Into the unknown I go... (with pictures!)

Well, I decided that there is more to being a modder than just buying computer parts and slapping them together. I have decided to BUILD my own case FROM SCRATCH. Sure you can buy pre-modded cases (= $$$:() but where is the fun in that? Where is the sense of ADVENTURE and EXPLORING INTO THE UNKNOWN!?

Now this is where you (My fellow modders) come in! You get to not only help me along the way and point out critical errors on my half but you also get to help me pick out things such as but certainly not limited to; Name!, Case Design!, Color!, Deminsions!, Window Color!, Paint Scheme!, and oh so much MUCH more! :D Sounds fun huh!? :eek: :eek: :eek: I know! I can barely believe it myself!

Okay, okay, sit down and stop bouncing around everywhere already! We got work to do! These are my current pictures (FYI, Pictures are more like guide lines for the finished product to help give you/myself a basic idea).

KEY
Top left box = PSU.
Top Right box = Optical Drives.
Bottom Left box = MoBo
Bottom Right Box = HDD's

EDIT: Updated pictures are further along in this thread. Try Post #78 ^_^

Back Shot
EDITED for all you dial up users ^_^ Your welcome!

Side Shot
EDITED for all you dial up users ^_^ Your welcome!

Front Shot
EDITED for all you dial up users ^_^ Your welcome!

Happy Modding,
MitaPi

interesting design.. a hamster house case? ;)
airflow-wise.. will there be holes for air to enter? cause this design has some "bottle-necks" like you did it now.. but if u would place some holes/fans in some spots...hmm... potential!
also, i can't make out the mobo type from the back panel.. or the alignment :) altho i can guess..

Thats kinda like one I did in sketchup, but mine had two long sections...

use the pillars to transfer air flow, use intake fans near the cdroms, then push it back to the psu and down to the hd's, and finally exhaust it out of the mobo compartment

Hey I was wondering what that was that you drew. lol It didnt strike me till now of what it was! Hope you dont think I am stealing your design! :(

Here you go dgrmkr and EPKY! Does this solve the problem of airflow? lol I cant believe I forgot about that! I am a temp freak too! Oh well :rolleyes: ...also I will EVENTUALLY have the Thermaltake Silent Water for my cpu, so that eliminates a pretty good chunk of the heat source.

Edit:
Keep in mind that it wont be that ugly. lol The fans will be barely visable. Ill probably make a mesh grid where the fans go in the metal.

Fans are 80mm at 50cfm and 30dba (Thank You Thermaltake!)
EDITED for all you dial up users ^_^ Your welcome!

Happy Modding,
MitaPi

EDIT!
Whoops, there is only one optical drive. I dont have enough room for a second unless I can really bend those wires in there.

DESIGN STEALER!!! lol jk. Great job. I like the clear triangles.

lol IM SORRY! :D Thanks ^_^

I am actually kind of liking the way it looks so far as far as color goes. Blue windows with white. lol Idk, I'll think of something. I actually have another design but I think it looks too much like yours lol. This is how I arrived at my current design.. I like the one I have now though. Its alot more original and creative looking.

Started with this...

Then changed to this...

That case would look neat with a teal cold cathodes. Im getting some off tigerdirect for 97 cents:D .

ok now i think you have too many fans in there.

send me your model. you got me on msn, so just email it there or something. ill help you out. i can see a few things that could/should be done.

but heres some other things in the mean time.

names: drugmogrift-sten, mactane, garcefia, tidaa, lambency, dough rodeo, dustman, abloveon, vendbag, cramdog, rangoto, or tumblewalter.

colour scheme: white or silver paint with blue windows, copper paint with green or orange windows, very light or very dark blue paint with frosted white windows, or my personal favourite... just take a bunch of paint and start throwing at the case.

maybe that helps a bit, or gets you laughing hard enough to give some inpiration to keep working.

You could use some Acrylic Tubes for the columns, but thats if you dont mind people seeing your wiring. Maybe some LEDs too

Ohh, paint it in silver with a light blue/blueish white lighting inside! That would be sweet!

I've always found this looking awesome. I think a PC would look nice with a "brushed steel" look. I've even found a computer with real woodgrain for the case:eek: .

Just a quick update...

Today I thought about what kind of material I should use to construct the over all case. I thought of alluminum or cold rolled steel at first but then I thought of something that would be WAY easier and WAY cheaper AND without making it seem like I half assed it because I didnt want to do all that work...

http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=334&

I'll use Weld-On to attatch the pieces together and then I will paint the inside with "Insert Color". But what thickness should I get? 1/8th or 3/16ths?

I think I might just use black on the inside of the acrylic case. That way it will not only look nice but I will have a much broader range of window color to choose from as well.

Here's some slightly updated picture as well.

This design is looking very good.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by m4gnum

This design is looking very good.

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Thanks! :D

Well I think I finally found the name I want to use for this project/rig...

"Audeamus".

Did someone mention a hamster house? ROFL! I am so glad I decided to paint the inside... :P

It's an interesting design. Look forward to seeing what you do with it.

Scratchbuilding isn't easy though, what tools/materials have you at your disposal?

-Dave

Thank's Dave. Yea, It's a pretty interesting design for sure. Probably one of those designs where you are kind of like eh and hmm as compared to some other designs that are like woah and wow. But finished products are always better looking than the sketchup versions. Which I am becoming pretty good at if I do say so myself! I remember my first attempt.. ah.. how frustrating that was! ^_^

Basically.... Whatever 200 bucks can buy me for right now. Of course I wont attempt this all at once and I will surely take my time and read up like mad on everything I need to know to do it right. I will also have all of you here at TBCS as well as a few friends I know that are into modding to help me out.

Yep, I have 200 bucks though and I am really wanting to buy a new wireless adapter and speaker system first with half of that. The other half will go towards materials and what not. Right now I have about 150 bucks worth of stuff to buy from TapPlastics.com. I will just order the acrylic sheets for now though. Which comes to about 80 bucks for five 3/16ths thick sheets that are 2 feet by 2 feet.

Just on a side note... I think what I am going to do is this. Weld-on the entire case except for the window side. So now I have to figure out how I will make the window side of the case removable/detatchable. Maybe nuts and bolts? I want it to be clean looking so I dont know what I am going to do just as of yet.

EDIT:
Oh yea, that reminds me... What thickness would you or anyone else reccommend?? I'm starting to doubt very much that 3/16ths will be thick enough. The only problem is that 1/2'' and above cost alot...

... i wonder (and ask the experts too, 'cause i'm interested too): will the case be strong enough if no bolts are used? no inside structure? something to add resistance? just weld-on... because i have some ideas that would strengthen this design and keep it "clear" while using 3/16".. which by the way, is very strong anyway.. 1/2" is good for waterblocks!.. and i bet a case made from 1/2" would weigh a lot too..

That actually is a good question. Weld-On fuses the two pieces of acrylic together into one solid piece. Unlike glue. so I didnt even give that a thought. But that is def worth looking into! Thanks dgrmkr.

...well whats your idea? lol Dont leave me hanging! Thats why I have this posted in the "idea" thread ^_^. If I could use bolts and still have it clean looking (Meaning that it has to look nice, not as in they have to be un-seen.) I would. Remember I am painting the inside of the case as well. Most likely black. But that is still up for debate.

Here is a picture of the case in clear black as well as red windows.

Dude, the red looks saweet lol. I have had this idea for a while. If you decide to use a liquid cooling system, you could run clear tubes between the sections with colored coolant in them. Then, just add a heart monitor. lol. But some UV lights would look nice in it. I just started to mod my Emachines. This will be my first project. I'll do a sketchup for it...

-Kevin <(who does this remind you of? lol):p

ok.. you asked for it ;) but i was thinking this case as a clear one tho.. my idea is to use pieces of acrylic perpendicular to the sides, to strenghten the hell out of the structure.. kinda like ...mm... mashies "3"themed case.. the lighting is so nice there.. but instead of thinking about aesthetics and theme, study the resistance of the sctructure :D scrap work and myth buster testing are my suggestion ;)
if u are painting the case.. then my advice stands only for added strenght, but this could be achieved with metal, screws and other things that can be hidden in the plastic/paintjob.. so, back to you :)

I think what he means is to make cross bracing to help support the case. They could be glued flat on the surface and when painted over would either look very cool or hide so you can hardly see em.

Translation ok dgrmkr?

Okay, how bout this paint scheme? What do you guys think?

EDITED for all you dial up users ^_^ Your welcome!

Hmmm, Cant remember what it is called but the name will stick out about 3/16th's.

Oh duh, I almost forgot. I'll have lots of left over acrylic for support and strength and that kind of stuff. It's not to worry about right now so let your mind be at ease. ^_^

The white/red is meh...okay, I personally really liked the Red/Black design a page back, but, whatever flies your plane.

i like that black and red as well. good combo.

as for strength... i dont think you need to do any sort of bracing. its a case... it will probably be an insignificant weight, and will only have to carry a few pounds of electronics. it will definitely stand up under its own weight and strength. i wouldnt worry about it.

oh, and i think ive got a good name for this. it is.... Terabuilt. sounds cool to me, and best of all... it was made up by my random word generating spree.

+1 vote for Terabuilt

Nice case I have't been on in a few days. But boy was I supprised when I saw this. Good to see your gonna do a mod Mita. I'm starting mine when these bloody parts I have ordered arrive.

I like the design of it sperating out all the bits and having them conected with tunnels. That thing looks pretty big though.

What would be cool is if one of the boxes was full of water and it was the resviour for a water cooling setup. But eveything in the case seems to have its place.

The white and red with the balck in between looks good.

You are gonna have to make the pipes that hold it up sturdy.

What would be cool is if the top box for the two optical drives was on a swivel so you could turn it 180 degrees from left to centre to right.

Quote:

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Not entirely sure what you are saying... not your fault its mine. It's way past my bed time ^_^

Could you give me a link or some pictures or something to explain what you mean?

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http://www.mashie.org/casemods/301.html

Quote:

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I think what he means is to make cross bracing to help support the case. They could be glued flat on the surface and when painted over would either look very cool or hide so you can hardly see em.

Translation ok dgrmkr?

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yeah, kinda what i was talking.. just think of the lighting possibilities:) and the effects you can get :) anyways, if the case is painted.. they would be hidden :)

i'll post a pic of virtual scraps :)

.. a mobo holder?! i don know..

Okay, so I was originally going to assemble the case using corner acrylic pieces and Weld-On them together. But then I slapped myself a few times and came up with this instead. This is the right way to do it right? For joining the acrylic together that is.

Small picture but its two sheets of acrylic cut at 90 degrees and fused together with weld-on.

Also can someone link me to some good acrylic paint to use. I know you have to get a special kind but I dont know what brand is the best or what kind it is that I need to get.

Hmmm, what else... Can you buy acrylic mobo trays, 5.25 drive bays, and anything else I might need? Or am I going to have to make most of that myself? Can you give me a link to a tutorial or give me some advice at the very least?

Untill Next Post,
MitaPi

EDIT:

I think I might use Krylon Fusion... Is that the stuff you use with acrylic?

why dont you put in clear plexi (no color) and light everything on the inside with leds of ccfls? that way you can even build in two or even more colors and switch them any time you want...

just an idea, if it sounds stupid , ignore me

[edit] if you do this, you can also choose to have half the case one color and the other parts an other color...

I think it's very original but my suggestion would be to find a theme to use for the windows rather than just an oddly shaped triangle. Then again that's just my opinion. Quite like the case design though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by purdy

I think it's very original but my suggestion would be to find a theme to use for the windows rather than just an oddly shaped triangle. Then again that's just my opinion. Quite like the case design though.

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Yea, I wouldnt mind a design for the windows at all... but for the life of me I cant squeeze out a drop of inspiration! So for now they are just going to be like that.

go with some geometric etching. just trace out circles from a centerpoint somewhere, and throw in some tangents and squares... triangles... a couple dotted lines and speckles here and there. it could look good. its already pretty geometric.

Yeah, I would do what silverdemon said. It would be like one of Defyants mods I saw...

HPRes 3 Mega I think...

Okay, So I am currently just messing around with the colors and windows and stuff like that for fun... but I am actually liking where it is going! ...wierd how that works. Not even trying and BAM! It just kind of happens... lol

Anyway, here is a sneak preview. I call it... "Title Shot". rofl

Still cant figure out which way I want to pronounce it though! Hmmm, well what about some of the other stuff I mentioned in post #29?

that 45 degree joint will provide the most surface area to fuse together, and the strongest bonds. thats a good way to go.

as for paint... krylon is the only thing i can think of right now. that stuff is supposed to stick to anything.

<EDIT> the only way i can think to pronounce that bloody name is "ah/uh-dih-muss"

Good to know! Thanks slug toy, If it doesnt work.. I am hunting you down! jk :P

Okay, you guys dont like my newbish design? :(

...well take this! Muahahaha! :D

The drives will be... how do you say it? Like you wont know that they are there... but they will be! lol

I like this last (the black one that is...) design much better... one question though...

what is a "Audeamus" ??? :S

Oh dont pretend like you are not impressed by the pink one! eh, Kind of reminds me of cotton candy or something... :p

"Audeamus - Let Us Dare."

It's a mix of american and latin I believe... I say that because I dont think its TRUE latin. It was invented by a bunch of college students as their motto. I decided to adopt it because I think it is a great motto.

OKay, What do you guys think... Ah-dee-ah-mus. If you say it slow it doesnt sound that cool, you gotta kind of roll the words together and make it fluent sounding. How you pronounce it might change in the future.... but that sounds pretty decent for now yah?

To Whome It May Concern...

Also I am thinking bout wrapping the windows all the way around the case... but I attempted it and failed lol. So if you think you can do it then send me a PM. Thanks! (This is all on Sketchup of course)

Upadate (?)

OKay, So I was just playing around again and I developed something interesting. It's not done yet so this is just kind of like a preview... but I am not entirely sure on how I feel about it. So maybe if I know how you guys feel about it that will help.

If you see something you like then list it, if you see something you dont like list then that too.

Keep in mind this design is not finished... If I do finish then I will keep wrapping the widnows around. Should I even do a case window wrap around or should I just leave the windows on that one side of the case??

well i like the pattern (i mean in the last design)

but not the color

the only color combinations in my mind would be

black case red plexi

black case blue plexi
or even better

black case green plexi