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well.. i have to say goodbye to all of you.. for a few days :( i'm moving back home and i'm not sure when i'll be back online.. a week at max, i hope.. i can't stay too long without the web, so hope everythings goes as fast as possible :)
already sent my rig home, so this post is from a collegue.. bye everyone..
I'm back... took a month for the cable guys to finally install my new connection :) happened just a few minutes ago :) after they left, guess what page i connected to? :D
I've done mostly thinking, seeing i was away from my pc for a few weeks.. but i think i got a theme and some modding ideas for my rig.. i've been home for just one day now and bills are pileing.. so i hope i get some money to make some of my ideas real :)
i've got some arrends to run, but i'll be back :)
A few minutes after they left!? lol wow.. that deserves an award of loyal dedication or something! lol sadly I would be like... I.. need... myspace.com... I know I know.. thats horrible! But I think this site is slowing replacing myspace for me! Anywho, glad to see that you are back!
thanks...
after 2 days of working on some PCs (assembly and install), i got home and was thinking of starting modding again... i have an easy mod coming.. it involves paint and plastics.. so i'm testing chemical reactions :) dont' wanna ruin anything (like with the nice black finish on the psu:( )
im sorry the heatpipe company didnt respond. corel pisses me off. i know autocad like the back of my eyelid and nobody is really looking for it if you dont have a degree. i guess i will ave to continue with my obcession and design another car top down. or maybe another case.
hmm nice work and idea! :D
but one thing reminds me. "Lots of fan, lots of wires" :(
why dont you spend some money to buy a digicam?
looking forward on your project bro. :) good luck!
i have to say great renders... im such a newb to 3ds max i dont even know how to rotate the veiw! that is mighty troublesome.
10ks guys :) your support is really appreciated :)
maz, you're absolutelly right.. it's really hard if you don't have a degree.. i'm working on that, but unfortunatelly, there is no way i can get one in CAD :(, any CAD.. :( no such thing at my university.. so all i have to say for anyone in this predicament is keep on doing it.. for yourslef :) oh, i'm a noob at autocad, but it seems i have to learn it... in order to manage a small cluster of pcs running autocad and max at a local factory.. don't have the time and i feel like 2D is sooo not 3D :rolleyes:
about the pipes.. it's a shame.. i told them i'm interested in buying.. i don't need free samples.. i would even have ordered a lot of them.. but that's that. i'll skip custom made heatpipe air coolers and go back to my waterblocks :) they are not cheap to make (local CNC place charges about 15 euros/hour, including machine programming and everything, except materials.. depending on the complexity of a block, i may end up spending 10x the money i would pay for a commercial block plus shipping :( will have to solve this to go the my-water-way), but i think they would be worth it :)
xpc, i basically know what your saying and it pisses me off too.. so i'll buy a camera when i can afford it :)
and the wires, when i get all things almost done, will get a nice surgery :) i'm working my schematics, but i'm still not 100% ready to show them.. i clearly don't need 3 wires per fan.. i'll probably end up using just one rpm signal (for the cpu header on the mobo) and 4 identical fans running on 2 wires only (+/-), with a special circuitry to allow some predetermined degree of control on specific fans.. this is probably the most complicated part of my circuitry, as i want a simple control-mechanism but some special features. as for other parts of the pc, they will revolve around a compartment-based cooling scheme, with similarly controlled fans. i plan on using as many 120mm fans as possible, all commonly connected and controlled, so as to achieve near-silent operation or a nice lil' storm :D
i have some pics of what i've thougth of, but the dang pc wont connect to the phone :( man, i wish i had a nice camera now... my experiments with painting have payed of, i think.. i repainted the red mouse with flames... now it's a tad deffierent :) and i wanna change some stuff inside it too :) that's all the modding i'll be doing, because i have to learn..bleah.. linear algebra.. for starters.. and 3 more "chapters" too... 3x bleah.. i hate it 'cause it's not helping me do real stuff (yet)..
good to hear that.. i will wait on your next update. :)
as of now im still in the process of planning on my casing for my 2nd rig. :)
also i dont have a cam too.. lol.. we have the same problem bro. :D
maybe next month...:D
well... this is what happens when i get bored.. i look around, try to find something small and not used and "practice" on it :) so this time, i'm learning on a mouse :)
this is after a first coat of clear
i was amazed how reflective the mouse turned.. i'm wearing a white shirt and i can see myself :)
i wanted to see if/how blue matches with the flames :)
not the best pic, but i think it shows how nice the clear coat is
after a few more wetsandings and more coats..
my phone's camera acts weirdly in this high light conditions :(
these are donors.. i wanted to see what i could use in a mouse..
couldn't use anything.. except the salvaged LEDs.. and i was a tad tired with the plain red of this pic..
i then looked at the bottom part of the mouse and wandered what i could do to it.. but without permanent damage..
so i made a cover for the inside :) first version..
second version..
revision.. more detail needed..
i don't like white.. black it is.. a nice marker should help..
..too slow.. so i took a brush and some die, poured some on the model and spread it :)
..time for changing colours.. ancient soldering "gun" comes out (my soldering iron died 2 months ago.. so i have to use this.. thing)
but it works :) i used the usb's +5V and gnd for.. well, 5V. the blue led is rated at 4,5V/20mA so i took the chance and tested the LED.. it works well and no funny smells ;)
then i changed the optical sensor's LED too.. this is like gambling.. i read around and some optical engines don't work after the change :( but this one does. like many mouses, the engine turns the LED down when not used, so i was afraid that maybe the voltage was too low for it to light at all.. but no issue..
.. i then soldered the second blue-led (this is the 5V one, that works all the time at full power)
(continued)
after connecting all the connections :), it was time to put the mouse back together:)
well... what did i learn? clear is nice when no ill-reactions occur. you can turn a cheap piece of paper into something nice with some die and a steady hand. and blue leds are nice... a! and, like bondo, soldering too much makes you feel nice inside ;)
niceeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!
mice modding got be fired up.. i can't stop :) so i'm doing it to my main mouse too... but this time.... no led change.. just some graphics.. i'm mostly done with it by now.. hope it will turn nice..
1.) ..it did.. have lots of pics too... but they are stuck! ~!@^@ %$ $#|& ! my phone likes them too much i guess.. i'll edit this post after/if i can trick it letting them go..
2.) ok, got them.. man i'm happy :)
mouse taken apart
started wet sanding..
..took more than an hour..
..but when done.. it was black :)
..i was thinking how to fill the black.. and wrote some runes.. with black too..something about courage and stuff.. this is a gaming mouse ;)
..more runes
..and more..
..not much to be seen without light..
..but with light..
..with a coat of clear. first one.. this happened about..oh.. a week ago :)
ok, what's nicer is to come.. at first, this is all i wanted to do to the defence-less mouse.. but after i got some cash... <evil look> muhahhaaa :)
..to continue.. gtg drknng :D
mouse mod continued..
mouse innerds dismantled further.. plsu i bought some blue leds..
these were 5 in the start.. here you can see just 4 :) guess where one went..
it replaced this red one :)
mouse board ready for surgery
my tools..
and the replacement led soldered.. i really need to be more carefull when removing the originals, 'cause i keep breaking the traces and have to make 'em back..
blue led works... yey!
but! as i was afraid.. i lost the ability to track over black surfaces.. great, now i won't use my mat anymore... :( still, no speed was lost on textured surfaces.. blue is just like red :)
next comes this... u know what this is:)
tada.. 40mm fan :)
not the right size tho.. so dremel comes out and...
oops :D this will surelly fit in the mouse :)
..after some cuts... i cut slowly, piece by piece... but in the end.. i cut everything out :))
fan test fitted...
and again.. the bigger picture.. mouse "more" assembled..
glueing the fan was tricky.. superglue wouldn't stick at all on these plastics... so i used paper on each side of the bond.. after making the layers like these.. the fan was stuck! in a good way
..now i had some trouble inspiring me.. so i played around with the mouse wheel.. and came up with this..
..painted the fan white and cleared it :) it won't really be seen, but the blue light inside and the white of the fan.. if i were inside the mouse, i would like this better ;)
i superglued the wires so as not to accidentally bump in the blades..
fan running.. i tested the fan after each step.. 'cause it's beeter to know in time if you mess it up... than to find out in the end and go bananas...
i marked the area that would be used as the exhaust..
and roughly cut it..
same with the intake..
then i soldered a switch to turn the fan off.. when not needed or when pc is off.. the usb's 5V works even after u shut down the pc, so a switch is a must :)
then i soldered the two halfs of the mouse.. you can see some red and black wires in the upper part and some green and white in the lower.. i super-glued almost all the loose wires, except for the soldered parts.. so i can open up the mouse if needed :)
{image limit...}
..continued
glueing the wires was tricky.. the green and white were soldered on the bottom and went around the edge to the top.. so i used 2 screw drivers to clap everything for a while.. fingers and super-glue=baaad
ok... well.. after everything was in place came the tedious task of fitting the things together... i don't like this mouse for that part.. it was cramped enough at first.. as i did after buying the mouse, i tucked the main wire under the board, in the left side... and put a piece of folded paper under the right-mouse-button to even the board and make clicking easier :)
it took me an hour or so to put things back.. and after all was said....err... done:
and my two mice side by side:)
very nice, thanks for sharing the process with so much detail.
no, thank u Rankenphile 4 reading :)
well, as i stroll to the intricate world of linear algebra (as an appetizer for next month).. i reallllllllllllllllly got board.. so i looked tru my stuff and founs some mod-worthy stuff: the old HSF of my current vidcard.. (for my records, i wanna change it and am now looking at buying either a x1800gto from HIS or a x850 pro or similar.. problem is i need a new rig for the x1800.. or a new psu for the x850.. they have similar price and performance and will probably take 2 months to get the cash for either.. what do you people think?)
long time ago, i painted the fan white: coat of white + coat of clear.. again, the stupid clear had some weird effects on the paint: it "melt" it in some places, showing the bare plastic.. but in an artistic way.. so i kept it this way :)
..fan with weird dis-whitening.. fan spinning up.. 5V mod..
old HS.. no fan :)
..not very efficient in my opinion, but it did the job "quietly".. so to say..
this is what i'll be playing with.. i was flirting with the idea for about a month or so, but for something else.. so the practice is good..
silly sticker removed and casing washed.. took forever.. darn glue..
see this mess? well, here are the 8+3 bolts i need to assembly the HSF..
a few minutes later..
after that, no more mess.. bolts are put in a drawer, waiting for their moment
(put mod aside and did more maths.. or did i?)..i like flames.. so why not make black flames on a white background:) i used a cd-marker and draw some.. then some clear to protect them.. then white.. then clear :)
the result :) ok, my bad.. a white photo with a white plastic thingy..
..there.. almost done..
more flames :)
assembled and working at 5v :)
there.. another thing that won't be accepted in case my video board gets burnt (if they find out about the bios settings) and i have to replace it :)
Hey I noticed you use 3ds max. I really want to do that kind of stuff be the free version gmax sucks and I can't render my scenes! I was wondering what version you used.(the 3,400 dollars is a little out of my reach for number 8 :p )
..."number 8" :) i got it from my university (with some other soft/CADs too.. they all amount to.. a nice car), i'm a student.. i can use it, but not commercially :) it's just for learning ;).. and it's not my license. but if i had 3.5k$ (err...) i would gladly pay it. basicly, i used 3dsmax 3 tru 8,m not counting some patches.. they are all nice, and the differences can be overcome with imagination (and possibly free plug-ins).
i've also tried blender (hard to adjust for me) and maya (free learning edition-- says so on all renderings :() and google's sketchup (easy to work with, i admit.. but again, a tad different than what i was used to), but i'll stick to max.. until i'll be faced with buying it and if i wont be able to do so.. than i'll probably go back to blender...
nice mice! that's good for the sweet palm hand. hehe. and also its have a wide body kit. very nice work man!
finished my math work for today... soo.. after finishing this i (re)installed orcad after a long break from it and, considering i bought some stereo-pots today.. i designed this:
the idea is to have 2 dials(..pots) for 2 zones of the system: the planned cpu duct and the system/vdo area. by turning a pot, i get control over several fans.. nothing new.. but i also wanna change their working condition:on/off too :) and in a small place :) and add an inverter and another 2 switcehs and a mono-pot.. more to come.. i go eat now8)
edit: back i am.. this is how the circuit module looks when the switch is open:
all fans were tested and they work at 5V(usb) with ease :) but to be safe, i think ~6V will be enough.
edit2: played with 3dsmax, 'cause the wiring diagram can't help if u can't picture it :).. this is a quick render.. like a 1sec render :)
morning everybody.. late last night i got some stuff done in max.. almost like building the real thing, i "did" the soldering and tweaking (quick <min renders):
side view..
top view.. very clean on this side.. looks like the components are not really connected :D
and the bottom view... i wonder if i can do this on a PWB or i should etch the circuit on a copper/resin board >> PCB :?
changed some values :) all i need now is one darn resistor.. and another for the ccfl module.. can't find them here.. if i were back at university, i could go to a shop there.. but so.. this will have to wait..
using CADs is a very valuable asset. as you can see, all the fans will drain about 13 watts from the psu, i can print the circuit's traces and etch it, i can tell which type of resistors i should use and can tell if this will work and how well.. eg: at max power drain, 6,4 watss will be generated as heat output by the big resistor only.. if i would use tiny, 0.25W ones, i would get another flamed unit.. just like the v4 controller.. wont happen again.. if the CAD says 1.5-2W, i'm going with 5W :D
gottogo..
hello everybody.. did some CAD work and some more soldering/unsoldering (just learning this..).. basically, right now i'm trying to make what i can right now..and at home. so i'm looking around the web for some AgNO3.. maybe your wondering why.. i have a nice idea.. it involves silver nitrate, some silver spoon or fork and some volts :) and a new mounting mechanism for my sonic tower..
i had some issues clearance-wise with the pipes and their base.. i was even about to cancel the clip and may even do so.. i'm considering the typhoon heatsink-mod modded clip :) if this fails..
for all those that might have a socket A rig (still) and might have a sonic tower (slim chances, but the world is big), u know that the holes around the socket make mounting the sink one way only.. so a new clip is needed to make the sink face the right way.. not neccessary for newer sockets, with a square pattern for the holes..
here are some pics:
the side view.. i lowered the tabs with holes so they would not "touch" the heatpipes.. i mean coexist in the same volume of space, of course :)
the new clip needs to go around the coolers base... hope the new shape won't weaken the clip's tight grip.. i'm thinking of ridging this in the middle to make it stronger..
this is how it should look.. crude, but hopefully efficient..
ok.. the weird color is from the silver i would like to place on the cooler :) "would" is the keyword here.. still, u can see how i tried to go around everything..
..hopefully, after electro silverplating..
after "placing" the virtual fans on a virtual sink and covering them with an acrylic cover.. i don't want it to be "passive" with the air in the pc, just the air i drive through :)
so.. please help out a bit.. and stop me if u see something wrong! :)
edit: yey! got some AgNO3. when i have it at hand, i'll make some photos..of the jar.. siilver nitrate is photo sensitive (nice pun, but it actually reacts with light.. it's used in the photographic industry, analog side... don't want that).. now i need to find some % and V :) more maths, physics and chemistry to study...
..so i've taken the risc of making a new clip.. it will unfortunatelly fit just my special situation and it still needs some cutting..
here, with my old mobo, the clip strays into the caps.. not good.. but ok as i'm not using this..
after running a sim in 3ds it appears my clip will violate the northbridge's intimate space ;) so a bit of dremel work there..
but till that time comes, i need a clip to play with..
paper model.. with some reinforced paper action :) i had to do this becasue the clip is not planar, but 3d.. in real life too
(stupid) marks.. a bit bigger than the finished product..
i used some metal scisors.. with the nice effect above..
more modern art.. needs some sorting out..
..my wavey clip..
after some bending with some plyers.. my hand is still sore..
closer to a planar shape.. my hands are killing me.. i will use a hammer from now on.. and this $hi7 is so sharp.. i kinda cutt myself.. no pics of that, too small a cut for this forums:)..
almost done piece.. needs some more shaping, filing.. not now..
this is what awaits the clip in tomorrow installment of my mod world :)
(sorry for the blurry pics.. i don't get it: what the hell is wrong with my phone.. i want a camera :( next next buy: camera)
nice playing with 3dsmax! I hope I learn that too. :D
your project was really hot! :)
..darn.. my thingy for using cutting discs on the dremel broke.. i bought a new cutting disc, made by bosch for cutting steel and the darn screw in the middle of the axle just broke and sent the disc flying... can't find it.. the problem: the screw broke inside the shaft.. so now i need a new axle-thingy.. :(
great.. @#$%%^@#$
hi everybody.. short update:
modified a screw to fit in the dremel.. and used a cutting disc to do some work.. i think i've hit a golden vein here! this cutting disc is excellent! just try this yourself: buy a stainless-steel cutting disc (loks the same as normal ones, but it's made for cutting stainless-steel) for an angle grinder (think that's how it's called.. we call 'em "flex") and make smaller cutting disc using a pair of scissors and some coins as templates.. then make a hole with a sharp thing as close as possible to the middle of the cut cirle and use the dremel at lowest speed to sand the cutting disc to a perfect circle: this is important because it gets to excentric and might brake when on high rev.. this is a cheap way of making cutting disc, but this time i was in luck.. i cut 2 120mm metal grills off my case and that think didn't shrink at all! this is a huge improvement over other disc i used.. basicly, it cuts right thru and doesn't show it at all :) i'm happy :)
i got some AgNO3 from a pharmacy and now i only need some HNO3 :) yey.. which is not commercially available anywhere.. buu... got to pull some strings :) if anyone is interested in the process of electroplating something (trade secrets..), just ask.. if not, i'm not gonna fill this thread with chemestry and physics :)
also, the stupid firefox bookmark losing stuff happened to me right now... curses!
what did you use for the clip
the clip is made of aluminum for toying with the shape.. it's 1mm thick :), but by no means would i trust it to hold the sonic tower:(.. for now at least.. with the new cutting discs, i just have to find some nice steel plate and cut it :) and shape it with my hammers :D
here are some pics.. just for laughs :)
the liltle guy was bended a bit when i mounted the screws.. could do this only with the mobo reversed, because it doesnt fit the other way :)
it's a bit wavy to give it some strenght.. not really needed.. but it does re-size the whole thing :)
..oh, this is pretty strong actually.. i can lift the entire board and the thing doesn't budge or mis-shapes..
..like i said, i cut some holes.. now my fans can breathe @100% efficiency :) which is needed, since they are running @5V only :) shhhh... quiet :)
edit: i forgot.. i bought some masking tape and a sanding block today.. i'm gonna do some cutting of the front part, lower part.. i dismantled it some time ago and now i have: the door - gonna make a mesh insert with mesh and bondo; the lower part - gonna make some holes in the side, put some mesh and again bondo-smooth it. so, i need to buy bondo and paint :) also, just my day.. i wanted to buy a jigsaw and a soldering gun.. no luck.. "we're sorry, this product is currently unavailable".. bleah
dammm.. i found several ways of silverplating.. 1 is achievable, but it is the most school-experiment-ish of them.. so i need 10parts AgNO3, 1 part HNO3 and water.. plus 6V and about 80Amps.. this is the problem.. 6x80=480W!!! too much.. 2nd method involves some chemicals i never heard off.. and the third is a bit do-able..
problem with last 2 methods.. now i have to zincate aluminum..Quote:
Try to find good plating shop-most of silver plating solutions are cyanide based.If you want you can use do it yourself cyanide free solutions.
Ferrocyanide based plating solution:
40 gm silver chloride
200 gm potassium ferrocyanide
20 gm potassium carbonate
1 lit water,stainless steel anodes
Dissove ferrocyanide in boiling water,add carbonate and then add chloride(fresh,you can make it by mixing AgNO3 solution with kitchen salt solution),boil 30-180 minutes,then filter it when cold,then you may use it!
Never try to mix it with strong acids!
Phosphate based solution:
25 gm silver nitrate(or better pyrophosphate)
100 gm potassium pyrophosphate
25 gm ammonium carbonate
1 lit water
Stainless steel anodes
Aluminium must be zincated!Hope it helps and good luck!
another problem with last method is i can't find soo much chemicals (for free or not) and what the hell is potassium pyrophosphate? (i googled it.. googled everything.. found explanations)...darn it.. i'm puzzled.. still, i wanna do this :)
to get a lot of amps, put a bunch of car batteries in series. you can weld metal with 3 of them.
10ks chedabob.. usefull to know :) i like welding..
but i was warned not tu use car batteries for this, as they are 24V.. and i need 6V(max12V.. i'm thinking psu :) ).. a power down transformer is out of the question(DC) and no way am i using resistors(i'll cause a fire!)..
so if am gonna do this, i either need the additives or i will wait longer(80 times longer..) with the simplest way, as the current intensity(A) only influences the speed of the reactions.. faster is bad, but i see no con if i go slower.. except t----i----m------e :) and that zinc thing is still bugging me..
edit: dang, i wanted to write that i've masked the front, lower piece, for cutting and drew where i need to cut.. i think i can improve the airflow in that part by cutting a bigger hole "down-under" and some holes in the sides.. calculated the surfaces and i should get a 120mm fan's surface, disregarding the fact that the intakes will be in 3D space, not directly infront of the fan... well.. i'll post pics in the morning..
car batteries are 12v (well they are over here).
if you need six, just get like a 6v lamp or something, use some of the volts up (something tells me thats not right).
or grab a bunch of leds and make a led cannon :P
yep, not right.. the problem i have when requring so strict numbers is.. the strict numbers! basicly, i need a "generator" that can output 6V and keep the intensity at 80A.. now, if u look at anything out there u can find "x V", but there isn't anything that can vary intensity.. except in a laboratory or.. an electroplating shop :) and basicly 80 A is a huge amount of current.. think overclocked cpu @1.something V.. or all the apliances in a large building @110/220V.. this power will melt wires..Quote:
f you need six, just get like a 6v lamp or something, use some of the volts up (something tells me thats not right).
j/k? >> :) what should i do with it? ..hmm.. maybe if would connect a led at 5v/80A (vs 20mA) it would turn cannon-bumm on me :)Quote:
or grab a bunch of leds and make a led cannon :P
well.. did some more research, some hands on work.. will continue tomorrow.. some pics:
marked the cuts for the front plastic piece:
redid the clip..from mild steel.. consumed a disc in the process:
i used this jerry-rigged head for cutting:
(looks ugly, complex to assemble, but has much more strength when cutting)
..unfortunatelly, this steel was too soft.. i don't know.. guess it wasn't steel as i thought.. it was easier to bend than the aluminum.. both are 1 mm thick...
but this gave me an idea.. nope, i don't wanna use the three prongs to fix the sonic tower.. but i like the black/white contrast :)
..So i started to cut the dang thing from 2.5 mm thick aluminum.. it's taking hellish long but the disc is not wearing as much.. this aluminum is still bendable.. if i can't do the clip with this.. i'll go to 3.5 mm hard aluminum.. heavier and trickier to cut..
..looking nice and i like how it's shaping :) i'm doing it a bit oversized.. but i hope this will be the final :) fingers crossed..
aaarg, i just wrote a post and my pc crashed... dam' winamp.. when it reaches a certain song, it crashes and takes my pc with it... so, i'll do a summary of what i wrote earlier..
back to modding.. the silvering process is on hold: no money, the clip is cut, but still too flimsy: i'll do a 4th version, but can't find 2mm steel around..
the front panel has been cut, holes are nice.. camera can't photo the shades of black, so no pic.. the front door has been masked and awaits for cutting and some grill material.. then bondo and paint :) long time......
because i have some (=lots of) scrap aluminum sheet, i took a learning brake from boring algebra (i have an exam tomorrow... bleah :-( ) and did this:
2 pieces of 1.75mm aluminum (needed the precise size this time for CAD work)
large piece vs antec side panel.. lots of stuff to work my brain on.. i'll use the smaller piece for now..
what to do with this? any suggestions? as they will multiply in number
marked the fan/holes/bends..
bigger picture.. i mean from farther away.. the piece is loooong, but this is quite high quality aluminum..
cut away the excess to allow better management of the big piece..
pieces cut, awaiting bending and further cutting..
my bending rig.. wheni don't have my 180+ pound friend to act as a vice, i have to use my foot.. remarkably, i got like 89 degrees.. close to square :)
bending done.. for this part.. 2 more to go..
small piece which will fix the hdds bent and tested.. perfect fit..
second piece done too..
testing..
2 scrap hdds in for testing and thinkering porpuses..
from another angle.. hmm.. i think it would be better with holes on the side..
fan inside for fitting.. it fits =)
dont know if i'll use this fan or another model.. i like blue leds a lot.. but i'll have to mod a fan to look good as there are some very expensive 120mm led fans here.. and just them.. no choice
i am now sure it needs more holes! it loks like a small... kitchen thing.. what do you people think? leave it white or strip it and make it silver? or paint it black?
this definetly wont do.. one large hole coming up..
this is how i made bending easier.. cut a very shallow groove with dremel and used that for bending.. if it werent the cuts, i would say this is cardboard.. but it's not, it's aluminum.. yum yum.. i just love this material.. so easy to shape.. i'm definately gonna do a case now :D
call me crazy but i attempted to cut the hole with this here.. almost worked, but i should have made sure it's bigger than the metal thickness.. it wasn't.. so i ended up with..
no problem though.. i made another blade.. but i'll probably use that on saturday morning only.. i'll be gone tomorrow all day long and i have to respect my neighbours.. i fear that loud music at day time ~ learning time and high pitched squeels after 4 pm ~ modding time, will make them angry ;)
see yous later..
Thats a pretty sweet thang you got going on there. I tried to make my own HDD bay with an integrated 72mm fan but it turned out to be way to much trouble for me (no patience). And FYI, if you're gonna get something silver plated then i seriously reccomend getting it done by a pro. I based my A-Level chemistry investigation on electroplating and all i got was a whole lotta mess and pain trying to get Silver to plate out of AgNO3, so i'd get it done professionally.
thnx..
the drive bay is in it's 5th incarnation by now.. this is my 2nd attempt at actually building one.. i wanted as few pieces as possible.. but rivetting is also a solution.. you're right, it takes patience.. i can't picture myself drilling and smoothing n holes for the hdds :) but it will be worht it, as preparation for something bigger ;)
4 the silverplating: i was thinking of going pro.. that's what gave me the idea in the 1st place.. i saw a commercial loong time ago (easter holiday, i think).. it stuck with me.. at first, i was pndering a "silver" silencer.. with a silver painted case.. then it hit me.. i have a friend that is rally good with chemistry and her mom works at a lab.. so i asked her and she told me stuff.. wow.. i'm studying physics and electricity at university (electronic engeneering) and what she told me wasn't feasable fo me.. pros can do it, but they would still charge me lots.. so i pondered the DIY way.. maybe i'm wrong ;)
but hey.. if you know stuff about electroplating... :D help?
is there a way of doing this "acceptably"? i could get chemicals, pure silver and pure stainless steel.. and consume a bit too :) but i can't go the hi-wattage electroplating way.. time is not an issue :) the final product counts :)
eidt: after 5 hours of cramming $#|& in my head.. ok, usefull.. stuff.. for my next exam.. i unwinded by cutting the fan hole in the hdd cage.. and manually drilling the 4 holes for the fan :) also, i needed a fan to see if it all fits and i got the one "mounted" on my sonic tower.. so an experiment rose:
temps go nicelly down :) when i fit it back.. so i have 2x120mm fans for intake@5V, 1x120mm exhaust set to low and one 120mm@5V sat between the towers of the sonic tower.. less noise :) i'm happy :) why? for the first time in a long time, my +12V is happier:
this voltages and temps are sooo nice.. vs my old ones.. so, as an advice for those who have crappy no-name atx psus.. load the 5v more and unload the 12V ;) :)
i'm leaving for a few days and i'll be back on sunday hopefully :) have 3 exams to take care of.. wish me luck :) when i'm back, i'll go in overdrive.. at least with testing :)
