Project: xboctopus 360!

[burntheland]

I know that I had some other projects lined out, but I'm getting paid for this one so it goes to the top of the list. There isn't really an inspiring force or idea behind this mod except for the fact that I think it's going to look pretty sweet. As always sick-awesome paint job courtesy of Izak J of Told Ya So Studios (LLC). Customer wanted something "old-worldly" made new. When Izak showed him the sketch of the octopus the guy lost his sh*t. As you follow me along on this build I'll continue to ask questions and ask for some input. Follow me on the journey to gaming freedom! mwuhahaha.

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/9281/xboctopus1.jpg (http://img202.imageshack.us/i/xboctopus1.jpg/)

Originally he had just painted the box and showed it to me. Whereas I thought it would be much cooler with some cut-outs and back lighting. Almost like an "ink" effect.

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/1876/xboctopus2.jpg (http://img202.imageshack.us/i/xboctopus2.jpg/)

Izak sketched on the outline for the cut-outs on front and back. We decided to also paint the chassy and cut out both sides.

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/8636/xboctopuschassy.jpg (http://img263.imageshack.us/i/xboctopuschassy.jpg/)

The color we chose was purple (UV for the LED's) I believe the final mix was called "sick candy purple #12" it was home mixed and I couldn't' tell you what the ratio was.

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/5720/xboctopusgril.jpg (http://img535.imageshack.us/i/xboctopusgril.jpg/)

Here is a shot of the grill. I believe the "smokey" effect with the purple will be consistent on all sides of the box...not to be confused with painting the box purple. This topic is still up for discussion between my partner and I.

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/627/xboctopus3.jpg (http://img535.imageshack.us/i/xboctopus3.jpg/)

The cut-outs were done with a scroll saw and (attempted smoothing) by dremel. This brings me to my questions.

1.) I would like to see the outline better by removing the silver sharpie. I want to know if flux cleaner will remove the paint that has been air brushed on. If so, is there another more efficient way to remove the sharpie from the brim of my cuts so that I may more clearly see the outline of what I have cut? I was hoping for something that wouldn't take more than five minutes or so. I only ask because I've had a previous bad experience with flux cleaner and a certain plastic coating :facepalm: The paint is auto paint. Please advise.

2.) Is there a way that I can smooth out the cut surfaces other than using my dremel so I can have more control? Or is this simply a means of practice? The dremel is working ok, but I need something that will get into those "hard to reach" places. lol


3.) There are several beveled edges on the inside of this case. In retrospect it would have been much easier cutting from the inside rather than from the top....but hind sight is 20/20. Not knowing where these edges were caused me a few plastic melting problems. Nothing serious, but for future encounters I think I would be the wiser to sand down the back first and then start my cuts. This would provide a smooth surface to cut on with only one thickness so I would not have to adjust my hand speed and blade speed on the fly. Is anyone seasoned in the art of sanding plastic's flush? As simple as it sounds the more I think about the more complicated it seems. How do I keep from getting it uneven? What if the base starts to melt? What if I accidentally go to far and sand a hole through the case!?:dead:

question number four requires explanation.....

As for the way we're going to do the plexi, that's still up in the air. We both have different standpoints on what we think would look the best.

My opinion: I believe that the best way to install the plexi would be from underneath. Perhaps a few drops of adhesive and 24 hours in the clamps would keep it as flush as possible after the back side had been sanded down. yes, you'll still see the thickness of the case, but I don't think that would render it "unattractive" to the eye. And run the back lighting underneath the top. This would be done so the LED's themselves would not be visible but the lighting would be more than prevalent. (this much we agree on)

His opinion: To cut the plexi so that it fits in the cutouts like a puzzle piece. I can see why this would look cool. It would be entirely flush and look like one solid piece. Issues i see.....How are you going to get the plexi to stay in place? Super glue smokes plexi and that would look terrible. Anything that worked on the same principle as a "bracer" would be visible to the eye and look tacky. How are you going to get the pieces exactly flush without a CNC machine? Because I'm not bad with a saw and dremel, but I'm no Michelangelo! And my last argument for this method is that it would take an ungodly amount of time to do properly. I mean I'm willing to sacrifice time for quality, but this would take WEEKS! and probably wouldn't turn out that good anyway.

questions? comments? pointers? answers? links? pics?

all input greatly appreciated!

p.s. Sorry about the awful pictures! Next time I update I'll try and remember to use my digital camera rather than the camera on my phone. The color just isn't there. Plus I apologize for not posting a picture of the backside of the box which I decided to talk about in great length. It slipped my mind.

[diluzio91]

i can answer number 2,

http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/diluzio91/sandpaper.jpg

and

http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/diluzio91/file.jpg


lol... go old school on that s**t :smoker:

[burntheland]

Thanks for the pointers and the humor. Honestly a file hadn't crossed my mind. I'll have to invest in a set.

[Bopher]

diluzio91's got it right with the files and sandpaper for smoothing. Actually it would cover all of the above. I think a lot of people here when they put a window into a case they cut then dremel then file a little at a time to get it to fit into the spot tight, like the jigsaw you were saying. In my project I've added some plexi to the front edge and used a 2 part epoxy to bond the plexi to the metal edge. seems to be a really strong bond after the 24 hour curing time. I don't think it will take weeks but definitely a good chuck of time. As for the melting plastic really all you can do for that is reduce your dremel speed down so the cutting wheel doesn't get the plastic to hot.

Love the way this is looking and can't wait to see the final build.

[burntheland]

So once you get it in there like a puzzle piece are there other methods of bonding it? Is the epoxy visible through the plexi?

[slaveofconvention]

Files, sandpaper AND elbow grease!!! There are only really 3 ways to get a really good edge, and laser cutting and watercutting are both potentially expensive. Taking your time and going with the file then sand route will work but it is a lot of work to get a really good finish. I spent about 2 hours on the main window of Lobo, and I really don't think laser or water cutting could have given me a better finish - quicker, sure, but no better. I'm sure there'd be a difference on a microscopic level, but there isn't a single place on any of the lobo cuts where you could easily cut yourself which is good enough for me...

[burntheland]

Yeah I saw the Lobo build. Really inspiring. This is my first attempt with actually working with plastics and plexi. So I'm trying to cover all my bases before I get too deep. It's the corners and edges of the circles that are giving me problems. I haven't even started with the plexi yet. Still interested in how they're bonded together.

[Bopher]

I haven't been able to see any of the epoxy, but on another hand I haven't had a chance to really get a good look at the windows since I put them in just checked to see how strong it was. I'll take a quick look now............................................... .................................................. .................................................. ........................... . . . . ... nope can't see the bond. in some spots where I had a bigger gap between the metal and the plexi you can see the epoxy but for the most part you can see it and it didn't effect the plexi at all. I can get a pic for you later if you'd like.

[burntheland]

Yeah I would love to see a pic for an example of how it was mounted. I have a feeling we may be talking about different mounting methods. Only one way to find out xD

I'll try to get some better pictures for this build sometime next week. I plan on getting a full day in the shop in on Saturday. Exciting stuff!

[burntheland]

Update. As both of our first "team mod" we've already recognized a TON of mistakes! Order of operations wasn't exactly followed and will account for several unpleasant goofs that will haunt us. luckily the customer is still much more than satisfied. I'll list all of the things we've recognized that we've done wrong thus far at the end of the post. So for all you noobies out there, read on! Don't let this happen to you! A lot of these mistakes were common sense that just slipped our minds as we were too excited to see a finished product. I'm not very pleased with the time frame that we had to work with.:dead:

Saturday was nice though. We got the whole day to grind on this project and next time I'm going to take my camera and get some more action shots of the process.

After finishing the cutouts on the box we filed as best we knew (much more patience required here for future reference. This is the part that was rushed the most and probably the most critical!) and continued to sand to try and get a smooth edge. This picture displays cutouts of both the front and back.

http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/1384/clearcoat5.jpg (http://img706.imageshack.us/i/clearcoat5.jpg/)

While he was doing the sanding I started cutting out the plexi. Which the both of us deemed almost impossible for us to get flush with the cutouts since they were so detailed. We decided to suck it up and mount the beneath the outer layer. For this we'll use acrylic cement and this will be done tomorrow evening after work. He wanted to sand and re-clear-coat a few more spots. For the plexi I believe the plan is to pad and clamp them for 24 hours although it isn't really necessary. Since the xbox case has a natural concave to it we just want to make sure a good bond is made and it's not flexed out of place since the plexi is flat.

Any-who, here are the rest of the pics from Saturday...There isn't much to explain about them at the moment.

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/20/clearcoat1.jpg (http://img7.imageshack.us/i/clearcoat1.jpg/)

http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/1520/clearcoat2.jpg (http://img706.imageshack.us/i/clearcoat2.jpg/)

http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/9841/clearcoat3.jpg (http://img706.imageshack.us/i/clearcoat3.jpg/)

[artoodeeto]

...we've already recognized a TON of mistakes! Order of operations wasn't exactly followed and will account for several unpleasant goofs that will haunt us.

I sooo know what that's like. kudos though on a great looking paint and cutting job, it looks awesome! Believe you me, it's amazing how not-noticeable most mistakes are when you don't know about them :) looking forward to seeing the shots with the plexi in place!

[burntheland]

I'm hoping so! We've also prepped for the lighting effects! I got some UV LED's for backlighting in the box and I'm looking for surface mount UV LED's for the power ring....but thus far all I can find is this one website that offers them for 85 cents a piece, however the minimum order is 3k!!!!! I doubt anybody has 2.5 thousand dollars to drop on LED's....especially when I only need five!!!! So the search continues for that as well. Other additions not shown on the pictures are the chassy and fan guard. They were done with a dark purple base and the same inky design with lighter colors.

As usual I know that :pics:

But they're not available at the moment and I felt like rambling. :lick:

[artoodeeto]

I bought some UV LED's at Radio shack, kinda pricey at $1.70 for two, but I only needed four...but. I picked up all the yellow LEDs that illuminate my sandcrawler's hallways from a site called digi-key.com, but I just checked there and they seem to suddenly be charging a fortune for them. Not sure why...I think I paid under $20 for 100 LEDs (2V yellow 5mm).

[burntheland]

Yeah, the UV is particularly pricey. I guess somebody bought that price break and put them on ebay, because I just ordered a lot of 20 for 8.50 or something like that. Which isn't too bad....but I need the surface mount ones to replace the green ones that light up on the console when it turns on. I got the LED's you'll be seeing for the back lighting at
http://www.oznium.com/led-flex-strips

All be it, pricey, we're satisfied with this product. Since they're not really specifically for modding, we found that they seemed to be a little brighter and a little easier to mount than regular through hole or surface mount LED's. They even came complete with a small strip of double sided M3 tape. Plus the leads for the LED's is super long. I never took a tape measure to it but it's easily more than a foot to work with.

We'll just have to see how the outcome looks. I think the UV is going to look really neat. but UV just happens to be the least or second least bright LED available. So hopefully it turns out well and having three strips of three will compensate.

Speaking of that. The resistors are installed in these little strips prior. They operate at 12vdc. Does anyone know a good point on the xbox mobo where I could easily solder these on? I intended on just kind of poking around with a meter until I find a nice cap or maybe even the 12v power supply (if there is one on board) and soldering on there. But if anybody knows of a really handy spot that would be just swell.

gee whiz.

lol

[burntheland]

i just wanted everyone to know about the hell I had finding acrylic cement! I bet I called 35 places and not only did they not know what I was talking about....they didn't carry it. Unfortunately to find out part two of that scenario I had to get about eight different people on the phone and explain what it was and where it should be, and what it might be called....blah blah blah blah.

I finally found it and am going to pick it up on lunch! The holey grail here in Missouri is a tube of acrylic cement! who knew?

I'm buying it offline after today. I just couldn't wait for shipping since I'm on a schedule. Preparation is key!

[Luke122]

I have a suggestion for your windows,

Why not get a thinner piece of acrylic, heat it up, and either vacuum form it to the cutouts, or heat gun it further to get some extrusion/sag in the openings?

You could get a single piece to do the whole side panel, and have it nearly flush to the cutouts quite easily. :)

[burntheland]

well, i dont want to apply too much heat to it while in place for fear of damaging the paint job. also, you cant tell from the pictures, but the cutouts are jagged as hell. This is something we intend to practice on and rectify on our next mod (my xbox) also we have another customer lined up but it's just a paint job. Will be sure to post pics of it when it's in progress. the state of the cutouts is mostly due to lack of patience....no so much on my part, but it is what it is for the time being. The customer is happy which is all that really matters. however i'm not so pleased with the way the first process went.

But hind sight is 20/20 and we'll correct all of these things in the future.

[Luke122]

You could oven heat the acrylic sheet, then drop onto the side panel and let gravity do the extrusion for you, I dont think that the heat would be enough to damage the paint, especially if it is cured already.

Oh well, maybe something to consider for next time. :)

[burntheland]

Yeah, it's definitely being done that way next time. Plus, I think some of the cutouts would be too narrow for the plexi to dip down into. So you would have some parts that are flush, and some parts that are still mid way through the material. If you could show me a link of where there is an example on how to do this i would love to see it!

[farlo]

1.) I would like to see the outline better by removing the silver sharpie. I want to know if flux cleaner will remove the paint that has been air brushed on. If so, is there another more efficient way to remove the sharpie from the brim of my cuts so that I may more clearly see the outline of what I have cut? I was hoping for something that wouldn't take more than five minutes or so. I only ask because I've had a previous bad experience with flux cleaner and a certain plastic coating :facepalm: The paint is auto


i know this is a bit late as you're already removed it, but rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball works awesomely for removing sharpy.

[diluzio91]

For your connection troubles this may help, its the same wire voltage colors as molex, actually, this is to create a molex connection for someone crazy who would want to run say... a pump inside, but i think the same idea applies
http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/diluzio91/Pinsodderformolex.jpg

[burntheland]

Thanks for the tip farlo! I'll keep that in mind for future reference. We actually painted over it. I'll hopefully be posting some pics tomorrow.


diluzio91 is there an exploded version of that pic so I can see where that is on the board? I'm sure I can find it anyway but that is extremely helpful sir! I think we're just going to mount the LED's on the bottom of the top part of the enclosure (if that makes sense) and route the wires so as not to be seen and just solder them directly on the board. So this is going to save me TONS of time!!! Thanks again guys!

[diluzio91]

Thanks for the tip farlo! I'll keep that in mind for future reference. We actually painted over it. I'll hopefully be posting some pics tomorrow.


diluzio91 is there an exploded version of that pic so I can see where that is on the board? I'm sure I can find it anyway but that is extremely helpful sir! I think we're just going to mount the LED's on the bottom of the top part of the enclosure (if that makes sense) and route the wires so as not to be seen and just solder them directly on the board. So this is going to save me TONS of time!!! Thanks again guys!

sadly no exploded, but this is the underside of where you connect the power to the board if that helps put it into perspective :D

[burntheland]

A gratzi'

[diluzio91]

haha... np, make sure to post the results! im going to be using this when my roommate and i watercool his xbox 360

[burntheland]

Well I hope you guys can learn from a few of our mistakes! Here are some pics of how the plexi turned out. Which is going to wind up coming out and form fitting as Luke122 suggested. There is a slight concave to the xbox 360 panels so this is going to be the only way to get a truly flush fit for the placements of our cutouts.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/6986/plexi017.jpg (http://img64.imageshack.us/i/plexi017.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/5079/plexi019.jpg (http://img101.imageshack.us/i/plexi019.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)



If you look closely you can see the damage the hand clamps caused above. In retrospect hand clamps were a bad idea for the mounting method we were trying out. The clearcoat was totally cured, but after clamping it caused a wrinkle effect. It has sense been corrected, which accidentally ruined the plexi job. lol....so we'll be trying the form fitting method aforementioned.


http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/8928/plexi023.jpg (http://img215.imageshack.us/i/plexi023.jpg/)

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Finished back piece. Questions? Comments? Ideas?

As for the actual mod for the LED's I actually used "artificial tracers" idk what they're actually called. It's a thin aluminum conductor with an insulator on it that can be burned off with solder. I took the +12 and ground directly off of voltage regulators off of the surface of the board. I'll try and post pictures today but it may not happen until Monday or Tuesday. As the LED's have not been routed yet. I believe I already posted the link for the LED's from Oznium.

I'll save the explanation of how the LED's wiring went down but to be quite frank it worked out really well.