Project: Origami

[Maz]

SPST- (single pole single throw) its a term for switches and how they operate, ie function.

[|wm|]

Another weekend working on origami

The goal was to recut the graphic panels that got jacked last weekend (when the engraver asploded), complete the vent panels and to a test fit to see how close to crazy I am.

I spent some time optimizing my files for the graphic panels, and recut those with success. No pics of the process, but you’ll see the results in a bit.

Vent panels we’re the main fabrication focus. I wanted to make two 1” thick vents, but I had a bunch of ¼” acrylic a 16” x 48” piece of 1” thick. Last post saw me cutting (4) ¼” panels. I’m going to glue all those together. For the 1”, I’d just have to make the panel in two parts and join it in the middle.

Making a 1” panel. Please keep in mind that this panel only needs to be clear to get light out to the graphic panels on outside of the box. This is going to be ugly

Meet Mr. Weld-On.

Weld On is a water-thin acrylic glue readily available from any plastic vendor. Chemically it’s almost acrylic. It glues things by stealing a few molecules from the acrylic you apply it to, and turns it’s self into acrylic. In skilled hands it makes very strong almost invisible bonds. Uhhh, that’s no me, but no one can see the glued areas in the finished case. To make the 1” panel, I stacked the four ¼” panels and glued the hell out of them.

Basically just flood the top of the panel with weld on, then stick the next panel on top.

The vent fingers hand to be glued individually. This is easy because the glue is so thin and comes out of a needle applicator.

Once all four panel we glued together, I ran a line of glue down the seem of all the edges. Water-thin adhesives will flow into the tiniest openings. (actually called capillary action) This just made sure I got a good bond all the way to the edges. As you can see, it makes the acrylic pretty ugly.

For the 1” acrylic, I had the vent cut as two pieces and then joined in the middle with a plate

You might notice on face is pretty ugly. The piece of 1 inch I had was really old and the masking paper had stuck to it. I had to sand off the paper residue. This really isn’t important because you only ever see this piece from the edge. (and the edge is flame polished and damn pretty)

To increase the strength of this part I didn’t have the vent fingers cut all the way through.

I also had two of these parts made. It’s like a mini version of the large vent panel made for one 120mm fan. I don’t really have any plans for them, but had some extra room on the piece I was cutting. Hotness!

Also assembled the fan mount panels. This are 1/16 clear with 120mm holes in them. I powered up one of the Noctua fans, and I was blown away. These are the quietest fans I’ve ever (not) heard. I couldn’t hear it over the fans in my current computer. I’ve got no worry about putting 6 of these a computer…it’s not going to be loud. Also I think the 90 degree vent will do a lot to dampen any noise from inside the case. Noctua also provides these neat little rubber mounting pins for the fans. I assume these cut down on vibration.

Last step before the test assembly was to paint the channel gaskets for the corner pieces. This is “U” shaped rubber gasket the grippes the ¼” material used in the top/front/bottom/back panels and then slips into the 3/8” channels in the corner pieces. It only comes in grey, so I used some vinyl dye to paint it.

This is how it works in the corner piece

As you can see this is going to leave the system very well sealed. That’s good considering I want positive air pressure.

The test fit went very well. Everything fits and I’m a happy boy. Even with all the modeling, I didn’t realize how big this thing really is. The thick side panels give this buff look to the box. I like it!

The array of circles is a semi-passive vent. The Silverstone PSU I’ll be using has a 120 that blows straight up. The holes vent the hot air from the PSU and pull out any heat trapped at the top of the case

WAY BIG
I do have some concerns. I hooked up a test PSU to test the fans and lightingThe 90 degree vents are a little fussy. They actually seem to exhaust air better with the fans running at 5v instead of 12v. I think the 12v pushes more air than the vent can move, so it “bounces” air back into the case. I’ll need to test this more once the case and content are more complete. Any thoughts? The intake side seemed fine and pulled a healthy amount of air in. The side panles don’t seem to diffuse as much light as I thought. I tested with 2 (there will be 6) lights and you could make out shadows of the fans on the graphic panel. I might need to sand the acrylic layer more or sandblast it to make it scatter the light more.

Well that’s all for this update. Questions? Ideas?

[Seven]

Looking great so far. I can't help but say I'm totally floored by the craftsmanship behind the project. This reminds me of the first time I saw your Hive mod, and the first time I had to wipe up a puddle of drool from my desk.

I can't help but contain my envy as I look at it, it just looks too cool. Those fans are truly great, I'm probably going to pick up a few for my next project.

In terms of a few suggestions/comments...

-Dust shouldn't be that bad, I can just see some unsightly accumulation over time in those channels. I think it should be okay for now, but cleaning should be a simple yearly process in any case (no pun intended).

-You're probably encountering some resistance from pushing so much air through such a little opening. 5v should work and should be a bit quieter without doing a major redesign.

It's looking great so far. Where's mine?
7

[OvRiDe]

Lian Shmian .. Now THAT is a case.. Talk about delivered as advertised!! Very nice work. Looking forward to the seeing the rest fall into place.

[slytherock]

This concept leave me breathless everytime. I really love your idea +rep

[ReignInPain]

That looks awesome so far! Can't wait to see it lit up. Very nice idea, well executed!! +rep

[Crimson Sky]

That's an excellent scratch built case!

[agnat]

Along with everyone else - I am floored! That is an awesome concept and what you are creating is fantastic!! Thanks for sharing with us not only your creativity but genius.
Did you also do the Super Hornet that is featured in the February 2007 Maximum PC? It looks so similar to the Hive.
Again thanks for showing us your skills.

Agnat

[DaveW]

Wow man. Just...wow. That's one the best builds i've seen in a long time. +Rep for everything, this is off the charts.

-Dave

[Silenced_Coyote]

Great work. I love it! I can't wait till you post pictures of it all lighted up.

Concerning the fans:
Would it be possible that the fans don't have enough pressure? Which may cause the air to "bounce" back?

Or could it be the design of the vents? Maybe a fan like the one found on the Nvidia 8800GTX would be better suited with your vent design?