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As you maybe guess CF will be a defining element of my mod. Other materials i used (a lot of work is already done so this log will grow very quickly..) are wood ( mostly plywood) and styrene.
Letīs start with some sketches and quick renderings
p.s.: there has to be a good reason for everything. i believe i have a really good one ^^
thats my old rig, my first modded case and no it didīt look that ugly when it was young and fresh...
talk about fresh meat :D
welcome man
what you have there is a goldmine
great designs!
+rep for awesome concept
btw: start a worklog NOW !!!
Cool, can't wait to see the carbon fiber work.
Do you have this project posted somewhere else? I thought I saw it somewhere but I can't remember where.
Gruntville. The pictures are straight from a project that "b0b" started in August of 2006. I also noticed that this was posted on Bit-Tech as well. I don't really want to accuse anybody of anything, but this seems a bit fishy, considering that "b0b" has made a lot of progress on this case. So I must ask Derbaum, are you "b0b" and if so why the short post when you have alot of progress to display? If you are not b0b.. shame shame shame..
no fish, no smell. i just started a few more worklogs.
bob = derbaum
No prob. Just update the log here and we'll give some props.
It is a wicked project. One long post would be fine to get everyone up to speed.
Your carbon work is phenomenal. Lay it out, man. Lay it out....
I think it's obvious you want a little exposure, having seen this log elsewhere much further along. I'm telling you, This is the place to do it.
I'm not tryin to scare you off. I just would love to see this project here. It's awesome.
Bevore we can start with some Cf-work, we need forms. You can either laminate on a postive or negative form. If you choose the first way, makeing the forms is realytivly easy, but youīll spend a lot of time giving the carbon stuff a real good surface.
I choose method 2 because i think workin with foam and putty is a lot more easy then doing the same with CF.
These parts will be the rips on front and top. Every part is unique and just fits on its desired place.
This is the biggest part iīll do in Cf . The black circles mark all the parts that i have work on again.
Normally you do such modelling with urethane foam, but thatīs very.
expensive. i used cheap styrene foam normally used to keep houses warm.
My "tools": a knife ( for basic shaping), sanding paper and a lot of filler. For bigger cuts i used a band saw.
on this picture most work is done. i used this filler fo find all bad places on the surface. the dark colour is a great help.
note to self: drilling in foam is no good idea. itīs not strong enough for a clean cut.
the positives are done. i painted them with 2 component paint normaly used for cars.
thatīs my "new one". i found the case in the garbage. 0 bucks are a good price for a case i think ^^
p.s.: this will be an inverted-atx mod. itīs not turned upside down.
Good to hear, and I hope no offense was taken. At first I thought "Man if this is some guy ripping off another modders work, what an IDIOT to pick such a unique mod!!" :D Now that thats out of the way.. I have been following your mod on Gruntville since August. GREAT work! I really admire how your vision is coming together into reality. Really looking forward to seeing how you pull off the remote control piece. Can't wait to see another update!!
EDIT: BTW.. WELCOME TO TBCS
nice dude, i like the btx case with the psu on the bottom. anyways carbon fiber looks great, and i like the top ridgethings, but the front looks like an alienware clone sorta, nice skills though
Nice concept I like the layered front.
Also your sketching skills are top notch.
Welcome to the forum we are happy to have you posting here.
Looking good man :D
Loving the case idea's aswell its great :up:
this was just a test. i wasnt shure if the paint i used can stand the styrene in the resin. it did ...
after that i could start with the real work. step #1: applying a layer of gelcoat. it gives a smother surface und contains less bubbles then normal resin. dont mention the colour!
24h later i could start with the gf for the molds.
the first layer with clear resin. this helps to avoid bubbles .
in the end the molds hat 3-5 layers of gf. thats something around 4-6mm
p.s.: what i used for laminating
resin, curing agent, a normal brush and a teflon roll.
Excellent looking work. Ultra have just announced they're making a carbon fibre case: http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=36821
The final look is great :up: Cant wait to see it finnished
i am sure that thing will cost even more then aluminium cases ... (300-500?)
i payed 60 for resin and tissues ( gf and cf! )
looking nice, j/w, how good are the thermal properties with carbon fiber? does it lose heat easily?
after releasing and cutting the molds look like this!
while the clear gelcoat cures lets take a look at the tissue i gonna use.
this is "normal" tissue. relativly easy to handle.
and this the one i gonna use
itīs called unidirectional. a lot more expensive ( 4 times ?) and the ugliest thing i had to work with.
my first attempt...
didnīt come out that nicely.
so i tried something easy first
the only way to work with this #*!§ is to tape the edges.
after discovering this little trick i could start with the real things!
gettin bigger !
and bigger ( ~ 50 x 60 cm )
the mold i used for the big piece is just ordinary glas. the best mold you can get for carbon.
very very nice, I love carbon fibre stuff...:D
Still impressed, want more :up:
@Cagedconnerman: i have to confess that i dont know anything about the thing you asked. in my case it dowsn´t matter because there´ll be a lot of wood that is a very good insulator.
@slytherock: dont be that greedy, a daily update is enough i think ^^
Very nice man love the CF :D
-SC
omfg nice
The Cf work is done. You better take an extra look, because you wont see the CF-PARTS for some time.
now we´re starting with the inside of the case. step one. we need a new hdd cage. that´s my final version:
materials needed: aluminium bar ( 25x5x1000mm )
and a normal aluminium sheet (3mm).
after sanding is started cutting the sheet
and the bars
ineeded some slits to mount the hdd properly. i tried to drill them out as far as possible.
for everything left i took a keyfile. you see some in the picture above. this took hours!
to connect the sheet and the bars i used m2 screws.
some testing.
the sheet at the and isn´t strong enough to handle the torque of the hdd´s. the chromed bars will support.
finished!
this tiny piece holds the cage in place when mounted. screws are m2 too
i love it when people build stuff
great work, it looks wery nice
i was wondering.... could you have made that pice from C.F.?
That's a really slick idea for the HD cage, and pretty simple/straight forward. +Rep
Good update, + Rep.
Good storyboard shots.
-Dave
thx guys. simplicity was one of my aims.
you still haven't answered my question
could you have made the cage out of C/F ????
sry and of course i could. thereīs no reason why i shouldnt.
hhmmm... so the next question comes to mind: why didnt you
dont get me wrong, the aluminium one is great but i'm just curious
aluminium is much easier to work with ( no forms) , better heat transfer and i didnt want to use carbon that much. itīs meant only for the outside of the case.
good point
Hereīs the styrene i mentioned in the first post . sheets in 0,75 and 3mm
my improvised bending machine:
bending styrene. i used a heatgun for this
not that beautyfull...
heat and pressure:
it was good for her ...
i gona clean everything inside except the mb. there will be a lot more styrene in the next days.
basic styrene work is done
cut outs for the cables are made.
the plack pieces are rubber to prevent the case from swings of the hdd´s. every styrene part will be treated like this.
before we can go any further, we need some space first.
i wont need a fan there . hopefully the fans on top of the case will suck enough air through this hole.
cutting out this thin parts was tricky because the styrene is really soft.
Looking good man i like :D
the fans need some holes too.
120mm, 220v , big ^^
i gonna build a tray in the bottom for some electronics. these rails help to get everything out there qickly.
cutouts made
the electronics tray made of styrene
aux pwr and fan in position.
some boards that will end down there too
theese small sheets will hold the boards in position. if needed i can remove the boards without tools.
most parts of the Quick-Release-System will be made of plywood. it´s really strong and a lot lighter then, for example, Styrene.
basic idea behind the QRS are this aluminium bars . they will be drilled so you can stick a splint through them that holds the whole front in position
the bottom part of the system. no splints here, just remove the ones on the top. the cover for the top of the case will be mounted in the same way.
some more playwood. the big sheets are for the sidepanels, the 2 10mm parts
are used for the spine.
next step is to cut the cfk to fit on the spine. it´s not that easy to get some parallel lines on a curved surface.
that´s my prototype spine. there will be a slightly more beautyfull version in the end ...
i gonna use this brackets to connect the spine to the rips. the 2 fingers will be glued to the rips , the spine will be attached by screws.
some layers of gfk provide that nothing can break off there!
Good work derbaum some nice custom work.
Looking great.
the front was the first i attached to the spine. step2 will be mounting the other parts.
cutting cfk....
mounting the spine on the top.
the spine at the front is already done
before i can mount the rips i need a lot more brackets
done.
glueing is very similar to the front.
i glued the brackets on while the rips were still one piece. i hoped cutting them afterwards would be a lot more accurate.
now back to the spine. itīs nearly done. just needs a cutout arround the dvd drv.
testing!
fits. done for today ^^
