hells yeah + rep
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hells yeah + rep
Thanks for all the positive feedback and yes this is my first time using sketchup!
I can't take credit for the round gears, the springs and the nut's but the rest was made by me!
Awesome program! Simple to learn really helps you visualize what you want to do!
I usualy draw what i'm trying to do in microsoft paint! I have done some pretty cool drawings with paint but it is much harder.
Charles
Ok now we are in bidness!
My parts have arrived all but the glue but it will be awhile before I start glueing.
The 1/8 thick size is perfect for the blast door and the housing it is high impact styrene so it should be sturdy.
Now the main thing I am worried about is cutting and glueing.
The cutting part I think I can handle but the glueing part well I usually make a mess when I try to glue something.:(
Anyone have tips on glueing styrene without making a mess?
Also both my lcd screens have been shipped and should arrive any day now.
That's when the main work will begin I plan on taking a lot of pics I hope you guys don't mind me posting them.
Thanks for all the help thus far and for the future help I will need to complete this. :)
Charles
This is my Idea for the blast door assembly,
I really would like your opinion as to if you think it will work or not.
This is the front the door tracks are not how I plan to make them I had to borrow these from an image.
Here I am using the drive rails and will be able to remove the entire assembly if needed for repairs.
The back will remain open for cooling purposes.
Top view.
Another angle
Charles
I stock up on the nozzle adaptors that allow small ammounts of glue to be dispensed without a messQuote:
Originally Posted by Wannabeamodder
I don't know how I missed this, but I just wanted to say, keep up the good work. I can't wait to see how this turns out! +rep
congrats for the feature!
Yeah, congrats on the feature. Definitely deserved it. Great work!
-Dave
Thanks guys I am having a blast doing this and will continue to keep you posted.
I'm really new at posting so I need to know one thing should I continue this thread or start another as this one is getting kinda big?
At one point I thought it might be a dead thread.:)
Great Idea Crimson I will order some of those applicator tips.
I never thought I would have so much trouble making the second Linear actuator but all cd roms are not created equal I cannot find one with the same or similar gear setup!
And that has me stuck I guess I'll hit the PC shops and see if they have any dead cdroms they want to get rid of!
Yes the Linear Actuator's twin brother is almost done except for the gear setup.
Why another one?
I am making twin systems one for me and one for my son ain't I a good dad!
It's like only his sixth system we have built but first time modding (other than the gattling gun).
I often wondered why you guys mod cases now I know It's fun!!!!!:D
OMG I just figured out what you guys meant by feature, I'm Honored :D
Charles
Grats on the feature!! Excellent work on the actuator assembly, and awesome models in sketchup. I have to agree with Dave, you're a modder man... stand with pride!
Oh .. and this thread ain't big yet!! Heck mine's like 12 pages already and it's nowhere near big (or done) yet. :P
I'll look forward to watching this progress, you've definitely got the knack for this stuff. :)
Peace ... and +rep of course.
FyreKnight
dang...this is turnin out nice....im gonna have to try this....ive thought about it...just never did
I grabbed up a box of 8 CDROM drives on ebay for $4.00 + $3.95 shippingQuote:
Originally Posted by Wannabeamodder
I have a bid in for 6 used cdroms on ebay if I win I just hope they don't all have the same gear setup as the 5 dead ones I gutted but could not use.
Charles
PS I won the auction for the drives perhaps one of them will contain the proper gears
In this post I will point out some things for those wishing to build the linear actuator.
First Credit must be given where it is due!
This isn't my Idea it was first dreamed up and fabricated by Crimson Sky for the Doom 3 Project mars city, If you are new to this forum and have not checked out this case mod do so it is awesome!
As all of you know the linear actuator is made from the drawer mechanism of a cd rom or dvd rom drive.
You probably are thinking "I got and old cd rom laying in the corner I will build this".
It's not that simple all cd rom drawer mechanism's are not created equal!
Here are some things to look for before you ever start buchering the drive.
Holding the drive door facing you open it with a paper clip inserted into the little hole in the front ( for those of you who did not know what the hole was for thats what it's for)
If you cannot find the hole then you probably have a drive with a hinged door in that case pull open the hinged door there will be a slot in the bottom part of the inner tray which is where the paper clip should be put.
Some drives with hinged doors have no slot and do not need to be opened with a paper clip just pull on the inner tray and it should come out.
Now after the tray is out look underneath this is what you are looking for.
You want to see a wide gear strip preferable on the right side but the left side will do as long as it's wide.
If the srtip is very narrow this won't do you can try it but it does not give much room for adjusting the final drive gear on the actuator.
Look at the teeth on this gear strip I prefer the teeth to be coarse not fine toothed.
Also look at the gear setup some drives have a very skinny final drive gear especially the ones with the skinny gear strip. Some drives you have to open up in order to see the gear setup some you don't.
Some drive door mechanism's are belt driven this won't do but you may be able to still use the motor and the intermediate gear and final drive gear if it is the right size.
It's hard to find the perfect combination of parts so you may have to get some used or dead cd rom drives preferably differant brand names and models and use a combination of parts from several.
Or you may get lucky as I did and have a drive that all components were perfect just begging to be used!
But luck ran out I butcherd 5 more drives and only found a few things I might be able to use for the second actuator I'm building.
So bottom line open the door check out the gear strip if it's skinny save yourself the trouble of tearing into it unless there are other goodies you can use.
Hope this helps
Charles
P.S. The rubber stop on the end of the actuator was part of the cdrom as well most cdroms have 4 these.
Update time !
Here is the progress thus far I kinda deviated from the sketchup Idea because of unforeseen problems I ran into.
Anyway the following pics will show you the route I took!
Some may call it jury rigging I call it recycling.;)
First we had to have some more victims to sacrifice for the second actuator ,count on ebay to provide!
The three on the right do not have the right gearing so they will be spared!
One of these guys on the left is going to take one for the team thus sparing the other two!
Here you see my lcd screens,one for this system and one for the other system.
The front of the lcd screens with their protective cover still on.
The lcd screen out of it's packaging as you can see the ears on the side have been bent 90 degrees in order to mount the screen onto the cdrom shell.What better way to make something fit in a drive bay than to utilize something that was meant for just that! Re-cycling :banana:
In this veiw you see the drive rails must be moved forward in order for the screen to be set back farther than a cdrom, this allows for room for the blast door! The rails must also be lowered since the drive shell is upside down!This was a booger to get just right and took many trys but we finally got it!:)
My first attempt at relocating the drive rails was unsucessful! Good thing I had many more of these! I tossed this one and started over.:D
In this pic you see the drive installed without the screen this was a test fit and was also the one that had to be scrapped the drive rail on one side did not align with the other side it was off just enough to make the drive shell crooked! :down:
New victim this time I mounted the screen first! The aggravating thing about this screen is the ears on the sides are not the same! one side they are at the top and bottom the other side they are about one inch from the top and bottom!
This is the same pic just a differant angle.
This is also the same pic but a veiw of the other side ! See the differance in where the ears are located.
And yet another veiw.
This is one of many test fits as adjustments had to be made both to the unit and to the case.
And these next two pics are a look inside with the unit installed for a test fit.
These next two pics are test fits with the case front bezel on as you can see the screen sets back just enough to allow for the blast door and guide rails!
Keeping the protective cover on the screen while measureing for the blast door rails will insure that there is sufficient room between the screen and blast door during operation!
Continued in the next post.
Charles
Looks pretty sweet so far! Looking forward to seeing a final result!
Continued:
Here is my second ( and successful ) attempt at relocating the drive rails!:)
As you can see by the hole on the end the screen was originaly going to be on that end but I changed it because I was going to put nut's on the inside so I drilled these holes larger than my tap size! Then discovered that the ears on the screen are not big enough to allow room for nuts! So I had to switch ends and drill and tap new holes!
With the drive rail waiting to be installed.
In this fuzzy pic you can see I've added braces to keep the screen stationary and to be able to withstand installation and removal. I used a small carpenters square to insure that the screen was at a 90 degree angle.
Here is a better angle of the braces ( better pic too ) :)
And yet another angle of the assembled unit with protective cover removed from screen!
This is a pic of the case and unit before installation.
The unit installed with protective cover removed from screen.
Here the unit is installed with the case front bezel on and the main door open.
Here the unit is installed with the case front bezel on and the main door closed.
Sorry for such a huge post there is more to come so stay tuned!
Charles, (Mightbeamodder) aka Wannabeamodder
Everything you're doing looks totally ace.
But the door on that case...hmm...i think it hides your good work. It possibly be improved...
-Dave
I am loving this thing, it's admittedly about as fun as watching the Doom3 blastdoor come to life. I've wanted to make something like this ever since I first saw Crimson's worklog, and you are doing a bang-up job at putting it together. Very impressive!
Thanks guys:
What I am going for here is stealthiness.Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveW
No one will Know the lcd is there until I open the blast door.
I think it will be cool! 8)
But the main reason is I had already bought this case before I
decided to tackle this it's the old put the cart before the horse kinda thing! ;)
Charles
i agree with dave heh that case door has got to go heh
+ rep fer da awsome work :D
***** work man
Nope the case door stays it's one of my favorite parts of the case!:banana:Quote:
Originally Posted by CHIMAERA
Wait for the end results.
Charles
lolz aight lets see ur magic heh
Well not much to say in this update just that I am planning on cutting the styrene for the "J" shaped tracks for the door this weekend!
Anyone with tips on how to do this correctly feel free to comment.
Thanks for all the support
Charles
Have to agree that the case door is pretty fugly--unles of course you have plans to hack it up that your not tellin' us? ;)
Um, how did I miss this????
Damn good work dude, keep it up! +rep
Well it seems like most folks agree the case door hurts the mod!
But that's one of the reasons I call myself Wannabeamodder right now I am working on something that is apart from the case.
I have no ideas whrn it comes to the actual case, I have thought about it but no vision comes to mind.
I guess I lack creativity when it comes to trying to think up an Idea to make the door either go or improve it.
The best I can do and I don't even have it worked out and don't know if I can do it is make the case door open automaticaly then the blast door.
I am open to suggestions concerning the door.:)
Charles
Don't let us make your mind up. It wouldn't be modding if we told you what to do. If you like the door, then keep the door. :) We might not like it, but it's your mod.Quote:
I am open to suggestions concerning the door.
-Dave
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveW
Thanks DaveW
Charles
I take back this statement from an earlier post.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wannabeamodder
I am having all kinds of problems cutting straight pieces of styrene!
Help please :)
Crimson Sky if your out there tell me the secret "I vill not let eet fall into ze ands of zee enemy" :)
Charles
For thinner polystyrene (1/8" and smaller) I simply use a straight edge and a knife to score the plastic. Then, snap it along the edge. You can also cut it on a table saw, with a dremel, jigsaw, router, really anything. If it's thin enough you can even use scissors.
do work
Thanks Tybrenis
I'm using 1/8 inch styrene but after the scoring especially small strips like 3/8 inch wide I am having trouble snapping it.
Also I can't seem to make a continuous score line without leaning the knife at some point and that makes an edge thats not square.
I thought about cutting it with a dremmel but read something about the smoke not being good to breathe.
I also tried gluing and let me tell you Crimson was right when he said to use Zip kicker along with Zap glue it makes the gluing much faster and easier!
I have one side of the track channel assembled but it's ugly due to cutting mistakes.
Charles
Take a look at the evergreen website. They make styrene in all sorts of sizes.
http://www.evergreenscalemodels.com/Strips.htm
1/8th inch is tremendously thick, far more than you would need for the rails. the magic of styrene is in its strength, even whil eusing thinner stock. .060 would have been the thickest I'd use for the flat "J" part of the rail, and .040 to make the curved side pieces. The material is cheap enough to get a bunch of dif types and experiment. a utility knife and straight edge is just about all I use for simple cuts. using a pair of pliers is a good idea on thin strips to help snap it. I put a pair of pliers on the grinder to remove the teeth on the jaws so it doesnt mar the styrene.
Thanks Crimson I was using way too thick of styrene!
Thanks Mach I went to evergreens website but it looks like,
they don't have online ordering.And I'll bet there isn't a store near me that sells it.
I have called all the stores I can think of but when I say styrene they are like "whats that".
So can someone point me to a place I can order styrene in small sizes online.
I learned a valuble lesson today a drill bit will drill into a finger (Imagine that)
Hurt like hell too!
Oh well no pain no gain I guess.
As for progress I think I finally found a gear combination that will work for the second Linear actuator.:)
Thanks
Charles
Great idea! I see why you da man!Quote:
Originally Posted by Crimson Sky
They do make a similar product for glass that has a wide gripable area for snapping off small pieces and strips. Pretty much single purpose tool though since it is not as durable as a set of pliers.
I finnaly found a hobby store near by that sells evergreen products!
I should have my styrene this weekend then I can get started again.
In the mean time I shall take my grinder to an old pair of pliers! :)
Charles
Well I have my styrene!
It is a lot easier to cut than the 1/8 inch!
Starting to bulid door panels fingers covered with glue:down:
This isn't as easy as I thought it would be but we are getting somewhere!
I have finished the final drive gear assembly for the second Linear acuator and I probably will change the first actuator to this gear setup as it works more smoothly Pics soon! hang in there.
Charles
