Making Plans

From TheBestCaseScenario

[edit] Making Plans

Making a plan for your case mod project may be the most important step of all. Once you have decided on your overall theme and design of your project, the first step is to begin planning your method of attack.

[edit] Initial Design

Most of the time this will mean drawing up your overall design on paper. Be sure to pay attention to detail. If you have your case already, take careful measurements to make sure that everything you have planned will fit correctly. Figure out where you want your case window, where your hard drives will go, where your optical drives will go, how you plan on stealthing them, where you will put your power button and reset button, if you plan on adding handles - all of these details should be part of your overall plan. At this stage it is not critical to have them perfectly detailed and measured, as you will be adding more and more detail as time goes on, but it should act as your guide as you go.

[edit] Planning for Materials

Once you have your project planned you should figure out what you will need, in terms of materials, to achieve your overall plan. How much acrylic will you need for your window? Do you need bondo to create smooth contours? What other details will you need? You should create a detailed list of everything you want for your mod project and begin creating your budget. This is covered more in-depth in the Editing Pricing A Plan section.

[edit] Detailed Design Plan

Once you have figured out your budget and have a reasonable idea of what you expect to accomplish in your project and what materials and tools you will have at your disposal to accomplish your project, it is a good idea to create a detailed design plan. This frequently involves building a prototype of your project, either using foamcore, cardboard or other household projects, or using planning software such as AutoCAD for a two-dimensional rendering or 3D Studio Max or SketchUp for a three-dimensional rendering. These planning prototypes essentially allow you to build your mod in a virtual sense long before you pick up your dremel, giving you a very clear understanding of the exact dimensions you will need to make everything at as well as giving you a chance to solve any potential problems before you start with the expensive stuff. They are also helpful in that you can share your planning documents with others ahead of time, allowing for constructive criticism and advice which will often help a designer work through problems that they may not have been able to solve themselves.

There are many examples of prototyping available. Crimson Sky used foamcore, among other materials, in the planning process for his Project Nighthawk: Skunkworks F117-A project, which provided very accurate template pieces which were used to plan the cutting and attachment process of the actual aluminum and acrylic that the case was eventually made out of. He effectively built the case once using very cheap materials long before he started building the actual case itself with the more expensive stuff, keeping costly mistakes to a minimum.