Project: EVEolution

I've done some basic modding in the past, built a few computers for friends. Started the design of this one years ago, but it still sits in a junker case, no sides, and some flat black paint. Tomorrow I am getting another case to gut out (this one's my daily driver, so it'll need to be transferred after modding a new case), and getting started on finally building my mod.

Design Cues:
First off, the design was started by seeing the character EVE in WALL-E. The exterior will be cold, white and mechanical. There will be no visible external controls.

I was shopping at a favorite electronics surplus store, and while leaving spotted a huge bin of screws. One particular fastener caught my eye, and I bought a huge supply of them to use on the case. This started several new and better design iterations.

Overall Design:
The case will be made of a couple layers. There is an interior case which houses everything. The outer layer will be on 1/2" standoffs and the fasteners noted above. The outside will be two layers of plexiglass- translucent white covered by green edge clear. When the computer is powered on, several of the exterior panels will move, opening a couple windows, vents, the CD drive and the covers over the 6 case fans, operated by an Arduino. Interior lighting will be blue and white. The exterior panels will glow a leaves and vines pattern when powered on. Inside the case will be a combination of laser etched panels showing circuit traces, and a heartbeat light in green with the symbol of EVE finding plant life.

The case "evolves" from it's cold, mechanical, angular shell to something new, taking on a life force.

It's definitely going to be an interesting project. I'm looking forward to getting it started, and seeing how others react to it. I'll also be looking for modding competitions to put it into.

Went shopping today. Picked up a few items:

Thermaltake VL8000 Black Edition
(2) blue cold cathodes
White LEDs
Green LEDs
Switches and Pushbuttons
1/4" MDF
3/4" Aluminum L Channels
Rustoleum Dark Bronze Hammered Finish Paint
Misc. Scrap Plexiglass (part of it for this project, part just to feed the laser cutter)

Wire loom material is from IKEA, and has been sitting around for a while. Got it really cheap on sale.

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Gutted out the case. Kept the motherboard mount and back plane. Painted with Dark Bronze Hammer paint while it was still warm enough outside. On the temporary workbench: Gutted case, cold cathodes, switches, LEDs and resistors, some of the aluminum cut and drilled for rivets. I may end up chopping more bits off of the case later on. The rest will be scrap. Anybody want the drive racks? I'll keep the nice 120mm blue LED fan for a future project.

IMAG0917 by Harrell.Thomas, on Flickr


Switches which will be on the back panel (to kill lighting when not desired), LEDs and resistors, closeup of hammer finish paint.

IMAG0919 by Harrell.Thomas, on Flickr


Cutting the fan holes. Used a jigsaw to cut the holes, then cleaned up with a large round file. Works great if you keep it moving.

IMAG0920 by Harrell.Thomas, on Flickr


Not quite as far along as I was hoping to get today, but I've got most of the materials to complete the inner part of the case. Dead hard drive is standing in for the location of my 4 drive rack. Upper fan will be ported through the hard drives and out the top of the case.

IMAG0922 by Harrell.Thomas, on Flickr

Case fans are (6) Vantec Stealth. They are really quiet. Each fan will be ducted to cool a specific part of the case. The area between the motherboard and the fans will have a decorative panel on standoffs to hide the wiring behind. Since I'm considering a major upgrade as soon as I can afford it, I'm keeping the heavier modding like changing wiring out to a minimum. I'll just hide what I can, and make it suitable for any ATX motherboard and graphics card combination. Only thing I'd need to change during an upgrade is the fan ducting.

Looks like a good start!

MMMMmmmm......lots of fans :)

Doing some testing today of the exterior panels. Have a full size mockup done. The panels look good to me, but the light diffusion under the panels needs more work. Will have to think it over more. Back to fabrication...

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The panels are semi-translucent white plexiglass and green edge plexiglass. The logo has been laser engraved into the white plexiglass and is visible, but unobtrusive. I think I'll etch it slightly deeper on the real panel, but otherwise looks like what I want... (except for the dirty fingerprint on the E).

IMAG0926 by Harrell.Thomas, on Flickr


Closeup of the really cool fasteners I found. Got a pile of these for $1 per ziplock bag out of a crate of mixed hardware. I think I lucked out. The real panels will be slightly thicker (3/16", not 1/8") and the fasteners will be set a little below the surface.

IMAG0927 by Harrell.Thomas, on Flickr


The lighting fails a bit. When the system is on, you will see a pattern of leaves emerge through the translucent panels. Think I need smaller and thicker pieces of plexiglass for the diffusers which can handle 1 LED each. I need to experiment a little more with the LED's focus angle. I also need to consider options for mounting as I don't want to see it through the panels when it's not lit. Phone camera doesn't do a good job of capturing this. It looks a little better in person, but not by much.

IMAG0924 by Harrell.Thomas, on Flickr

Some minor progress on the interior part of the case. The structural part is starting to come together.

The rear panel. A few cutouts for the lighting switches remain to be cut.

IMAG0953 by Harrell.Thomas, on Flickr



I'll be able to drive a tank over this when I'm done. Left side of case will open on piano hinge.

IMAG0954 by Harrell.Thomas, on Flickr



Laser cut some standoffs for the motherboard tray. Total of 7/8" behind the tray to hide wiring. Just need to finish cutting out the opening for the power supply.

IMAG0955 by Harrell.Thomas, on Flickr

What happen to this?

Redesigning again to use smaller pieces of scrap acrylic instead of larger sheets, and rethinking the lighting for the side panels. And doing other mods.