TRON Lightcycle

[Boddaker]

This is my entry into Cooler Master's case mod competition, scratch build category.

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Title.jpg

Been working in Sketchup for the last week, building a mockup of the lightcycle suitable for housing a full ATX system with watercooling. It ended up being 40" long, but relatively short. As for the design, I didn't want to make a spot-on replica of the bike, so I went with my layered acrylic method, with just a few skinned areas around the wheels and top. This allows me to hide more components inside as well. Anyway, on with the mockups:

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mockup1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mockup1.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mockup2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mockup2.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mockup3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mockup3.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mockup4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mockup4.jpg)

Upon removing some layers, you can see the initial motherboard placement and other components.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mockup5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mockup5.jpg)

To give you a better idea of size, I placed a Cooler Master Cosmos case next to it.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Comparison_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Comparison.jpg)

PRELIMINARY PARTS LIST

EVGA X58 Motherboard
Intel i7 965 processor
EVGA GTX570 video cards in SLI
Crucial SSD
Crucial Ballistix memory
Pioneer Slimline slot load DVD drive
Cooler Master Silent Gold 850W Power Supply (qualifying product)
Dual bay reservoir by Primochill
Other watercooling parts TBD

I'm planning something special for the front radiator, more on that later. ;-)

So that's the basic plan, I'll be adding more detail as I go along. Comments, suggestions, criticisms are always welcome! :D

[Boddaker]

Ok, got the acrylic parts list finalized, but before I send it off to the laser, I figured I should double check my measurements by making a 1/2-size model. I went back and rearranged some things to make room for fans and to facilitate better airflow.

Here's an overall look at the main acrylic parts. There are many more smaller pieces, spacers, and tubes that I didn't bother itemizing for the mockup.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Parts1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Parts1.jpg)

First I thought I would print out a full-size outline of the bike with a picture of the motherboard in place.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fullsize1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fullsize1.jpg)

Then I tested the 1:1 scale with an actual ATX board, and my qualifying product, a Cooler Master Silent Pro 850w power supply. :)
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fullsize2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fullsize2.jpg)

Final overall length is 38".

After getting a glimpse of the actual size, I proceeded to make the 1/2 size model. I only cut out the more important layers surrounding the components.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Cardboard1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Cardboard1.jpg)

Peering down into the component area, you can see the lower IO plate.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Cardboard2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Cardboard2.jpg)

The 1/2 size motherboard with two GTX580's in SLI: :D
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Cardboard3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Cardboard3.jpg)

The mobo and cards in place:
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Cardboard4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Cardboard4.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Cardboard5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Cardboard5.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Cardboard6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Cardboard6.jpg)

So far so good. Looks like things might actually fit as hoped. I'll go through the parts one more time and add some cable pass-through's and tubing holes, then I can finally send it off. Next update will show the acrylic parts when I get them in. 'Til then!

[Boddaker]

Ok, so in the interest of time, I decided not to make these fairings out of fiberglass, or use my vacuum forming table, seeing as how I still have to rebuild it. Instead, I'll be forming the pieces with a plastic paste, which is a much quicker process. So the first step is creating a plug on which to lay the paste down.

So, time to cut some foam! :) Earlier in the week, I laminated three layers of foam insulation sheets to get the thickness I needed. I also made up a template that minimized the amount of foam I had to use. In fact, all four fairing pieces will be molded from this one block of foam after I'm done with it.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam1.jpg)

There's a front and back fairing, and they are split into left and right mirrored pieces. Here's half my template, with the back fairing on top and the front upside down on the bottom. The gray and black lines show the difference between the edges of the fairing. Gray is the wider part (over the center of the tire) and the black is the narrower edge.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam2.jpg)

Using a hacksaw, I started doing the rough cuts around the gray lines.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam3.jpg)

Then with an electric carving knife, I started shaving off the foam, following the black lines and curving out to the wider edge.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam4.jpg)

One half roughed out, next to the other side.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam5.jpg)

Here's a shot of them side by side in their eventual places. You can now see the shape of the bike emerging.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam6.jpg)

Once I got the pieces roughed out, I used an exacto knife to get more accurate along the edges.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam7.jpg)

The thickness difference between both edges is 3/4". I marked my square with tape and slid it along the edge to see where I still needed to remove material. I used a drywall sanding block to smooth out the curves.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam8_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam8.jpg)

Both sides smoothed out. This is the back end...
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam10_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam10.jpg)

And turning it over we have the front end.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam9_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam9.jpg)

Next step is to sandwich it all together, with cardboard in between. These will form the walls of the pour area. I traced the foam block first, then scribed another cut-line about 1/4" wider.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam11_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam11.jpg)

Three pieces cut, two outside pieces, one center piece.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam12_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam12.jpg)

Using spray adhesive, I glued them all together.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam13_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam13.jpg)

While that was setting up, I used my flexible curve to transfer the overall curve shape to my custom screeding tool...
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam14_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam14.jpg)

...which is just a piece of clear acrylic I just cut to size.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam15_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam15.jpg)

It will work like this. It fits over the foam block, and after I trowel the plastic paste into the mold, I'll slide the tool along the top of the cardboard to level it off. This will hopefully ensure a consistent thickness throughout the length of the fairings. It will also smooth out the top surface of the plastic and minimize the amount of touch-up and prep work I'll need to do before painting.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam16_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam16.jpg)

One last thing I needed to do before I was ready to lay down the paste, was to incorporate some form of fastening tabs into the fairings. So I dug out some cavities about 1/4" in from the edge, to account for the thickness of the ribs to which these will be secured.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam17_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam17.jpg)

Now I think it's ready for some plastic!
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam18_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Foam18.jpg)

Next update will have the results of the molding process. 'Til then!

[Boddaker]

Here is the Plasti-Paste II from Smooth-On. It comes as part A and part B, and you mix it 1 parts to 2, respectively.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Plastic1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Plastic1.jpg)

Opening up part B, the paste.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Plastic2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Plastic2.jpg)

After doing some calculations, I figured out the volume of my mold, then converted to fluid ounces to get the total amount of mixture I needed. Here I'm measuring out 2 parts paste.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Plastic3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Plastic3.jpg)

Transferred that to a larger mixing container. This stuff is thick! No sag whatsoever, which makes it great for applying to vertical surfaces.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Plastic4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Plastic4.jpg)

Measuring out 1 part liquid hardener.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Plastic5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Plastic5.jpg)

Thoroughly mixing the two parts together. This stuff normally has a 10 minute pot life, but due to the cold weather, that was greatly extended. Took about four times as long to set up, which actually worked in my favor, allowing me to take my time getting it onto the mold and smoothed out.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Plastic6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Plastic6.jpg)

After applying a mold release agent (seen in the first pic), I troweled the paste onto the mold.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Plastic7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Plastic7.jpg)

After about 40 minutes, it had set up to a hard plastic.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Plastic8_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Plastic8.jpg)

I repeated the process for the other side, and in a few hours I should be able to demold them.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Plastic9_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Plastic9.jpg)

Having coated the foam with the mold release, it should be easy to pop it out of the mold. I don't want to destroy the foam if I don't have to, just in case I need to make another set of fairings later. Once out of the mold, I'll need to clean up the edges a bit, and start smoothing out the top surface. I should be getting the acrylic parts in this week, so once they arrive, I can see how these fit, and find out if my template measurements were accurate! :worried:

[Boddaker]

Demold time! So despite the use of a mold release spray, the fairings were still reluctant to come out of the mold. So I had to persuade them a bit.

First I cut part of the outer cardboard wall away to expose the mating surface of the foam.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Demold1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Demold1.jpg)

Then, using a hacksaw blade by itself, I worked it in underneath the parts to get them separated.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Demold2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Demold2.jpg)

Success!
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Demold3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Demold3.jpg)

Not too shabby, but it still needs some work before they will be bike-worthy.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Demold4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Demold4.jpg)

The underside. My integrated tabs idea didn't go over too well with the Plasti-Paste lol.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Demold5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Demold5.jpg)

And all four parts demolded.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Demold6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Demold6.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Demold7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Demold7.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Demold8_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Demold8.jpg)

The fairings are pretty flexible and prone to cracking (don't ask me how I know lol), so they will need to be reinforced. Smooth-On recommends a thickness of at least a 1/4" for optimum strength, but I fell short of that with these pieces. I have a solution for this though, and it will also solve the mounting problem too, since my tabs were pretty much non-existent. I will run a piece of 1/4" acrylic the whole length of the fairing underneath that will add strength, and serve as a mounting surface as well.

[Boddaker]

Funny you should mention that, ArgOs.....

Got the acrylic parts in today! 3 boxes worth lol. I couldn't wait to get home and dig into them. Here they all are spread out on my desk. The pieces with blue coating is the gloss black acrylic, and the ones with the tan coating are the blue transparent pieces. Looks like everything is present and accounted for.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit1.jpg)

Hmmm, should I put it all away now? Heck no! I gotta see how this all fits together! So I immediately start fitting the tubes into their wheel positions. You can also see the slots I made for the cross sections.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit2.jpg)

Here is one of the cross sections in place. This piece will also hold two 120mm fans.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit3.jpg)

I slide on another rib piece...
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit4.jpg)

...Oops! forgot the center rib that goes in between the other two.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit5.jpg)

This shows the cutouts for the power supply.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit6.jpg)

Why not put the psu in too!
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit7.jpg)

And the other cross section in place.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit8_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit8.jpg)

Now you can see the interior enclosure taking shape.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit9_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit9.jpg)

Might as well add the rest of the pieces on this side: window piece, wheel discs of varying sizes, and the IO plate at the bottom of the center enclosure.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit10_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit10.jpg)

Here's a close up of all the layers on one side of the wheel. I got them roughly spaced where they're supposed to be, at 3/4".
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit11_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit11.jpg)

So I'm gonna be pretty busy this weekend, now that I have all the parts. Can't wait to get to it. I wish I could call in sick tomorrow lol!

[Boddaker]

Thanks everyone!

Got more work done on the fairings over the weekend. Looking at the various reference pics I found online, I was able to determine the basic shape of the front fairings.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Ref1.jpghttp://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Ref2.jpg

And since I had the bike parts mocked up, I could place the fairings onto the bike and see how they fit. I had purposely made them wider than they needed to be, so I could cut them down to the exact size.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings1.jpg)

Cutting the fairings. The foam plug was once again utilized to hold the pieces in place.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings2.jpg)

Pulling the excess away
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings3.jpg)

Transferring to the other side, mirroring the shape.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings4.jpg)

Both cut and back on the bike.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings5.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings6.jpg)

After a few adjustments to the cuts so they matched up perfectly, I began the smoothing process. I started by knocking the rough, bumpy surface down with the belt sander.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings7.jpg)

Once I got it down flat, it was time to add body filler. For a glob of bondo this size, I needed about 3" of hardener.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings8_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings8.jpg)

Gave each piece a good coat of filler, and went a little thicker in the areas where the fairings were a little thin to even it up.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings9_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings9.jpg)

Skipping ahead past the sanding, application of a second skin coat of filler and more sanding, I still needed to fill some minor pin holes and low spots with glazing putty.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings10_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings10.jpg)

After letting that dry and sanding it smooth, the fairings were brought in once more for a fit on the bike.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings11_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings11.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings12_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings12.jpg)

A close up of the surface. I still need to round the corners a bit more on the left side, to match the right. Other than that, it's pretty much ready for some primer.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings13_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings13.jpg)

I think I'll get the mounting pieces on the bottom of the fairings first before I start priming though. I might be able to tackle that tonight.

[Boddaker]

Thanks for the comments! Here's more:

Started working on the rear fairlings. I measured and cut them just as I did the front ones, except it's just a straight cut on these, no patterns.

Cleaned up the cuts and set them on the bike for a test fit.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairingrear1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairingrear1.jpg)

I didn't really fancy sanding and filling tonight, so I'll tackle that probably this weekend. What I really wanted to do was make the tail part that will cover the tip of the edge where the light wall comes out of the bike. This cover will be molded into the rear fairing, and as such, both halves will then become one part.

To make this piece, I will be bending a small piece of 1/8" acrylic into a U shape. So the first thing I had to do was make a metal pocket for the acrylic to fold into. I found a 3/4" dia. pipe and bent some sheet metal around it, then flared the ends so it sat in the vice like so.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tail1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tail1.jpg)

Then I cut my piece of acrylic down to size and found another smaller 1/2" pipe to push it into the pocket when heated up.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tail2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tail2.jpg)

I first heated up the pipe with a torch, then heated the acrylic with my heat gun until I could push it down into the pocket with the pipe. I immediately stuck some wood scraps in there to keep the sides straight while it cooled.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tail3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tail3.jpg)

After a few minutes here is the result... a perfect U shape!
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tail4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tail4.jpg)

Here is where it will go on the bike. I will round the top of that center rib, and paint the sides and top edge black, leaving the trailing edge for the glowy light to show through. Should look pretty slick!
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tail5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tail5.jpg)

This concludes the Mid-week Modding "Bodcast". Thanks for tuning in!

[Boddaker]

Thanks guys!

Time for another Midweek Bodcast!

Nearing the end of the fairing fabrication. As I mentioned before, I was able to add much more strength to the pieces via a mounting edge on the under side. I was going to use acrylic, but was worried the adhesive wouldn't stick to the formed plastic. I knew that plasti-paste does stick to itself quite nicely, so I decided to make the mounting rails simply by throwing more paste at it!

So first thing was to tape the fairings onto the ribs, making sure they were placed correctly.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings14_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings14.jpg)

Also checking for symmetry.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings15_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings15.jpg)

Then I cut some cardboard pieces and taped them to the inside, to enclose the area where the plasti-paste will go.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings17_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings17.jpg)

Added the goop...
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings18_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings18.jpg)

A couple hours later, I could pull the fairings off with ease, thanks to the plastic coating on the acrylic. I had also taped the acrylic edges with electrical tape, so the plasti-paste wouldn't stick there either.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings19_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings19.jpg)

Removed the cardboard with a utility knife, and smoothed out the edges.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings20_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings20.jpg)

A closeup of the edge shows that the plasti-paste actually filled in the gaps between the fairing and the rib, resulting in a much better fit (once cleaned up and smoothed of course).
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings21_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings21.jpg)

A shot from the underside. The rail and fairing are now one!
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings22_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings22.jpg)

As the plasti-paste was setting up, I took the liberty of adding depressions where the mounting screws will go.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings23_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings23.jpg)

Got one piece mounted, using 8-32 socket head screws.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings24_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings24.jpg)

A closeup of one of the mounting points.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings25_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings25.jpg)

And that about wraps up this edition of the Midweek Bodcast. Next on the weekend installment, I should have the rest of the fairings mounted, and the two rear fairings fused together along with the U-shaped piece I made earlier. Thanks for watching!

[Boddaker]

Damn Bod! BSG was awesome, and this one is shaping quite nicely too.

Thanks, I'm having a lot of fun building this one!


Am I surprised at the quality of the craftsmanship? no


Am I aroused? oh yeahhh


Fabulous work as always bro!

haha thanks John. Maybe I should rename this project....

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PronTitle.jpg

:D

[Richie123]

Ok maybs I should have not tried to explain that via phone lol,

Basically this is what I mean,

http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/1859/tail5.jpg (http://img545.imageshack.us/i/tail5.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
First I should point out that this is meant to be done on the inner side of this piece, not the outsiding face.

I am just suggesting this, you could also test this if you wanted to know the desired effect on a small bent scrap bit of acrylic, drill some holes and use a bit of place electrical type to try it out for your self.

drill out the LED holes (you dont want one at the top as it will become focal) in the edge of the acrylic, then once you have your LEDs in place, also seal up the back of the LED's. (For the LED's. I used little blobs of black silicone sealent and rubbed it down around the LED once they were in place) This stops the light from escaping out of the back, I would advise white LED's for this.

Then you need to seal in the edges along that edge and around the whole piece,(the only edge you wont seal in is the outer facing one). Use electrical tape if your trying it out on test piece.

Then you want a row of blue LED (lian li blue led light strip could probably fit the bill) so that they are pointing outwards.. The white LED's that you drilled in and thanks to the acrylic will give a prism type effect once the sides are sealed. then the blue LED lights will come through the inside of the piece, this will also give that blue white glow.

The reason for the white LED's though mainly is to stop the inner lighting from escaping though the acrylic, and leaving the outer facing edge not sealed will give it a glow.. if you do try it you could get some extra bright blue LED's for the acrylick and white on the inner edge (hense using electrical tape to test so you can decide which effect you like best.

[Boddaker]

Thanks Richie for all the led help! I'll definitely be testing out my lighting options, especially since the lighting is so integral to the TRON theme.

To clarify, I will not be lighitng the U shape as you have shown in your illustration. I'll be lighting the center rib piece that U shape goes around. See this reference pic from the lightcycle:
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Light_Emitter.jpg

I had the center rib cut from transparent blue acrylic, so it will already have a blue tint to it. I'll try some different colors, but it should yield a good bluish glow using some white, or even uv leds.

Your suggestions still have merit though, regardless of which piece I'll be illuminating, so I appreciate the advice. :D

[Boddaker]

Bodcast: Weekend Edition! :D

Trying to finish up the fairings this weekend, and I think I got pretty far today. I started with getting the U shaped piece integrated into the rear fairings.

Now that the fairings are securely bolted in place, I can mark where the U shape will go and notch out the fairings.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings26_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings26.jpg)

Cut away some material so the U shape fits in there. Here I've marked where the fairings meet up so I can cut away the extra thats hanging down below. I taped a 1/8" drill bit to the top of the center rib to get the correct spacing between it and the U shape.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings27_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings27.jpg)

Since the mark was above the fairings, I cut about 1/4" below that to allow for the thickness of the fairings.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings28_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings28.jpg)

After cutting, I roughed up the U shape and glued it in place, positioning it with some cardboard spacers.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings29_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings29.jpg)

Once that was glued, I had to turn the entire thing upside down so I could apply more plasti-paste to the underside of the fairings to join them together and strengthen areas like the U shape. I notched a piece of scrap wood to help keep everything aligned correctly.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings30_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings30.jpg)

I taped the seams at the top to give the paste some backing while it sets up.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings31_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings31.jpg)

Here's the seam from the underside.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings32_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings32.jpg)

A shot after applying more goop.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings33_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings33.jpg)

And the same underside shot of the seam with the goop.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings34_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings34.jpg)

I joined the fairings together at the bottom as well (The bike is still upside down).
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings35_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings35.jpg)

Once everything set up, I could remove it from the bike as one piece.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings36_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings36.jpg)

Ta-daah!
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings37_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings37.jpg)

The piece is really starting to take on some weight now, and it's pretty solid.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings38_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings38.jpg)

Looking back, I probably could have molded the rear fairing as one piece, and just cut the center slot and add the U shape, which would have made it more uniform. But I didn't really know the exact width when I started, and it was easier to add the mounting rails this way. I think it came out pretty well. I probably have one more bondo/sanding session before I can throw some primer at it. Hopefully I can take care of that today.

[Boddaker]

Well I actually did get some primer on the fairings on Sunday, but I ran out. :(

So I picked some more up yesterday, but then didn't get home til after dark. :facepalm:

Hopefully I can get home today in time to do some painting while it's still light outside. In the mean time, here's a few more pics of the parts that will go into TRON:

Crucial SSD's and triple channel Smart Tracer memory kit, and EK waterblocks for the motherboard, CPU, and vid cards.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/MoreGoodies_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/MoreGoodies.jpg)

i7 965 processor.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/CPU1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/CPU1.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/CPU2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/CPU2.jpg)

Cheers!

[Boddaker]

Well, I had hoped to have more to show this weekend, but my modding plans were thwarted by other things. :( I do, however, have pics of the fairings primed. They look ok-ish, but still need some minor touch-ups before I can lay down the gloss black paint. Once the piece is one solid color, the imperfections really stand out. And black paint is the most unforgiving of colors so I have to work the fairings a bit more.

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings39_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings39.jpg) http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings40_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings40.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings41_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings40.jpg)


I also got started on prepping the tubes for paint. The ends will be lit via led strips mounted around their centers. So all surfaces will be covered with the exceptions of the ends. First task was scuffing them up inside and out. Got one tube done...
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes1.jpg)

And both scuffed, with the ends taped off.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes2.jpg)

Painting the inside with white primer. A makeshift sling was created to suspend the tube.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes3.jpg)

For the outside, more thought was put in to the masking, since some of the ribs will eventually be permanently glued to the tubes. I first had to mark the areas to be masked, so I devised a way to mark the tube by rolling it around while keeping it square to a 90 degree surface (Charles Richter would be proud lol).
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes4.jpg)

Once marked, I could take 1/4" strips of tape and mask those areas.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes5.jpg)

That's all I got so far. I don't have the led strips yet, so I can't finish the masking. I'm waiting for one more package from Moddersmart that will have the led's, fans, fittings, sleeving, and custom rad (wait til you see this thing!). Thanks for reading!

[Boddaker]

Due to the weather, I haven't been able to continue painting the tubes (damn rain!) So in the mean time, I thought I'd show you what I have planned for the SSD's. They will be mounted on the opposite side of the motherboard tray, disguised as the lightcycle engine.

I'll be making a loose interpretation of the real engine, which looks like this:
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Engineref1.jpg

A view of the engine through the window:
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Engineref2.jpg

I don't have much space between the motherboard tray and the window, so the mounting will be relatively flat, but with a hint of depth. I marked out the window placement, and arranged the drives in that area.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine1.jpg)

Here are the pieces designed and cut.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine2.jpg)

And glued together with mounting holes drilled.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine3.jpg)

Here are the pieces for the tailshaft portion of the engine. I cut a piece of 4" tube for the curved part.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine4.jpg)

Clamped and glued.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine5.jpg)

Done.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine6.jpg)

Both pieces together.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine7.jpg)

Both pieces in place on the tray with drives mounted.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine8_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine8.jpg)

Now I can make some paper templates for the three pieces that will connect the two. That will be tonight's task.

[Boddaker]

Thanks guys!
Ok, I got the connector piece done last night. :)

First I started making paper templates to get the complex shapes in between the two pieces, but doing individual pieces didn't work out too well. I just couldn't get the angles right.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine9_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine9.jpg)

So I tried making one solid piece. This seemed to work better.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine10_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine10.jpg)

Having transferred the shape to the acrylic sheet, I started cutting it out.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine11_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine11.jpg)

Then I added the bends.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine12_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine12.jpg)

After some trimming and rebending, I think I got it to the shape I wanted.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine13_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine13.jpg)

It fits pretty well in between the two pieces.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine14_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine14.jpg)

Some mockup shots of all three engine pieces in place, with drives mounted and the covers on.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine15_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine15.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine16_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine16.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine17_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine17.jpg)

As you can pretty well guess, this will all be lit up in the typical TRON fashion. Next I'll be adding some detail pieces and doing some masking to the covers to get them ready for paint.

[Boddaker]

Moe work done on the SSD Engine...

Cut some detail pieces out of scrap acrylic.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine18_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine18.jpg)

Filed & sanded.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine19_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine19.jpg)

Gluing them onto the base pieces.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine20_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine20.jpg)

Almost done...
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine21_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine21.jpg)

Here I made the masking templates for the drive covers using Adobe Illustrator. I downloaded the TRON font for the text.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine22_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine22.jpg)

I taped off the covers, cut out the templates and used spray adhesive to stick them onto the tape.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine23_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine23.jpg)

Then came the arduous task of cutting the masked areas and text.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine24_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine24.jpg)

The drive covers are now ready for paint. I mocked them up again so you can see how the paint graphics line up with the detail pieces on the other parts.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine25_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine25.jpg)

The finished engine will actually be a reverse of what you see here, with the engine being a metallic dark gray and the masked areas glowing blue.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine26_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine26.jpg)

And work continues... :)

[Boddaker]

So I think I got the SSD Engine just about finished up this weekend. Got the parts masked off and painted today once the sun finally came out.

I went with a dark gray hammered finish for the main parts of the engine, to add more of a texture to it and set it apart from the blue fins.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine27_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine27.jpg)

A closeup shot of the textured finish.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine28_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine28.jpg)
Demaskifying the drive covers to reveal the diffused blue acrylic. I primed the underside as well so you wouldn't be able to see through them.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine29_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine29.jpg)

All the pieces back together for a final mockup, and...........
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine30_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine30.jpg)

.........the money shot!
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine31_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/SSDengine31.jpg)

I actually managed to get some paint on the tubes as well, so maybe I can finally get the basic frame assembled this week. Then it will all start coming together quickly after that.

Cheers, and happy Easter! :)

[Boddaker]

haha I should get a picture of my daughter on it, she should still be under the limit. ;)

Thanks everyone for the great comments. I think I'm having the most fun with this build, and it's mostly due to you guys and your awesome feedback. :)

Ok, more goodies! I couldn't resist getting Razer's TRON themed keyboard and mouse with mouse pad to go with the build. I usually mod the peripherals to fit the given theme of my projects anyway, so this was a bonus And I have to say that Razer did a great job with the TRON design. I doubt I could have done as good a job, or even come close to the level of awesomeness!
Let me just show you with pics:
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mouse1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mouse1.jpg)

Even the packaging is cool! Opening the box revealed a thick smoked acrylic cover over the keyboard, with subtle TRON and Razer logos on it.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Keyboard1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Keyboard1.jpg)

The keyboard is well-built with TRON style lettering that lights up, and a separate number keypad that can be mounted on either side of the keyboard with the provided connector piece.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Keyboard2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Keyboard2.jpg)

Here it is lit up. There are audio connections on the keyboard as well, so I can plug my headphones in right there.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Keyboard3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Keyboard3.jpg)

The mouse/pad kit came in the same killer box with protective smoked acrylic cover.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mouse2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mouse2.jpg)

Pure TRON pr0n lol.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mouse3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mouse3.jpg)

And the best part, the mouse pad has an electro-luminescent coating on it that reacts to a special led under the mouse, so it leaves a light trail as it moves across the pad, just like the lightcycle! :D
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mouse4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mouse4.jpg)

[Boddaker]

More progress on the tubes. Got them painted inside and out, after taping off the areas where the ribs will be glued. Then after doing a light test, I decided to chamfer the ends to widen the glow area a bit.

I set up the router table with a 45° chamfer bit, and made a semi-circuler fence for the tube to fit in so it wouldn't go anywhere, then I slowly rotated it by hand 360°.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes6.jpg)

All four ends done.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes7.jpg)

For lighting, I'll be using these blue light strips wrapped around the tube center...
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes8_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes8.jpg)

... like so.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes9_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes9.jpg)

A close up shot of the glowing end.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes10_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes10.jpg)

And an overhead shot.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes11_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Tubes11.jpg)

The part on the bottom is darker because there is about a 3" gap between the ends of the light strip (it's 20" long, and the circumference of the tube is roughly 23"). I will cut a 2nd strip down to fill in that area. Otherwise, I think that is pretty much the look I was going for. :)

[Boddaker]

Ohhh Bod I nearly missed this update, this tron theme is working perfect & those wheels really are super fantastic, this mod is gonna look awesome overload faint worthy if seen with the eye lol :D.

Thanks Wayne, at least you caught the update over on the other forum lol.

Smallish update...

Playing with different lighting for the lightwall emitter. I drilled a few holes in the side of the center rib to accept 3mm uv leds, and fired them up to see how they look.
For some reason they look too purple here, not at all the same color as the SSD Engine. Maybe it's because these leds are embedded into the acrylic, whereas the SSD engine had the uv lights hanging over the pieces.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall1.jpg)

So then I tried white leds and got a better blue hue, but the leds were too far apart and I could see gaps in the lighting. So I went to a white led lightstrip curved along the inside edge. Looks much better! I think I'll be going with door number three, Bob.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall2.jpg)

So since I can't put the lightstrip where I'll be gluing the center rib to the tube, I had to cut a new groove in the side. So I taped off the area and drew my cut line.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall3.jpg)

Using the rotary tool, I carefully cut a thin groove just wide enough and deep enough for the lightstrip. I didn't want to cut through to the other side, so I put a mark on the saw blade for a depth guage.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall4.jpg)

Groove is cut, and the other side is unscathed!
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall5.jpg)

The light strip fits right in.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall6.jpg)

It's just deep enough for the width of the strip.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall7.jpg)

With that taken care of, I can now glue the center rib to the tube. I used various pieces of scrap wood and acrylic to keep everything level, square, and plumb.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall8_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall8.jpg)

Back when I first dry-fitted the ribs and tubes, I realized that the tubes weren't a perfect cylinder. Holding the tube and center rib up to the light, you can really see how imperfect it really is.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall9_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall9.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall10_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Lightwall10.jpg)

I'll be filling in the gaps with some JB Weld, now that the two pieces are tacked together.

More tomorrow!

[Boddaker]

Assembly finally begins! I got both main ribs attached and some cross supports in, like the dual 120mm fan mount.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Assembly3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Assembly3.jpg)

I scuffed them up and painted the back face white to give it a lighter blue look, and to aid in the glow.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fans1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fans1.jpg)

Then I opted for these Enermax Appollish fans for some bling. It has different modes for the leds. Here it's got a triple blade rotation going. Reminiscent of a Flux Capacitor. :)
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fans2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fans2.jpg)

Here's the "all-on" setting. I can also adjust the speed of the fans with the controller.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fans3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fans3.jpg)

Next up is the power supply. Finally getting some components in! :D

[Boddaker]

All right, good progress today! I got the power supply mounted, as well as the whole bottom IO plate made so I could install the motherboard and video cards. woot!

Ok, the power supply didn't quite fit at first lol. This is just one of those things that no amount of forethought and planning in Sketchup could prevent. With all the ribs in place, I couldn't work the psu into it's spot.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PSU1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PSU1.jpg)

It wouldn't slide in sideways either. This is how I originally envisioned it going in, but for whatever reason, it was just too tight clearance-wise. (I blame it on the power supply's bulging rear mesh!)
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PSU2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PSU2.jpg)

So, I had to rethink the psu situation, and come up with a plan that will work better in the end. I decided to make a mounting flange that will bolt to the psu, then attach to the bottom framing. This way the psu can just drop down and out if I need to remove it later. So first thing was to start removing the lower portions of the ribs. Center rib went first.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PSU3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PSU3.jpg)

Then I glued in some cross supports before cutting away the top and bottom rib sections. These supports will be where the flange will screw into.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PSU4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PSU4.jpg)

Then I whipped up a couple handle-looking pieces, that will re-attach the rib sections together.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PSU5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PSU5.jpg)

Here's the top handle glued in.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PSU6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PSU6.jpg)

And the bottom handle glued, with the bottom rib section removed as well. Now the power supply can slip up into its place without any obstruction.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PSU7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PSU7.jpg)

Here's the flange I made which will secure the psu to the framing.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PSU8_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PSU8.jpg)

With that done, I could turn my attention to the IO plate. I went to town on this piece, measuring and cutting all the openings and never once thought to grab the camera. So all you get is the finished pics, sorry!
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/IOplate1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/IOplate1.jpg)

The plate is secured to the ribs via tabs and 4 screws (2 on each side). I incorporated the DVI and HDMI openings into this plate as well, so I could do away with the rear video cards' IO bracket.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/IOplate2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/IOplate2.jpg)

A close up of the motherboard IO ports.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/IOplate3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/IOplate3.jpg)

And a close up shot of the video card ports. the DVI screws are what holds the video card in place, so no need for any IO bracket screws.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/IOplate4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/IOplate4.jpg)

Here's a shot of the psu installed with the flange. I used 4 thumb screws to hold it in place. Two of which are shared by the IO plate.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PSU9_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PSU9.jpg)

Now that I finally have some hardware in the case, I can start installing some watercooling gear. If I can be as productive tomorrow as I was today, I might even be able to do some leak testing. Let's just hope I don't stumble upon any more harsh realities lol.

Thanks for reading! :)

[Boddaker]

Thanks SXR!

Getting the watercooling system in, running hoses and such. This will be a single loop, running Primochill's new Myriad bay res with D5 pump, going into a custom curved radiator, then thru the components (cpu, chipsets, vid cards) and back to the res. (sorry some pics are a bit blurry)
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/WC2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/WC2.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/WC3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/WC3.jpg)

Here's the custom curved radiator I had made specifically for the TRON bike. There was no room for a conventional 240 rad, so with the help of Moddersmart, I had a curved one made up to take advantage of the available space around the wheel hub. Working in Sketchup, I made a rough model, and sent the specs along with reference pics to them and this is what I got back. :D
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Radiator1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Radiator1.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Radiator2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Radiator2.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Radiator3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Radiator3.jpg)


Here's a shot of the mounting method I devised to hold the rad. Two 1/2" square acrylic rods glued in between the two main ribs, one on top and one on the bottom.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Radiator4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Radiator4.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Radiator5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Radiator5.jpg)

And here's the radiator mounted on the bike.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Radiator6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Radiator6.jpg)

And a shot with the front fairings on with the wheel rings. My goal was to make the radiator act as the front tire for the bike, and I think I achieved that look.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Radiator7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Radiator7.jpg)

I will need to add some sort of bottom plate to make sure air goes through the rad and not out the bottom. Who knows how well this will cool all the parts, but at this point, who cares! lol

I thought I'd throw in a window shot of the bike. It's finally coming together!
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit12_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Testfit12.jpg)

Thanks for tuning in. :)

[Boddaker]

Thanks everyone for the comments!


Huge congrats on the MAX PC feature!

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/forum_feature_kick-ass_tron_case_mod#comment-141946

Just in case you didnt know

Sweet, I didn't know they featured it. Thanks for the link!


ya that radiator is impressive.
i was wondering what the weight on that thing is going to be once its finished.
And how does the PSU breathe inside the chassis?

I'm guessing it weighs about 50-60lbs. And the psu intake fan is adjacent to the video card and exhausts out the bottom of the case.

--------------------

Well, the good news is, I finished it in time. :clap: The bad news is I couldn't get it to power up. :wallbash: Some kind of short in the wiring prevented anything from running more than a second, and me with no time to troubleshoot.

Regardless, here are the final pics (power to lights and fans provided by spare psu). Enjoy, and I'm off to sleep for a couple days. ;)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final3.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final4.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final7.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final8_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final8.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final5.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final6.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final9_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final9.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final1.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final2.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final10_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final10.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final11_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final11.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final12_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Final12.jpg)

[Boddaker]

Well I'm sitting at about 530 votes, which puts me in 4th place overall for 30% of the total score. Thank you all for the support! :D

I found a few pics that I neglected to post. I realize they won't be considered in the judging, but I thought I'd throw them up anyways.

Here's some shots of the mesh pieces I made for the top. I didn't have a large enough piece to cover the whole length, so I had to do it in two.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mesh1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mesh1.jpg)

I managed to match the hexagon pattern so you can't really tell.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mesh2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mesh2.jpg)

I bent the sides down so it fits snugly in between the two ribs, and I used black zip ties to hold it in place. No time for a more elaborate fastening solution lol.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mesh3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mesh3.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mesh4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Mesh4.jpg)

Here's a shot of the wiring bus I used to connect all the led strips to power.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Wiring1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Wiring1.jpg)

Some cabling shots. Sleeved ATX, PCI-e, and 12v. You can also see the strings of leds that will be placed around the inside of the window, using velcro.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Cabling1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Cabling1.jpg)

And some shots of the fairings hanging up after painting.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Paint1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Paint1.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Paint2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Paint2.jpg)

Assembling...
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings42_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Fairings42.jpg)

That's it for now. Next post will probably be an update showing the case at Computex. :)

[Boddaker]

Hey guys, finally getting to modding the monitor to match the TRON case. It's still not 100% complete, but it will work for this weekend's LAN party (http://www.pdxlan.net). :)

I designed a new bezel that was cut out of 1/4" blue transparent acrylic. Here I'm preparing to bevel the inside edges.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor1.jpg)

Of course I neglected to take any pics of the resulting bevel, but you can see it in the last pic.

To fasten the screen, I'm re-purposing these special hard drive mounting screws that have built-in washers. I just had to cut the length down since the threaded holes aren't very deep.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor2.jpg)

Here's one side with the mounting flange glued to the bezel, and the monitor mounted to it.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor3.jpg)

For the back side, I had to make a cover that would hide the two circuit boards. After extensive measuring of the LCD's backside, I made up a sketchup model to get the angles correct, then took measurements off that to draw up the cut file. Pieces were cut from 1/8" black acrylic.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor4.jpg)

I added some venting on the top piece, TRON style. (also putting my brass MNPC-Tech modding ruler to proper use :D)
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor5.jpg)

Here's a shot of the underside, after gluing the pieces together.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor6.jpg)

Gluing the monitor supports on...
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor7.jpg)

I went with some arbitrary angle sharper than 90 degrees on the supports, and ended up being close to an ergonomically correct viewing angle.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor8_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor8.jpg)

The bezel with the monitor installed. Thanks to Darthbeavis for donating his spare monitor! :D
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor9_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor9.jpg)

and a back shot. Funny, the camera angle makes it look like the right support is missing lol.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor10_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor10.jpg)

I still have plans to add lighting and paint, but that will have to wait 'til after the LAN.

[Boddaker]

Ok, now that PAX is over and done with, I can get caught up on my worklog updates. After PDXLAN, I had some time to wrap up the monitor mod. So I disassembled it and got it ready for paint.

Once cleaned up, I shoved some weather-stripping into the cutouts to keep paint from getting in there.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor11_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor11.jpg)

I had some thicker stuff to use for the cut out lettering on top.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor12_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor12.jpg)

Taped off the buttons at the bottom...
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor13_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor13.jpg)

...and it's ready for primer.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor14_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor14.jpg)

Once again, using white primer under black paint to help the light travel through the acrylic.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor15_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor15.jpg)

While the paint was drying, I started working on the edge lighting. For this I'm using more blue led strips and 1/4" C-channel to cover them up.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor16_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor16.jpg)

I cut the led strips to length and taped them to the edge with electrical tape.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor17_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor17.jpg)

Then I slipped the C-channel over the led strips and screwed them into place.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor18_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor18.jpg)

Hooked the lights up to my spare psu to see how the cutouts light up:
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor19_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor19.jpg)

Closeup of one side:
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor20_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor20.jpg)

Once I confirmed the lights worked, I disassembled the edges and painted the C-channel to match, and hard-wired the lights to the monitor's circuit board. Unfortunately, the voltage source I tapped into was only 7 volts, so the lights are quite dim as a result. I will have to run a line out from the psu over to the monitor to get the needed 12v. I will also have to add an extra strip up by the TRON lettering, as the edge lighting falls off well before getting to the middle.

Regardless, here are a couple shots of everything together on the desk:
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor_desk1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor_desk1.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor_desk2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/Monitor_desk2.jpg)

Thought I would also throw in a couple pics from PAX this last weekend. I didn't make it into the BYOC, but EVGA was kind enough to provide some table space for TRON at their booth. :)
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PAX1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PAX1.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PAX2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PAX2.jpg)

It drew quite the crowd, as well as Quorra, who wanted to take the lightcycle and ride it off the grid. I had to convince her it was just a PC.
http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PAX3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PAX3.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PAX4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/TRON/PAX4.jpg)