Tube Buggy Themed case

[Murader]

Hello all.
Newbie Moder Here. currently have two mods getting into the swing of things. one is mearly a paint and minor mod kinda thing( that i will put in a different work log later). but the one i am starting this worklog for now is my Tube Chassis Themed Case. the only pictures so far of the hardware to go into it. (to start) (will post soon).

Concept:
Main Rectangle tower Dimensions: 16"w x 24"l x 24"t
Complete with Tube Frame :17"w x 26"l x 26" t

Stainless Steel(or titanium not sure yet) Tubes that are set 1/2" every direcection suspending the tower inside of it. liquid cooling factored into the enitre case,a tottal of 3 resivoirs. all steel tig welded together. the entire cooling system will be Hose free and all Tubed steel. as well there will be motor mounts built and designed for the Mobo with a thermal pad or Tec to transfer the entire temp of the mobo to the case.

Hardware is a P4 3.0ghz 630 Lga775, 1gb ultra ddr2 pc4200(one dimm to start due to $$$) geforce 6600 (again to start due to $$$) Ultra Xfinitiy 600w psu (sli Ready), Asus P5W DH Deluxe (arriving this week)

Once the mobo arrives i will start cading it up.

On the top there will be a Radiator with a Hood over it that will Automatically open if the case reaches a dangerous level. on said radiator there will be dual 7" fans that will power up untill the tempature drops back to a safe level. on the front there will be a Grill that will open like a door to reveal the gagues and controls.

Would anyone have any recomendations of metals that may work well.

[Aero]

sounds like a good idea. But if your even alittle off with your measurements then your cooling system will be off. I would recommend a complete mockup before you weld everyting togather, maybe even one before you cut all the metal, use paper tubes or something. Again, even 1/16 of an inch could not allow a heatsink to contact the CPU all the way and seriously mess up your proc. But if you can pull it off, you will most deffinatly have a one of a kind PC. Good Luck.

[simon275]

Try mocking it up in google sketchup first to see if everything works. And post the pictures here. Go with aluminium sheeting its easy to bend.

[b4i7]

just wondering.... if you go with titanium....how do you plan on cutting it?

and from what i hear....idk personally...but i hear its bad to weld stainless....ive only ever machined it....tis a major pain

[Murader]

I work in a Machine Shop. i can have nearly anything done i may need.

[b4i7]

yay...another machinist......im one too....but its just a small shop....what kind of machines you run?

[Murader]

im not a machiniest. i am a Precision assembler. (Measureing systems Specialist, and hydraulic assembler.) but our shop makes specialtie oilfield equipment for the Wireline industry(leespecialties.com) we have welders, a machine shop, a paint booth, media blasters,(sand and glass) etc. As to welding Stainless thats the primary metal we use. and the person who will be doing the majority of the welding is a Tig Welding expert.(id like todo some but dont want to ruin it heh)

[Murader]

oh ya and the Mobo Arrived today. setup the boneyard. for first test boot. and well Black screen no post. the P4N Diamond i originally bought had fried first fire. and i think it took the vid card with it so now the vid card is headed back...

[meticoeus]

Cool idea. You may want to consider using coper for your piping if you are using all piping, as it will have much better thermal conductivity than steel. I fyou have reasonably priced access to titanium, I'd say go for. Otherwise I don't think the cost is justified for a case. Granted that depends in part in how much tubing will make up this case. You should do a sketchup, even a really simple one. And remember, when dealing with odd shapes (like circles) the "Follow me" tool is your friend.

[Murader]

just playing with google sketchup now (on my p2 450 :( ) thin stainless will disapate enough heat with that much surface area. and if i can find titanium its really good. this google sketchup is pretty cool. all the main contacts will be copper though

[GT40_GearHead]

ohooo titanium
whare are you located (you might hava it from us :D)

my dad is head of quality control at the only titanium plant in romania, they melt titanium sponge and pour ingots

titanium is a great metal, but its hard to process (drilling, milling) and lets not forget welding

PS if you have any curiosity on titanium, pleas ask me, i have got to know it preaty well

[Murader]

ok cool. i will definatly be talking to you. so well i started in google sketchup. but have run into an issue trying to create the outside Tube frame. (how do you bend a pipe) heh ?

[Murader]

and the new video card is here. Egva geforce 7300. and the system boots. but the cd for the mobo was mamed...

[meticoeus]

To create a bend in pipe in sketchup, you must first create a curve using the curve tool (this curve will dictate the shape of the pipe). Have the circle you are extending to make the pipe nearby. Select the curve. Use the "follow me" tool with the curve still selected then click on the flack surcface of your circle. and it will make a bend. You will either need to make your pipe with inner and outer walls, or just make sure to keep the inner surface of the circle. I suggest the former, but that is just me. You might have to place to beginning of the curve at the center of the circle you are extending b/c sometimes sketchup is finichy. If you can't find the center, try drawing a simple line from top to bottom of the circle and it will be the 'midpoint" or it will acknowledge the "center".

Using that method you should be able to make as simple a curve or as complex a graduated compound curve as you need. I also recommend making individual sections of pipe into their own "group" so that it is easy to select and move things later.

Hope that helps and good luck.

*note* This probably isn't the only way of doing this so if someone else has another way, feel free to suggest it.

[Murader]

well with my new system being mostly up and running (tweaking and system clean up) i will be able to start using autodesk inventor

[Murader]

Ok Inventor was kicking my arse atm but heres the start of the Google Sketchups

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=8ebd97e608540f4a5d165b5c1bb1fcd7&ctyp=sm

[Murader]

well its slow going but we should have some progress to report shortly. sorry about the google sketchup not working for crap. there should be pictures soon as well

[Luke122]

Where are you at in Alberta? I'm in Alberta also, and I'd be happy to help however I can with this project. We gotta stick together and GIT ER DONE.

[Murader]

im From Red Deer. i was talking with my welder. we are going to be doing the bottom and top plates right away its going to be checker plate stainless

[GT40_GearHead]

:( no titanium :(((

[Murader]

yeap no titatium due to machine ability and avalibility to me

[Murader]

ok pictures of the hardware are here. i will upload them tonight. also ive selected my steel. 1" OD x 1/8 ID Mild Steel Tube. 3/32" mild steel sheet.

[simon275]

Ohhh to bad about the titatium gona be interesting to see you emessing around the with steel though.

[Murader]

and now the pictures of the hardware that is at the basic heart of it(more ram and hd and vid card to come in the future though) that i have been promising. just pricing out the steel through work now should find out wensday and then ill order it. im getting the price of stainless as well.

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/1961/alexaug06004mt0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[GT40_GearHead]

how is the build coming a long???

[Murader]

well ive got an order in for the price of steel. my sketchup is nearly ready to show(except for the 90 bends in the tubes (it kicked my ass that way heh) with in the next couple weeks the main body/frame should be started. its just a matter of $$$ for right now. the steel is not mild steel but will be stainless. the tube is the same but the sheet is 1/16"

[Murader]

So Materials are ordered.

To arrive this week

30' - 1"od x 0.035WT Seamless Stainless Steel Tube
78"x26" - 1/8" Stainless Steel Sheet
28"x32" - 1/16" Stainless Steel Sheet
100" - 1"x1" Stainless Steel Angle Stock

No idea on cost i just up and ordered and said screw it hehe]
The order is into our Purchuser and should be ordered monday. so hopefully by wed/thur

[GT40_GearHead]

i cant wait to see how you gonna go with this, because your project is similar to mine(check it out, tell me what you think) in a way, it 100% built from the ground up,

hey we should make a club:rolleyes: (j/k !!)

[Murader]

First sheet of stainless has arrived unfortunatly its not the peice i need to get started with hah. its 1/8" for the side plates.

[Murader]

false alarm it wasent my material. just talked to my purchuser and she ordered it today

[Murader]

hah well i got prices back for my steel and atm its 1000$ so i need to change a few parts around hah

[Murader]

ok well it looks like its going to be 18ga stainless sheet now that reduced my cost a ton. the cost for that and the 1x1" 1/8" 10ft just over 300 should be here tommorow

[Murader]

Here is my current sketchup sorry have to imagin the curves in the tubes

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/9673/caseyi0.th.jpg (http://img141.imageshack.us/my.php?image=caseyi0.jpg)

[GT40_GearHead]

how are you going to plant the box in there ?

[Murader]

1/4" stainless Tube that will suspend the tower within the tube frame

[Murader]

material Arrived Yesterday. Ive got pictures to come once i get em

[Murader]

and At long Last

http://img434.imageshack.us/img434/1124/sheet1005.th.jpg (http://img434.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sheet1005.jpg)
http://img434.imageshack.us/img434/2742/sheet1004.th.jpg (http://img434.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sheet1004.jpg)
http://img434.imageshack.us/img434/7770/sheet1003.th.jpg (http://img434.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sheet1003.jpg)
http://img434.imageshack.us/img434/3773/sheet1002.th.jpg (http://img434.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sheet1002.jpg)
http://img434.imageshack.us/img434/1105/sheet1001.th.jpg (http://img434.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sheet1001.jpg)

This is the start of my material

[GT40_GearHead]

1) that is one huge sheet of alu
2) that is one big pice of happy red guy

^.^

[Murader]

Not alu -- 18ga Stainless Steel. and yo thats me having just finished 45mins of laying there Laying out one plate hah

[GT40_GearHead]

did i say alu, damn me stupe' i meant Stainless, i was searching for some alu when i posted

[Murader]

hey typos arent stupid they are just that typos hah

[Murader]

well after a week off work due to being sick im finnaly able to get this project moving some more. this weekend or this week coming up i will be Breaking my steel and bending it. so by next friday there should be pics of the bottom plates/sides and basic setup

[simon275]

Ok nice. Can't wait. Good to hear that you are better now.

[Murader]

Ok well my materials are at the Truck Shop so sometime in the upcoming week our break operator will chop it and bend it... *dun dun dun*

[Murader]

ok so the break operator was over here yesterday. he said he is gonna try and get it choped and bent today. unfortunatly i cant to the Heim like i wanted to but meh what ever.

[GT40_GearHead]

dont forget the pics, i MUST see how it looks

[Murader]

Pics will be here today or tommorow my Break operator called me this morning he has finished.

[GT40_GearHead]

glad to hear this,
i cant wait to see the pics

[Murader]

here they are

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/7827/case001ps9.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=case001ps9.jpg)
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/1881/case002up4.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=case002up4.jpg)
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/3900/case003st0.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=case003st0.jpg)

Ill let ya know when i get it welded up

[Murader]

so i got bored at lunch and this is what i have come up with so far
http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/8729/caseth8.th.jpg (http://img212.imageshack.us/my.php?image=caseth8.jpg)

Im going to take between 1 1/2 - 2" out of the high as it measured out at 26"

[GT40_GearHead]

looks very good, and I must say i love your shop

[Murader]

heh thanks thats just one of my departments i run two of em. there both just little work rooms but hey im a precision assembler i dont need big. once we start welding ill get more pics of the entire plant.

[Murader]

Well we are Balls out here at my shop so very little progress has been made (at least nothing worth noting) ive gotten the corners of the bottom and top plate Welded but they look like nothing more than cooking sheets atm. so it will be a bit longer. so while waitting ive started on a Custom Stainless Steel Performance Mouse Pad hah. pictures to come

[NocturnaL]

Awesom shop, ide like to see some progress from this mod soon :)

[Murader]

i gotz pictures just need the time to get em off cell phone to the net and juggle em and such. well my mouse pad sort of got messed up while putting my logo on it it warped pretty bad. any tips on how to Media blast a Thin Gauge metal and reduce the heat warpage? such as media types (i cant change the media at work but i was thinking of picking up a cheap hand helded blaster.)

[GT40_GearHead]

so, how are the pictures coming along :D

[Murader]

Ok well this Project sort of Slowed to a Stop (still due to Work/lack of welder availability) but i have managed to come up with a name as well as have some of my pictures online. ill post em tonight

[GT40_GearHead]

what is ... the... name..... ?!

[Murader]

ok so the name is "BigSteel"

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/7460/getimage3lq8.th.jpg (http://img96.imageshack.us/my.php?image=getimage3lq8.jpg)
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/8104/getimagejh9.th.jpg (http://img96.imageshack.us/my.php?image=getimagejh9.jpg)

This next one is a early shot at my mouse pad
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/3550/getimage2ag3.th.jpg (http://img96.imageshack.us/my.php?image=getimage2ag3.jpg)

[slytherock]

ok so the name is "BigSteel"


So we know where it's going. Nice work on the soldering, and I like that mouse pad :up:

[Murader]

Tig Welded. its gonna be big and its gonna be steel. i just got a samsung 19" 931c and i am thinking about doing the face panel of it in Stainless Steel as well. the texture to the mouse pad was Awsome but then i attempted to Beadblast my logo into it and sort of messed it up. i need to figure out how im going todo that with out warping the Steel to badly

[GT40_GearHead]

great stuff, i'm so happy you are making progres


PS:
its gonna be big and its gonna be steel.... could it be.... a nother "metal good, wood(or any thing else) bad" :D

[Murader]

hell no. i have plans in my head for Serveral Lexan Bassed cases. and even 1 wood based

[GT40_GearHead]

ha haa

glad to see you have plans

when can I expect to see some photos

[Commando]

Killer metal work. I can't wait to see this thing come together.

[Murader]

Well was lunch time yesterday so i figured id take and get a little more work done.

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/5897/121306001uf5.th.jpg (http://img263.imageshack.us/my.php?image=121306001uf5.jpg)

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/4199/121306002ju2.th.jpg (http://img263.imageshack.us/my.php?image=121306002ju2.jpg)

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/990/121306003fu6.th.jpg (http://img263.imageshack.us/my.php?image=121306003fu6.jpg)

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/5960/121306004bl9.th.jpg (http://img263.imageshack.us/my.php?image=121306004bl9.jpg)

This is so that the Pillars will Sit down onto the Plates better

[crazybillybob]

i need to figure out how im going todo that with out warping the Steel to badly

Try Backing the sheet metal with some heavy plywood (3/4" +), and make sure that the wood is sitting on something solid. That should deaden the energy from the beads, with out allowing the steel to flex to much (if you look at it thick 1/4-3/4" steel plate doesn't flex when blasted but the thin stuff (less then 1/8" does the wood will make it more like that 1/2" plate)

Nice welds, I hear stainless is tough to do and get it to look good!

CrazyBillyBob

[GT40_GearHead]

I hear stainless is tough to do and get it to look good!

its hard to make it look good iif you dont have an argon purge box/enclosure

[Murader]

there is heavyer steel in the media blaster. but its the heat of the beads. im just playing with my pressures/distances when i get chances. to get the effect with out the heat. i will try the wood though as it may absorb the heat better.

thank you for the ideas and great responces
i know its taking a long long long time and not making much progress but well. im stuck at the mercy of my welders. and $$. how ever i have been workin on sketchup and will post my latest. soon

[Murader]

here my sketchups

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/3829/caseec8.th.jpg (http://img263.imageshack.us/my.php?image=caseec8.jpg)

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/7184/case2lp2.th.jpg (http://img263.imageshack.us/my.php?image=case2lp2.jpg)

[GT40_GearHead]

here my sketchups

these are nice man, real nice frame, i like :D

what are you going to fill it with, i gues the smaler inside volume is for the system, what about the rest

[Murader]

well the Frame is just there for working (since i got the top/Bottom plates. but needed the clear access for sketching up) that will be the main supports for it all. but the smaller area is for the Mobo and system as you said. the rest is going to be the Rest of the system IE. HardDrives, Water Works(under the Mobo area will be Resivoir 1 its going to encumpus the entire area benith the system chamber, with a tube going through it to route the air through the center of that Resivoir to cool it, then the it will pull the Air out the Top of the Chamber and through the PSu)(with a turbine type setup) But Silent as my goal is 0db coming out of that system except for when the "Hood" on top opens up to reveal Resivoir 2(a huge Rad)-(the entire Tube structure that will be encompasing the main Tower will also be part of Liquid System 2)(dual water cooled Systems for different parts of the system(IE 1 for mobo/vid/ram, and 1 for Hd's) with Dual 7" fans on it. Essentially ill be turning the entire unit into one Large Stainless Steel Disapation Unit, theres going to be the Electrical systems (custom built power bus and stuff with hot port type power plugs so i can expand as i need. A VAporizor - After all i am an Alberta Stoner :) , Dvd Drives, Etc. theres the possibility of a Ups and Usb Hub. Also if anyone is interested or has ideas id be more than happy to put the accuall google Sketchup, Up.

[Murader]

well after a long time a small update. well no progress as i have been going through a employment transition. so this project is temp suspended untill i figure out my next course of action