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Thread: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

  1. #161
    Water Cooled Stonerboy779's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    So it wasn't tall enough yet?

  2. #162
    Now making cases for the heck of it =) Waynio's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    Quote Originally Posted by Stonerboy779 View Post
    So it wasn't tall enough yet?
    Noooo lol.
    With the pedestal it's 4 foot 5
    HTPC - 400mm high === Gamer - 440mm high === Together - 840mm high === 249mm wide === 342mm deep
    Pedestal 530mm high.

    Due to Cleveland expressing some disappointment about the standard fan controller knobs which has an effect like being shot with a think deeper gun lol I looked around the net for something to replace them with, bought chrome dice & marbles then did a mock up in sketchup & I just didn't like the mock-up, might look better in reality but anyway I took to designing my own knobs to fix onto the stock ones.
    These have good pointiness, they sit 4mm lower than stock & will look even lower to the panel due to the pinch type grip on them.

    Hopefully these appeal more, they do to me so that's what matters most.










    Done some more designing on the pedestal, the form & function is complete now & it will be awesomely strong, only decorative stuff left to tweak on it now.




    Also designed a mounting sheet for the rig to slot into.




    I am really glad Cleveland pulled that trigger to zap the thought cogs to start them turning again because when looking around the net for things I could use, marbles really stood out for me, particular artful type ones hand made made by glass masters, I was like a kid in a sweet shop (but these days a retail riot) picking the right one out for this build, I was very tempted to go for one with colour but managed to stay on theme by keeping it neutral & I haven't given a power switch any thought at all other than same old vandal switches as a last minute function detail mounted wherever I could when it's done.

    Here is a group picture of the bits I ordered, the 2 small marbles & chrome dice was an option for the fan controller that I doubt I'll go ahead with, the black & white marble they had sold it in the shop earlier that day but didn't get it updated in time on the site so they offered a refund for it or let me choose another 1 & let me go for one that was £5 more so I chose the same clear with detail one so will be able to pick which one looks most interesting & have a spare now, think this will be a regular feature in my projects starting from this one, such an awesome range to pick from & they will always looks different.


    Marbles ranging from 5p to £800 some really nice pieces of glass art here from £20 to £800 but £40+ ones are keen collectors items but if I was a millionaire I'd probably buy loads, there is a good range of really nice ones £20 to £40, I'll be a regular shopper here for the magic ingredient for these power switches.
    http://www.houseofmarbles.com/

    Dice, crazy enormous range of dice.
    http://www.thediceshoponline.com/categories.asp

    So I've worked out a really kickass idea for using awesome marbles as power switches & I'm sharing the idea before I've even made 1 because I'm so excited about it & can't keep it to myself without my brain melting & dribbling out of my ears.












    The marbles I'll be using are 40mm diameter & are hand made & I'll make them function like a vandal switches & here's the good bit, illumination & crazy interesting colours & shadows being cast from them, it will involve springs, a basic switch, a box to enclose it all & 5mm opal frosted acrylic formed into perfect fitting cups for the marbles, primary power indicator LED's, secondary LED's for HDD activity, could use different colour or slightly different or even the same but placed in different spots, I could also use layers of tinting film if they are too bright, I anticipate these power buttons to look & perform pretty incredible.

    Should cost me no more than £30 to make this power button & £25 of that was for the marble so 3 times the price of a vandal switch but infinitely more awesome especially where I'll be mounting it.

    Not really a good enough spot for this on the gamer rig sadly so I'll go with a typical vandal switch for that but I'll try to hide it away or might even use a chrome dice for a switch.
    Front mount not a good idea.


    Top mount, bit too cramped to mount nicely so would work best closer to the top back.


    Did I express how awesome I think this power button will be


    Workshop progress will continue ASAP, this update represents the past few days of thinking, designing & getting better at sketchup, learnt so much more on sketchup since starting this project & can keep it so I can realistically make whatever I design also.

  3. #163
    Now making cases for the heck of it =) Waynio's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    Extra bits came in.

    Chrome dice.




    Marble.
    Razer Lachesis pulse light on the mouse.
















    Alarm clock LED.


    Standby light on TV.




    This power button will be awesome.

  4. #164
    Now making cases for the heck of it =) Waynio's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    Should hopefully be able to go at this regular again after such a good session, started 21:30PM last night & called it a day today at about 16:00 (took plenty of quick breaks) so feel I've got a good bit of my drive back to really get this back on now, lesson learnt, don't slack off during a project even if good things like marble power buttons do come to mind & with that in mind it's worth thinking of taking a month off a project midway though if it's a big project.


    Curve panels for the gamer rig now ready & waiting to be bent & curved, yes I checked all the oval holes to make sure they work right & they do, if anything they might need bevelling slightly when it's curved to give a near seamless look or as close as I can get to that, I'll make an exaggerated tighter version of the curve for a curving jig to form it perfect which I'll do when I get some mdf.






    PSU box section panels with 92mm grill & straight air though, also did a little filing to do the rough cut outside edges since it was late to keep the noise down, these parts still need an angle bar job doing on them & I'm thinking of trying the popular file it with a square file to fold it over to reduce the number of parts.








    I somehow skipped taking a picture of the 140mm custom frame piece in progress but caught a couple of the 92mm fan, I stuck the templates directly to the aluminium because of lifting problems & they totally remained held down this way, hassle to clean off but worth it to be able to see what I'm cutting properly.




    By this time it was ok to use the noisy disc sander to finish off all the external edges to the lines.


    So now getting higher & moving into the gamer mobo area & started using an aluminium flat bar for a drill guide, easier to see the alignment & don't need a deep one for normal panels, this method is far more accurate than my drill press.




    Feels like the land of good progress within 24 hours.













    There are still a bunch of decorative panels to make for the HTPC I'm not exactly looking forward to cutting & the pci/io pieces which should be nice & easy with the saw & many more bits to do but next session I'll try to finish off the fan frames, got 4 more 2mm pieces for the 2 120mm fans to make & then 8 1mm ones, might do the rods for the frames also & make a few spares for in case I screw up drilling any.

    I'll also try to get the power switch mechanism designed, ordered some of the needed bits, couple of Lian Li cable replacement kits, I like having writing on the plugs for what the cables are for & the switch will do fine for this, only thing I'll need to order is springs unless I can recycle some from some old battery taking device.

    BTW I know, brightness a step or 2 or even 3 too high in the shots. :p

  5. #165
    Now making cases for the heck of it =) Waynio's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    Had last minute thoughts about the HTPC detail panels just as I was about to enter the workshop yesterday evening, so took to tweaking the design instead of more workshop progress all night until just a couple hours ago, one thing led to another & another & another & glad I did because the pattern didn't quite flow perfectly just like the gamer pattern panels didn't until I noticed it clearly when I took to cutting them, I've made it so it will be easier to do & better looking by using some contrast & extra layers.

    New plan for the high detail panels is 2 1mm panels & colour them differently & use washers in-between to make up the extra 1mm.

    Some old vs new pics, I love this contrast, looks different from every angle & can look crazy if using a bright hot colour on the inside edges.

    Old

    New

    Old

    New


    Now rather than let my sleep pattern get screwed up I'll get back in the workshop & continue until the evening.

  6. #166
    The floppy drive is no longer obsolete. AmEv's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    Showoff
    Two years. They were great. Let's make the next ones even better!

    Tri.fecta

  7. #167
    Now making cases for the heck of it =) Waynio's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    Quote Originally Posted by AmEv View Post
    Showoff
    Hehe

    With some wanting to see this start coming together I measured everything relevant for the HTPC again to see how things are going because when I did the loose fit it a bit ago the height was a little off but all the parts I made was spot on, turns out it was the psu & optical making it 2.1mm higher than it should be.

    So had some troubleshooting to do, I made the psu level 86mm for a perfect fit, with the stock grill it's 87.8mm, no good, bye bye stock grill.


    Not certain if the optical drive will be a problem but probably will be, it's 41.3mm instead of 41mm, the optical level has 41mm space but I might get away with it but it will be a ultra tight squeeze, but if not I'll have to sand the panel above the optical to give it that tiny bit of extra space so it can slide in/out easier, think I'll do this anyway to not put needless strain on the threads.

    I fixed the design & applied a partial template to the bottom 2 levels which bring air in for the psu to make the hole be in the right place & removed the psu fan grill & tested some 1mm material in place of it & it will work so I made a replacement, same grill design as the others & I'll paint it matte black.










    I would have been busy busy a heck of a lot lately getting all the other panels done or giving it a very good shot to but instead was in a pickle of what to do to fix some bits that needed fixing, absolutely knackered already but I'll continue tomorrow refreshed.

    Moving into 1mm cutting time & wow it's a heck of a change of pace, I have to be very careful because it cuts heaps faster.

    Also turns out I need 5mm rods & 2mm, I can't get 2mm alu rods but can get 2mm craft wire but it comes on coils so I'll have to straighten it out perfectly.

    Got some milling needs doing so I'll drill the heck out of the plate & finish off with files, the scraps of the 10mm plate have been really useful & got quite a bit.

  8. #168
    Its not cool till its watercooled. Fuganater's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    Looking good!

  9. #169
    Now making cases for the heck of it =) Waynio's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    Quote Originally Posted by Fuganater View Post
    Looking good!
    Thanks Fuganater.

    For some reason I decided to do the last 4 2mm fan assembly panels instead of the front panels, I held off doing them until I come up with a better way to stick the templates so they wouldn't come loose & flap about while cutting, stick them directly to the aluminium, had to re do the sticker sheets since the ones I done earlier & stuck was very bubbled up & useless, here is this batch tacked together before I cut them with the scalpel.


    Only downside to this is it is more hassle to remove the sticker, have to scrape it off with finger nails & then rub paint thinner on & it cleans up perfectly, thank you Craig for the 2nd opinion on that.


    This what they look like after cleaning them with paint thinners.


    All the 2mm fan frame panels to make 2x 140mm fans, 2x 120mm fans & a 92mm fan, got the same amount to do in 1mm now & 16x 19mm rods to cut, file, sand, drill, tap & file before I can assemble them together & then use the drum sander to really clean up all the edges.


    The PSU fan grill, I primed, wet sanded & coated matte black earlier today with spray cans, thought I'd show it as it is before I sand the internal edges to see if people think I should or not, it would highlight the pattern more with the contrast when seen at angles.






    Now I'll do the detail panels, tomorrow.

  10. #170
    Water Cooled Stonerboy779's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    Would you ever consider doing commissioned fan grills? These things are serious works of art and look fantastic.

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