I would go for Design 1. All the anodized alu will make it look like some exclusive hifi equipment, and adding a lot of plexi to that would only take away that feeling. Regarding the cpu-fan, if your worried about airflow restriction, maybe it might help to place the air vents close together and right above the cpu instead of spread out on the top. You got any render of the internal structure?
I would say 1 or 4. 1 still retains the stylish and subtle elements of the original design but with a little more edge. 4 has a lot more edge, but doesn't come across as teenagey and bland as 2 or 3, with a distinct style, rather than just a mini-itx adaption of the std window concept.
Here's a few shots of the internal...best ones I could come up with that show the spacing available for a heatsink. Internal 1 Internal 2
This is looking really good! Personally i like design 1 the best. Looking forwards to how this one turns out! Subbed!
I apologize about the lack of updates this past week. This was the last week of class for the quarter, so I've been extremely busy. Here's what I've been doing so far. It turns out that the drawing I was using goofed up. There were some external references in there somewhere, and some holes got moved around that shouldn't have....so what does this all mean? I had to remake all of the parts that I already made...sigh. Oh well, stuff happens! This also gives me an opportunity to machine the case such that everything will fit much more precisely than before. All of the following aluminum pictures are current (just machined them today). The acrylic piece was a prior attempt. I had to scrap that one because I had to take the piece out of the CNC and then put it back in a few days later. Moving things before finishing machining is definitely a pain in the butt. I also made a few little redesigns. I wasn't happy with the brackets for the hard drive or the BDROM, since they didn't really relate to the curvy body of the case. I chose to go with the first design, with the two thin slices of acrylic. It definitely is my favorite out of them all. Also, kudos to jhanlon303 for the vague Oreo reference! God, I love these coolant shots too . So basically what I'm doing here is essentially re-machining everything I've done. You'll see in the next few updates how I'm going to assemble and machine everything together. These next pictures are of the top left and top right pieces (the drawings in my last post) being machined. Of course, facing with the fly cutter and then facing the sides with a large endmill. And of course, the gratuitous coolant shots. It's like a machinists porn!
I guess it's too late to vote for design 4.. -Just stumbled in here and all I can say is HOLY ****, MAN! I was going to vote for four because the front has a face. 0_0 Because of that, it makes the curves on the back seem like its butt. #4 broke up that, looked harder to make, and has those awesome grooves to mount the top aluminum. Would it be possible to mount heat pipes to the outer frame? You obviously have the option of making your own custom heat sink. -Also, I'll take your reject plexiglas! (What's my name?) 1 inch plexi is PAINFULLY expensive. I want to cnc some lens bezels in the future.
Thanks for your support. I think I understand what you're thinking. #4 is in fact no different in design than the others. The only difference is that the particular piece is made of acrylic, not aluminum.
That is one hell of a way to join these forums! Welcome and +rep for awesome work! I can't wait to see how this turns out...
Practicly you CNC operators can make what ever you want,with access to machinery like you've show'n us,concider yourself as a lucky man,with the possibillity to use one of these "wonder machines". Your project is looking very nice,I'll be following this, to the end result is here. Keep on modding...............
They work wonders when you don't want to scuff the surface . I appreciate the support, I hope that my work keeps you enticed! Thank you very much. I really do love having access to a machine shop, and I hope to keep it that way for, well, ever. I'm working diligently to update you guys. I just had finals last week so I have been out of the loop for a good solid week. However, I've been working over the weekend and the end of last week to get some meat to my update before I post it. I hope to have something later tonight or possibly tomorrow. I ordered a large chunk of acrylic on Thursday night, so it should be here tomorrow. Then the real fun begins!
