that will come later.

Other than some lighting, that's about all I need to buy for DK.
I should have some pics of the stuff I've been working on this weekend tomorrow night for you. -Although, I'm starting to feel sick. So, I'm going to head to bed now.

Later!

[rendermandan]

Ok everyone, Sorry I didn't get the pics up yesterday. I spend some time pulling the hard drives out of Motorized Madness so I could get those mounted.

Here is where I'm at so far.

Last time I left you, I had cut the tinted plexi panel or the top window. Well I chose to try the Clear 3m double sided tape to hold it in place. We'll see if it really works or not.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6746.jpg

I also made an aluminum mount for the servo.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6748.jpg

I mounted it below the mother board panel. just next to the PSU.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6753.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6751.jpg

I had to make a mount for the ball joint on the tilt up panel.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6833.jpg

I then added some ball ends and some 4/40 threaded rod.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6834.jpg

That should do it for the motor. I just have to configure the servo controller.
Basically, as soon as the power is turned on, the panel will lift up. and when the computer shut down, it will close. -No fancy programming, just simple, yet effective.


I moved on to drilling some holes for the water tubing.

Here you can see the water block I'm using. If you look closely, you can see where the rubber grommets will go up by the right side panel.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6839.jpg

Here are the rubber gromments I'm using. 1/2" dia. inside hole.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6836.jpg

I got out my stepped drill bit.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6840.jpg

And drilled a couple 5/8" dia. holes.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6841.jpg

Then I pushed some red tubing through the holes to see how it would look. Not bad!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6844.jpg


Next up was the hard drives.
Here are the two I pulled out of my previous case.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6859.jpg

I want to use these hard drive cooling fans. I'm going to have the aluminum anodized next week along with the back pci panel.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6845.jpg

So I needed to cut some slots in the hard drive panels to make them fit.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6847.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6848.jpg

Using the same method as I did on the top panel, I cut out a "U" shape.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6854.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6858.jpg

After doing some gluing, Here are the housings with the hard drives installed. and the aluminum shrouds in place. The fans have been removed temporarily.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6871.jpg

This is what they will look like when installed. (although red anodized of course). I'm also going to make a CF piece to fill in the top gap.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6881.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6880.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6879.jpg

The last thing I had to do was to cut a hole so you can see the hard drives from the front of the case. So I removed the two side panels.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6894.jpg

Then, usin a 3 1/2" hole saw, I made some CF dust.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6904.jpg

And this is how it looks from the outside.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6905.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6906.jpg

Well, thats about it for now. All I need to do is mount the hard drive boxes and the inside is basically done, except for routing wires and holes with grommets for the wires. :)

After that, then comes all the detail work on the outside.

Later,

[rendermandan]

What are you using to paint those aluminum angles?
Thanks man!
I"m using Krylon X metal paint. http://www.krylon.com/products/xmetals/
Got it from my local Ace Hardware. about $8 a can. I will warn you, it takes a couple coats to get them to look really good. the more coats you do, the deaper the color. However, it does scratch off easily. I've had suggestions to clear coat mine, but I just don't want to take the time to wait for them to dry. All the aluminum brackets I've painted so far, will not even be seen, unless you remove the bottom. The aluminum that will be seen, like the pci back panel and hdd fan frames will be a true anodized. I called a local shop yesterday, and I"m going to drop the pieces off next monday.



How do you find those step drills? Are they easier to use than a standard hole saw, do they make neater holes?

I got a 3 pack from Harborfreight. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91616

and yes, they do make a clean hole. They work really good in metal.

[rendermandan]

Just revisiting your last update. I think the HDD coolers look very nice in the silver, I don't think you should paint them red.

Thanks, I had thought about leaving them silver. they kind of go with all the silver washers I have everwhere. However I plan on anodizing some more things. In addition to the back pci panel, I plan to anodize the silver metal bracket that holds down the cpu waterblock. Its steel, so I will have to paint it. I also plan on doing the heat spreaders on my OCZ ram. I haven't gotten them yet, but they are ordered. So, I'm not sure what I'm going to do just yet. :)

[rendermandan]

I have a small project log over on Bit-Tech where I am building a case for my H2O cooled Jetway C7. I have been following this log since forever and have a couple questions that might make my project better.
1.) Has the epoxy you used really held the alum. angles to the CF well? Langer is sponsoring the CF panels for my log and I'm working on a couple new ideas after reading your log.

2.) With the Krylon paint did you use the 'reflective base' paint on the alum. or just the top coat? I see you used several coats and mentioned it tends to flake and scratch. Was the alum. that went against the CF painted or left bare metal?

john hanlon jhanlon303 on several forums
my log on BT:

http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=159236

Yes we made MOTM on Bit-Tech.

Glad to see you are following my worklog, And welcome to TBCS, by the way.

To answer your questions,

1. In regards to the epoxy holding to the CF and Aluminum. I am using 2 hour ultra strong epoxy. Not the 5 minute stuff. the shorter the curing time, the less strong the bond is. So the longest I could find was 2 hour. -As for adheasion, If you scuff the surface of both the aluminum and CF. it holds pretty good. I've been using 60 grit sand paper to scuff the surface, as well as a dremel grinding bit on the aluminum. It gives the expoy somethign to bite too. I've only had a couple brackets break off. but that was because of a dumb move I made. I set the case its side and basically pryed the piece off.

2. In regards to the krylon paint. I did not use the "Silver" base coat since the aluminum was already shiny silver. -The can's instructions state to use the base coat for non shiny or non metal surfaces. So I figured I didn't need it. And yes, it does scratch off easily. Someone recommened using a clear coat over it. -And yes the side that goes against the aluminum is bare aluminum. If any overspray got on that side, the sandpaper and grinder took care of that. I don't think it would hold very well if it were painted, since the paint leaves the surface very smooth.

Hope that helps you out. -You should consider posting your worklog over here as well as Bit-Tech. We are always interested in anyones work.

Later,

[rendermandan]

Thanks again you guys.

TGS, -PM sent back. :)

Here's a small update for you.

I had to make a few support brackets to hold the hard drives against the back side of the panel. So I cut a few aluminum angles and painted them.
I'm going to use some felt pads to press against the hard drive. I don't want to have any vibrations transfered into the case.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6920.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6922.jpg

Then using some clear 3M Double sided tape. (which does work good by the way). I attached them to the motherboard tray.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6923.jpg

I also got my shipment from Newegg. Take a look at the goodies!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6912.jpg

Now, if this isn't a kick in the ass. It fits. -Barely.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6913.jpg

You can see there is no clearance.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6916.jpg

-the problem is, I had to remove some bolts to get it to fit. -When I designed this case, I made the length for the video card long enough for the card, however, I did not figure in for bolt heads that stick out 1/8". So What am I to do????


Well, I did some major surgury and moved the back wall of the interior box forward about 1/4". This gave the video card some more breathing room as I see there are vents on the end of it. It took me about 5 hours to complete. but its done. I didn't take any pics because the result is exactly the same as where it started, its just 1/4" shorter.

I did do some modifications to the CPU water block and Memory though.
I'm using a Swiftech GTZ block.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6927.jpg

I pulled the steel chromed bracket off so I could paint it.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6928.jpg

And here it is all put back together. The red will match the rest of the case.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6932.jpg


I also worked on the Memory. 4gb of OCZ DD3 2000 chips.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6924.jpg

I taped them off.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6926.jpg

and here is how they turned out.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/rendermandan/Dark%20Carbon/100_6935.jpg

Not too bad...

Tomorrow, I'm going to be dropping my PCI backplate and hard drive cooler frames off at a Plating company. They are going to do some True anodizing on them in red.

[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,

[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

[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!!!

[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!

[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.

[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!

[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!

[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.

[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,

[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.

[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]

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.

[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...

[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,

[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.

[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:

[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

[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....

[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

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

QtBOIKMW7Dg



Link To Original Worklog (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16062)