Project: LEXA

10ks for the big pics.. I could reverse engineer the pattern and see what I can come up with.. Who know when it might get used in one of my mods ;) It could fit with noname as it is a series of experiments..

7V for the fans is about right, even if the fan would be a high speed one, 7V cuts a lot of uumf and allows for a quieter environment :) nice for hearing all the bits of music or the chirping of the birds outside.. I'm ranting about this because my tagan PSU is so loud it blocks these noises :P

Oh, can't wait to see the etch :) Mod on!

Instead of etching that what if you overlaid and cut it out of some copper film. Then glued it too the window.

That's an idea but I don't intend to etch my case window...well not just yet anyway ;) I need to get some practice in first.
When I got up I tried to print those pics of in black and white so I could mimic the "circuits" but my printer has no black/white option, only grey scale. Luckily It's one of those printer/copier/scanners so I will just copy the design straight off the box. I also want to enlarge the design a bit (not as small as on the box) this will allow me to do the etching slightly faster and hopefully end up more visible.

I think the etching of those circuits would look very good, especially with the uv plexi

I have started on a design for the circuits and have just placed an order for most of my water cooling components.

Well here is what I have done so far as designing the etch goes. This is what will be seen on the drive bays (inside of case facing rear).
Here is the completed HDD bay design.

Sorry the picture is a bit fuzzy but you get the idea. The areas with the diagonal lines indicate where mesh will be used. I have to use mesh on the HDD bays because the front fan needs to be able to push air through the system.

The next picture is of the FDD bays.

The FDD bays have the same style as the HDD bays and will also use mesh purely because it is easier for me to etch separate plexi panels and use mesh to join them together, also I think it would look better and is keeping with my original plans ;)

I still don't know weather to show the whole plexi panel (HDD Bays) or make the mesh come in closer to the design (FDD Bays). I think making the mesh come in closer to the design would look good but there would be some rough edges to take care of. I think I will make this decision when I actually go to put the panels together. Until then...

Happy Modding.

Here is the final of the CD drive bays.

On the top two you can see where the CD drives go. I am using mesh and will use a bit of plexi to frame where the IDE and Molex plugs will be for the drives.
The third drive bay is empty so that is where I will be putting the etched panel.
The forth drive bay is where the reservoir will be. Those two poorly drawn circles represent plexi I'm going to use to frame the holes I will have to cut in the mesh.
Well I have to start on the design for the window side of the drive bays. Until then...

Happy Modding.

Well just a very minor update, have to get back to the etching ;). When I got home from school today a nice package was waiting for me.

Yep that's right, my water cooling stuff.
I received my tubing, coolant, radiator, reservoir and pump along with some fittings. All I'm waiting on is the water blocks and they should come in tomorrow or early next week along with a few other bits and pieces. I'm going to try to get the etch design finished now so I can get it all done this weekend. Until then...

Happy Modding.

looking HOT!

great to see some aussies on here getting some work done with the big guys =]

+rep for the so-far-awesome-looking case mod.

Haha thanks mate, yeah there are a few of us now. I had to put the modding on hold for a while due to school and nothing to do because I was waiting for parts but now that I have got this lot I have lots to do haha.

BTW: nice sig, your specs will be almost the same as mine lol.

Thought I'd show you guys what the coolant looks like and also those 90 degree bends I got are UV blue so they will look great in this system.

The coolant glows a lot more but the camera is kinda crappy lol. I'm almost done with the design for the etching so I will have that up as soon as possible. Until then...

Happy Modding.

Looking good and with more UV goodness ;)
If you're having some trouble with the design being not that clear, I could have a go in 3ds and photoshop with it, to adapt it... if you still need it, of course..

&Coolant looks great and I can vouch for that (I'm 100% alphacool at this moment) ;) You should have also ordered some UV tubing (stiffer than the usual, but looks eerie and has a unique glow.. and changes the subtle shade of the green coolant too)

Thanks for the offer, I am having some trouble being able to read the faint lines when I copy the final stencils. When I'm done I will scan them all and you can see what you can do if you want.

I thought about UV tubing but thought it would destroy my effect. I want to be able to see the green clearly and I don't think that will be a problem lol.

Well I tried to scan the pictures but they turned out like crap so I will have to take a pic of the designs for you.

Actually don't worry about it mate, it's just too hard for me and you alike. I will just work with photocopies and pencil in stuff I can't quite make out. Thanks for the offer anyway.

Well, it isn't hard, just time consuming.. and the pic doesn't have to be big, just a bit clear.. I can then make it repeat a pattern or enlarge it till it hits infinity :)

I've done drawings form even my crappy camera, and it is at a mere 640x480... As long as the pattern is visible, I can work it out :) won't be much trouble, and in about.. tonight.. I would be done.. that's in about 10 hours time.. between 12 and 2 am local time.. that's my sweet spot for doing modeling :)

Well i got all of the designs already done I just scanned the cover of the manual and used the scans to make some thing that wasn't repetitive but looks good. When I start etching you will see what I mean.

Still haven't started the engraving just yet but I have done some work with my radiator.
I needed to make a spacer to go between the radiator and the case so I could have enough room to the hoses after I pass it through the case wall. After trying various things with washes and nuts I got an idea.

Yes it's a case fan. I have decided that this will be the best and easiest way to do what I want. This is an old broken case fan that I was going to throw out anyway so it's not a huge loss if I stuff up ;)
Ok so here is the fan with the LED's and cable removed.

Here's the fan with the actual fan removed, just the housing left. As you can see I pretty much snapped the blades off and in the end got some tin snips to cut the supports. It's feels good to vent your anger on something breakable lol.

Here is the completed housing with all the sharp edges cut and filed.

Here it is installed on the radiator ready to go.

Here's a pic of the rear of the case marked and ready for the holes to be cut to pass the tube through to the radiator.

These are the cut and filed holes. You can see how the hole saw slipped and scraped the hole on the right but this doesn't matter because it's going to be painted over anyway.

This pic is how it will be installed. You can see how the tube fits perfectly through the hole and the old fan acts like one of those rad boxes which is an added bonus :)

Sorry about the blurry pic guys, the camera wouldn't focus. Well that's all I have done at the moment. It's slowly coming together and I hope to have it finished by next weekend. I still have to paint that rad box to match the case and start the etching after school. I am still waiting for my water blocks but should be receiving them within the next few days. Until then...

Happy Modding.

great idea with the case fan and also it looks like you are doing a great job, very pro looking :) I can definitely see the potential in this mod man... not to mention you are a fellow lexa owner.. so what if mine is black n red and urs is alluminum and blue hehe we gotta stick together

Yeah lexa owners should stick together, there are two few of us lol. Mine will soon be black on the inside as well as the outside just to continue on with the sexiness lol.

Nice update :) The fan frame will also help with noise reduction and with airflow, helping the fan push/pull air in a more silent and efficient way.
Oh, I would like a drill with a hole saw ;) More on the shopping list :)

That's what I thought, the fan would help with the dead spot in the airflow. This hole saw is one dad had laying around from when he drilled holes in the shed for cable. It is specifically designed for steal but will cut almost anything. The size I used was 1 inch and there is still plenty room around the tubing, I need to buy some rubber grommets to finish the holes off though because the holes are still a little bit to sharp. Until then...

Happy Modding.

Well with a day off school today I thought I should really get my stuff together and do some modding.
First on my list are the PCI slots.
Due to an 8800GTX being extremely long (27cm) It is hard to get it into the case, you have to put it in diagonally and this will be hard with the water cooling attached and once you get it in there is about 2cm gap between the end of the PCB and the HDD cage. I have decided to trim some of the case towards the PCI slots to allow the card to slide in much more easily.

So here is the case all marked up, this cut should be fairly easy but due to it being aluminum it with warp a little.
Here is the case after I have cut it and filled it to the correct size, in all about 10 mins work ;)

I know at the moment it looks a bit tacky but I have ordered some fan hole molding to cover up the sharp ugly edges.
Well thats all for now, I have to copy he final copies of the etch design and then cut the plexi to fit. After that the fun can begin;). Until then...

Happy Modding.

Well I didn't get to that engraving today, I have been too pissed off. Once again this mod has been set back due to the stock on my order not coming in. Today I received an email telling me that the Swiftech Apogee GTX CPU water block that I ordered is sold out. When I ordered they were in stock but I had to pause the order to replace the blue CCFL's I ordered (BY MISTAKE) with UV ones. So I guess I just have to wait for new stock, hope it is soon.

Finally an update on the engraving.
I think I am going to have to scrap this idea. I did a test piece and it turned out like complete crap (sorry no pictures). I think I was getting a bit ambitious with the idea and have chosen to do something much simpler. I will still keep the whole measurement and layout but will just use the plain green plexi. I am hoping to get an overall effect mush like this (water cooling, and some plexi parts).
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/f...ad.php?t=10478
Tomorrow I hope to cut out all of the plexi but I wont get the mesh I need until my order comes in. Until then...

Happy Modding.

Well, that's a shame. What went wrong? Just out of curiosity of course.
The other project is great in its simplicity and looks, so it is a good model. You can come up with more ideas, try stuff out and see what you like in the long process of making the mods, so you will find something to make your rig better than any other lexa out there ;).

Well while trying to engrave straight lines I found it very difficult to keep on the lines. You need a very steady hand for this sort of detail, my other option is to get it laser cut but I don't have the cash to do so. I think it will look better as just plain Green plexi anyway. It will glow great with the UV CCFL's. I will still be using mesh but not as much as originally thought, may look kinda weird with huge gaps of mesh. I am marking the plexi now for cutting tomorrow so I will post some pics when I'm done. Until then...

Happy Modding

Loving the mod so far, keep it up. +rep

One option you have for cutting dead straight lines on plexi is to score a line where you want to cut with a craft/Stanley knife. Then place the edge over a workbench and apply pressure to 'snap' it down the score line. I have used that method in the past and it does work well. May be best to practice on a small offcut first though.

I have also used that method but the plexi I am using I "borrowed from school", it's 4mm thick and rather ridged, it may crack and snap if I used that method again. I will try it with an off cut though.

Well today I cut most of the plastic I will need.
Here's a pic of all the cut plexi.

From left to right:
Support bar cover, Bottom of HDD bay cover
ODD cover (inside), FDD cover (inside), HDD cover top and bottom (inside)
ODD cover (outside), FDD cover (outside), HDD cover (outside)
By outside I mean facing the case window and by inside I mean facing the rear of the case (PSU).
Here is a pic of the support bar cover installed (sorry no screws today, only tape):

Sadly I did not have a long enough piece of plexi to cover the whole rail so I will need to use some mesh to cover up the ends.
Here is the rest of the plastic where it generally will be:

As you can see from the picture I didn't include the ODD covers, that's because they wont fit until I un-rivot the case.
Here are the ODD covers:

And here is where they will be installed:

The ODD cover situated on the window side of the case need to be installed before I reconstruct the case, There is a lip on the edge of the drive bays that the plastic will slip under and the whole front of the case needs to be off to allow me to do so.
In the third picture you may have noticed the big gaps in the plexi, this is for mesh to be installed to allow for better ventilation (especially on the inside HDD covers). Well that's about all I have at the moment. When I figure out where my pump will be mounted then I may design a plexi cover for it. I am also thinking of making one for the PSU. Until then...

Happy Modding.

Very nice, looks like the cuts turned out well in the end. Look forward to seeing them with the backing tape off.

Yeah the jigsaw worked great, had to buy a plastics blade first though. I just filed down the edges that weren't straight it all fits perfectly. Tomorrow I may start the PSU cover but I have a 1000 word essay to write :(. Until then...
Happy Modding.

Well some more plastics work done today. With some inspiration from Xperiment's mod (Reality Bytes) I decided to make a cover for my wireless LAN card.
Here is the victim, a D-Link Air Plus G54 Wireless LAN Card:

Here is the disassembled card, took all of 30 seconds lol:

Here is the cover I made this morning:

All of the part ready to go together:

Installed:

A different view:

And here is a view of it inside my old computer, doesn't it look great:

Well that's the finished Wireless LAN cover.
Special thanks to Xperiment and has fantastic mod Reality Bytes for the inspiration for this mini mod.

Today I also started the work on my PSU cover.
Here is a pic of the cut plexi:

I cut the plexi and rounded the two edges you will see. Well that's all I have for you at the moment. Until then...

Happy Modding.

EDIT: Sorry about the blurry pictures, my camera doesn't like shiny objects or the glowing plexi lol

Turned out very nice, great job.

Looks great the boy 4rm oz! Hmm, I wonder how you shorten "the boy 4rm oz" into an easier to write name... :thinks:

What'd you use to cut that? The edges look pretty damn good! Give it a lot of sanding?

You can just call we "the boy" lol. I used a jigsaw with a plastics blade, the blade I used worked great, like a knife through butter. I didn't do any sanding really, just filed down long sides and stuff like that. I took some of Experiments advice and left the edges rough to diffuse the glow more.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The boy 4rm oz

You can just call we "the boy" lol. I used a jigsaw with a plastics blade, the blade I used worked great, like a knife through butter. I didn't do any sanding really, just filed down long sides and stuff like that. I took some of Experiments advice and left the edges rough to diffuse the glow more.

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Coolio the boy (lol).

Maybe I'll stop at some stores after work today and look for some plastics blades for my jigsaw. The only good cuts on plastic I've gotten with it were with a wood blade and 1/4" pink plexi. The metal blades just melted it, and the wood made it jump (this was with 1/8" though). Looks great though, +rep.

Thanks for the rep, the plexi I cut was about 4mm thick and was rather rigid, got absolutely no melting using these blades. Good luck.

EDIT: haha you just gave me 7 rep points yay.

Looks good.. +rep from me.

Thank you all for the rep so far. I was going to finish my work on the PSU cover today but brought the wrong domed nuts. Now I have to take them back and find a place that sells a smaller size.