Inspire meeee!!!

[Nagoshi]

After reading the whole 3 pages of this thread while downloading something (couldnt see one image, except for the sketch that I could not understand very well ^^ I thought of somehting, about the fingerprint reader...

You could find a way to print a fingerprint on some kind of tansparent layer, and by sticking the stuff with leds of the color of your choice, black colored layers and other stuff, you could make some kind of fingerprint display that would light up when you press it. If you got the time to play with a little mechanism, you could make the led(s) move up and down while you press it. The ''switch'' would be activated when you press the ''reader'' by a spring and some kind of button (i suddenly thought about xmastree's 386 case and its new power button, you could get something similar done, but instead of the original 5.25 stick it would be your reader).

I know that some motherboard will leave the power LED lit when they are shut down, not at full power tho, but you could lit your reader with the power led when its shut, and gives some light when it's powered, and by using another led connected somewhere else, to give the light fx wanted.)

Simple suggestion tho, but I really liked the fingerprint reader. Hope I have helped for yoru choice.

[jdbnsn]

Hey Dave,

I forgot you wanted to operate multiple buttons so I updated the design a little (remember these just suggestions). I drew a new diagram to illustrate what I am jabbering about :

The colors didn't come out real good, but the top figure is orange (as well as the color or the stripes on the warning sign) and the light caps and warning letters are red. I am not quite sure where you could get those caps but I assume if you looked at various products that come in tubes (glue, etc...). The top figure is an idea of hiding the optical drive switches and whatever else you are using. I was thinking that you could place the optical drive LEDs in the red caps and a clear LED under the warning sign. So when you access a drive, that red cap blinks. You could print that warning sign on transparency and fix it to perspex. As for those rocker arms that attach to the pistons for your switches, you would need to make their attachment points (inside the box) movable so they can slide back when you push down or they will put force down and laterally which will bind up the piston. Anyways, just thought I would throw this in as an option for ya to think about, now run off Dave and be "Inspired":p
Jon

[jdbnsn]

I forgot to mention, realizing that you need a slim design, those rocker arms could be installed on the shorter edge rather than the way I drew it. And the other two items (light panel and warning sign) could be mounted anywhere. Actually, so could the rocker arms for that matter.
Jon

[Ohtarnehtar]

ok, it would take a lot of fabrication, but in the end would have a good effect. Take the center of jbdnsn's design (the button in between the 4 tubes). If you do something similar to the rotating lights before, you could have the red and green LEDs rotate around the button when you push the top rocker arm (or bottom, whichever) You would need to put a similar motor device on, and you could have a little tab on the rotating LED assembly so the button can only be pressed when it is fully rotated. I'll attach sketches later...

[DaveW]

If anyone was ever in doubt that you had exams bud, this thread is all it would take to convince them otherwise! It's amazing what your brain will find to do in order to avoid having to study, eh?

I'm currently taking appart an old CD drive for the drive opening motor, i figure that's at hand. I don't want it to make too much noise...and although i like your idea, i've come up with something as well, but i was scanning it in when i realised that it's going to be next to an Amber LED cooling fan with a fan grill with the cross hatch pattern...and i've allready over used that!

So my idea sucks, but i'm posting it to let you know how i'm thinking.

I'm also liking your military style light bulb protectors-wonder if i can make some of those...and where would i put them? I think i need to take time out and draw a full sketch of the computer's front and sides in order to give you guys a decent idea of what it's going to look like.

Be back soon!

-Dave

[jdbnsn]

You said it man, nothing beats not studying!

For those bulb covers I had a thought. I don't know if you have them in the UK or not, but I have seen candy sold in tubes which are shaped exactly like test tubes but small (maybe .3 inches). I would place them in the proximity of the power switch, wherever there is room (and they can be made quite small), but if you place them too far away they may not appear closely related to the scheme of the power box. For the front of the box you have drawn, are you going to put a rotating light inside? If so, I would finish the light mechanism first and then see if it looks better with an opaque facade with the beam shining only out the sides, or something you can see through. It will probably come down to how pretty you can make that contraption look. If you could find those you could cut the ends off and paint the brackets on. Oh and by the way, I don't think the mesh is overused, but then again, I just love the way it looks.

[Ohtarnehtar]

ok, heres my idea... you would have to add some sort of assembly so that you couldnt press the button until green is on the botton, and you would have to wire it so it would wait there for a couple seconds, then continue rotating until green is on top...lot of fabrication involved

[DaveW]

Actually, we wouldn't need to make that turn-an 8 pin PIC microprocessor hooked up to 10 2 way LED's could handle that without any moving parts...actually better make that a 16 pin if we're using two way LEDs.

Which would let me have it completely red when the computer's off, an eirie red eye in the darkness...

the first person to make a HAL/Dave reference is getting the most obvious joke ever award.

ANYWAY! Here's a poor sketch of my ideas at the minute.

I'm planning to use that metal body filler to make sort of...ribs? I'm having trouble describing it, just think like a line in the metal that comes up, quite smoothly, to stop it from being completely flat. I'm also keeping my eyes open for Diamond Plate-i'm not sure if it's something my old supplier would be able to get me, but this is Glasgow, so i'm sure i can find some somewhere. I'll raid the scrap metal merchants if it really comes to it. All the diamond plate is for is to 'feature' the metal. I'll cut of symetrical shapes and attach them in places with too much bare metal.

Although i was planning to paint the aluminum orange, i think i'll polish it now. Blame tribaloverkill for that.

I was planning to cut up bits of metal box and pipe and basically make a sort of industrial 'texture' to the left hand panel. I started drawing a sketch but left it because i just knew that it really all comes down to what's lying around.

Now Jon's put the idea into my head, i'll be sticking a rotating hazard light on the side, that will flash when there's button activity, unless i use that idea on the front panel. Then i'll either make it a flourescant tube or maybe some of those lights...which if i don't stick on the side, i may just stick somewhere else...although i feel unceratin about painting a plastic, i don't think it would look good. Ironically i have a large amount of modelling wire sitting around here somewhere, which i can use to make cages and such.

Any more ideas, feel free to drop by! Thanks again guys

-Dave

[jdbnsn]

That looks great! I think I see an opportunity there for the design I used earlier if you were thinking of going that way. That box on the front with the 120mm fan, I assume that is a HDD cooler? If so, you could either move the fan to the other side with a shroud to pull air across the drives into the case, or just keep the fan blowing out of the case and mount it deep enough to use the box you have drawn there to mount the button and cables and such. You should be able to fit the motor and rotating harard light inside that. And if you use mesh on all sides you should have plenty of airflow.

[DaveW]

Actually, the front panel's nearly 4cm thick, so there's lenty of space inside for all the electronics, fans, etc. and anything else that i come up with. I'm still not sure how i'm going to attach this, i was thinking of putting hinges to the right hand side, but i think just now i might end up bolting it on?

The 120mm fan is more of a feature than an effective cooler; i allready have an Akasa twin fan HDD cooler to install on the inside. It's just to keep an airflow going at the minute. I think that this is becoming sort of 60's military in it's own way, so i guess we can add that to our keyword list.

Anyway, i probably won't be able to sleep tonight now. Too many ideas thumping around; before i was stuck, now it's trying to get everything on, and trying to think about what to drop, how to get it on...aye caramba, eh?

-Dave