Project Stealthlow

[Fuganater]

Very nice! I'd like to see how the hardware will be situated in it.

[Waynio]

Originally Posted by NightrainSrt4

That looks really cool. The only person's taste it needs to appease is yours. Even if someone doesn't like the style, they should be able to appreciate the craftmanship; if they can't, then they aren't worth worrying about.

Thanks Nightrain , true I read comments saying ughh ugly ugly ugly but complimented on the actual work on it, seen Bill Owen say recently about how custom work is always subjective so dunno why I question myself about it really I've grown pretty confident about how I can make things now but as far as knowing if I made a good looking design goes I have doubts unless I look at it & think it's awesome but get on with it anyway, it's fun .

Originally Posted by AmEv

Lean.

Compared to Stealthlow!

lol temp name after lack of sleep .

Originally Posted by Fuganater

Very nice! I'd like to see how the hardware will be situated in it.

Thanks Fuganater function is what I focused on the most this time really good layout & power usage since I run a PC nearly all the time & ugh trying to make form work after function, it's a bit of a challenge but it'll hopefully get there, i'll try .

Got a final concept post to do & after that the next post other than replies will be the start of the project which I still need to think up a name for, can't wait to get into doing another .

[Waynio]

Big final concept update before I actually get stuck into this which will be pretty soon if all's well I'm getting pretty fired up to do this already & ready to burn out again, guess I've grown to like that :hehe:.

Showing the first model after a bit of revision & made blocks of popular retail cases with the size specs from shops to give a better idea of size .

Playing around to see how I could merge the HPTC with gaming rig but was this mess around where a good idea clicked for a good use of the space next to the expansion slots .

Random time, after seeing The GNU awesome mushroom case in that nice green I thought I'd see what it looks like on the HTPC with brown & black .

Developed further with a nice layer effect which will be possible with this.

lol Joking just an example .

Further developed the custom fans.

Was happy with the HTPC by this point so started trying a few configs for a gaming system, I believe the HTPC will weigh more because of the HDD's so will probably stay on the bottom & developed the connecting platform for which the gaming rig will go on top of, should be quite light.

Didn't like it for a couple of reasons, 1 I think it needed support so it wouldn't be fragile & 2 it would allow for a full tower cooler but because of the support wouldn't let the mobo slide out with the cooler installed & it not looking good so had a go at flatbed style so it overhangs each side which I further developed the expansion area duct cooling idea & wow this was looking quite insane so scrapped it but here it is anyway for giggles lol.

Went back to trying to go upwards but try to not go too high, but failed but I finally like this layout & designed it so the fan duct piece can easily be removed for access to the expansion cards & if I use the all new & awesome Craig toyo racer method for angled power connectors on the GPU I shouldn't have clearance issues with side power cables, I like this layout a lot because it makes use of the pci expansion space which usually goes to waste & it allows for the largest GPU's in a shallower depth of case, the conduit type pieces are for fan cables, 24 pin, 8 pin & pci-x , space for 1 HDD & 1 SSD, BeQuiet dark rock pro cpu cooler, full size optical & ATX PSU with mostly hidden cables & the conduit will allow for fancy cable work for the few which will be visible with no mess .

Went a tiny bit higher than Stealthlow & will be a touch higher with case feet, the flatbed style it was way shorter but had a large foot print & It is now pretty much just a cube with what I think to be a good layout inside at the moment but I'll put more time into making it look better & so it matches the HTPC better & maybe do better patterns also for it, I'll reply to this but this is the last concept update, next new material from me will be an intro with final design & some work done in a new thread soon I hope .

I will try to make it more curvy too, I like curves & will always try to find a way to shove them in anything I make now as long as I can make it look good anyway .

I don't even know what I think of it really but it's certainly different :hehe: not sure if it's good or bad different though but I believe the component layout is awesome in both of them & should be excellent air cooled rigs & will cut power usage nicely while having them both together for whenever I need a power rig or nice low power for normal stuff . Be sweet if I could start tomorrow but think it will be a month away yet.

Merry new year everyone .

[Fuganater]

Soooooooooooo how many PCs are going in this case?? Looks like 2-4.

[Waynio]

Originally Posted by Fuganater

Soooooooooooo how many PCs are going in this case?? Looks like 2-4.

2, 1 is a very low power nice capacity HTPC for light computer use & XBMC & the other is for good performance computer use & gaming like I said though still needs more design time going into it so should look better than it does by the time I start this hoping to start some time in January .

[Waynio]

Updated the design on the log elsewhere so thought I shouldn't leave anyone else out .

Was going to leave concept updates until I start with a new thread but since I was doing some replies here is what should be the final concept before I start .

The joining piece makes this project a modular one or transformers rig so I'll do both a test bench style gaming rig because it requires hardly any materials but also the upright enclosed regular system type, I've evolved the design a bit by first adding some detailed panels rather than plain, my eyes like a bit of detail .

Then rearranged the PSU to be at the bottom of the gaming rig, panels plug in/out & all components slide in/out so both rigs will be incredibly easy for maintenance & has a strong internal structure which will all be bolted together unseen so should be no visible bolts anywhere but what I like about this is being able to simply take the enclosed gaming rig off & put the test bench on & both will be secure on the platform, it isn't clear how all this will work from the concepts but when I make it it will be I'm less than 2 weeks away from having enough money to order materials & will be about a week after that before I open a new thread with some progress so still on track to start in January .

Colours & finish are still undecided & still not worked out a name for it, brushed & anodised would be by far the nicest but finding a good place which I'd trust to not muck things up especially if I do the brushing myself I need to research more on but if I can't find a place then might go back with paint for some nice colours with polished alu accents I quite like paint because I can do it myself easily not waiting on others & not too expensive & if you muck up any bits you can just fill them & make the error disappear easily .

It's 810mm high & will be another 20mm to 40mm higher with feet .

[Technochicken]

I really like the design, but it looks like it will be quite top heavy.

[Waynio]

Originally Posted by Technochicken

I really like the design, but it looks like it will be quite top heavy.

Thanks Technochicken This is why I'm using some 10mm alu plate & reaching out so it has full support & with wood to fill the cut out pieces with extra patterns cut out of that, should make for a nice light weight solid stand, it will plug onto the joining stand so won't be prone to any moving about, probably biting more than I chew off with this but should be fun hehe but I am expecting the HTPC to weigh more with all the hard drives & chunky materials but on the off chance it is too top heavy I could add extra support or even keep them separate, the gaming rig only holds 1 HDD so the bulk of the weight should be in solid 1/2" alu bars.

[AmEv]

And I thought Ang3L had abstract designs.....

[Waynio]

Originally Posted by AmEv

And I thought Ang3L had abstract designs.....

He certainly does, I just want to use electric better & really easy maintenance with an interesting looking rig .

I have 100% officially dedicated to going forward with this crazy project now by ordering all the needed aluminium for it including enough to do the test bench part.

Stealthlow was perfect but used too much power for 24/7 so was imperfect for my needs & wanted to be able to switch to a super low power pc from the same rig when I don't need a performance pc but didn't want to mod it which is why this will be made, so the only reason I'll have for a new personal rig after this is if form factors really change & I'm due to upgrade.

Been straining my brain to think up an ok name for it & might have it, I'm thinking Perfunction for perfect function & funky looks so I'm calling dibs on the silly name of Perfuntion for this .

Materials 0.5mm 1mm, 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 8mm & 10mm alu sheet/plate & some square bars, angle bars, round bars & tubes, 10mm wood, 3mm & 5mm acrylic sheet & sure looking forward to starting this but will be nice to get through the 10mm stuff first, then the fans, basically all the bits I'm unsure about first & if I'm super careful on doing all the cutting it shouldn't need any filing or too much sanding or if there is it will be just to remove any slight jaggy bits.

Final concept I'll make.

This picture shows how I worked out what materials I needed for this & the aluminium shop I bought this from now do fabrication & all sorts of cool stuff including anodising so might let them do the anodising for me when it's all ready, depends on what it will cost but at least it's a place I'd be happy to let do it for me.

So yeah got the alu ordered, just need to order the acrylic now but might make a start on the 10mm alu as soon as I get the alu & maybe give it an extra 0.5mm to easily cover any irregularity's with the acrylic thickness, this could be a pretty quick project but not certain about that I just have a hunch because of that scroll saw I think it's a game changer for me .