Project: Stargate Atlantis

I figured out what I'm going to use on the outside of the case. I'll brush fiberglass resin onto thick cardboard and then glue a thin sheet of styrene on top. It'll give the sides the strength of 1/8 inch styrene but without the cost. I'm ordering all my styrene from US Plastics. The problem with ordering 1/8 inch styrene from them is that it has to be shipped motor freight. And with motor freight shipping you won't know how much it costs until it arrives at your door. My guess would be that it's fairly expensive.

If its not too late have you looked into thin (3mm?) plywood. It would be strong enough and its probably cheaper than styrene though it would need a layer of someting to stop it looking like wood (primer would do it you put it on thick).

Or you could try metal, thin sheet steel is very cheap.

Still I like the look of this project. Nice Sketchup work :)

This looks interesting. I love working with wood. If you need some help on the wood drop me a line.

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Originally Posted by Olen

If its not too late have you looked into thin (3mm?) plywood. It would be strong enough and its probably cheaper than styrene though it would need a layer of someting to stop it looking like wood (primer would do it you put it on thick).

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Actually I already ordered a ton of styrene 4 days ago. Plywood would have been a good idea though. I've found that the larger pieces of cardboard require a lot of fiberglass resin to get hard. When I first tested fiberglass resin, it was only on small pieces. I think I'll continue with the cardboard and styrene plan for now.

I hadn't even considered metal. I'm using my dads tools and he doesn't have much for metal working. I did use some steel plates on my first mod, it took forever to cut them with a dremel.


Thanks Talegunner, I wasn't sure if anyone was a fan of wood on this site. It seems like everyone wants to build their next mod out of aluminum.

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Originally Posted by Visionary

Actually I already ordered a ton of styrene 4 days ago. Plywood would have been a good idea though. I've found that the larger pieces of cardboard require a lot of fiberglass resin to get hard. When I first tested fiberglass resin, it was only on small pieces. I think I'll continue with the cardboard and styrene plan for now.

I hadn't even considered metal. I'm using my dads tools and he doesn't have much for metal working. I did use some steel plates on my first mod, it took forever to cut them with a dremel.


Thanks Talegunner, I wasn't sure if anyone was a fan of wood on this site. It seems like everyone wants to build their next mod out of aluminum.

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Check out my log. Cherry wood case with water cooling.

http://thebestcasescenario.com/forum...ead.php?t=6712

Do consider metal. You can get an angle grinder (great for steel NOT for aluminium) for about a tenner here so its not like the tools cost much. For aluminium get a hand saw its that soft.

But for something this complex wood/ plastic may well be better. Plywood is cheap though so if you need more think about it... Oh and use the right primer... not all of them harden totally as I found to my detriment on trying to sand some...

I’ll use cardboard to build the blue things and then glue pieces of styrene onto the surfaces. After I get them together I’ll cut the slots for the lighted strips with a dremel.

I cut out templates for the pieces in paper first, then used the templates to mark the cardboard.

Here are all the pieces for the two blue things. I numbered the pieces so that I’d know where they all go.

I put a thick layer of fiberglass resin on both sides of the pieces. Then I used contact cement to glue them together at the edges. That stuff is pretty messy and it took quite a while to dry. It didn’t seem very strong either. Next time I think I’ll use hot glue. It’ll probably be just as strong.

All glued together. But I wasn’t sure it was going to stay that way so I put on a few extra layers of resin. That seems to have strengthened it up. Maybe I should put some sort of bracing inside to keep them from falling apart.

You can probably notice the gap between the top and the front side. That happened because I forgot to take into account the thickness of the cardboard when I was making the templates. I took the measurements straight off of sketchup without considering how the pieces of cardboard would need to overlap at the corners. If the cardboard had been paper thin, everything would have fit together perfectly. oops…

Next I’ll make the steps. The top surfaces will be cardboard and styrene like the rest of the case. The front surfaces of the steps will be only styrene. I’ll cut the ancient letters out of the styrene and put some sort of semi-opaque white material behind them. Then I’ll use white LEDs to illuminate the letters from behind.

Paper templates for the two steps.

When I fitted the templates against the frame I noticed that it didn’t quite fit, so I taped some paper onto the templates until they fit perfectly.

I got done cutting the cardboard. Here’s how they’ll look when I put it all together.

The fiberglass resin works pretty well on the smaller two pieces of cardboard. The larger piece may need another layer or two to get hard.


Progress is starting to slow down now. I need to get a case. I need optical drive brackets and the motherboard holder before I get too far along. I can’t put the cardboard on the sides until those things are installed first. I’ve been looking for a case for about a week or so. I’m almost at the point where I’m ready to buy a new case from newegg.

Lookin good man. You stopping?

Wow! Great project and nice progress so far.
Subscripted and +Rep for the idea.

I really hope the cardboard is strong enough to withstand a practical usage of the case and does not buckle sooner or later...

GREAT idea! Really like it. Normally I don't like theme-cases but this one stands above them.

I personally would use metal to construct it. It fits better with the theme and it is much stronger. Also harder to treat. Maybe something for later ;)

Great job though :)