Project; Mark1

[Mark_Hardware]

Um... WTH? I might use the words "streamlined" "sleek" "clean" but not plain! That said I agree, the different textures should work nicely.

Is this a Terminatorcase? Kinda looks that way to me so far...

It's not really any theme.... Though I am a huge fan! Uh, pre-Christian Bale Terminator fan.

 

[m4gicfour]

It's not really any theme.... Though I am a huge fan! Uh, pre-Christian Bale Terminator fan.

Well said!

 

[mav2000]

I have absolutely no clue what the end product is going to look like, but I am going to follow this to see what happens.

But I would suggest that you do take the time to sit down and make a plan before moving ahead. I did the same thing for one of my builds and it come out ...well...not so good. The next time I tried the same thing with a definate plan, it was waaaay better.

 

[Mark_Hardware]

Alright, did some work on the minicase. Like I said, it's supposed to just be a smaller version of the case.
JB Welded the pieces of the drive bays together. It looks like crap. I'm going to make sure as much of it is hidden as possible.

Riveted the cage to the front panel.

Cut a new side panel.

Now in the minicase, there are no 3.5" bays, so there is no "step down." So I cut the edge off, and kept the ridges,

to replicate the edge of the other side panel.

Also cut a panel to "cover the psu" Obviously there is no psu in here, this is just to keep the look going.

And we have a problem. The fan is in the way.

I don't want to put the panel in front of the fan, cause then you wouldn't even be able to see the fan. So, I'm going to redo the rear panel. That will have to wait until I get more sheet metal. I need to get a heavier gauge. I will remake it with fewer pci slots, I'm thinkin just 2. That will let me lower the fan, and I think it will help make it look more to scale.

Cut a bottom panel.

lol I promise the smaller pvc pipe in the back lines up better with the hole. That was just a mockup. And of course the 3" is directly underneath that fan grill.

Installed a length of 1.5" pvc, to act as a conduit to run wires back and forth between the cases.

I am going to have the Imon in the minicase, as well as the video capture device, one hard drive, and Idk what else.

I am going to have some servo controlled parts, so I am thinking of mounting the servo controller to the right side, like a simulated motherboard.

Here we go, a couple of progress shots.....

Maybe this will clear up some confusion


Confusing? I prefer 'Enigmatic'

 

[MRCL]

Holy ?U/%=&)="/(&()/Q"(=ç thats so awesome, yet "wtf-like" I can't find words. And a case thats taller than a kiddo?This is so rediculous its epic.

 

[DreamSeller]

omg

 

[A Cheese Danish]

You sir, have made a true, one of a kind case; out of several cases lol
Very sweet! It's so mind boggling!

 

[Mark_Hardware]

I have absolutely no clue what the end product is going to look like, but I am going to follow this to see what happens.

But I would suggest that you do take the time to sit down and make a plan before moving ahead. I did the same thing for one of my builds and it come out ...well...not so good. The next time I tried the same thing with a definate plan, it was waaaay better.

First let me say that I do appreciate the feedback.
Well, it some cases, uh, situations, it is neccessary to form a solid plan. In some instances, it's just not. I don't neccessarily have a 100% exact way I want this to look when it's done. I look around me, and when I see something I like I think, "That will look great!" Like I said, I had originally planned on just using sheet metal, then I came accross this material that I'm using. Even to this day (literally) I am still looking around. I'm not usually looking for anything specific, but I know what it is when I see it. Sure, there is trial and error, to the point of causing extra work (like cutting three bloody side panels) but hey, x-rays have shown that the Mona Lisa was redone more than once.
However I would say that some renders or animations of what I want beforehand would be fantastic though. I just don't have the skill though.

 

[Mark_Hardware]

Alright, a couple smaller things...
As I got to looking at the HDD cage, I noticed that when it's full, the bottom hard drive won't really get any air from the fan in front. (yes, it will be full, eventually.) So, I decided to fix this by adding a fan on the bottom. 80mm fan fits right in there.

Drilled holes in the bottom panel of the case. Can you guess which one I did and which one is stock?

Yeah looks like garbage. I'm just gonna take the 3" hole saw and use mesh. Even though that won't get seen, I know it's there....

Also, the door sans hinge is annoying. I'll fix that. I'll start by cutting off the rolled over metal.

Jeezas that was a pain.
I cut off the corresponding rolled metal on the case. I don't seem to have a picture of that part right now....

I used a solid hinge, mainly because I knew that if I used a few smaller hinges, I wouldn't get them all lined up right and it would just piss me off.

Cut a few areas in the hinge to get around rivets and such.

Good ol' JB Weld to the door.

Yeah, so the picture isn't all that great, cause I ahem kinda goofed. I used wax paper when I clamped the hinge to the door, to keep the clamps from getting glued to the door. Well, it wasn't wax paper like I thought, so the paper stuck to the door. Nice.
I will sand this all down, and if im not happy with how it looks, I'll just cover it in some bondo. Same with the half that's in the case. I have to figure out some way to cover that up, maybe another piece of that panelling, mebbe just simple sheet metal, idk yet.

I'll do the same for the minicase.

 

[Mark_Hardware]

So I finally decided what I am going to do with the front, or at least the part on

the bottom.

It's a large heatsink, this one with the edges and such still intact. I had to cut it down,

it was a bit too wide. This left it asymmetrical. Dammit. Oh well, I will just cut off one

fin, and maybe glue it back on in the center.
I cut the plastic so that it runs down into the fins. I will use JB Weld and bondo to make

a smooth transition, and hopefully get it to look like one solid piece.

Nah, I'll just leave the middle like it is. I like that body line, and I think I want to keep it.
At the same time, I am having issues with the left side panel. I had it all together once,

but then I found two things wrong with it, so I broke it apart and am redo-ing it, step

by step. Here is an ugly picture showing the progress on that.

I am also notching out a space for the front audio header. I cut out the plastic

surround from the factory location.

Yeah I screwed up. It got rubbed by the collet on the dremel. I'll have to sand that out.
Here is progress on that notch.

But my last cut off wheel broke, so I'll have to get more later. Happy 4th, for those it

applies to!

 

[Chicken Patty]

this shall be fun to see, subscribed. good job so far

 

[MRCL]

Omfg.

 

[Mark_Hardware]

OK, a quick update today, not too much to report.
Got the front header area cut away.

Let me tell you friends, that was the exact opposite of fun. No room to move a file, no room for any dremel attachments... Ugh

Still needs some finish filing though...

Next I need to cut down the fins a little bit so the plastic cover will fit and be flush with

the front of the fins.

Thats all for now, gotta go to work!

 

[MRCL]

Omfg.

My statement again.

 

[Mark_Hardware]

lol dang that was a quick I just put that post up!

 

[Mark_Hardware]

OK, another small update. Just been working on this front header more. Got more of the filing done.

Sits down in there nice now.

I am going to cut down the pcb a little so it doesn't hang over,

Been really busy, so haven't had time to do much.
This weekend I will drill a couple holes for wires and start filling in the gaps.

 

[Chicken Patty]

thanks for the update Mark, looking good so far.

 

[A Cheese Danish]

Looks really good!
Coming along very nicely

 

[a_ump]

DAM, hella nice and very original. I've watched quite a few build threads here at TPU but this one is very unique. keep it up dude, interested in seeing the end results. Oh and you redefine the meaning of computer Tower with how tall that monster is

 

[Mark_Hardware]

Thanks to everyone for their comments and support. Anyone who has done a worklog knows it's always nice to see people leaving comments and feedback!

 

[Mark_Hardware]

Sooo.... Let's take a look at the material I'm using, as well as some of the methodology as it's evolved.

Here is the source of the material.

They are data recorder boxes. "The little black boxes." On the end you'll see where the
heatsinks come from.

The boxes are made from some kind of aluminum (alloy?) cast, hard as hell
(hardened?) and a nightmare to work with sometimes. So far I've ruined my (really nice)
jigsaw, dulled three files, and gone through more jigsaw and sawzall blades than I can
count.
Speaking of sawzalls... When I started, I didn't have a sawzall. See this lip?

It's not possible to cut with a jigsaw. Solution? Drill a hundred holes then file down all
the ridges.

Sweet baby Jesus that did suck. Also it resulted in piles and piles of metal shavings,
which my wife was just thrilled about.

I don't have a workshop, I live in a crummy little apartment, so I work in my living
room. (in case you haven't figured that out by the backgrounds in my pictures lol)
Something else my wife is thrilled about.
Here is the result of the drill/file method

I am happy to report that I finally made the trip to my friendly neighborhood Harbour
Freight and got a sawzall and a new jigsaw.

Much better. Still, each cut is a pain, and I have to file and file and file..... Gawd I am
sick of filing. I don't even want to use my filing cabinet anymore. filing.....

 

[MRCL]

You sure are putting a lot of work into it! Now where exactly did you steal those balck boxes.

 

[Mark_Hardware]

Here we go, nother update.
Got the front piece glued together. This weekend I will be working on filling all the gaps. I cut down the pcb,

Well crap. I cut it down to the point where I didn't need to cut the groove in the second
fin. Oh well.
Anyway, I figure I won't be using the plastic piece I cut out. I will just make my own
cover. Here is a test piece. This is not the final piece, but something to give me an idea
of what to do. First, I apologize, I had a hard time getting good pictures.

Here you can kinda see what I am going to be doing to match and blend that bodyline
of the case.

Here is something that will boggle everybodies minds.

That's right, door. Permanently glued shut.

Made some cuts...

and we have access again.

Sanded down the edges, to clean it up a bit.

The cover still fits nice.

 

[Chicken Patty]

like the way the cover is coming out nicely done.

 

[Mark_Hardware]

OK, so the next couple of days will be spent switching all my pictures to photobucket, cause I am tired of imageshack. first that crap with the big black boxes filled with some psuedo political crap, now I got the red X of shame and my pictures don't show up on imageshack's own site. Soooo, excuse the lack of progress this weekend