No problem, You didn't Jack my thread, your just sharing information, which is what this is all about. :)
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No problem, You didn't Jack my thread, your just sharing information, which is what this is all about. :)
Wow, I haven't been here in a while. You have made some awesome progress! Great job Dan. I definitely need to check in more often! 8)
Thanks Boddaker!
Hey guys small update tonight.
I did some work on the back of the case to cover up the hard drive swap case and bolts for the feet.
Here are the pieces that I cut to make the covers. I cut two triangular pieces for the top and a couple rectangles for the sides. I then beveled the front edge of them so they fit tight against the case.
here you can see the bolts for the feet and the wires for the lights.
You can also the the covers I made. this is before I painted them.
And here they are installed. :)
I also cut a piece of CF to cover the bottom black plexi. the Black plexi looks good by itself, but I had an extra piece that just about fit it perfectly so I went ahead and did it.
Then I just epoxied it to the bottom panel. -All done with that.
I also spent a little time with the lcd temperature monitor. This is the same one I used in Motorized Madness. many of you will remember what it looked like before.
Here is the temperature sensor that I will screw into my resevoir.
Well, the blue just wont do at all. So I popped it open and modified it a bit.
Here is the result.
What do you think? The red looks so much better!
Nice solution for the gap in the back cover. You're right, the red LCD looks much better. That's a Thermaltake temp sensor right???
Thanks, yes, it is a Thermaltake.
looks sweet nice solution
lookin awesome :bowdown: I have their temp sensor as well, my screens a tad different, has a low water indicator and such as well. love the red though, looks great :D
Looks sweet man. :bowdown: The red looks a lot better on the lcd screen. Can't wait to see more.
Hey guys, Sorry its been so long since I've made an update. Been really busy with work and Christmas parties. So without further adue....
I worked on mounting the Reservoir I purchased.
Its about 2" in diameter so I used a hole saw and cut a large hole in the motherboard tray.
The hole was slightly larger than it needed to be, plus I wanted to clean up the edges a bit so I took some rubber edge molding and cut one side of it off.
Then I glued it around the inside edge of the hole. Essentially I made my own 2" diameter rubber grommet. :)
Then I slid the reservoir in through the top and here is a shot of how the holes extend out into the bottom chamber of the case.
this show shows how much clearance there is with the bottom on. -about 1/4".
Side note, not sure if I ever showed this shot, but here is the bottom of the radiator that sticks down into the lower chamber.
Now the reservoir fits fairly snug in the grommet, but it still wiggles around so I wanted to make an aluminum mount for it. So I started with a 1" wide piece of aluminum and drew out a template.
A few cuts with the scroll saw later, and I have this.
Then I bent the tabs as needed.
Then I used that same 2" dia. hole saw to bend it into a round shape to fit around the reservoir.
And here it is.
Some test fitting.
After drilling the mounting holes, I shot it with some Anodizing paint.
And here it is all mounted.
And here is how it extend up into the case from the top.
Next task was to work on the the motorized temperature display. Yes I said motorized. You didn't actually think I would build a case without putting some type of motion into it did you? LOL
I started with some rectangular scraps of CF.
Cut some brackets and made a frame.
Then I laid out some cut lines for the temp monitor and a few holes for some leds.
Here is the monitor and one led in the panel. I've ordered the other one but it won't be here untill next week. These two lights will be for hard drive activity and something else. Not sure what.
Then I set it in place in the case and tilted it up to give you an idea of what it will look like.
In the top of the frame I'm going to mount another 120mm led fan. This fan will exhaust the hot air that comes out of the PSU below. it will also help to cool the dvd drive and lcd panel.
I have to cut the top panel out of the case top yet before I can mount the fan. And I have to mount the frame to the case to make it tilt up. Still lots to do, but that's it for now.
Later,
I like that, having the rad and res tube running under the mobo. Maximizes the space you can work in. Love the temp sensor mount, looks really good in the CF.
Oh nice! That res mount looks really good, nice idea. Every update you give theres always something special in there. +rep.
Nice work so far!
Only one thing I see. That Red LED kind of looks like a zit on a supermodels face :eek: It pulls the focus away from the beauty of the rest of the panel.
I'm not sure how to take the focus off of it... Maybe sand it flush with the mount or use a Water clear red LED? Both?
It's the only "off" in the whole build!!! (that's some good work!)
I want to compliment you on your tight tolerance with the res.... You did some fine research and planning to get things that tight, and still be usable :)
Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the constructive criticism. -I'm not being sarcastic. I appreciate comments like those to help this be a better build. I do agree with you that it does look somewhat out of place for the time being. However there are a few issues that you may or may not be aware of. First off, that panel will be hidden when the computer is off. It will only be turned on when the computer is powered on. the panel will tilt up out to the case. Secondly, that is not the only red that will be on the outside of the case. The trim around the lcd is going to be anodized red. I also have not even begun to make all the red backlit trim pieces that will have a black plexi cover over them. So there will be plenty of red "trim" showing on the exterior. After I get all the trim done, I'll step back and take a look and then if needed, I can swap out the led for a clear one.
Thanks again though! I really do appreciate your comments.
ok, got another update for you.
today I finished mounting the top flip-up panel. But before i could go any farther, I had to modify the mounting sides to the lcd panel. they extended too deep into the case and the mounts interfered with the bolts on the side of the flip-up panel.
Here you can see one side stock and the other side after a quick snip with tin snips.
I also reshaped the bottom of the sides to allow them to a little more room to tilt up.
Here is a shot of the hinges I made out of some long hex head screws and nuts.
You can see how much room I have behind the lcd for wires.
And like before, here it is mounted.
I still have to figure out the servo mechanism, but I don't think that will be a problem.
I also mounted the power plug in the back panel of the case.
Next came mounting the top panel. I took another shot looking down into the case. Man that's a lot of CF!
So here are my thoughts on the top of the case. I've done everything in my power to keep bolt heads from showing on the outside of the case, (except for the back panel). I really didnt' want to just bolt the top of the case on and have 8 bolt heads sticking up out of the top. So I did some thinking and came up with this.
Door magnets. I can mount these on the sides of the case up under the edge where you can't see them and the top would be held on by magnets. Then if you needed to open the case, simply pull it off. :)
Here is a shot showing the metal plate that I attached to the top panel. I used some of that clear double sided super sticky tape as a temporary mounting to test it out first before I did anything permanant. It worked pretty good!
I installed one in the center on the back panel. and two up front that will be concealed inside the "Box".
I have to pickup a few more for the other sides of the case. But the 3 I have already installed are doing a great job and holding the top on. And obviously I will be painting them black. All they had in stock was brown. :(
That's all for now.
I just love how this is coming together. Excellent utilization of space.
Coming together nicely! Using door magnets to mount the top panel is an amazing idea! +rep
Impressive. No words. But, yeah, Good Work!
Got a pretty small update tonight for ya.
My water pump finally arrived. Its not the best or most powerful pump, but its shallow and will fit under the motherboard nicely.
My thoughts were to mount it in this position on the bottom of the case. It has to be mounted in such a way so when the case is sitting upright, it is in the correct orientation.
So I made a bracket out of some 1" wide aluminum that would attach to the bottom of the motherboard tray and the back of the case.
Basically like this.
However, after bending and cutting the aluminum I realized that there was no way for me to attach the aluminum to the back of the case and still mount the pump. In other words, the pump was in the way of mounting it to the back and if I removed the pump to mount it, there was no way to tighten the pump mounts. So I had to come up with a better solution.
So I made a trip to my local hardware store and brought home some aluminum stand offs and some machine screws.
I had to use (2) 1" tall standoffs and cut one down to 1/2" as that is all they had. But basically I made two standoffs that extend from the bottom of the motherboard tray and support the pump. Keep in mind these pictures are of the bottom of the case and its currently upside down. once I flip the case over, the pump will be in the correct position.
I then painted the standoffs to match the rest of the aluminum but I have to wait until they dry to take a picture.
Sorry but that's it for tonight.
Later,
nice mounting idea!
Once again, a great idea, working with what space you have. Great work.
Thanks you guys!
A great pump for a great mod.
I got some more work done in the past few days. here's an update.
I've come to the point at which I needed to cut a large rectangular hole in the top panel.
I taped it off and laid you where I needed to cut.
The only problem is, How do I make the cuts so as to only have the kerf of the blade and perfectly straight edges? I cannot drill a hole large enough for a scroll saw blade. Plus If I slipped ever so slightly I would ruin a very expensive piece of carbon fiber.
So I came up with this idea. I would use my dremel with some diamond cut off wheels.
I had to make the cuts straight down through the material so I used a flexible shaft attachment on the dremel. the end is like a pencil so its diameter let me lay it flat against the top to make the cut.
No, how do I make them perfectly straight? -Well A fence was needed, so I cut a short section of aluminum angle and clamped it in place. Then I just used it as a guide for the bit to make a straight cut. -Perfect!
Not too bad...
4 cuts later and some corner cleanups. Its done.
I attached the top back onto the case to check the fit.
Here is how the fan will sit in it.
and here is the top back in place.
I used some epoxy to glue the top panel onto the tilt up frame.
While the epoxy was curing, I cut some openings in the sides of the dvd supports. This way the fan will draw air through these holes to the sides of the equipment below and mainly the psu that sits at the bottom.
Now that the epoxy has cured, I installed the fan.
You can see the aluminum angles I glued onto the sides of the frame to hold the fan in place.
Forgot to mention, I also cut and painted some modders mesh for the top.
and here are the final shots.
Now I just have to mount the servo. -My friend, Gediminas, built me a small servo controller, but that will come later.
I also cut the smoked plexi window for the top.
Here are the cut marks laid out.
And here is how it will fit the top. (underside)
Here is the top on the case. with the widow. -Obviously, I still have the paper film on it. I need to pickup some more clear double sided 3M tape to mount it. -But basically the top is done. :)
Later,
WOW, a damn near perfect cut square, I will be using that "fence" idea in the future.The top looks fantastic, very neat and very cool. I love the flip up temp display.
SWEET! That looks really, really, REALLY good. +rep for everything!
Awesome work, loving this mod fs :D
Indeed. Me too :D:DQuote:
Originally Posted by The boy 4rm oz
This case is amazing, can't wait to see it finished.
:stupid:
well guys, Apparently, what I asked for from Christmas was too expensive for Santa, so today I ordered the rest of my components. Here's what I got.
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Dual Channel Memory
EVGA 01G-P3-1284-AR GeForce GTX 280 SSC Edition 1GB
-The only other piece of equipment I need is hard drives. But I plan on pulling my raptor drives with the windows out of "Motorized Madness" -they will be seen through windows in the front panels.
I also need a backup storage drive for the hot swappable drive cage. But that will come later.
Other than some lighting, that's about all I need to buy for DK.
I should have some pics of the stuff I've been working on this weekend tomorrow night for you. -Although, I'm starting to feel sick. So, I'm going to head to bed now.
Later!
Hope you had a great Christmas Dan, shame Santa didn't get you what you wanted ;).
For the backup drive you should get a Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB drive, they are faster than 150GB raptors plus they hold a lot more and are slightly cheaper (here in oz anyway). They also come in a 500GB or a 750GB flavor.
Ok everyone, Sorry I didn't get the pics up yesterday. I spend some time pulling the hard drives out of Motorized Madness so I could get those mounted.
Here is where I'm at so far.
Last time I left you, I had cut the tinted plexi panel or the top window. Well I chose to try the Clear 3m double sided tape to hold it in place. We'll see if it really works or not.
I also made an aluminum mount for the servo.
I mounted it below the mother board panel. just next to the PSU.
I had to make a mount for the ball joint on the tilt up panel.
I then added some ball ends and some 4/40 threaded rod.
That should do it for the motor. I just have to configure the servo controller.
Basically, as soon as the power is turned on, the panel will lift up. and when the computer shut down, it will close. -No fancy programming, just simple, yet effective.
I moved on to drilling some holes for the water tubing.
Here you can see the water block I'm using. If you look closely, you can see where the rubber grommets will go up by the right side panel.
Here are the rubber gromments I'm using. 1/2" dia. inside hole.
I got out my stepped drill bit.
And drilled a couple 5/8" dia. holes.
Then I pushed some red tubing through the holes to see how it would look. Not bad!
Next up was the hard drives.
Here are the two I pulled out of my previous case.
I want to use these hard drive cooling fans. I'm going to have the aluminum anodized next week along with the back pci panel.
So I needed to cut some slots in the hard drive panels to make them fit.
Using the same method as I did on the top panel, I cut out a "U" shape.
After doing some gluing, Here are the housings with the hard drives installed. and the aluminum shrouds in place. The fans have been removed temporarily.
This is what they will look like when installed. (although red anodized of course). I'm also going to make a CF piece to fill in the top gap.
The last thing I had to do was to cut a hole so you can see the hard drives from the front of the case. So I removed the two side panels.
Then, usin a 3 1/2" hole saw, I made some CF dust.
And this is how it looks from the outside.
Well, thats about it for now. All I need to do is mount the hard drive boxes and the inside is basically done, except for routing wires and holes with grommets for the wires. :)
After that, then comes all the detail work on the outside.
Later,
Wow Dan, you are kicking some ass on this rig! I definitely like the idea of the HDD's showing through the side of the case, very nice touch! What are you using to paint those aluminum angles? I was thinking about painting mine but I don't know what type to use.
DECENT
keep up the good work
Vision
HDD coolers look great with the CF bezels mate. Have you thought about putting some red mesh in front of the HDD windows? I think that it may look quite good.
How do you find those step drills? Are they easier to use than a standard hole saw, do they make neater holes?
Thanks man!Quote:
Originally Posted by jdbnsn
I"m using Krylon X metal paint. http://www.krylon.com/products/xmetals/
Got it from my local Ace Hardware. about $8 a can. I will warn you, it takes a couple coats to get them to look really good. the more coats you do, the deaper the color. However, it does scratch off easily. I've had suggestions to clear coat mine, but I just don't want to take the time to wait for them to dry. All the aluminum brackets I've painted so far, will not even be seen, unless you remove the bottom. The aluminum that will be seen, like the pci back panel and hdd fan frames will be a true anodized. I called a local shop yesterday, and I"m going to drop the pieces off next monday.
I got a 3 pack from Harborfreight. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=91616Quote:
Originally Posted by The boy 4rm oz
and yes, they do make a clean hole. They work really good in metal.
keep up the good work :up:
Insane.
I like the HDD coolers final look.
