Very nice... green flames are so diff from the usual yellow/orange/red stuff.
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Very nice... green flames are so diff from the usual yellow/orange/red stuff.
hey TD...kinda late in the mod to offer...but i just realized i had these around
its part of a floor mount we make at my shope.... he have a few scrap around.... but they are roughly the size of a 80mm fan...and with a bit of modding...like say a plate to match up holes....it is able to fit a fan
wow, those look great for fan mounts/frames
That they do.
Pretty cool, b4i7! I may tak you up on some of those on my next build. 80mm fans galore! ;)
Took a couple of days off at the beginning of the week for my daughter's birthday, and had some spare time.... so I whipped out another panel.
Different colors, this one was more teal than green.
I like the design, not a big fan of the color. My wife likes both the color and the design.
;)
I like that better than the green.
You guys rawk!!!
;)
Thank you for the honor!
very nice "start" looking forward to see it done.
you've got skill, and nice shoes:p
Yeah, well, my shoes/feet seem to bring a lot of enjoyment... No clue why! When I was working on BOSS, I had another forum in stitches because of a shot of my feet... I mean they are big and all...
Guess that they will be like "Where's Waldo?" or something like that... throw them in from time to time.
;)
looking good man
I got my acrylic cut this weekend. I have a bit of cleaning up of the laser cuts, more later... iI am exhausted....
Good evening everyone... just got myself settled after a weekend meeting with the AustinModders (www.austinmodders.com), great to see all you guys again!
While down there, one of the big pieces of this mod came to me.... to say that I am happy would be a severe understatement!
This is 1/4" transparent blue acrylic... that I had lasered to be the rad stand.
This shot is simply to give you a little depth on the color... it really is striking!
These are pieces that were the centers of flame licks.
The whole cut:
And several more shots after I got home:
I have 98% of these flames cut. Due to the thickness of the material, and the density, some of the laser cuts did not make it all the way through. They are only a few places, but due to the delicate and intricate nature of this cut, it is absolutely essential that I have all of the cuts completed and not hanging as I pull the negative parts of the cut out. I have a plan where I will use an intricate engraver bit on my flexi-shaft Craftsman rotary tool, and use that to complete the cut from the back side of the piece. That way, if I do have a minor scratch, it will not be on the surface of the acrylic.
I have to take this moment to publically thank the person who cut this for me. A good friend that chooses to remain confidential, but they spent almost a full 10 hours cutting this. Only after the cutting had started, did we realize that the density of the material combined with the power of the laser... was going to lead to a Looooong manufacture time. *tips hat* Those that know this person, please quietly nod your head, but do not give his identity away.
After I get both frames removed, my next "impossible* task is to get it bent to the form I want without damaging it... ;) something that many are skeptical I can do! Might even be "crazy" for trying... but that is what I am. I have 2 of these to try and make work. if they do not work, then I have to find another way to execute the vision! ;) Wish me luck!
I'll post up pics of the rad stands after I have them removed.
:D
Very very nice cuts, congratz anonymous man. Can't wait to see it bent and with the paper off.
dude:D... gl on bending that shizz xDDD i really hope you can do it:p (fingers crossed;))
Hehehehe.... you and me both!
I have a rabidly fun idea that *might* just let me get this stuff to bend how I want it...
*maniacal laughter ensues....*
*finally* had both time and weather!
Acrylic is not something I like to muck with when it is pretty cold... I feel like it makes it more brittle. Might be just me, but if I am going to be working with my only 2 copies of my rad stand, I'm taking every precaution, real or likewise... that could make the flames unexpectedly snap....
Well, this last week was busy, then I got clipped with a cold, and that yanked the batteries for about 3 days. Feeling a bit better, the weather warmed up... so I put in a few hours in the garage!
Using a combination of bits, I slowly and carefully worked my way around the acrylic, sometimes using a fine tipped engraving bit, other times using a reinforced wheel... and I started making progress"
I had to put a light underneath the acrylic to make out the cuts that were completely through, and then focus on the areas that were still hung.
Some of the chunks coming off...
Here you can see how I was using the light to path the cuts:
Ohhhhh daaaaamn.... almost there!!!
3 hours later, the 1st one if free!!!!
No broken flames, everything successfully released! I have a bit of careful filing and some polishing to do, but otherwise... HELL YEAH!!!!!
now.. add into this wonderful weekend of success, my wife opted to give me my birthday presents early (Later this month on the 21st) and she landed a 22" wide screen LCD on my lap today! Also got me an MP3 player so that I can listen to tunez while I work out! (I have *got* to get into better shape!)
So.... I'm ecstatic this weekend!
That flame cutout looks amazing! I wouldn't have the heart to try to bend it. Good Luck!
omg... +rep!
Nice cutting there.
Wooow! I would lock that pice in a display cabinet just to not break it. And you really want to BEND it? (Says the guy who cuts away corners of his GeForce-card)
Not to myself: I need a laser-cutter!!
Took the day off from work today to celebrate the ol B-Day, and what better way, than to move ahead on the mod! ;)
First thing up is that in order for me to get most of these bends proper, I build a wooden jig that I could heat the acrylic up on and not worry about damaginf the joints in the rad. Last thing I wanted to do was do something that caused joints in the rad to unsweat...
1st pic is the acrylic laying ontop of my wooden rad/bending jig:
Started heating the corners and applying even pressure to the side:
Eyeballing the other side.....
And my first 4 bends are completed! YAY!!!! (wipes sweat)
Tomorrow, I'll try to get the rad into the acrylic and see how sturdy this is, and what I need to do to get it mounted into the roof section. I've got a plan, I just have to see if it will work! ;)
I've still gotta finish the bends to see how well it attaches to the top of the case... I may end up having to remake this acrylic to a different dimension. If I have to do it again, then you can count on the fact that I will use a local water jetter to cut this (same person that did DST). Or else I will have to source a larger wattage laser cutter. I already have the sheet of acrylic ready if this does not turn out well, but I'm going to do my very best to make this work! I am certainly not going to waste all the effort that my friend put into cutting this!
Damn, I'm happy to have finally bent this stuff!
Oh yeah, and to pinpoint the heat, I used a propane torch. My heat gun was too broad. I needed pinpoint heat application to make sure I did not have unnecessary bowing and shift in the acrylic.
Oh hell yeah, that looks hot man. Happy B-day BTW!
:eek::eek::eek:
Dayum man, that is HAWT!
Oh my god, thats is sooo sweet !!!:eek:
*changes pants*
That looks fantastic, great work.
Those flames look great! Good job. +rep
oh dude! you pulled that off perfectly:D +rep!
Came out pretty good! The bending jig is a bit off, but not by much, so corrections should be minimal.
I did some interpretive "test mounting" today to see how the frame responded.
Not even really a test fit, just an estimation of "where everything is going to go..."
The rad will be sitting lower than this in order for the legs to have enough material to be integrated into the top of the case roof.
What I have come up with is that my initial thoughts of having the rad unit structurally supported from wrap under flame licks to the mid section and some encompassing end wraps to hold its front and back... is not going to work. I'll need to integrate the load bearing into each of the 4 "legs", which is likely to mean I'm going to fabricate some sort of support mechanism for the top and bottom of the rad and find a way to tie it into the legs.
When I rested the rad on top of the frame, it was easily supported, When I started suspending the unit the way I was planning on tying it all together, the little simulations had a lot of frame flex. So, I will find a way to tie in my support to the four corners. I've already got an idea... we'll see what happens!
TD, now that is just pure sexy, +rep
Good afternoon everyone! Midways through my vacation between jobs, I've gotten a lot done! Between prototypes and paint decisions, I'm feeling very good!
Reservoir brackets are prototyped. I used paper to get my measurements down. I wanted on solid piece of acrylic and, if my plans go accordingly, it will use 3 bends per end to make the reservoir brackets. There will be a few more alterations to the presentation, but they will eventually be screwed into the sides of the 5.25" bay area.
My 5th, and final flame test. "Keep it Simple"... and I like it the most! Color is spot on!
I was looping a flame strand under another lick, and I tried this... I got it 50% right! ;) I know what I did wrong and will correct it when I apply this same painting technique to the side panels!
Learned that I was pushing too hard on the blade when weeding my graphics of the excess tape... note to self, "GO EASY!"
Also, I am not giving up on the "true fire" style of painting, it's just taking a bit more practice than I was anticipating... but practice is good!
;)
OMG an update lol. Very nice paint buddy, keep up the good work
That plex work is bad assed. This is coming along great man!
Yeah.... about that... sorry! This last month has been a serious leech in that I wrapped up my old job and am relaxing a bit before starting the new job, hence the updates!
Hopefully, with the new position, that will allow for a bit more consistency on the updates!
:)
Awesome. Can't wait for the next one.