Project R2-D2 PC

[TheGreatSatan]

Yes, I'm a Star Wars geek.

Here we go again. Another project is lined up. I will be making a life size R2D2 from scratch. I'm estimating that it'll be about 4 feet tall and about 2 feet wide. The material is still sketchy, but I'm either using plastic or thin aluminum. I know that it will be heavy so I will use casters under the feet.

Currently I want to put in an Athlon 64 system, but do not know if I can afford it. I've entered several contests as of late with my mods and if I win any I'll know the projects' specs. Otherwise Air Force One will get gutted for R2D2. I was saving money for a Vapochill case to replace AF1, but I think that my ideas on this one will be worth it. Also, my Exos will not tag along. I have a complete Watercooling setup from Danger Den ready for the project. It includes a 120mm radiator and the DD RBX.


http://img19.paintedover.com/uploads/19/rbx.jpg (http://paintedover.com/uploads/show.php?loc=19&f=rbx.jpg)

Anything that you can think of to try to encorporate into this mod will be handy. Thanks.

[Malatory]

3d Holographic projector, Welding Tools, Self Propeld. :D :D

I would Go with the 1st R2D2 and skip out on trying to add Jets to the legs.

[TheGreatSatan]

I have the body. I bought this old Pepsi store cooler.

http://img19.paintedover.com/uploads/19/cooler.jpg (http://paintedover.com/uploads/show.php?loc=19&f=cooler.jpg)

[Zeus]

SWEET!! That should do quite nicely. Are you going to cut and rejoin it to make it more cylindrical instead of slightly conical?

[ZeD]

Where ya gonna keep your pepsi?

[MisterChief]

:eek:That is extremely overlarge for a PC... oh well!

And add the jets, as well as that little shocker thingy! :D

[Zeus]

yeah, but considering he is going for life size. It should be more than adequate. Should be easy to figure out an airflow system

[MisterChief]

yeah, but considering he is going for life size. It should be more than adequate. Should be easy to figure out an airflow system

That's true. I can think of a lot of ways to set up cooling in there... should be pretty easy, considering the space

[reddog418]

:eek:That is extremely overlarge for a PC... oh well!

And add the jets, as well as that little shocker thingy! :D
Get little mini propane tanks, electric lighters and you've got a show-stopper... not to mention you get to be best friends with your local fire department.

[MisterChief]

Get little mini propane tanks, electric lighters and you've got a show-stopper... not to mention you get to be best friends with your local fire department.

Lol :D

[TheGreatSatan]

I've been thinking about it a lot and I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it so the legs move. I think for stability sake I'll keep the legs stuck to the sides.

For Cooling, I'd like to put one 150mm fan on the bottom. I'll have to think about any others. I'll obviously have the room.

[Zeus]

if you put wheels on the legs. You can actually use it to roll the case around. By your own admission, you said it would be on the heavy side. Just make sure to put a balast wight on the bottom to make sure it doesn't tip over when you roll it.

[lorddarkwolf]

THis guy used a garbage can to build a computer into. Thought this might help you out! You might be able to use some of his ideas to fit the computer into the cooler for your R2 Mod.
http://promodz.ru/content/view/77/26/1/0/

[Zeus]

damn, that looked cool

[TheGreatSatan]

I liked the plexi-levels. My case will be a hell of a lot more roomy. Also, do you think I should mount the mobo vertically or horizontally?

[Zeus]

horizontally has one advantage I have always liked. YOu don't have to worry as much about the HSF weight damaging your board. When you have a big heavy HSF on a vertical mobo, that is always a possible problem if the system gets jarred too heavily

[Xato]

That, and if this thing has wheels... Horizontal components = easier to control centre of gravity. Which means no topsy turvy mobo inside your case as you move it around.

[TheGreatSatan]

Cool thanks. The PSU I have is 500 watts. Should I go higher?

[Frakk]

a decent 500W psu will be more then enough. regarding the mobo: horizontal is more convinient, but you can have better cooling in a vertical setup

[TheGreatSatan]

Speaking of which, since I have the space, I'm thinking of just putting a phase change cooling system in the bottom next to the PSU and under the mobo.

[Xato]

Lol, that would be cool

[Memnon]

I have a few suggestions/tips for your project. There is an entire society of people who make their own full size, fully functional R2 droids. They have lots of pictures, tutorials, blueprints, etc on their website http://astromech.net The "official diameter of R2D2 is 18.25 inches. But you can purchase an 18 inch squirrell baffle that would work great for your dome. As for 2 or 3 leg position, you could do both if you set your Hard Drives on a pivotable mount that allows you to keep them either horizontal or vertical. You could make the third (middle) leg detachable. If you wanted to go absolutely overboard, you could make the radar Eye (the main black lens) retractable to reveal a portable projetor. (THE ULTIMATE HTPC). In case you haven't guessed, I have been working on my own R2-D2 PC. (Scaled down to 15inch diameter) I'll be watching this thread with great interest. :)

[Xato]

Lol, u mean you'll be 'sharing' ideas... lol j/j...
It'll be great to see how different minds and approaches can alter the same style mod.

[Malatory]

I have a few suggestions/tips for your project. There is an entire society of people who make their own full size, fully functional R2 droids. They have lots of pictures, tutorials, blueprints, etc on their website http://astromech.net The "official diameter of R2D2 is 18.25 inches. But you can purchase an 18 inch squirrell baffle that would work great for your dome. As for 2 or 3 leg position, you could do both if you set your Hard Drives on a pivotable mount that allows you to keep them either horizontal or vertical. You could make the third (middle) leg detachable. If you wanted to go absolutely overboard, you could make the radar Eye (the main black lens) retractable to reveal a portable projetor. (THE ULTIMATE HTPC). In case you haven't guessed, I have been working on my own R2-D2 PC. (Scaled down to 15inch diameter) I'll be watching this thread with great interest. :)

if you have started your R2D2 project. I am sure a lot of us would like to see a project log of it as well :D I will follow your link when I get home just in case it is there.

I also like the Idea of using the projector as the eye. Closes thing we have today to a 3d Holigraphic Projector (at least in a normals person price range).

[Zeus]

I second that motion

[Crunch]

You can get a holagraphic keyboard, that might be nice.

Projects the key's to a flat surface and senses where you touch.

[TheGreatSatan]

This thread is the worklog. I'm getting the cooler by mail any day now. Once I have it I'll start taking pics. I had a projector, but gave it away in a contest at TwistedForums and I'm not gonna buy another.

[Whisp]

saw this in an other forum and again will say i am excited to see how this turns out.

[TheGreatSatan]

Some disappointing news. The seller I purchased the cooler said there are structural problems not mentioned earlier, so I am not getting it. I will be going to a couple of stores and see what I can find in the trash can area. I've seen some nice round 96 gallon plastic garbage cans before and think that maybe I can make it work. The legs for R2 will be about the hardest to create so I've printed out the specs and will be having them made by a plastics shop. For both legs to be made it'll be less than $100.00. I'll let you know what's going on with this mod soon.

[X child]

Where do you live TheGreatSatan? I think my Dad has one of those coolers in his basement. If your interested I can see if he still has it.

[TheGreatSatan]

Do you think that this can work for my R2's body?

http://img20.paintedover.com/uploads/20/r2_grill.jpg (http://paintedover.com/uploads/show.php?loc=20&f=r2_grill.jpg)

[Zeus]

I think you have a very cood candidate there

[Malatory]

hhmmm Smoked Mother boards.

It should work. If not you will have a very intresting smoker when your done.

[Xato]

I must say it looks a lot more rigid than the cooler. Plus you are gaurenteed quality...

[Bum]

And another bonus to using the smoker....If you ever let the smoke out of any of your computer components, you can just fire up the smoker and put it right back in!

[TheGreatSatan]

I found it! I bought a 45 gallon drum. I'm gonna paint it white tonight. Then I'll get the legs and head and be more than halfway there!

http://www.oneimagehost.com/files/drum.jpg

[Xato]

The dimensions of that look pretty accurate to me. hope to see more progress soon

[Memnon]

How do you plan on putting the panel designs on the body?

[TheGreatSatan]

For the just the plain boxes I'm gonna use pin striping. For the actual vents and such, I'm still looking into.

[Guttenaffe]

Might want to try scoring the plastic, that could work too.

[TheGreatSatan]

I've been working on r2 d2. I've started on his back first with the pin striping, but it's a real slow process and I've wasted a lot of it when I don't get the angles right and have to peel it off. I've used a lot of Goo Gone too.

http://www.oneimagehost.com/files/pin_back.jpg

The legs I'm having made for $62.00 total. But here's the problem. I'll need a 22 inch diameter dome head. The places I've called said that the mold alone will be about $350.00!! Obviously I'm not paying that, so what to do....

[Matthew]

make one :S....im trying to think of how you can. Try going to home depot....or something and finding a big ass posta pot. Or maby a bowl used for like....hell i dunno but i have seen some pots that would fit on his head...with a little modifying you can get it to look just right.

[Memnon]

To make your own Dome, you could try the same method Mashie used to make the body panels on his Y2K bug. Take a look at http://www.mashie.org/casemods/y2k14.html

[Mach]

I can't vouch for the company or prices but you could try here.

http://www.complast.com/balls/ACRYLIC.htm

http://www.complast.com/balls/ACRYLIC_SPHERE1.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

Perfect!

I'm working on the rockets that come out of his legs too.

http://www.oneimagehost.com/files/rockets.jpg

[Malatory]

I can't vouch for the company or prices but you could try here.

http://www.complast.com/balls/ACRYLIC.htm


Why go with a Ball or sphere shape when he needs a DOME. Yes they do sell domes as well. I would link to one but my work is messing with the site and not letting everything through (Gotta love proxy servers).

[Xbrid]

what about lots and lots of bondo? i have never used the stuff so i don't know how much it costs though. Or some wood?

[Cardan]

looking good TGS.

good luck with the dome

[Zeus]

coming along quite nicely

[TheGreatSatan]

Here's some more pics. I've been finishing up the back of R2 with the pinstriping and adding a little color.

http://www.oneimagehost.com/files/painting1.jpg

http://www.oneimagehost.com/files/painting2.jpg

http://www.oneimagehost.com/files/painting3.jpg

[lorddarkwolf]

Looks good so far!

[Xato]

I cant wait to see how those jets turn out...
How will they be attached, inside the legs then swing out? Or just a simple mount on the outside?

[Cymae]

I'm just wondering how you intend to let it be opened? because you wont want to yank on the head....maybe you can do like that trashcan person, and maybe hinge the head onto the body, then have it on a rig with handles inside so you can take it apart?

[Xbrid]

looks great

[TheGreatSatan]

I cant wait to see how those jets turn out...
How will they be attached, inside the legs then swing out? Or just a simple mount on the outside?

I'm gonna mount them to the outside.

The legs arrived and are a real flimsy plastic, so now I'll also need to figure out how they're supposed to hold the weight of R2.

http://img218.echo.cx/img218/2365/backdone14cw.jpg

http://img218.echo.cx/img218/9307/backdone20ng.jpg

[Cyberaxe]

Wow! thats gonna look ALOT better than I thought!

[Xbrid]

legs look good.

[TheGreatSatan]

I'm painting the front still too. I hope I got all the right angles and at least the general color scheme.

http://img291.echo.cx/img291/8855/frontpaint23mx.jpg

http://img291.echo.cx/img291/2392/frontpaint12vn.jpg

[Whisp]

WOW

I like that. Excellent job. i always like mods that are inventive and such. Like i mentioned before definetly a mod to watch.

[Xato]

Thats lookin awesome dude. I can just hear Crimson yelling out "Kit-bash! Kit-bash!" right now.:D But like i said, its goin awesome.
You say the legs are flimsy... If they are hollow, maybe you could fill them with some kind of plastic or resin or whatever... I'm not to up on the technical terms. Can anyone elaborate on this?

[TheGreatSatan]

Here's a couple more. Next I'll be figuring out the way I'll set up the components and ports placement.

http://img64.echo.cx/img64/606/backdone36eg.jpg

http://img64.echo.cx/img64/4310/frontpaint37ua.jpg

I'll be figuring out the head later. What do you guys think of this one?

http://amos.shop.com/cc.class/cc?search_form=&main=ccn_search&rnd=1119718704818&ccsyn=260&sy=products&st=22+orinoco&search_button.x=20&search_button.y=13

[Zeus]

those seem kind of heavy. Will they make your mod top heavy? Off balance?

[toast07]

not if he fills the bottom half with bricks...

[TheGreatSatan]

It's not what I want either. I have so much still left to accomplish and the head will be purchased when I find the absolute best one. It will be a perfect fit and be lightweight and I'll take as much time as I want finding it. Tommorrow I will do a little recon to try and find something. I'm thinking an old BIG globe may work.

[Zeus]

Now you talking. You could go to wal-mart and find a cheap globe with the right diameter. Then just hack it up when you get home.

GREAT IDEA!!

[TheGreatSatan]

I stood up R2. He's stable for now, but later I'll add whatever I decide to keep him that way.

http://img113.echo.cx/img113/5126/upright11jf.jpg

http://img113.echo.cx/img113/2504/upright23jt.jpg



Here's another with my 5 year old daughter next to him, just to get a real idea on R2's height.

http://img113.echo.cx/img113/2938/annar27zc.jpg

I've decided to use the bottom portion of a Weber Grill for his head. It measures 22.5 inches and will be perfect. The grill will be about $60.00. The only problem is that after I remove the grills legs and the ash catcher I'll need to do some bondo work to cover the holes left.

[toast07]

is ur dauter holding soccer balls or choking the life out 2 pandas? btw the mod looks great

[Zeus]

small potatoes on the bondo work

[TheGreatSatan]

is ur dauter holding soccer balls or choking the life out 2 pandas? btw the mod looks great

2 panda Care Bears.

[Frakk]

shes a cutie and this mod looks really awesome. two thumbs up Great Satan :D

[TheGreatSatan]

The BBQ grill comes black, should I sand it to a brushed aluminum look or paint it? Grey or silver?

[Cymae]

go with the same colour as the bottom of the panels on the r2 unit.

[TheGreatSatan]

I thought about that, but I also thought they might be too dark. I'm not going with the brushed aluminum look. I did it once and for some reason fingerprints and dirt are attracted to it.

[Cymae]

lol, did u coat it in clear?

[TheGreatSatan]

I'll obviously have to paint it. I'll be using bondo on the holes and to avoid seeing that work, I'll have to paint.

For the legs, I will get some steel rods and bend them to the shape of the leg's interior then fill the dead space with expanding foam.

I'll be getting the weber grill on Wednesday and will hopefully get started that night.

[TheGreatSatan]

I bought this large plastic outdoor flower pot. As you see, I set it inside of R2. It will hold the PC parts and support the 150mm fan in the bottom blowing upward. Under it, and still tucked into the body, will rest my phase change cooling system.


http://img233.echo.cx/img233/2732/flowerpot8ux.jpg

[Xato]

Awesome... how much is the phase change gonna set you back?

[TheGreatSatan]

$800

I bought the grill. Here you can see the holes I'll need to fill in with bondo.

http://img75.echo.cx/img75/9725/head16xp.jpg


The lip on the lid I'll need to cut off, so the head will stay on the body.

http://img75.echo.cx/img75/1351/head24pu.jpg


Here's an idea of what it'll look like. It's gonna be perfect!

http://img75.echo.cx/img75/4688/head37cu.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

I started cutting away the lip on the grill. Without it there the head will fit even and snug. I started first with a jigsaw, thinking it would go faster than a dremel. The blade broke and I barely scratched the surface!

http://img231.echo.cx/img231/839/trim10mt.jpg


So I switched to the dremel. The first blade was gone after an inch or so.

http://img231.echo.cx/img231/2714/trim22dm.jpg


After about 45 minutes I cut off maybe 40% of it and went through 8 blades.

http://img231.echo.cx/img231/4197/trim38vy.jpg

http://img231.echo.cx/img231/6464/trim47cb.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

I bought the jets I'm going to use on the legs of R2. They are actually PVC piping for bathrooms. First I've applied a Plastic primer, I'll paint them silver/grey to match the dome.

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/5048/jets0sd.jpg


Here's the 1/4 inch rods I'll be using to frame the legs.

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/9932/framing8xc.jpg


And the foam I'll fill the legs in with for support. Behind them you can see the gold wires/tubes that come out of R2's feet. Those will go on later.

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/6659/foam2to.jpg


As you can see I fixed the paint blemish that everyone has noticed.

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/1215/fixed0mf.jpg


Here's the bondo, paint, tack cloth, and plastic bondo spreading thingies.

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/9126/bondo7kv.jpg


Lastly the sheet metal that'll go behind the holes in the grill before I bondo. I'll be using JB Weld to attach 'em.\

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/9752/sheetmetal2sn.jpg

[Xato]

Nice progress...
That dome should look really good when done...
How heavy is it btw?

[Malatory]

That is looking really good. Nice work on it. make me reallized that I have been slacking off on my modes that I been working on.

time to activated the Into work late and leave early thinking so I can spend more than a few minutes on my projects.

[TheGreatSatan]

Nice progress...
That dome should look really good when done...
How heavy is it btw?

The dome is at least 20lbs.

[Malatory]

The dome is at least 20lbs.

You know if the dome I am working on for a project that is to be anounced after I finish my current one, was smooth. I would offer a fiberglass copy of it to you.

http://www.malatorymods.com/dome1.JPG
http://www.malatorymods.com/dome2.JPG

But I also think it might be a little smaller than what you need.


again yours case is looking really good.

[TheGreatSatan]

Thanks. It has to be at least 22 inches in diameter. The grill is 22.25, so that's why the lip is coming off.

[TheGreatSatan]

Nice relaxing day today. I just painted the jets for R2's legs to match the color of the dome (which is still to come).

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/7558/silverjets8zz.jpg


The dome on R2 will go a lot faster now that I bought an an angle grinder with cutting disk!

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/7611/grinder0pj.jpg

[Xbrid]

looks good.

[Xato]

Sexy jets, and sexy power tool.

[TheGreatSatan]

Last night I worked on the legs. I used 1/4 inch rods and that foamy stuff. I have used many tools and methods when modding over the years, but this expanding foam has got to be the coolest.

In the first pic you can see the support rod covered by the foam.

http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/4945/foamy7qi.jpg


And after it expanded and dried. I'll still have to shave off the excess and paint it.

http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/4236/foamy27tz.jpg

[temmink]

Anyone seen Akira? That last pic remind you of anything? "TETSUO!!!!!!!!!!" You know, when Tetsuo gets shot and turns into the giant baby and all expands out and stuff and the chick gets crushed between his giant expanding rolls.

Or not.

Expanding filler foam stuff is cool.

[UK-Blade]

Sort of...

Maybe......

If your p**sed and are viewing the image at 160x120, monochrome with a thick oily film on the monitor screen :D ;)

Just pulling your leg, similar to Akira.

[Bum]

I actually make that kind of foam at work. It's really amazing stuff. That stuff in the can is around 2 to 3 pounds/cubic foot but it can be formulated to up to 60 pounds/cubic foot. At the higher densities it is nearly structural in strength.

I'd reccommend going over it with a filler of some kind before painting it in order to get the surface even.

[temmink]

If your p**sed and are viewing the image at 160x120, monochrome with a thick oily film on the monitor screen :D ;)

What are you insinuating?

btw

THREAD HIJACK!!! Get down on the floor and nobody will be hurt!!!
*Smashes Security Guard in the face with the but of his pistol*
Put all the posts in the bag and NO alarms or I swear to God...
*looking menacingly at the young pregnant woman serving at the till*
...I'll kill every last one of you!
*shoots several rounds excitedly into the cieling*
Giggle.

[Xbrid]

WTF??!!!

lol :D

[TheGreatSatan]

I've been working on the reinforcement of the feet/legs. I had shown you the foamy stuff in action and here's what it looks like after I cut it down.

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/1306/foamy30zx.jpg


I sketched out the feet.

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/9891/reinforcedfeet19kr.jpg


And I cut them out.

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/296/reinforcedfeet25rt.jpg


Here's what I'm doing for the bottom. Between the mobo's components and the Phase Change cooling system I will be putting up a heat shield. Obviously I'll make the cuts where I need to in order to feed the heatsink to the Proc.
I bought a 24 X 36 inch sheet of aluminum that I've marked (below) to be cut down to 22 X 22. Then I'll cut off the corners and make it into a 22 inch circle, before dropping it in.

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/9172/barrier11jk.jpg


I also finished the dome cutting with the angle grinder. I used a 4 inch cutting disk and it cut the dome like butter. Loud, sparky butter. The silver squares left behind were from the where the handle had been.

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/6894/shaved18br.jpg


And here's an image of the flush edge as it sits on R2's body.

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/253/shaved23xs.jpg

[Aero]

Man that foam stuff is great, theres no limit to its uses, I used it last year to create a costume for the release of Halo 2. I went to the store dressed up as the Master Chief...yes it was cool......a 6 year old got my picture on his cell phone.....

R2-D2 looks good :p

[Zeus]

that's disturbing on for two reasons...

you dressed as master chief on a non-halloween occasion

and a 6 yr old with a cell phone

[crenn]

that's disturbing on for two reasons...

you dressed as master chief on a non-halloween occasion

and a 6 yr old with a cell phone

I've seen worse. A 3 year old with his own high preformance desktop. Waste of cash in my opinon.

But hey, the costume would have look cool, but I'm planing to make a Titatium Halo Armor, but I need a lot of funds to get the right equipment and the metal itself.

EDIT: Forgot to ask, do you have any pics of that?

[TheGreatSatan]

I got to work on the heat shield. There was a lot to be cut.

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/8048/sparky1ad.jpg


I got the 24 X 36 inch sheet down to 22 X 22.

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/3851/heatshield14bz.jpg


Then I drew where the circle was gonna be.

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/1261/heatshield24ee.jpg


I cut it out. A little rough and I'll fix it later.

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/8066/heatshield35ik.jpg


Then I slid it in. Once I figure out where the fans and stuff will go, I'll make those cuts too.

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/6388/heatshield42sh.jpg

[temmink]

Hey, if you are gonna have some space, you should put like a mini bar fridge in. That would be, perhaps, too awesome??...

[UK-Blade]

If your gonna put a fridge in, why not go all the way....

If you make R2's head outta sheet metal, then you could turn it upside down and use it as a BBQ. So now you got a case with a fridge, BBQ and what else.....Oh yeah, a PC... ;)

Seriously some fine cutting goin on there, thnx for the nice pics of the sparks..

Keep up the good work (and us up to date)

[TheGreatSatan]

I've knocked out a few more things tonight. First off I used some JB Weld and scrap metal to fill in the holes on R'2 head.

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/9938/weld1go.jpg

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/8512/weld17bj.jpg


Another thing I knocked out was the aluminum covers for the feet. I sed rivets to clamp it on.

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/12/rivets10bu.jpg

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/1527/rivets24ws.jpg


And then I painted it white.

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/2927/rivets32ki.jpg


Along R2's lower half, I'll have one 80mm intake and one 80mm out take fan. I painted the grills blue,

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/7030/bluegrills8hu.jpg


The last thing I accomplished tonight was the dismantling of Air Force One. These parts will be going to R2.

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/3940/lastaf118qk.jpg

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/4245/lastaf120nq.jpg

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/6932/lastaf136ge.jpg

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/4317/lastaf141fn.jpg

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/1720/lastaf150rr.jpg


And the parts list is:

Abit IC7 Max3
P4 3.2Ghz
1GB Mushkin DDR400
120GB HD
Radeon 9800XT 256MB
Soundblaster 7.1
Phase Change Cooling system @-30 C
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/7505/r2mobo6rs.jpg

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/8546/r2parts9ur.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

I started all the bondo work needed. First I had to remove the 3 pieces originally made to hold the grill's legs. I cut the weld in half and pried them off.

http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/1426/bondo11mq.jpg


Here's a pic of the top after I pulled off the pieces. You can also see where I fixed the other holes with JB Weld and sheet metal.

http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/1061/bondo27rs.jpg


Next shows the bondo work. (Man this stuff stinks)

http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/5144/bondo30ci.jpg


And then I sanded.

http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/1271/bondo40os.jpg


And used Primer.

http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/3356/bondo54ic.jpg


And sanded the primer. As you can probably see there are still some dips and bumps left. I'm gonna have to sand some more and then Bondo over it all. Hopefully I can keep it flat and uniform this time.

http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/6693/bondo66zu.jpg

[Crimson Sky]

This is just too cool---I cant wait to see it progress---excellent worklog so far 8)

[TheGreatSatan]

Thanks for the compliment. This is definately my most challenging and fun project to date. I think after I finish this I should stop modding all together. That way I'd go out with a bang.



Oh, wait. I still have a new full tower in box. Nevermind the first part.

[TheGreatSatan]

I finished bondo-ing the dome.

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/2831/lastprimer4os.jpg


For the feet I used Caulk to even out the bottom between the legs and the aluminum covers.

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/3084/caulkfeet5sz.jpg


Next thing I did was install the grills and fans for the bottom portion. This area is reserved for the phase change cooling system. The intake is on the front near the leg and the out take is in the back near the other leg.

INTAKE
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/106/fans29st.jpg

OUT TAKE
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/3267/fans12ls.jpg


Here's my first coat of silver.

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/7130/firstsilver7rr.jpg


R2's eye arrived.

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/2979/eye3ps.jpg


Finally, here's kind of what I'm thinking about doing with all the components. All the framing is from AF1. I want to have the drives be behind the mobo so that the wiring in front of the mobo would be minimal at best. I'm still messing with how to best do this and keep it clean.

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6581/mountconcpt5ge.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

The one thing I've been dreading the most is done. I have cut away the back of R2 for the PCI, AGP and IO ports. I'm happy with the end look.

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/7941/ioports2tf.jpg


My Vapochill system should be here by Wednesday.

[Xbrid]

That looks great. :D

[TheGreatSatan]

I put in my IO shield today and put another coat of clear on R2's dome head. I'll post pics of that before I move on to the blue parts.

http://img346.imageshack.us/img346/7038/ioshield4zj.jpg


Next up, I'm gonna be spending time on the tubes that belong on R2's feet, just like the movie. Below is what I'm using. They're originally from under the sink plumbing and were less than $2.00 each.

http://img346.imageshack.us/img346/7974/coils4pd.jpg

Also, see www.gruntville.com

R2 is their featured Mod.

[TheGreatSatan]

I got to work on matching the IO port plate with the case.

http://img276.imageshack.us/img276/130/iopaint11fl.jpg

http://img276.imageshack.us/img276/5790/iopaint22ro.jpg

http://img276.imageshack.us/img276/1269/iopaint37nm.jpg


And I finished clear coating the dome. Next, I'll be setting up the disign with tape to mark off where the blue needs to be painted.

http://img276.imageshack.us/img276/4069/lastsilver7lo.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

I got the Vapochill in the mail today.


http://img303.imageshack.us/img303/6050/vapochill49ft.jpg


As you can see, it's gonna add a bit of weight to R2.


http://img303.imageshack.us/img303/8041/vapochill28tw.jpg

[Crimson Sky]

Gah!!..its gonna be Vapochilled...no way thats just sick. R2DeeTooOC'd geeze!

[TheGreatSatan]

I'm thinking I can get my 3.2 to 4.0!
*******************************************
I set the Vapochill in for reference sake, obviously this is upside down, but it's still accurate. As you can see, it just fits.

http://img347.imageshack.us/img347/554/r2chill14xm.jpg

http://img347.imageshack.us/img347/8957/r2chill29do.jpg


And I painted the IO plate to match the ports.

http://img347.imageshack.us/img347/6633/whiteio3zz.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

I may have a solution to the weight of the vapochill in regards to how much R2 can support. When I bought the grill it came with this:

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/1631/vaposupport3tv.jpg

If I make some short legs, I can put this uder R2 to hold the vapochill in place.

[TheGreatSatan]

Today I bolted down the heat shield and motherboard tray. I also cut a hole for where the heatsink from the Vapochill will come up through from the bottom.

http://img317.imageshack.us/img317/1821/heatsinkhole0gd.jpg

[Malatory]

Looking really good. Like the VapoChill as well. Drool...

[TheGreatSatan]

I've been meaning to post this for everyone. Here's what I've been using for R2's striping. I've seriously gone through 18 packs!

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/3839/pinstripes1xn.jpg


Also, I've got both pieces of R2's eye; the lens and framing for it. (the lens is covered with masking tape to protect it.

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/4792/optical15by.jpg

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/5279/optical29rv.jpg


Off topic.

Here's a old socket 3 motherboard that I will be turning into a clock for my work area.

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/8135/clock16rn.jpg


I do all my modding in my 3 car garage. It's been getting a bit messy ever since I started on R2. This is clean enough.

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/4191/workarea13wy.jpg

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/9982/workarea25md.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

I did two things last night.

1. I painted the eye frame blue.

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/7083/blueframe3dd.jpg

2. I fixed the pin striping around the IO plate.

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/513/newstriping5rd.jpg

[ludothegreat]

I'm not even that big a Star Wars fan, but this mod is jsut hella kool. Keep it up. I can't wait till its completed.

[TheGreatSatan]

This will help you get the image of where I'm at:

http://img335.imageshack.us/img335/9468/headeye3wz.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

I've been working on R2's head. First I drew out the image I wanted on masking tape.

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/3017/bluehead15ca.jpg


Then started cutting the soon to be painted parts.

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/8913/bluehead23pm.jpg


Soon I was done.

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/7729/bluehead32ra.jpg


Then the blue paint went on.

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/1890/bluehead42nx.jpg


And after 3 coats I peeled off the tape.

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/2162/bluehead51pe.jpg



I'll be fixing the rough edge look with some more pin stripes.

[Malatory]

Nice work. I think this is going to be a sweet looking R2-D2.

[TheGreatSatan]

I bought some slot loading drives. Never know how many you'll need.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5203710043&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

http://templates.kyozou.com/pictures/302000/301927.jpg

[public_eyesore]

awesome, ive always thought about using them in a mod, but never got around to it.

[TheGreatSatan]

Tonight I'm going to do a lot of painting. Mostly the dome, but some parts of the body. I've done extensive searches on the net and have found some parts of th ebody that aren't painted correctly.

http://www.robotbuilders.net/r2/

[crazybillybob]

Check Out Astromech.net (http://www.astromech.net)

It's the R2Builders new website (Ok it's not new but it's keep up to date the other one is not). There are galleries of builders mechs, some how to's on painting ,Lighting , ETC.

To Join the R2Builders Click Here (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/r2builders/) Please Read the Welcome letter! THEY DO NOT SELL COMPLETED DROIDS!

Looking Good, The VapoChill is just Killer!


Keep Building,
CrazyBillybob

[TheGreatSatan]

Astromech is where I went and bought the eye and lens. I'm not registered yet. Maybe I should.

[crazybillybob]

They are a great bunch, Very helpful very patient, extremely Talented, and social too. I know it's shameless plug for them but they've helped me allot and I've learned tons about working with plastics and other things there.... It's helped round out my Modding.

Crazybillybob

[TheGreatSatan]

I've been working some more on the dome. I went to a R2 website with very detailed pics of the real R2 at the Smithsonian so I can get the dome as close to real as possible.

http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/6072/bluepaneling10ma.jpg

http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/5356/bluepaneling23nd.jpg

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/2235/bluepaneling37zp.jpg

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/2273/bluepaneling44de.jpg


I know it's not perfect, but I will be going back to fix them all and use pinstriping to frame each box up. I want to get all the boxes painted first before I start perfecting them.

[TheGreatSatan]

The Dome is just about done. They're are still a couple things left, but the majority of the painting has been accomplished. These are my favorite pics so far.

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/3088/nearcomp10mv.jpg

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/6953/nearcomp28al.jpg

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/6428/nearcomp38rm.jpg

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/2750/nearcomp48vg.jpg

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/5277/nearcomp52xh.jpg

[crenn]

Looks great, can't wait to see it finished.

[lorddarkwolf]

SWEEEEEEEEET! Look good. now if only I hade the time and money to build such a case!

[TheGreatSatan]

I've set the Vapochill in. It's upside down because this is the bottom and that's right.

http://img284.imageshack.us/img284/1146/vapomount17rn.jpg


The bottom that originally came on the barrel has been modified to fit.

http://img284.imageshack.us/img284/2391/vapomount27nt.jpg


Next I needed to cut the hole for the Vapochill's exhaust. I used this blade tool of mine. I love this thing. The day I snap this is what I'm using to kill with!

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/4807/blade3ge.jpg


Here's the hole. Bad angle, so it doesn't look great.

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/9060/vapofan1pl.jpg


Since R2 is round and the vapochill is squared I'll be using some mesh to tidy up this hole.

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/1711/mesh18wb.jpg


Then I painted it white to match the case.

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/7320/mesh29jp.jpg


If you do a lot of modding and have a lot of tools, I recommend getting one these extesion cords with a junction box. It really helps.

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/485/junction9hk.jpg



Here's my PSU. It will be going on top with the mobo.

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/3408/psu2cf.jpg



I cut holes in the sheet metal near the Vapochill so the fans can connect to the PSU.

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/5822/fanwire4jk.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

I added the mesh to R2.

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/4284/mesh38ch.jpg


Then I fixed the pinstriping problems.

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/4940/mesh48dv.jpg


Next up, is to solve how I'm keeping the bottom on with nearly 40 pounds of weight on it. I've decided to use latches.

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/1514/hinge14yf.jpg


They had to be painted black to match the trim.

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/1395/hinge26uf.jpg


And so did the screws that held them on.

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/474/hinge39xw.jpg


Here they are together. The silver parts will be painted white to match R2.

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/6649/hinge47cu.jpg


And here's where they'll mount.

http://img277.imageshack.us/img277/1866/hinge58wh.jpg


The rest I'll mess with tonight.

[weirdguy]

better lock those latches. Or else when yo ugo to a LAN party it will be real easy to wreck your rig.

[TheGreatSatan]

Why the hell would I take a 100 pound computer to a LAN party??


I went to Lowe's and bought some PVC to make R2's projector.

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/1381/projector16uk.jpg


First I painted them with a white primer.
.
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/6840/projector29hs.jpg


Then the color they're supposed to be, silver.

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/9823/projector32en.jpg


While that is drying I moved on to the latches for R2's under belly.

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/8222/hinge62sm.jpg

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/7280/hinge78rk.jpg


I drilled on the piece for the trim.

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/3221/hinge89bz.jpg


And then the latch. I'll test it later.

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/2606/hinge93sx.jpg


My slot loaders arrived. I still have to test them.

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/5548/slotloaders0yu.jpg

[Xbrid]

y would you need that many drives?

[TheGreatSatan]

I figured I would resell some or use others in the future.

[Xbrid]

oh, ok. thanks for clearin that up

[TheGreatSatan]

I've been working on R2's other eyeball, the one inside his projector. I want to use this area as R2's Hard drive LED. I spent a whopping quarter in a prize machine and got one of those plastic balls.

http://img278.imageshack.us/img278/7995/eyeball10zm.jpg


Separated, I got out my LED

http://img278.imageshack.us/img278/5200/eyeball27ey.jpg


Drilled a hole in the bottom.

http://img278.imageshack.us/img278/25/eyeball38hp.jpg


Inserted LED and glued.

http://img278.imageshack.us/img278/3047/eyeball44xs.jpg


View from the top.

http://img278.imageshack.us/img278/4176/eyeball59bg.jpg


From bottom. Inserted ball in the bottom of R2's eye.

http://img278.imageshack.us/img278/2570/eyeball66mk.jpg


Next I'm going to drill a hole in R2's dome and feed the wiring through. Then I'll glue the eye to the dome, covering the hole.

http://img278.imageshack.us/img278/5373/eyeball72qg.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

The glue for the projector LED dried. Real men drink Beck's or Heinekin, not Piss-weiser.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7404/projecterlens13mz.jpg

I plugged it into the power LED posts on my Craftstick Airplane PC and it works! I knew there's a reason I kept that Mod around.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/4149/projecterlens23lb.jpg

Next, I prepped for mounting R2's projector. I use a hole punch and hammer to mark the spot and give me a nice little divit for the drill bit to sit in.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/97/holepunch4ga.jpg

I drilled two holes. One for the projector bulb (right) and the other for the little red circle under R2's eye (left). The red circle will be for R2's HD light.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/4276/holepunch15ol.jpg

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/5320/r2d25vh.jpg

Here's the working Red LED I'm using.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/9554/projecterlens30wl.jpg

[public_eyesore]

looking good, but it appears you head is too big, or is that just me?

[TheGreatSatan]

R2D2 STANDS!!

It works perfectly. The latches are all holding very well and there is no sign of bending or gapping. And I've attached the hydraulic hoses to his legs.

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/3412/standing12qx.jpg

For now I'm keeping the latches locked by using these lanyard thingies. They are temporary, till I find something better. Ideas?

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/9499/lanyard19na.jpg

Here's the view from above, showing the huge heasink hose for the proc and an assortment of wires.

http://img284.imageshack.us/img284/5875/heatsinkshell4gt.jpg

The power for the Vapochill connects directly to the PSU and the cord for the wall plugs into the back of it.

http://img284.imageshack.us/img284/8045/pwradapter5ii.jpg

For the record, I spent $600 and what do I get? A photocopied ditto of the instructions! WTF?? I'll have to go on-line for the detailed instructions in plain-jane english and color.

http://img284.imageshack.us/img284/6808/vapoinfo7pd.jpg

And lastly the Vapochill kit. On the right is the Chill Controll PCB. Next to it is the heater (WTF is the heater for?). Above that is the foam shroud for the socket and an assortment of thermal pastes/gels/wires.

http://img284.imageshack.us/img284/2514/vapokit6zm.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

Besides, the pin striping the head is done.

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/1928/headcomp8ox.jpg

Here's my Matrix Orbital. I want to use it with R2, but have have yet to figure out where.

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/4267/orbital8iu.jpg

The PSU has been added.

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/3281/psu15mm.jpg

I cut some more mesh for it. Then painted.

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/5057/psu26xb.jpg

From the inside.

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/4714/psu34qr.jpg

After I added the mesh.

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/8012/psu42se.jpg

And then I fixed the pin striping around it.

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/436/psu56kb.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

Next on the agenda is cooling for the upper section. I want to put intake fans on the legs. This is a real inconspicuous place to put fans.

http://img308.imageshack.us/img308/8154/intake11ki.jpg

http://img308.imageshack.us/img308/2791/intake24sj.jpg

Hole saws are essential to modding.

http://img308.imageshack.us/img308/9615/intake33lg.jpg

http://img308.imageshack.us/img308/696/intake45gw.jpg

http://img308.imageshack.us/img308/4865/intake54po.jpg

http://img308.imageshack.us/img308/4973/intake65cl.jpg


After adding one intake fan to each leg. I made an exhaust fan for the back. It will have a blue LED.

http://img308.imageshack.us/img308/6078/backexhaust17vr.jpg

Before.

http://img308.imageshack.us/img308/3020/backexhaust28yi.jpg

The grill has to match!

http://img308.imageshack.us/img308/8814/backexhaust33mz.jpg

Attention to details. The screws to match too.

http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/8553/backexhaust44sz.jpg

And on the case!

http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/4532/backexhaust57sb.jpg

[DeMaxx]

The fans on the legs look great... looks like a perfect fit. Keep up the good work and thanks for the detailed log.

[TheGreatSatan]

More has been worked on yet I didn't actually complete anything.

I set up the Chill control unit. It was pretty easy ecept one part where it said pin 1 was red, when in fact both wires were black???

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/1624/chillcontrol15hr.jpg

As you can see, it's mounted near the PSU.

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/6957/chillcontrol28mv.jpg

Then I worked on the other halo projector. The sites that I've seen have R2 with another projector on the back of his head, so I added it. This one will not have an LED.

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/3329/backeye14jn.jpg

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/305/backeye26kt.jpg

Next I worked on my Matrix Orbital LCD. It's gonna go here:

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/1263/lcd76mq.jpg

First a taped the whole thing.

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/8052/lcd11mk.jpg

Then cut away everything around the screen.

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/2672/lcd22cr.jpg

Next I added plastic and tape to prevent damage to the underside components.

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/5296/lcd35eu.jpg

The finish had to be roughened for painting.

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/1084/lcd48xh.jpg

I used a grey primer.

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/8196/lcd56ln.jpg

Then the Metallic blue. A few more coats of blue and clear before I mount it.

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/8868/lcd66np.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

I finished wiring up the dome. The little square thing was originally a lighted foot for AF1.

http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/3001/domewiring7fo.jpg

No work on R2 tonight, I need a break.

[Aero]

wow, this is nice. I like that blue paint. The only thing I don't like is the PSU, I would have gone with a finer mesh, but everything looks great. I have to go back and see how you made those legs, they look like the movie.


So....whos going to build C3PO?

[TheGreatSatan]

O.K. I lied.

I wanted to work on the LCD a little. I finished with the clear coats.

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/5066/lcdbay11hy.jpg

And set it into R2. I left a little space all around, because I will be adding EL Wire around the edge.

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/5818/lcdbay29ef.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

The LCD isn't going to bend to the shape. And it'll look stupid otherwise. So I think that I'm gonna have to use this hole for my DVD drive. I have extra plastic lying around that I can use to stealth the bay. I'll look at at more tonight to see what I can think of.

[crenn]

You can always have a pit of plexi shaped, it will look a bit strange but it should work.

[TheGreatSatan]

Actually, I'm gonna see if I can remove the 5.25 inch metal shroud, leaving only the LCD. Then I'll cut a hole in some plexi that has been formed to R2's shape and slide the LCD through the middle.

[crazybillybob]

You can get matrix Orbital LCD with out the Alum. and you can order different color/style Alum covers. So I’d have to guess (not having one to look @ or play with....yet!) that they should come apart with out too much headache.

For added effect, pick up some cheap "Sun catcher" type transparent blue paint. Then paint the Lexan with it (It should help it blend in abit more).....Of course test it on some scrap first, Don't want to spend the time bending the Lexan to screw up in the 11th hour with untested paint!

Looks Good, Keep the pics coming!

Crazybillybob

[Xbrid]

looks great! You are going to have to put that in some competitions.... and win.:D

[TheGreatSatan]

I removed the frame from the LCD.

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6028/lcdshroud10op.jpg

So you can get an idea about how thick it is:

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6500/lcdshroud20iy.jpg

I cut out a new shroud that was bendable like R2's body.

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/9899/lcdshroud39ul.jpg

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/1893/lcdshroud42pd.jpg

Then I painted the LCD frame. The screen is covered with masking tape.

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6297/lcdshroud56qu.jpg

And the shroud has been painted with a white plastic primer. When it dries I will paint it blue and mount the whole thing inside.

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/29/lcdshroud63ue.jpg

I may have more pics tonight.

[TheGreatSatan]

I thought I'd show you a newer pic.

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/1518/r2stands9cd.jpg

[Cymae]

looking great. At first, i thought you were actually going to mount an actual projector into this thing instead of a monitor. That would be sick. Still looks kickass.

[DeathCrush]

beep beep bleeep! -err, excellent job so far, really looks authentic, definately looking forward to seeing this one done :D


looking great. At first, i thought you were actually going to mount an actual projector into this thing instead of a monitor. That would be sick. Still looks kickass.

that would look awesome!

[crenn]

If you were to do that, you would need a larger droid.....

[TheGreatSatan]

I cut the hole on the opposite side for the floppy. Then I shined a flashlight through.

http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/4166/floppy12wq.jpg

Next, I cut the hole out of the front.

http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/2729/floppy26yc.jpg

Fixed the pin stiping.

http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/1808/floppy33ii.jpg

And here it is from the inside. As you can see, I'll be avoiding the use of drive bays to keep the clutter to a minimum.

http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/1954/floppy43xi.jpg



I was going through some of my supplies when I found a box of handles!

http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/2590/handles4gb.jpg


Also, here's the power switch I want to use. Any idea on where I should mount it?

http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/2113/button7ug.jpg

[weirdguy]

top of the head?

[TheGreatSatan]

The cable is too short

[Crimson Sky]

Make him a belly button, button. :D

[TheGreatSatan]

I plugged my lower two intake, upper two intake fans, and floppy drive into the PSU and tidy up the wires.

http://img350.imageshack.us/img350/8922/fanwiretidy7tx.jpg


And I finished mounting the floppy drive.

http://img350.imageshack.us/img350/104/floppydone6gf.jpg

[toast07]

which u dont need who has a floopy anmore, all in all its looking awsome man keep up the work

[Zeus]

Also, here's the power switch I want to use. Any idea on where I should mount it?



I say on the underside of the body. It would be like those classic lowriders where the doors were smooth and you opened it by pushing a button on the underside.

[Memnon]

One of the builders from the R2builders club used similar switches on his droid. Here's where he placed them http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/7351/r2powerswitch0ah.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[TheGreatSatan]

I removed the frame from the LCD.

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6028/lcdshroud10op.jpg

So you can get an idea about how thick it is:

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6500/lcdshroud20iy.jpg

I cut out a new shroud that was bendable like R2's body.

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/9899/lcdshroud39ul.jpg

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/1893/lcdshroud42pd.jpg

Then I painted the LCD frame. The screen is covered with masking tape.

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6297/lcdshroud56qu.jpg

And the shroud has been painted with a white plastic primer. When it dries I will paint it blue and mount the whole thing inside.

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/29/lcdshroud63ue.jpg

I may have more pics tonight.

[TheGreatSatan]

I think I want to add a Window to R2. I'm thinking right about here:

http://kennethkirby.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/window.jpg

Maybe only half of the total square so the mobo could be seen. I will be using blue lights within R2 so that will at least go with the theme. I could also, put a Blue LED intake fan on the window.

What do you think?

[weirdguy]

just saying, that whole part with the painting the LCD screen was posted twice

[Bum]

You might try using clear plexi and misting it with the blue paint you've been using so that a casual glance wouldn't notice the window. You'd have to experiment to see if that actually works. It would depend a lot on the hide of the blue paint.

[TheGreatSatan]

just saying, that whole part with the painting the LCD screen was posted twice

Yeah, I know. I tried posting over it with something new, but I get an error. I've PM'ed the staff, but it persists.

Here:

Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.
Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@thebestcasescenario.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.


Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request

[TheGreatSatan]

I will be mounting speakers inside R2's legs. When I boot the PC, minimize, maximize, or whatever, I'll have sound bytes within windows media set to play. Hopefully he'll be yapping a lot. These are the speakers I bought.

http://store1.yimg.com/I/dealsurprise_1859_11160606

The satellites will go in the legs. And the primary Amp with the knobs will be inside R2 too with just the knobs sticking out. That Blue glowing thing, I still don't know where to put it.

[crazybillybob]

You might try using clear plexi and misting it with the blue paint you've been using so that a casual glance wouldn't notice the window. You'd have to experiment to see if that actually works. It would depend a lot on the hide of the blue paint.

Duplicolor and Krylon make and anidized rattle can in blue. It's translusent (it's really just blue candy in a spray can) but the effect is amazing. You may want to pick up a can (the Krylon is like $3 a can @ wal-mart or Meijr, the duplicolor is $5 a can at Advanced auto or Autozone). It's looking good!


Crazybillybob

[TheGreatSatan]

I'VE FINALLY PIN STRIPED THE DOME!!

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/6950/stripingdome17sh.jpg

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/9399/stripingdome21nd.jpg

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/6136/stripingdome33xz.jpg

[Defyant]

WTG TGS!! congrads on the front page as well mate well done.

[TheGreatSatan]

I never knew, THANKS!

I've been testing the LED's. The HD LED is pretty hard to see. I think it may be the thickness or darkness of the plastic lens.

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/6223/resetled11vm.jpg

Here's one with the blue Pwr light and a very hard to see HD light that's red.

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/5265/resetled21kq.jpg

Here's R2 hooked up to my craftstick plane's mobo. Despite how unliked the mod was, it has proven to be useful enough to keep.

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/743/resetled37gd.jpg

Lastly, here is another lens I have. I'm gonna try this one next. Originally, I didn't because I thought it looked too orange.

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/1236/resetled43ny.jpg

[crazybillybob]

For that lens just use a piece of plex (frost it of course with wet 600 sand paper) , just round up the edges nice and you'll be good to go!




Crazybillybob

[TheGreatSatan]

I got to using a better lens. The one I had previously suggested is bigger than the original and clearer.

http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/8284/lens11ed.jpg

But unfortunately, it was really scratched up.

http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/8882/lens21sw.jpg

I had another great idea when I thought that I could use the one from my elbow flashlight (you military guys know about these). They come with several lenses and since I have two of these flashlights, I'll have enough red ones.

http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/5017/lens35gu.jpg

As you can see, this one is much more clear.

http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/9044/lens43hr.jpg

I've attached it to the dome with glue. I have pieces of tape to hold it on till the glue dries.

http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/9370/lens56fq.jpg

Later I'll test to see if the LED appears brighter. :D

[TheGreatSatan]

First off, I just want everyone to know that I am not happy with the floppy drive. I like the way it looks and all from the outside, but from within it is not very stable. I will be using the square on R2, where the floppy drive resides to hold my power, reset, and fan boost switches. So....


My wife's Aunt gave me this old tower she had in her garage with an old system, minus the HD. The motherboard is oddly small. Is this Baby ATX?

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/6927/babyatx12dw.jpg

The processor fan was not working, so I laid this 80mm fan on top of it to keep it cool.

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/7857/babyatx22to.jpg

I was thinking of using part of the front panel to define the drives on R2, but changed my mind. And it wasn't the dust that it changed it.

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/9037/dirty3if.jpg

One thing Air Force One had that I wanted R2 to also have is the ability speed up the intake fans at the push of a button. So when I scrapped AF1, I took the switch out. The fan is actually spinning in this pic.

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/7663/speedfan15uz.jpg

When I pushed the button my test fan speeds up and the lights turn on. Remember the intake fans on R2 do no have lights.

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/3781/speedfan22oi.jpg

I'll be using a 3.5 inch bay to hold the floppy in place for stability and use this section to create R2's Power/Reset/Fan boost panel. This panel will not be visible from the outside. The floppy drive hole will stay the same; only the switches will be added to R2's "look".

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/4039/floppybay15od.jpg

I still have some sheet metal left from when I made the heat shield inside R2.

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/2546/floppybay22rr.jpg

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/9403/floppybay30ee.jpg

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/213/floppybay46mv.jpg

After I set the floppy on the bottom of the cage I began to mold the metal to the floppy's placement.

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/8374/floppybay51dj.jpg

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/6777/floppybay64bv.jpg

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/6724/floppybay75fs.jpg

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/3180/floppybay80xl.jpg

As you can see I bent the metal to match R'2 shape.

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/7315/floppybay92bl.jpg

Then I drilled the hole for the Power Button. I will do the reset and fan boost in a bit.

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/1323/pwrpanel12mm.jpg

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/7372/pwrpanel21sl.jpg

[temmink]

For the window, why not put a hinged opaque door with clear plex inside, if you really wanted to be tricky have a remoteley tiggered latch so that it can 'pop' open! Remember when R2 got shocked and all these doors opened up? Like that :) would be tres cool.

[TheGreatSatan]

I worked on and completed the front panel for R2. I gutted a USB 3.5 inch drive.

http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/1014/panel13jp.jpg

Then pulled my floppy drive out of place.

http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/6755/panel27ce.jpg

I traced the ports on to the piece of metal I had cut earlier.

http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/2285/panel33ii.jpg

Here are the holes I'll have to cut.

http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/3429/panel46jo.jpg

And after it's been cut out.

http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/5310/panel55jl.jpg

Check you work before you make it final.

http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/6233/panel64rc.jpg

And presto! To the left top is the rest and under it is the fan speed button.

http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/3946/panel72qr.jpg


My speakers arrived yesterday.

http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/6413/speaker19wy.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

Today I worked on installing the speakers in R'2 feet.

http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/8003/speaker26qm.jpg

http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/9928/speaker37mz.jpg

This is how it looked inside. That's all the expanding foam I used earlier. In the pic you can see the support rod I used too.

http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/167/speaker44uh.jpg

After pulling some of the foam out I fed the wire through.

http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/17/speaker58dj.jpg

And pulled it out the other side.

http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/4179/speaker64se.jpg

The mostly completed look. I will be using more of the mesh from earlier to disguise the hole.

http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/6032/speaker70an.jpg

Then I started cleaning up the pin striping. BEFORE.

http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/8511/restripe15ku.jpg

And AFTER. Go figure I ran out of pin striping. I'll have to go buy pack 19 tomorrow.

http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/435/restripe22hp.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

I wasn't happy with the front projector. It just wasn't to the same scale as the dome, so I got a bigger one.

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/2036/newproj0en.jpg

My front panel is officially completed. I used a bit more of the pin striping to define the USB ports. You can still see where I need more touch ups.

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/4488/panelcomp7zk.jpg

And I painted the mesh that will cover the speakers in the feet.

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/2157/speakermesh1us.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

I removed the LED from the projector and the red lens on R2's dome. Instead of using them for HD and pwr lights, I'll be replacing them both with LED's running on a molex. The pwr button on R2 has it's own built-in power light. When I had AF1, it had 4 lighted feet, each with their own LED all strung together. The LED's were running from a switch that had since become stuck in the down position and prohibiting the lights from turning on.

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/4978/badswitch9el.jpg

I removed the switch and did a little soldering to get them on the same strand.

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/2656/helpinghand9qe.jpg

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/7034/soldered2ul.jpg

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/5018/quadled7te.jpg

The next problem was getting the LED for the little red lens under his eye to stay in place.

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/8664/milk16bb.jpg

I used a Milk gallon lid for the shroud.

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/7823/milk25zr.jpg

First I punched a hole into it.

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/7640/milk30pm.jpg

Fed the LED through.

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/3950/milk43xb.jpg

And glued it on.

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/3500/milk52nt.jpg

The new larger projector has been painted and is now dry.

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/183/paintedproj8vs.jpg

I reinserted the LED for that too.

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/8672/projdrying9xc.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

Here's some current pics of R2.

http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/8313/r2a8bk.jpg

http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/4781/r2b8ox.jpg

[tapion440]

I'm digging the larger projector piece. The first one looks puny in comparison.

R2 must be feeling more like a man now :D

[TheGreatSatan]

My 1 year old daughter loves R2 too.

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/3797/ginar24fj.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

Today I worked on the temp LCD for the Processor.

http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/2158/temp18kl.jpg

Here's it's new home.

http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/2179/temp20za.jpg

http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/6997/temp32pg.jpg

Here's the temp in my basement.

http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/4199/temp49hh.jpg

Here's how not to install it upside down kiddies.

http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/1205/temp54za.jpg

I cut out the area. What you can see is the front of the Vapochill.

http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/3389/temp65nq.jpg

And installed.

http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/7167/temp76jq.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

I forgot this...

I retested the LED's for R2's head.

http://img317.imageshack.us/img317/4636/lights10ln.jpg

Here's a zoom in of the smaller one.

http://img317.imageshack.us/img317/4940/lights26pr.jpg

And I've prepped to have the mobo mounted. I'm just waiting for one more thing to arrive. Another Gig of RAM! It'll be 2GB total.

http://img317.imageshack.us/img317/5702/mounts1an.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

My new temp LCD has a female molex and all the molex ends from the PSU are female too. I needed to have a adapter that has two male molex connectors. I did not have one in stock so I made one. Using a female to male adapter, I added another male molex to it by soldering.

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/769/girlgirl14jl.jpg

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/9475/girlgirl26fs.jpg

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/8872/girlgirl32ba.jpg

Next up is a question I'd like to ask of everyone. I have a clear drive bay cover that I'd like to add to R2 to act as a window, but not deflect from the "look" of R2. I painted it blue to match the exterior.

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/9300/cleardrive11gl.jpg

As you can see it's still see thru.

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/8069/cleardrive26yb.jpg

The question is where to put it if at all?

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/9641/cleardrive38cx.jpg

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/5655/cleardrive40we.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

Instead of the blue window, I still need to install my DVD drive. I could put it in one of the blue spots above with the face painted to match.

http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/4351/bluedvd8zb.jpg


Also, my 2nd gig of memory arrived!

http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/6980/ocz14xh.jpg

http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/6347/ocz23do.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

Some have asked to see the whole interior and so here it is:

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/2417/interior5qi.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

The motherboard is ready for installation.

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/7633/moboready4si.jpg


Go figure, the Temp Sensor is about two inches short..... :(

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/7016/wontreach2af.jpg


Here's the inside so far. Go figure, I was in a hurry to see it with the video card in and now I'll have to take it out. I won't be able to reach under the Video card to install my PCI cards and screw them in unless I do.

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/158/allinside2is.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

Here's the problem. My motherboard may not be compatible with the Vapochill. I have been doing test runs and some wiring modding to hopefully fix this problem without having to buy another mobo. Although I may HAVE to. The Vapochill does work and during the last use I got this:

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/3395/negative520di.jpg

[Bum]

Brrrrr....that's chilly. Hope your relative humidity is low.

[weirdguy]

yeah, reading that made me cold

[Aero]

Thats cold. But over teh weekend I went to an observitory doing testing for some government project and were cooling some things to about .2 Kalvin

[Zeus]

WoW. You gotta love when temps get damn near Absolute Zero.

[TheGreatSatan]

I removed my PSU and motherboard so they could be tested without the Vapochill attached. My PSU ran fine.

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/815/psuworks0fw.jpg

But somewhere inbetween coming out of AF1 and going in to R2D2, my mobo is Dead. :(

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/9653/moboinop9ug.jpg

[Rankenphile]

ack!

CLEAR!

>>>ZZZZAAAAPPPP<<<<

(whisp of smoke)

Live, damn you! LIVE!

[[DGN]Nexus]

lol Rankenphile... that sux. Have you chosen a replacement?

[TheGreatSatan]

No. Got any Socket 478 suggestions?

[TheGreatSatan]

Which one should I buy?

Asus Motherboard P4P800-E Deluxe

http://www.directron.com/p4p800ed.html

http://us.st7.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/directron_1858_5695233

or

Gigabyte GA-8IPE1000-G (Rev 4.x)

http://www.directron.com/ga8ipe1000g.html

http://us.st7.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/directron_1860_376780095

[lorddarkwolf]

My pick Gigabyte GA-8IPE1000-G (Rev 4.x)

Reason 1: cheaper
Reason 2: Blue looks better with R2
Reason 3: Mine hasn't let me down yet, Had an Asus let me down before

[TheGreatSatan]

I bought the Abit IC7-G. Hopefully it'll be here by next Wednesday.

[[DGN]Nexus]

I have had a massive failure with Gigabyte before. I had to hit the restet switch three times whenever I wanted to power on my computer. Pushing in the power, then hitting the reset switch three times is the only way it would come on and boot up. Since then I have been using Asus, and thye haven't let me down yet.

I have heard many great things about Abit's boards, they seem to be quality boards with Abit's great reputation for making the quality boards.

[TheGreatSatan]

My new mobo arrived. It's the Abit IC7-G.

http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/1113/newmobo7or.jpg

And after the vapochill got down to -10 the system booted just fine.

http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/2605/r2works15zm.jpg

Here's some pics with all the fans working. I don't think I'll be adding any cathodes.

http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/5390/r2works29xz.jpg

http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/9471/r2works33wv.jpg

Here's my CPU temp in the BIOS.

http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/436/r21stoc19oi.jpg

And my current OC of 3.61Ghz from 3.2. I will do more, I just need to do some testing to see how stable it currently is. Then I'll need to probably play around with the memory and CPU ratio's and CPU voltage. I want to get it up to 4Ghz stable.

http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/8269/r21stoc27tp.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

Today I added the DVD drive to the front of R2. I decided against Stealthing it.

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/6069/dvddrive11ei.jpg

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/5863/dvddrive22yu.jpg

Next, I added the motherboard shroud.

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/8646/shield18kb.jpg

And attahced the Duct sucking cool air from the outside and blowing it on the motherboard.

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/9179/shield25dx.jpg

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/6118/shield33mh.jpg

The whole inside shot. I think I have everything I need inside.

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/2246/shield40be.jpg

[weirdguy]

Hmmm..I think it needs a webcam.
otherwise, it's awsome!

[dgrmkrp]

1st: very cool layout... this and the vapochill..WOW. 2nd... that pic of your screen...weird background... pls share what it is :)

[TheGreatSatan]

I save a copy of my favorite mods done in the modding community to "My Pictures". Everything from what I've modded and others have modded. With Windows XP, I view them in "My Pictures" screensaver. I routinely change my wallpapaer with one of these pics too. It helps me always think of what's been done and waiting to be done.

[TheGreatSatan]

Today I worked on finishing my temperature LCD. Originally it was too short to reach the processor, so I added 9 inches (23 cm) to it.

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/556/extendsensor5sp.jpg

Here's room temp.

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/3646/sensor19id.jpg

And after 1 mintute of the system (Vapochill) running.

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/1246/sensor26kp.jpg

And after 5 minutes, and where it stopped since. :D

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/6842/sensor30ei.jpg

Here's a couple of images from the inside while running.

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/8232/shieldlit17xj.jpg

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/7264/shieldlit24pq.jpg

And my working Orbital Matrix (still needs to be remounted)

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/8377/orbital3ks.jpg

And lastly my desktop.

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/7652/desktop3wo.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

R2-D2 is nearly completed. I still have to remount the Matrix Orbital and try to fix the temp LCD. I've already prepared my office for him and have taken back my 19 inch LCD from my daughter.

http://img310.imageshack.us/img310/817/nearly17sa.jpg

http://img310.imageshack.us/img310/5496/nearly21xo.jpg

[AKA_RA]

thats look pretty damn sweet

[TheGreatSatan]

R2 is finally done (for the most part). I still have to clean up some areas like the slot loading drive and LCD screen's positioning. It is done enough to finally be utilized and be moved from the basment to my office. I had to rent an appliance dolly to move it!

http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/5226/r2done11fm.jpg

http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/1463/r2done22su.jpg

http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/3390/r2done38es.jpg

[lorddarkwolf]

Great finished project. Only problem I see is that It's done.

[TheGreatSatan]

I tested R2D2 on PCMark 04 and 3DMark03.

At 3.2Ghz it scores:

4802 - PCMark
4406 - 3DMark

At 3.6Ghz it scores:

5348 - PCMark
4416 - 3DMark


I'm going to bump it up to 3.7Ghz next and test again.


I also figured out why the BIOS were so far off in the temps. At 0 degrees Celsius, the BIOS shows it at 32 degrees Ferenheit, which is correct. But when the temp falls below zero celcius, the Ferenheit temperature adds 1 degree and makes it a negative number. (Example: -1C = -33F) I don't know why it can't figure out how to make the distinction correctly. So when the temp shows -53F, it really means 53 - 32 = -21 degrees Ferenheit.

[TheGreatSatan]

I did some playing around with 3DMark05 and my Graphics card settings. Using the free edition of 3DMark05 and my Radeon 9800XT set at 385Mhz core and 284Mhz Memory, I scored:

2109
CPU test 1 - 2.1fps
CPU test 2 - 3.4fps
CPU score 4000

Then I downloaded the 3DMark05 patch, retested and got:

2087
CPU test 1 - 2.2fps
CPU test 2 - 3.5fps
CPU score 4173

Then I went ahead and bought the program for $20. I OC'd my card using the ATI tool. I set my core to 415Mhz and the memory to 297Mhz. I ran the test one last time:

2213
CPU test 1 - 2.2fps
CPU test 2 - 3.4fps
CPU score 4115

Is there anything else I can do, cuz my fps' seems awefully loooooow.

[snefan]

the memory is REALLY slow.. my stock 9800 pro 128mb memory is 337Mhz...

[TheGreatSatan]

I am done screwing with my video card. The system halted while watching a movie. I had to do a force shutdown and when I rebooted the video came up in 4 bit. I had to reinstall all my drivers all over.

[TheGreatSatan]

I installed motherboard monitor and keep the temps on my destop at all times. My CPU is usually around -10C to -18C, but my case is around 48C. I removed the motherboard shroud from the inside and my temps have gone down to 40C. I think that there was plenty of air getting to the motherboard, but only 1 80mm exhaust fan isn't enough to pull the warm air out.

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/1376/removeshroud9bp.jpg


Since heat rises and get's stuck under the dome, I've decided to put another exhuast fan on R2's head. Either on the back or right on the top middle with blue LED's. Let me know what you think before I make the cut.

http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/5226/domefan17ae.jpg

[DeMaxx]

'I need another fan like a need a hole in my head'

hmmm.. hard call. His dome turned out so great... what about sparing him by blocking the airflow with a false top and pulling the air out from another fan in his body?

[crazybillybob]

Here's an Idea.
http://www.fccmonline.com/LanImages/R2/ILMR2_rearPsi.jpg

R2 has an other Light on the back of his dome (just like the Red Lens on the front) that flashes yellow and Green. It should be about 1.5" (38mm) which you could fudge to 50mm with no problems.
Or you could drill about 100holes in a circular pattern back there and mount an 80mm where ever you want (I used 1/8" holes as a blow hole on my gaming PC, really helped cool it down (drops case temp by 12-15degrees)

Good Luck,
Crazybillybob

[slaveofconvention]

Have you considered a flexible exhaust tube - kinda like you get on a clothes dryer? You could mount the actual fan literally anywhere in the case then run the exhaust tube up inside the body to the top of the dome. That way you WOULD be removing the hot air from the top of the system, but you wouldn't have to sacrifice the looks at all as you could mount the fan down near the bottom of the back or even in the base (depending on where you can get the tubing to go.

[sketchymodder]

the little shocker thing was an arch welder jeez do u guys need a star wars nut or what

[acornstu]

THEGREATSATIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i've been trying like hell the last few weeks to find you!!!! You may not remember me, but I once asked you a few questions about your "care bears pc." well, i made my own for my gf who also has a thing for care bears. my site is still under work, but here are a few pics (http://www.students.coffeyville.edu/~cornstua/thornburg/new2/images/ ). thanks again!!!

[TheGreatSatan]

Yeah no problem, but next time start your own thread instead of putting them in my R2D2 thread at Pimprig.

[TheGreatSatan]

I just found out today that R2-D2 has won Bawl's "Out of the Box" Mod for October! They haven't updated the web page yet, but check back.

http://www.bgcg.net/hotmod/

[TheGreatSatan]

I got my new issue of PCE Magazine today and guess what? R2D2 was inside! I never even got a PM or email or nothing.

http://img345.imageshack.us/img345/5995/pcer2d29kl.jpg

If you seriously want to get your mod published go to their site, join and post your mod. This is the second month in a row I've been published in PCE. They need modders, so get your butts in gear!

[public_eyesore]

i got a couple copies of those at lanfest and they were pretty good, but a bit short. Whats their site name?

[Rankenphile]

lol, they should have at LEAST sent you a PM about it, if not a copy of the magazine.

[TheGreatSatan]

Their site is www.pcemag.com

[sega01]

about the graphics card, i would go for a ti 4800, ive never had any luck with ati... ive always been a big fan of nvidia.

[TheGreatSatan]

What are you talking about?


Here's a pic of the article.

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/7892/pcer2d213oc.jpg

[TheGreatSatan]

Now that R2D2 is running again, after I replaced the fuse in the Vapochill, I can finally finish the mod. Today I started first working on the Temp LCD, but it's just junk. I'll have to get a new one.

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/5778/brokentemp0lz.jpg

I want everyone to know that I got a new Dremel! It's better than Sex!!

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/841/400xpr15zf.jpg

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/2655/400xpr24hp.jpg

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/975/400xpr31fs.jpg


Then I got busy on fixing up the Matrix Orbital LCD. My original installation was hasty and lacked a real smoothness.

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/7796/orbital19mb.jpg

Here's my Supplies.

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/666/orbital22bf.jpg

I taped up the LCD as to not get paint on it later.

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/419/orbital34vx.jpg

White base coat

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/1969/orbital41sn.jpg

And blue, more to do tomorrow.

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/2460/orbital58sg.jpg

[Rankenphile]

So... how many projects do you have going now, TGS? :p

[TheGreatSatan]

This and Paradise Lost. Of course, I only need to put a window in PL and it's done. Plus I may be starting another project for my In Laws.

[Rankenphile]

Heh, just giving you a hard time. Between this, the wall-o-boards, the Kaypro you had going and Paradise Lost, you were spread pretty thin for a while there. :p

[TheGreatSatan]

I figured out why my Temp LCD stopped working. I got it at FrozenCPU and the site says it reads no lower than 0 degrees. The newer backlit ones, which I wanted to use goes no lower than -10 Celcius. Under full load R2D2 is cooler than that. So What to do?

[Rankenphile]

Holy crap - how cold does R2 get?!

[Aero]

Sounds like your using phase change right? I think phase change gets to about -30 to -40.

[public_eyesore]

actually, if you use a custom phase change, you get it down to about -70 degrees celcious.

[dgrmkrp]

well...the video isnt super cooled.. u could monitor anything else inside the case... gpu, nb, hdd... or do research and mod the sensor :) just a simple sugestion :)

[TheGreatSatan]

It is phase change and if I let it sit at idle it gets down to about -25C Under full load it doesn't get any warmer than -18C

I'm looking into those outdoor digital temp probes, they go pretty low

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/details.asp?SKU=9999&src=NexTag&cam=Products&kw=9999

[TheGreatSatan]

I wound up throwing a bunch of the parts I cut away and made it real simple.

http://img453.imageshack.us/img453/8633/r2lcd0aj.jpg

[RobjaFalu]

Can't pass up a great Star Wars topic. Very nice looking. I bet he misses Cee Threepio

[TheGreatSatan]

Here goes R2D2's GRAND worklog reopening!

I made one huge mistake with this project, I installed the Vapochill. Ever since it went in I've had problems, so it's coming out. Sure, there will be nothing to replace my -42 Celcius, but anything is better than a 100lbs paperweight.

I'll have to remove the Vapochill and the shroud around the motherboard. I'll also have to find the plastic bracket to hold my new heatsink on the processor. Once I get the 38lb Vapochill out I'll have a lot of space from where it was serving no purpose. What to use it for?

[Tech-Daddy]

A bitchen liquid cooling setup!!!
Sell the Vapo, and use the proceeds to fund a TEC/liquid loop!
;)