carbon-fever!

[derbaum]

As you maybe guess CF will be a defining element of my mod. Other materials i used (a lot of work is already done so this log will grow very quickly..) are wood ( mostly plywood) and styrene.
Let´s start with some sketches and quick renderings

p.s.: there has to be a good reason for everything. i believe i have a really good one ^^

thats my old rig, my first modded case and no it did´t look that ugly when it was young and fresh...

[derbaum]

Bevore we can start with some Cf-work, we need forms. You can either laminate on a postive or negative form. If you choose the first way, makeing the forms is realytivly easy, but you´ll spend a lot of time giving the carbon stuff a real good surface.
I choose method 2 because i think workin with foam and putty is a lot more easy then doing the same with CF.

These parts will be the rips on front and top. Every part is unique and just fits on its desired place.

This is the biggest part i´ll do in Cf . The black circles mark all the parts that i have work on again.

Normally you do such modelling with urethane foam, but that´s very.
expensive. i used cheap styrene foam normally used to keep houses warm.

My "tools": a knife ( for basic shaping), sanding paper and a lot of filler. For bigger cuts i used a band saw.

on this picture most work is done. i used this filler fo find all bad places on the surface. the dark colour is a great help.

note to self: drilling in foam is no good idea. it´s not strong enough for a clean cut.

the positives are done. i painted them with 2 component paint normaly used for cars.

that´s my "new one". i found the case in the garbage. 0 bucks are a good price for a case i think ^^

p.s.: this will be an inverted-atx mod. it´s not turned upside down.

[derbaum]

this was just a test. i wasnt shure if the paint i used can stand the styrene in the resin. it did ...
after that i could start with the real work. step #1: applying a layer of gelcoat. it gives a smother surface und contains less bubbles then normal resin. dont mention the colour!

24h later i could start with the gf for the molds.

the first layer with clear resin. this helps to avoid bubbles .

in the end the molds hat 3-5 layers of gf. thats something around 4-6mm

p.s.: what i used for laminating

resin, curing agent, a normal brush and a teflon roll.

[derbaum]

after releasing and cutting the molds look like this!

while the clear gelcoat cures lets take a look at the tissue i gonna use.

this is "normal" tissue. relativly easy to handle.

and this the one i gonna use

it´s called unidirectional. a lot more expensive ( 4 times ?) and the ugliest thing i had to work with.

my first attempt...

didn´t come out that nicely.

so i tried something easy first

the only way to work with this #*!§ is to tape the edges.

after discovering this little trick i could start with the real things!

gettin bigger !

and bigger ( ~ 50 x 60 cm )

the mold i used for the big piece is just ordinary glas. the best mold you can get for carbon.

[derbaum]

The Cf work is done. You better take an extra look, because you wont see the CF-PARTS for some time.

now we´re starting with the inside of the case. step one. we need a new hdd cage. that´s my final version:

materials needed: aluminium bar ( 25x5x1000mm )

and a normal aluminium sheet (3mm).

after sanding is started cutting the sheet

and the bars

ineeded some slits to mount the hdd properly. i tried to drill them out as far as possible.

for everything left i took a keyfile. you see some in the picture above. this took hours!

to connect the sheet and the bars i used m2 screws.

some testing.

the sheet at the and isn´t strong enough to handle the torque of the hdd´s. the chromed bars will support.

finished!

this tiny piece holds the cage in place when mounted. screws are m2 too

[derbaum]

Here´s the styrene i mentioned in the first post . sheets in 0,75 and 3mm

my improvised bending machine:

bending styrene. i used a heatgun for this

not that beautyfull...

heat and pressure:

it was good for her ...

i gona clean everything inside except the mb. there will be a lot more styrene in the next days.

[derbaum]

basic styrene work is done

cut outs for the cables are made.

the plack pieces are rubber to prevent the case from swings of the hdd´s. every styrene part will be treated like this.

before we can go any further, we need some space first.

i wont need a fan there . hopefully the fans on top of the case will suck enough air through this hole.

cutting out this thin parts was tricky because the styrene is really soft.

[derbaum]

the fans need some holes too.

120mm, 220v , big ^^

i gonna build a tray in the bottom for some electronics. these rails help to get everything out there qickly.

cutouts made

the electronics tray made of styrene

aux pwr and fan in position.

some boards that will end down there too

theese small sheets will hold the boards in position. if needed i can remove the boards without tools.

[derbaum]

most parts of the Quick-Release-System will be made of plywood. it´s really strong and a lot lighter then, for example, Styrene.

basic idea behind the QRS are this aluminium bars . they will be drilled so you can stick a splint through them that holds the whole front in position

the bottom part of the system. no splints here, just remove the ones on the top. the cover for the top of the case will be mounted in the same way.

some more playwood. the big sheets are for the sidepanels, the 2 10mm parts
are used for the spine.

next step is to cut the cfk to fit on the spine. it´s not that easy to get some parallel lines on a curved surface.

that´s my prototype spine. there will be a slightly more beautyfull version in the end ...

i gonna use this brackets to connect the spine to the rips. the 2 fingers will be glued to the rips , the spine will be attached by screws.

some layers of gfk provide that nothing can break off there!

[derbaum]

the front was the first i attached to the spine. step2 will be mounting the other parts.

cutting cfk....

mounting the spine on the top.

the spine at the front is already done

before i can mount the rips i need a lot more brackets

done.

glueing is very similar to the front.

i glued the brackets on while the rips were still one piece. i hoped cutting them afterwards would be a lot more accurate.

now back to the spine. it´s nearly done. just needs a cutout arround the dvd drv.

testing!

fits. done for today ^^