Cosmod

[_ferry_]

In march 2008 there'll be a new CeBIT exhibition in Germany> It's 1 of the largest electronic shows, with many computer manufactures. So is Coolermaster. This mod is planned to be at the Cooler Master booth, and will be my new main rig.
Since it will be march in 2,5 months this mod won't take too long.I don't even want to spend too much time on it, since the alien mod is waithing for me

Primary aspects are quiet operation and practical use. So it will mainly be modding for these 2 targets, offcourse he'll have some improved looks as well.


Let's start:

First we start with the rough mods, I have some plans to change the airflow:
The radiator is on top, and only 2 intake fans will cool the computer and radiator, since the radiator is the only way for the air to get out. If this aint enough, i can always add some fans to the radiator. But i don't think it's needed at all, since the triple rad is huge for cooling just a CPU.

The case stripped down, together with the radiator

Painting out the hole for the radiator.

Done, i removed the mesh on the bottom as well, there is no reason for having it there since it could only block the airflow.

It doesnt mather how the shape looks, since these holes aint visible. So i just followed the edges of the mesh.

Let's have a look to the air filters. The normal setup uses 1 filter for the power supply, and another 1 for 1 intake fan. Other fans havn't got any filters. Let's change that.... My plan is to combine it to 1 large filter for 2 intake fans, and use the power supply (a 1000watt modulair cooler master real power) without filter. I don't care having some dust in my PSU, i rather have my system dust-free.

So i started with removing some plastic...

And enlarged the hole, so 2 filters will fit next to eachother.

Some mesh-x panel to finish up the empty space beneath the power supply.

Result for the time being. You can see the radiator on top, the power supply and the way i want to fit the fan's. They'll be mounted in a aluminum L-shaped frame, which seporates the motherboard & radiator from the rest of the case. great for cable management, and airflow offcourse HDD's are right in the airflow too.

I did some modding on the front:

You can't see the difference? Good

Let's put a LED beyond the front. You won't see that with the normal front So it's my hiddden feature

Left = ac ryan dark acrylic, right the old plastic, and on the bottom the front panel with mesh.

My plan is to make a logo on the dark acrylic. Letters or small symbols are impossible, since the mesh-x lowers the resolution of the image. (you can't see what's beyond the metal, only what's beyond the holes.) So i decided to use the cosmos logo, since it's big, has no straight lines (will look bad, for the same reason as small symbols) And it's nice

After cutting the lines with a sharp knife.

And coloring it with a airbrush. Many layers were needed to make it block the light.

The result, I'm satisfied! Light isn't very equal atm, but this is just a test. LED's must be placed in some kind of light box for smooth illuminating.

[_ferry_]

The front is done:

First the light box, made of styrene.

4 RGB led's are installed. I'll use the same controller as i use for my room lights, so i can control them by serial or remote.

Nice huh?

And after clicking the front back:

This week the AC ryan aluminum panels arrived, so i hope to figure out the dimensions etc. soon.

[_ferry_]

Thanks guys! I hope the front won't be the only eye catcher

First a test-fit with cardboard models. It's still user-friendly, because it seems that i can remove them without removing hardware.

After that the aluminum model was made, don't mind the rough edges, sanding does the trick.

Same cutting & bending trick for the other cap, looks pretty, doesn't it?

In the lower cover there will be a fan, looks boring this way.

Let's give it a special touch with this aluminum strip, which comes with the case (as a part of the VGA cooling tunnel)

Covers will be held in place with mounting holes in the case, and with these aluminum corners.

Cut to size.

And a acrylic copy + some RGB leds

Looking great, breaks the bring black color of the cover, and adds some detail.

Also a carton board template for the rear. Not juust covering up ventilation holes.....

But it's part of the reservoir Which will be placed on the rear of the case.

Some acrylic parts for it

While drying (the glue dries onder infuence of light, a 150Watt HPI light works fine

Should be fitted like this, but wait. i want a reservoir just as nice as tribaloverkill does No, just kidding, but a propeller on the inside would be nice, with a 'window' in the aluminum so you'll see the rotor spinning.

[_ferry_]

Lol, you'll get a update anyway:

This acrylic part will be used for the top fitting. Gave it a nice finish with this diamond shape, and polished the edges. Much stronger than taping threat in the small & sensitive acrylic strip from the reservoir.

Time for closing the reservoir, i was planning to add a propeller as flow indicator. But that means i had to build a prototype to be sure the propeller would really rotate when the pump is on. Extra time, and i wasn't really feeling like it would be a great addition to this mod. Alien hospital anyone

Grrrrr, when the glue is drying there (don't really know how to explain in English) comes gasses which solves the acryl. Good thing when gluing (since it's like welding, the junction is just as strong as the acrylic itself). But it's bad when the reservoir is closed, because the surface contains thousands of very small cracks now. Only visible with macro mode and a lot of direct light.
Good thing is that you won't see this in the final product, since the acrylic will get a frosted look. Makes the LED lights turn out better compared to normal acrylic.

The pump, the acrylic cover says "i want to bee seen!!" Okay, lets cut a hole for him, gives him the flow indicator function as well

Done

[_ferry_]

Got the reservoir finished:

First, the alu sheet which covers up the reservoir at the inside. I was thinking about a level indicator. And so i made one.

After milling out the indicator, and engraving those small letters (about the same size of the ones at my keyboard). The milled edges were waiting for some sandpaper to finish them.

Time to get the dimensions of the other sheet right, to fit exactly on the reservoir. Hose connectors are done as well.

Look!

I like the mix of blue and green (both at 100% now) Looks like water and the cooler master color if i put a little less blue in it.

And for those who prefer red or green... Red ain't so bright. but it's okay to mix it up with green & blue.

Testfit.

Level indicator will be something like this. I couldn't get a better shot, since the hose was blocking the aluminum sheet.

Even the plastic body still fits the way it should. very thight to the reservoir The acryl mounting point on the left will be covered up with aluminum as well.

[_ferry_]

Got some time left at work, so i got the time to translate my latest update:

I think you guys still remember this part, the aluminium cover, it still needs a grill, and a fan offcourse. Fan will be mounted next to the HDD's and exhaust his air through the grill i'll be making in this update. Maybe i'll add a second fan, since there's room for it. (but maybe no good airflow)

I started with a acrylic part. Both shape and material style are made to fit the cosmos design.

I printed a coolermaster logo and cut it out on the acrylic. Other sponsors (corsair, sapphire, ac ryan) will get their share as well, i think a good spot is the space next to the pump.

Looking good so far, center of the "O" is not open etc. and lines are not very straight yet, but i'm far from finish.

Time to add some mesh, i asked boddaker if he tried to bend it in shape, he didn't so i did, and it was really easy! I was able to get a good shape just by pressing it with my fingers. To get the bend a little bit further i used a hammer.... No, just a plastic grip to hit it with care, otherwise the metal will break.

After bending it into shape

Offcourse the aluminum cap needs some cutouts as well.

I rounded and polished the edges of the acrylic. Mounting it will be done with 6 screws. They end just beneath the top of the acryl, just to make the screws less visible.

Too bad 1 hole went too deep, 5 of the holes turned out fine, this one didn't. Well, i can live with it. Hard to see when it's done. I can try to fill it up, but when it fails i've got a bigger problem

The aluminium was cut on this picture, but the edges are unfinished, the tape hides it a bit, but lot of sanding has to be done.

A black marker works fine for finishing the edges. I tried paint, but it takes more time, sticks worser and has the same result.

While test-fitting the mesh i found out that it's a bit too small for mounting it. Got enough of the mesh stuff, so i made a new one.


Done, time for eyecandy

Lets see how i can get the fan mounted on a good looking way. Behind the grill

[_ferry_]

The cooler master logo looks awesome, but...I dont know if its the pics but where you cut out looks almost white. Maybe paint it? But man this project looks great!
If I can +rep.

Thanks guys.

It's white due to the milling procces. i tried to remove as much as i can by polishing and cleaning it with a toothbrush, but for the best effect i should flame polish it. But that wouldn't work on a test piece So I'm looking for some how to's and tips. Maybe i should try it with my gas welding station, since that flame is smaller than the gas heater i used.

[_ferry_]

I tried painting the logo, and it turned out fine!
Removed the paint at the top after it dried, and polished the logo.

Here's a quick shot, need to polish the frame at some places due to some scratches and paint from the sandpaper. No problem, few minutes and it's done, but i'll do that later.

[_ferry_]

Today i did a mock up with all the parts to see how it will turn out, it might looks like he's almost finished, but there's still a lot of work left to do.

Remember this one?

After sending it to the painter:

First the reservoir, i mounted it with mobo standoffs instead of screws. Why?

To mount the aluminum plate on it. Offcourse white dot = drilling hole for the screw.

Replaced the other parts, i kept the HDD brackets blank aluminum, gives a good contrast to all the black stuff.

Wow look :o There's a pc chassis between all the garbage and tools.

Looks stock this way

Not on this way.

Photo #100 in this topic

Added a motherboard as well.

A to-do: new button panel. I really don't like visible USB connectors on the front of a PC.

Another to-do is the window that shows the pump. Pump is very close to the chassis' edge, that will be a hard job to cut the window.

Even more because there's a metal bracket on the sidepanel. Well, the cutter can handle that one

Another preview on what's left to do, the original covers are not going to fit, due to the aluminum on the left. Not even talking about fitting the thumbscrews back there. I'll think about a solution for that.

[_ferry_]

I've made a timelapse video today while milling the button panel. But first some pics for the impression:

The new design. Looks much better than those USB connectors etc.

Rough cut. Around it will be 4 buttons for the light effects. Offcourse it will be lightened with some acrylic. Pressing the center part of the power symbol makes the PC turn on or off.

Video time:


With this as a result

I've started with the acrylic parts that will fit beneath the 4 buttons. Those have some "lips" to mount them in the big acrylic thing. With a lot of cutting, filing and sanding i'll make them exactly fit, otherwise they can move sideways when pressing them, don't want that. I want them sturdy, just enough space to move up and down when pressing them.