Project: Rogue (A little SFF insanity)

[craigbru]

August 1, 2008

Just a microscopic update here... Coolant is now circulating, although I haven't powered the rig on yet. Getting air out of this loop requires some tricky maneuvering. All seems to look good, and everything is leak free so far...

With the liquid flowing, I thought I'd work on a small detail or two. Aluminum tubing! I decided that I didn't want to look at exposed bolt threads. Well, there's only one way to fix it! (The fan assembly will get the same treatment).

I cut and lightly polished some tubing...

Much better than before! It's all in the details!

[craigbru]

August 6, 2008

It's time for the front door! Yes! I've been wanting to say that for months now! Everything else was so much more important, while the door was mostly cosmetic. I say mostly, because it will hold a modified Griffin Powermate for controlling the Pico system. So, what am I waiting for?

I'll start off with a few shots of the PSU in place. My last update involved the modification of it's cables. With that done, it was time to drop it in to place, and fire it up. Everything worked as it should! As you can see here, things are still very tight, but very much improved thanks to the shorter cables.

Now, on to the door. I need to put 'filler' strips around all the openings in the case. The easiest way to do this, was by cutting acrylic to size.

Marked...

Cut... (It's almost invisible!)

The first few pieces in place.

Finally, a test fit on the door.

I got a lot done last night, but still have more to cut. I'm hoping to make huge progress tonight. Stay tuned!

[craigbru]

August 9, 2008

Okay... so I got a little busy... I'm going to put up a few pics of my progress though, just to show you where I'm headed. I'll have the door ready for paint tomorrow.

I forgot to take few shots, but here is an updated shot of the back of the door. You can see the work I did below with the DVD drive slots. The slots will be lit by LED's and they have pushbuttons through them for activating the drive eject.

A shot from the front.

The centerpiece of the front door, is a modified Griffen Powermate. This will act as a mouse emulator for quick and easy adjustments on the pico system. I'll still be using a VPN client, and Synergy, but the Powermate is just another method of control, should I need it.

The Powermate originally had a blue LED on the bottom, and a change was in order. I've now got a pair of red LED's in place.

Finally, here are a pair of shots of the Powermate's mounting. This will be attached to the back of the door. In fact, you should see it in the first shot up above.

That's it for now, but I should have another update by tomorrow morning!

[craigbru]

August 11, 2008

Update time! Work has been continuing on the door, and last night I got it painted and ready for assembly. I had a few details to take care of before painting, and I'll cover those things right now.

There were a few areas on the back of the door that I decided to fill with bondo for a better look. The areas on either side of the LCD, and the area above the LED's all got filled. Although I didn't take a pic of it, the LED's sit in a covered pocket. The bondo is just there to smooth out the surface.

Okay, so I've got a couple of slots in the front door for the DVD drives. What I need is a method of pressing the buttons on the drives. That's where these come in to play. They are the new acrylic buttons for the door.

Buttons in place

A test fit on the case. I did have another shot, but I can't locate it now... but the button was made wide enough to cover the status LED on the DVD drive. The button lights up when there is activity on the drive.

Now we head to the back of the door again. I've test fit the Powermate in the door again, and it fits just as it should. One problem though, I don't want to see the back of it when the door is open. Only one way to fix that. It needs a cover!

That's it for now, but tonight I should have the door on the case, and will have progress shots all the way up to that point.

[craigbru]

August 12, 2008

I'm so close... the rig will be finished tonight! It's a little bittersweet, but it been one hell of a journey...

I'll start off with a picture that I was missing in my last post. Here you can see how the acrylic button lights up with DVD drive activity.

Now, here's a shot of the area underneath the Powermate knob. I fitted an acrylic ring under there. It will be illuminated by red LED's.

A shot of the door...

To finish off the door, here is the freshly painted cover for the back of the Powermate.

Cover in place...

Now, I'll head in a different direction for a moment. I decided to cover up the exposed screw threads on the fan assembly.

A bunch of spacers...

I need to polish them up, so I attached them to a drill.

Spin and polish!

Shiny!

More coming tonight!

[craigbru]

August 13, 2008

I know I have a ton of comments to respond to.. and I will... but I'm pressed for time at the moment. I owe you guys some pictures though!

It lives!!!

The completely finished interior!

The outside while off.

All it up baby!!

I'll have comments and observations in a little while! Now I need some caffeine, it was a terribly late night...

[b4i7]

ah! craigbru!

im glad to see you brought this over to us!

i absolutely love this mod had my vote on MOTM over there on BT

this is very inspirational, i really wanna get a rogue to see how much i can pack into it

[nevermind1534]

It looks great. I can tell that a lot of work went into this mod; +rep.

[craigbru]

ah! craigbru!

im glad to see you brought this over to us!

i absolutely love this mod had my vote on MOTM over there on BT

this is very inspirational, i really wanna get a rogue to see how much i can pack into it

Thanks! I appreciate your vote! It's hard to believe that was last March already. Did you cast your vote for MoTY yet? There are some awesome entries this year...

It looks great. I can tell that a lot of work went into this mod; +rep.

Thanks man! It's funny how even I forget how much time I put in to this case. It was a little funny to relive all of that when I reposted the log here.

[The boy 4rm oz]

I am glad you brought this over to us Craig, you got my vote also. Have some rep for a fantastic mod.