This is greatness! The floating SSDs are great.
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This is greatness! The floating SSDs are great.
Ive been following this from the start over on bt but its great to see you over here.
Love the fittings!
Will
Thanks. :) The MCR220s are very low profile and will allow me to install both inside the case. And yeah, the BP fittings are beautiful if I may say so. I wanted to get the "Shining Silver" because of their reflective qualities.Quote:
Originally Posted by p0Pe
Thanks, Loki! I'm using a Nikon D40 w/ 35mm 1.8 Nikkor lens.Quote:
Originally Posted by Loki
Thanks, chaksq! The SSDs are one of my favorite ideas thus far. I think that effect could turn out really well.Quote:
Originally Posted by chaksq
Thanks, Will! I appreciate the warm welcome. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by 985323
Sorry for the lack of updates as of late. Some things I am waiting on, and some work I cannot do in my current residence (practically anything to do with fabrication since I live in a small apartment building.) I plan on making some progress over the weekend as I'll have a workshop available to me.
Thanks to everyone for all the kind words of support--means a lot.
HD5870 #1 of 2 showed up today. :D
They showed up in stock on newegg for about half an hour, and I decided to go ahead and pull the trigger on one while my 275s are on auction. The only ones they had in stock were the PowerColor variety. It comes with a two year manufacturer warranty, which is more than enough. I'll never keep the card for that long.
Came with a free copy of DIRT 2! :D
I can't wait to play this on my Eyefinity setup. ;)
Let's take a look at the fastest single GPU out on the market...
I really like the new design that ATI went with this round. It was time for them to ditch the old school look of the exposed PCB in favor of full length cooler.
Now.. time to stretch her legs with a few games tonight before I head back to my dad's tomorrow to do more work on that Zero-G chamber...
You're going to love that video card, I'm running the same thing and it's a beast!
A quick update, guys. I may be announcing another BIG sponsor for this project very soon.
:)
So, I want to know where to find one of those 5870's. Everyone seems to be out of stock. I found ONE at Fry's and that was for a customer's build. Now I am trying to find a 5890 for myself and no-one seems to have one. Not our distribution channel not New egg.Quote:
Originally Posted by jdbnsn
BTW I am loving this build!
You'll be wanting the 5970 not the 5890 as there is no such thing AFAIK
Woops, mistype, you are correct!Quote:
Originally Posted by Trace
The 5970 it is!
As for 5800 ATI cards availability, you basically have to get lucky or sit on Newegg and refresh all day. I stopped in once or twice a day for about a weeks and a half and just luckily landed when a few were in stock. But as soon as I finished my order they were gone again.
So I'm not at the point that I wanted to be right now, but I'm still hard at work on completing the Zero-G chamber and have a small update to share.
I'm afraid that my lack of experience in fabrication is what's holding things up at this point. That, and my crazy brain that keeps coming up with new ideas. The latest challenge has been getting the shelves into the chamber so that I can test the drive and pump mounts.
To begin, I need to state that the design of the Zero Gravity Chamber has changed a little. The reason for this is because I've decided to spotlight it in this build by making the front panel of the case retractable--allowing one to see inside the chamber even after it's installed in the case. I'll have more cad drawings on this later to better illustrate the idea, but for now, just picture the front panel as a door that swings open allowing open access to the Zero-G chamber.
Since I've decided to spotlight the chamber internals, I wanted to make them more attractive/innovative. And to do this, I believe that plexiglass will do the trick a lot better than metal shelving. It will also, from certain angles, give off the appearance that the components are weightless--even when looking at them from inside the chamber (I have photos below to illustrate what I mean.) In addition to using plexiglass for the shelving and drive mounts, I've decided to light the inside of the chamber with a softbox. This will give it a nice, even glow effect on the inside and help highlight the components.
A quick personal note -- Sometimes I wish that all these crazy ideas in my head would automatically materialize. Because the building part is much, MUCH more difficult. I know this, and I don't want to get too carried away with design changes so that I'm stuck in an endless circle (like a galaxy vortex?), but I'm pouring my heart and soul into this build and don't want to have any regrets later.
So if you made it through all that babbling, here are some updated CAD drawings to illustrate the new effects.
The entire inside will be made of plexiglass--at least that's the idea. I plan to experiment with some different adhesives such as epoxy to see how clean a bond I can make with the plexi, because I don't want something that's going to be messy since I'll be showing it off.
I don't know yet how well this is going to work; I may end up going back to metal shelves or metal brackets, or both. But I'm going to try this and see how well it works.
Here are some actual shots of the effect it will have on the pumps using a shelf of plexi that's been cut to size:
You should be able to see through the shelves into the very bottom of the chamber. And at the bottom, I plan to add an additional effect later.
I'm afraid that's all I have for now. I was hoping to have a little more to share by this point, but I'll continue work and will hopefully have the chamber finished soon.
Thanks for checking in!
Great news, everyone! When I say that I'm excited to announce my next sponsor, it's a serious understatement.
EK Waterblocks has agreed to help sponsor r e f l e X i o n! More details to come later on the blocks that I'll be using, but r e f l e X i o n will be running blocks from EK exclusively for the CPU, chipset and GPUs.
Eddy is a very skilled craftsman, and I've been a fan of his work for quite a while. My first purchase was a full cover block for an 8800GTX SLI setup on H20 that I built around two years ago. Since then, I've been a big fan of his work and am extremely excited to have my project associated with his wonderful products.
Thanks, Eddy, for your generosity in helping this project come to life!
Outstanding presentation Xion, I could learn a thing or 2 from a clean worklog like this I tend to stray and waffle on a bit like now :), what applications are needed to do renders like that & easy to follow tutorials to look into?, they are jaw droppingly awesome :eek:, maybe too much to learn, I'm only on to google sketchup to get a precise idea of how it should work with heaps of room for improvement lol.
I like the floating ssd's idea, man this rig is going to be totally bad a$$ with the uber tech going into it :D.
I think once I start work I'll be saving for a Canon EOS 40D, a quality camera makes a big difference in showing the greatness of a mod, my current cheapo one takes poor pictures that picks up loads of noise in dark areas and lacks detail.
I totally related to the 1st bend you made not being sure if it'll work well :D, I have the same brake as you :) very useful piece it is too was 1 of the 1st tools I bought getting into fabrication.
Gaming and spending most of what I have on it is really holding my modding back thou, I recently bought a ps3 and a stack of games, an extra £150 and I could have got the Canon EOS 40D or bought enough aluminium, a quality air brush, a range of colours & extras to do many new cases, doh!, but to be honest I really enjoy gaming & modding 50/50 so dems da breaks :).
Subscribed & +rep :).
ps TBCS is my no1 favourite modding site, so much talent in 1 place :banana:.
If your looking to glue two pieces of plexi together, then Nothing beats WeldOn. I use #2 all the time, and i have used #4. As long as you keep the bubbles out of the joint, it will be seamless and offer great clarity.
Mike
Thank you very much for the kind words. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Waynio
For the renders, I use Autodesk 3dsMax 2009. It took me a few weeks to learn it through following video tutorials and lessons.
When you purchase your camera equipment (if you decide to,) keep in mind that it doesn't take the most expensive camera to put out good pictures. I'm using a Nikon D40 for everything that you see which is the cheapest DSLR that Nikon makes. The only alteration I've made to it is purchasing a 35mm 1.8 Nikkor lens which cost me an extra $180 or so. It was recommended to me as a good upgrade lens from the original kit.
Taking good photos is mostly about lighting and lens. Of course, you also need to spend some time learning the basics of shutter speed/ISO as well, and get yourself some good light like a small softbox or two.
Thanks for that suggestion, Mike. I've recently purchased Weld-on #3 and 4 for welding the plexi pieces as it's been recommended to me through several outlets. Just have to wait for it to come in the mail.Quote:
Originally Posted by rithunder916
Alright, an update.
I have FINALLY resolved the leveling problem with the shelves in the Zero-G Chamber. It's been driving me crazy, because if the shelves aren't level then the whole effect is ruined since both the pumps and the drives are visible from the outside and are supported by the shelves.
With the help of KG's suggestion about using legs to support the shelves, I had Home Depot slice me up some 2x4 for that purpose, and it's made things a lot easier.
First, the revised shelves. You'll notice that they're no longer a single piece of aluminum. I've redesigned them to include 3 pieces, two L brackets and a plexi shelf.
The plexi will be screwed down into the brackets from the top. It'll mount to the brackets like this:
I ran out and picked up this little guy, who was sorely needed:
I had no levels that were small enough to fit inside the piece that I was working with, so I picked him up for the job. I ended up removing the square as it was just getting in the way.
Then, the blocks and clamps:
The blocks are very useful, as they allow me not only to hold the shelf brackets in place under the lip but also provide tension so that I can adjust the brackets in small increments to ensure they're level.
Here's me adjusting the shelf in small increments. Having the tension from the clamp was very helpful!
My new best friend (I call him Lil' Lvl) will help me ensure my parts aren't all crooked!
For a straight-on view I can look through the windows.
Bubble in the center, so I know that I'm good.
So by this time, " Lil' " is telling me both of my brackets are level, but the final test will be to see if the entire shelf sits level once it's sitting on the brackets.
Awww yeah. That's it. :D
Now, while the brackets were clamped in place, it was time to mark the screwholes. They'll never be as accurate any other way.
It's maddening to think that all these steps were to mark one lousy dot. :rolleyes: Well.. I guess that would be 4 lousy dots then wouldn't it? Still doesn't ease the pain much.
(To be continued.. in next post.)
Like always, I'll use a drill punch to mark the holes.
Then drill away..
After drilling all holes, I riveted the brackets into the frame.
And now, the final test. Are they level with the shelf sitting on them? *guuuuulp*
Ouch. That's just not good en.....
Kidding. ;)
I am picky, but I'm not going to get all wound up over that little variance. I'm happy with that.
I then checked the edges to make sure that the shelf lined up nicely with the edge of the brackets.
That looks good, too. Let's look at it from an overhead view.
Check out the floating effect. Let's put something a little more relevant down there, though.
I like. :yepp:
That's it for tonight. What'll be cool is to see the top shelf which I should have installed tomorrow. Then you'll get to see the layout of what the pumps look like with the new interior weightless effect when they're mounted one above each other.
Alright, bear with me here as I have to show off my new toy with you guys.
Personally, this is the first time that I've either owned or operated a drill press, and I have to say that this thing kicks serious ass. It's so precise, smooth and quick compared to having to tap and drill by hand.
It came boxed in pieces, so I spent some time today in assembly mode. This was the base and table assembly laid out.
And the head assembly.
While reading through the manual, I saw that there were varying speeds that you could set depending on what material and thickness it was that you were working with. By removing the hood of the head assembly, I saw the pulley and belt system.
The belt was attached to the middle pulley, and the label recommended the first pulley for drilling through thin aluminum at an operating speed of 3050 RPM.
The belt is loosened by a tension bolt located toward the back of the head assembly (boy do my fingers look long in this pic..)
The tension bolt provides slack in the belt so that it can be moved from pulley to pulley.
And now, I've finished moving the belt to the top pulleys. This will cause the spindle to spin at an increase from 1390 > 3050 RPM.
There, all set. She's tuned and ready to go.
A close up of the damage seeker.
And now for the coolest part. The laser-sighting for ultra-precision.
(Don't worry about the lack of clamps as I was only sighting the laser.)
It has dual lasers that can each be adjusted individually to form an intersection at the drill point.
I'll have some action shots of the work I'm doing on the Zero-G chamber and shelves later on tonight or by tomorrow morning. So far, the press has been extremely helpful. I don't know if it was my hand drill or the type of aluminum I'm working with or what, but I was getting a lot of drifting in the bit even after punching my holes and buying new bits. So I figured instead of buying a new hand drill I'd get this, and it's made things a lot easier.
Project Update
The ongoing...
So, continuing on this long and winding journey of finishing up this complex piece, I have some live action shots of some drilling action on the Zero-G Chamber. I had previously hand-drilled the bottom 4 holes for the bottom shelf, so that left me with the top four holes for the top shelf plus the top two mounting brackets. All of these have been drilled now, so in the next day or two I should be able to show what the pumps look like mounted both on the top and bottom of the chamber.
I'm laser sighting here and almost ready to drill one of the top two holes on the pump side which the shelves will mount through.
Since the chamber shell has already been bent, it was necessary to support the pump side from underneath for a steady drilling surface. For support, I just used some spare 2x4 blocks that I had laying around and two flat metal brackets. The brackets gave me just the extra 1/4" that I needed.
I used clamps whenever I could, but this piece was too thick, so I made sure to hold it firmly to the table and use very light pressure on the press. I'm still wallowing in kgtiger's horror story of his co-workers who've ripped their scalps off with this thing (my hair is short, though, so maybe I'm safe on that one. And I do trim my armpits every once in awhile to keep from looking sasquatch. Okay. Maybe that last bit was too much information.)
Spot-on with the laser. I've found it to be really helpful thus far. You can always plunge your bit down to test your drillpoint, but the laser saves you a lot of time by being able to sight on the fly.
Next up were the shelf brackets. The bottom two had been drilled by hand to mount the shelf to the chamber. Next was to drill the top two holes that will be used for screwing down into the plexi shelf.
I'm loving the precision of this press. And it's not just precise but it's quick. Very quick. I can drill a hole in about 1/10th the time that I can by hand. I don't know what grade aluminum this stuff is, but it was giving my cheap hand drill fits. Not so with this bad boy.
It was necessary to stagger the holes in the brackets so that the mounting points don't intersect one another. Two holes were drilled on each end. One for screwing the plexi shelf in, one for mounting to the side wall of the Zero-G chamber.
That's all for tonight. I'd say at this point that the Zero-G Chamber is about 80% complete. I'm waiting on some Weld-on #3 to get here so that I can experiment with welding some plexi together. That should arrive this week.
Thanks for following,
X
Absolutely loving this build. And for the record: totally jealous of that drill press. Seeing as how I'm just a youngling, I can't afford such an expensive toy... OH DAAAAD... Hehehe
But seriously, I'll be looking forward to seeing the finished product. Can't wait. ^_^
Yes, this project is epic. The quality of the design, workmanship, and work-log all come together to make it so.
What model press is that?
Thanks, Couch.. I'm glad you're enjoying the build. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Couch3ater
Can't convey how much I love the drill press.. it's already shaved so much time off the project. And it gives you peace of mind knowing that every drillpoint will be perfect as long as you're cautious in your measurements beforehand.
Thanks, mDust. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by mDust
Not sure on the model, but I'll check it for you. I picked it up at Home Depot; it was the only press that they carried in the store.
Update - Zero G Chamber
Greetings, fellow enthusiasts. I've made some more progress on the Zero Gravity Chamber. All the shelf brackets have been installed and all mounting holes have been drilled for the shelves.
Here's where it stands. With both shelves installed:
And now, with both pumps sitting on the shelves:
The next step planned is to drill the mounting holes into the shelves for both pumps and brackets and then to complete the SSD mounts.
i am loving the progress!!! they turned out better than i expected
fantastic work so mate :)
subbed !
Much appreciated, guys. Thanks. :)
LOVE the pump location. Seriously, I'm considering stealing some of your ideas and see if I can't recreate them. Hahaha, well... Perhaps tweak. Not steal. ^_^
Ok, but at least give me time to finish her first. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Couch3ater
Right now, I'm experimenting with ways of bonding plexi. My weld-on came in this week, along with a syringe and hypodermic needle for application.
This stuff is supposed to react fast, so it shouldn't be long before I can see how clean and strong a bond it will make. If it works well, I should be able to build the entire SSD mount, brackets included, out of plexi to enhance the weightless theme.
One Word ---> EPIC!!!!
Greetings, TBCS. An update to the project that has changed its course a little.
Dangerden will now be sponsoring me with their waterblocks for the CPU, chipset and GPUs.
EK and I will continue on in our best interests with no ill feelings. The change in sponsorship has nothing to do with EK, their products or their customer service as they are all excellent, and I appreciate their willingness to help support the project. This was a business decision based largely on finances. Dangerden was able to provide me with a significantly better sponsorship deal, and so I have decided to partner with them on r e f l e X i o n.
Dangerden will be supplying me with the following--
The MC-TDX block for my i7 CPU:
2x DD5970 GPU full cover blocks:
The MP-X58 chipset block:
1/2 x 5/8" compression fittings:
I've used Dangerden products for several years. My first Dangerden product I had when I built my first watercooled system a few years ago that ran two 8800GTX's in SLI. BFGTech used Dangerden as their waterblock outfitter for their "watercooled edition" block, and it performed excellently. I'm expecting the same of their latest products and cannot wait to get them in my system and under some H20.
A special thanks to Dangerden for their support on this project!
Grats on the new sponsor!
On another note: If you're using the weld-on to bond two faces of plexi together, sometimes you'll be left with an almost bubbly "in-between", if you will, as is the case with many a bonding solvent. I'm sure with the right amount you can get what you're looking for; just speaking from what I've noticed and past experiences.
Yep, I've seen the effect that it has. I'm just using it to bond at the seam and being careful not to let it spread too much. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Couch3ater
I see. Well, in that case, very nice! ^_^
Project Update: Building the Zero Gravity Drives
So, I've been pondering the idea that I originally had for the Zero Gravity Drives (weightless SSDs) and I just wasn't happy with all those metal brackets that were attached to them as seen in the above render. The original idea was fine because it was based on a closed system, meaning the observer could only see the exterior of the chamber or what showed through the four windows. This would hide them. But then.. yep, you guessed it. My brain got going again, and I thought to myself, "what would be awesome is if I showcased the inside and somehow made it look like all the components inside it were floating."
To me, that would continue to enhance the theme of the build.
So, how would I accomplish this? Well, immediately two things came to mind. 1) Magnets and 2) Glass.
"1" seemed slightly dangerous considering we're dealing with electronic components that store data on them. As a buddy of mine said to me when I had this crazy idea, magnetism can sometimes be a mystery, and I wanted none of that. So, the obvious was option #2. Plexiglass.
I then went to sketch out my new idea in 3dsMax and redo some of the earlier renders. And this is what I came up with:
As you can see, I've redesigned the mount for the SSDs. Instead of bulky metal brackets sticking out on both top and bottom, I have them mounting directly to a large pane of plexi which will run directly down the center of the chamber. The plexi pane will be notched to fit snugly into the shelves and then will be secured with Weld-on.
Here are some more shots:
I think that it looks MUCH better and hope you'll agree. Should look much cleaner and fit the theme much better.
For the drives, the mounting mechanism will be the same. They will simply screw through the plexi pane. The pane will be supported by the two shelves which are held in place by small L brackets that are mounted to the inside chamber walls.
So, then I went to work on creating notches to fit this new piece. For the job, I broke out my RotoZip again, but this time, after the last experience with the infamous knotty plywood, I decided to use aluminum angles to give me a straighter edge (Thanks, Charles!)
By clamping the aluminum angles in place at the width of the jig guide, I can hold the RotoZip firmly in place while routing so that it won't drift.
That was just a test piece to see how well the cutting bit I was using would perform. It turned out to be a little too large for what I need, so I'll be heading to the Depot tomorrow for a smaller bit.
Thanks for checking in.
-X
OOOOOOOOOO......... This is gonna look kewl as all get out! Can't wait to see it.
go really slow when you cut, even though the roto zip is steady, the bit will still wander on its own. I had the same issue when I was using a spiral bit to cut my plexi
thats a good idea with the clamped alum angle! I will have to steal that idea in the future :P
Thanks, msmrx57. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by msmrx57
Yep, the RZ is powerful, which is the reason I used the clamped aluminum angles as shown in the pics. These are clamped firmly against the edge guide on the RZ to keep it from wandering. It's worked well and has allowed me to cut in a straight line.Quote:
Originally Posted by SXRguyinMA
Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by billygoat333
I'll hopefully be picking up some 1/8" perspex today to continue working on that vertical plexi pane. The smallest cutting bit that I've been able to find is 1/8", and the only plexi that I have is .093" in thickness, which won't work because it's not thick enough to provide a snug fit after the notches are cut in. The cutting bit and the perspex thickness must be the same size for a snug fit.
As long as I can find this today (I have a local glass shop that I source for this,) then I see no problem in having the chamber finished by middle to end of this week.
I really love your Idea of zero grav. and your eye for perfection
Ask me why I'm happy. :D
I'm happy because I'm beginning to see the finish line. It's been a trying past two months designing, fabricating and then re-designing and re-fabricating (are either of those words?) this part, but now I'm entering the final stages, and I can see it being completed within the next few days.
I'm extremely excited about how it's all starting to look and am looking forward to share it with you all. I really feel that it meshes with the theme extremely well.
Just to review, this was where I had last left off with it. The redesign of the center glass panel which would serve in place of the prior metal L-brackets:
So, let's get started.
At my workbench a few days ago. Here, I was lining up possible drillpoints for the drives. I wanted them spaced far enough apart so they would be distinct objects and appear as if they were floating independently of each other.
First test mount.
Hmm, that was too close. Let's move it down a little.
Much better. This will be a nice fit in the side window. The space between the drives is 3/4".
They'll be centered in the windows an inch off the top and bottom.
Ok, so now that I knew the spacing, I laid out all measurements on my center glass panel to mark the drillpoints.
The large blue piece to the left is the center panel w/ protective blue covering. The two pieces to the right are the two shelves. Due to the redesign of the chamber, I had to cut two more shelves. I'll explain why a little later.
On the press and drilling the holes. There were eight holes in total to drill, two for each SSD. The holes are 1/8".
And.. all the holes are now drilled.
Time to peel off the protective layer to see how clean they came out.
A beautiful, clear piece of perspex (needs some cleaning, though.)
That looks better. To attach the SSDs to the perspex, I'll use a small allen wrench and 4/32 MDPC screws. The screws that I picked up from Nils were perfect for this. They were just the right size, and plus they're black, so they blend in perfectly with the drives. :)
I'll break out my surgical gloves to avoid fingerprints. Regardless, I think I must've Windexed this piece about 37 times over the past few days.
Attaching the first SSD.
Looking good so far. Time for the next one.
And the next.
(Continued in next post.)
A view from the front. The effect is starting to manifest.
All four drives attached.
And now... FINALLY... the near-completed Zero Gravity Chamber!
Here you can see the bottom compartment for the PSU.
Some close-ups of the drives.
Of course, this will all look nicer once it's powdercoated. The plan is to powdercoat the entire interior in "Starlight Black" so as to give the effect that you're looking into space. Both the interior and the exterior of the chamber, as well as the rest of the interior of the case frame, will be painted this color.
Next on the agenda is to notch the shelves in place with the centerpiece and then weld them in place with solvent cement. Then, the Zero-G Chamber is officially finished, and it's onto the next stage of the project.
Lighting. :)
