Monster Truck Case

[Boddaker]

Hey Everyone! I'm back with another mini ITX scratch build. If you recall, I did one for my daughter: a Kai Lan themed case. Well this one is for my son, and will be a monster truck themed case, built much in the same way, with stacked laser-cut acrylic pieces. Here are some mockups out of Sketchup:

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

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

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

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

Moddersmart cut me some acrylic according to my vector files I sent:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Parts1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Parts1.jpg)

I got some real rubber R/C monster truck tires from RC Planet online. These things are 3 1/4" wide x 6" diameter.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Tires1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Tires1.jpg)

For hardware, I'll be using this Jetway mobo sent to me from Bit-Tech (as a prize replacement for a 220v psu)
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Parts2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Parts2.jpg)

To show you how big these tires are, I set one next to the mini ITX motherboard lol:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Parts3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Parts3.jpg)

For power I turned to short-circuit.com (http://www.short-circuit.com) once again for a picoPSU/power brick combo:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Parts4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Parts4.jpg)

The Crucial DDR2 800 4Gb memory kit and 64Gb SSD combo worked so awesomely in my daughter's case, I saw no reason to choose otherwise for this build. :)
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Parts5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Parts5.jpg)

And of course, one cannot have a true miniITX build without one of these slot-load, slim-line DVD-ROM drives.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Parts6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Parts6.jpg)

Here I'm placing the parts onto the base to see where things will fit:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Buildseq1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Buildseq1.jpg)

...with one edge piece layed on:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Buildseq2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Buildseq2.jpg)

...more...
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Buildseq3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Buildseq3.jpg)

...with the top layers on...
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Buildseq4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Buildseq4.jpg)

...and the tires in place:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Buildseq5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Buildseq5.jpg)

Of course, I will have the body and fender pieces on both sides of the case, since it will be sitting on all 4 tires.
I'm going with a Grave Digger theme because a: my son likes that one the best, and b: it's one truck in which I can fit the components rather easily, thanks to its shape.

More to come this week as I work on adding some mesh to the outer pieces.

[Boddaker]

Thanks OvRide!

Working on the mesh for the inside, got one side done.

Had some old mesh sheet lying around so I decided to use it (kinda rusty lol)
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Mesh1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Mesh1.jpg)

After cutting the pieces out, I used a wire wheel to get the surface rust off them, and I ground the edges down. They will eventually get a coat of black paint.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Mesh2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Mesh2.jpg)

Here it is from the outside.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Mesh3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Mesh3.jpg)

I attached it to the acrylic with small screws. It also utilizes two of the main bolt holes.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Mesh4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Mesh4.jpg)

I got my fasteners in yesterday, so I thought I'd show you how this thing will screw together. This is the middle frame piece. I got some 5/8" long threaded spacers and pressed them into the holes. Also shown are the 8-32 hex head countersunk screws of varying lengths.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Screws1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Screws1.jpg)

Here I'm tapping some holes in the covers for the fender screws that don't go all the way through.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Screws2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Screws2.jpg)

Here's a shot of it screwed together. I had other angles, but not sure what happened to those pics lol. I'll take some more tonight.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Screws3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Screws3.jpg)

Once I get the other mesh piece mounted, I'll move onto mounting the components.
Cheers!

[Boddaker]

Ok, got an update for ya. Found some time this weekend to get some things mounted. After putting the other mesh on, I was able to work on mounting the SSD and DVD drives.

After some thought, I decided to position the drive along the same plane as the center frame layers. So I cut out an acrylic piece that would slide in between those layers to support the drive.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/SSD1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/SSD1.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/SSD2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/SSD2.jpg)

Here it is slid into place...
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/SSD3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/SSD3.jpg)

And with the drive mounted on.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/SSD4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/SSD4.jpg)

Moving on to the DVD drive, it will be mounted on to the base, facing up. So an L-bracket was made up to attach to the drive...
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/DVD1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/DVD1.jpg)

...and mount to the base. I'll be adding an acrylic piece to the other side for the drive to slide into, for added support.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/DVD2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/DVD2.jpg)

You can see the slot lines up nicely with the first spacing.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/DVD3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/DVD3.jpg)

The motherboard will be situated above the DVD drive, with the IO panel facing downward. First thing was to make a new IO plate out of black acrylic. Using the original as a template, I marked the holes.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/IO1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/IO1.jpg)

Drilled pilot holes...
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/IO2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/IO2.jpg)

Then used the rotary tool for the straight cuts...
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/IO3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/IO3.jpg)

..and finally the dremel to finish them off.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/IO4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/IO4.jpg)

Peeling the paper back to see my progress. A little more and I can advance to the filing stage.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/IO5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/IO5.jpg)

But first a test fit. Looking good!
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/IO6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/IO6.jpg)

Before I could add the IO plate to the center pieces, I needed to glue them all together. So starting from the middle piece and using Weld-on #4, I worked my way out on both sides until I got one solid piece.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Center1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Center1.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Center2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Center2.jpg)

Now I can cut away the parts I don't need.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Center3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Center3.jpg)

Here's the IO plate filed, cut-down, and glued in place. I just hope the motherboard fits the way it's supposed to now :P


http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Center4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Center4.jpg)

[Boddaker]

Got the motherboard mounted last night. It was kinda tricky in that the mounting holes sit over both the acrylic base and the mesh, and since the dvd drive is underneath it, the motherboard sits at an odd height (17mm) so the usual standoffs, or even a combination thereof, wouldn't work. So I ended up going with some cut-to-length square acrylic rod.

I tapped into the two on the acrylic base and glued them down (removing the paper first).
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Mobo1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Mobo1.jpg)

For the other two on the mesh, I opted to drill a hole all the way through them, use longer screws and just tap into the mesh itself.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Mobo2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Mobo2.jpg)

Mounted!
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Mobo3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Mobo3.jpg)

The other thing I got done last night was the power input plug. After gluing the IO panel in, I realized there was a perfect place to put the power plug. I only wish I realized this BEFORE I glued it in lol.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/PWR1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/PWR1.jpg)

No matter, it was still just as easy to drill a hole there. :wink:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/PWR2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/PWR2.jpg)

Gotta make a small adjustment to the dvd bracket, to make room for the now encroaching mobo post (a slight oversight on my part :oops: ), then I think I can move onto the axles this weekend.

'Til then!

[Boddaker]

Got the tires/wheels on today. :)

I'm using a length of 1/4" threaded rod as the axle. When I tried putting the wheels on, I realized I would have to do something about the wobbliness. Since the axle only goes through the wheel at the very front, there was a lot of slop causing it not to track correctly. So a backing would have to be added for stability.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Wheel1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Wheel1.jpg)

Using my trusty circle cutter, I cranked out 4 back plates.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Wheel2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Wheel2.jpg)

They fit like so behind the rim.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Wheel3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Wheel3.jpg)

All four back plates cut and shot with a couple coats of flat black.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Wheel4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Wheel4.jpg)

Secured onto the wheel with a nut. I'm using a nylon lock-nut as the uni-lug on the outside of the rim.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Wheel5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Wheel5.jpg)

The next thing I had to do was center the axle on the truck body.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Wheel6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Wheel6.jpg)

I used more nylon lock-nuts on the base side...
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Wheel7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Wheel7.jpg)

...and a wing nut on the other side for easy removal.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Wheel8_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Wheel8.jpg)

Shoes on! Rolls pretty goo, and tracks straight!
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Wheel9_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Wheel9.jpg)

Next up will be some wiring. I still need a few more cables tho, so I gotta wait til they come in.

[Boddaker]

Ok, I think it's time I got back on this project and finished it up, don't you? One of my new year's resolutions was to finish what I started! So I'm trying to make good on that promise this year. ;-)

So let's see... last update I had just gotten the tires mounted, and was waiting on some cables before starting on the wiring. I did get them in, but I also ordered a set of Grave Digger vinyl decals by Parma (thanks to Bob for telling me about these). Normally they would go onto a 1:8 scale RC monster truck body. They are a tad larger than the scale of this case, but the 1:10 scale was too small. So I will make this work.

Putting the main decal on the side piece, and trimming it down. You can see the size difference.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Decals1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Decals1.jpg)

The side and fender piece finished. I was able to mix and match the flame curves on the fender and body so it looks uniform when stacked.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Decals2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Decals2.jpg)

Having larger-than-needed decals actually worked to my advantage. I was able to use the extra to overlap the image a bit between the main body and the side piece. This way the image can still be seen farther down in between the two.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Decals3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Decals3.jpg)

All the pieces stacked up.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Decals4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Decals4.jpg)

Doing a little prep work for the impending wiring, I got the power button mounted. I marked the area to be cut out,
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/PwrButton1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/PwrButton1.jpg)

and removed the material with the rotary tool and some curved files.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/PwrButton2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/PwrButton2.jpg)

Button installed.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/PwrButton3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/PwrButton3.jpg)

Next up, the wiring commences!

[Boddaker]

Finishing up the last bit of details now. If you remember how I was mounting the SSD, I had a piece of 1/4" acrylic fitting in between the frame layers, with the SSD screwed into it.

Here it is again, but painted (since it would be visible, it had to blend in with the rest of the framework)
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/SATA3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/SATA3.jpg)

Top view:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/SATA4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/SATA4.jpg)

...and mounted. I added extra spacers in between the ribs so they wouldn't get squeezed together when I tightened the screws.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/SATA5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/SATA5.jpg)

Moving on to the lighting, I got a bunch of green led pigtails from Moddersmart along with a 20-station LED board (http://www.moddersmart.com/en/mod-smart-20-station-led-power-board-green.html) and started running them along the inside of the frame ribs. I cut these little C-clips from some scrap acrylic tubing I had in my stash, once again legitimizing my inability to throw anything away lol.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Lights8_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Lights8.jpg)

I first taped the pigtails together, spacing them accordingly, then I used the clips to keep them tightly to the center rib.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Lights9_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Lights9.jpg)

For the headlights, I had to throw a little more thought into it. I took two red led pigtails and shortened them down. Then I made these headlight lenses to fit in between the fender pieces and the main body, acting as one of the spacers.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Lights1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Lights1.jpg)

I drilled a hole in the main body for the cable to pass through.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Lights2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Lights2.jpg)

Taped off the lens part and painted the rest, so the red light won't show anywhere but the lens.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Lights3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Lights3.jpg)

Here's the headlight in place. I scuffed up the lens to diffuse the light.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Lights4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Lights4.jpg)

Both headlights in.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Lights5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Lights5.jpg)

And lit up. If you look closely, you'll notice the sides of the lenses are darker than the center. This is due to the actual led being placed farther back rather than right into the round portion. I wanted it to be diffused more, but didn't count on it not lighting up the entire headlight lens. It doesn't look too bad though.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Lights6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Lights6.jpg)

Here's a wider shot showing the green lighting as well. I was considering painting the backside of the main body piece, but I kinda like being able to see some of the componentry through the green acrylic. And the lighting makes that skull part of the decal all the more eerie! What do you think?
http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Lights7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Lights7.jpg)

Tomorrow after work, I'll take some studio shots of the case with the tires on. 'Til then!

[Boddaker]

Some final pics I took last night.

http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/WL_Final1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/WL_Final1.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/WL_Final2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/WL_Final2.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/WL_Final3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/WL_Final3.jpg)


More to come!

[Boddaker]

Having a bit of fun with photoshop... :D

http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Crushing_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Monster_Truck/Crushing.jpg)