bit-tech.net

shinji2k · 20th Jan 2013, 21:26

Project Malin

Concept

I ended up with an extra i5 so I decided to do something simple to keep me busy during the winter. mITX seemed the way to go so I picked up some more parts and I was ready to go.

According to the internet, Malin can mean "little strong warrior".

Components

i5-3570 (non K)
ASRock H77M-ITX
150W PicoPSU
X-25M 80Gb
Noctua NH-L9i

shinji2k · 20th Jan 2013, 21:37

Pile O' materials

These will be the sides.

Pieces of 1/2" to join everything together.

Sometimes hand tools just work better.

shinji2k · 20th Jan 2013, 21:44

These will be countersunk eventually.

Cut the mid-plate.

Time for the bottom. More flat head screws are on the way so ignore the random hardware.

Case feet from an old Lian-Li case.

Cut the top panel. Nice spacers are on the way too, just using washers for now.

Picked up some maple for the front and back.

Threaded inserts for joining everything.

Here's where it sits for now.

I don't have much time during the week so hopefully there will be an update next weekend.

GuardianStorm · 21st Jan 2013, 12:31

Very nice so far, subscribed

Mankz · 21st Jan 2013, 12:38

Pweety.

Mosquito · 21st Jan 2013, 15:23

Nice work. Reminds me of the Mini-HTPC I built.

Editor22 · 21st Jan 2013, 16:04

What a wonderful start! look forward to seeing the progress

shinji2k · 21st Jan 2013, 22:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by GuardianStorm

Very nice so far, subscribed

Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mankz

Pweety.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mosquito

Nice work. Reminds me of the Mini-HTPC I built.

Hopefully it turns out as nice as yours!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Editor22

What a wonderful start! look forward to seeing the progress

I hope you aren't disappointed.

I've already had a bit of a rethink. I was set on hiding as many screws as possible and made a lot design choices based on that, but then I have four right on top where everyone can see. That top panel is only there to mask the fan intake and cover the screws holding the side rails on so I think I will make another piece but just mount it with magnets.

I was also set on a minimalist, modern look but I've been thinking of adding some small accents. Some art deco-ish alu inserts in the wood may work and/or something on the side rails. It'll still be sleek and simple but I'm hoping to give it some character. I'll play around and see if any of my ideas actually look good outside of my head. Thanks for reading!

Ream · 21st Jan 2013, 23:08

Looks real nice, would sit rather pretty nest to my TV.

Cant wait to see the finsihed photos.

exexs · 22nd Jan 2013, 00:23

Boner alert

dream1 · 22nd Jan 2013, 14:50

Wow ooks good so far

shinji2k · 23rd Jan 2013, 06:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by exexs

Boner alert

I'm flattered?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ream

Cant wait to see the finsihed photos.

Me too

Quote:

Originally Posted by dream1

Wow ooks good so far

I'd love to show you more but it's way too cold right now to be out in the garage, my little propane heater won't do much.

morgansk · 23rd Jan 2013, 19:19

Very nice - and good to see some wood.

Ream · 23rd Jan 2013, 20:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by morgansk

Very nice - and good to see some wood.

Can you see exexs from where you are.

Sissilisko · 23rd Jan 2013, 21:32

that's really nice

maestro0428 · 24th Jan 2013, 23:54

Seen a lot of SFF Pcs lately. Liking this so far. Ill be watching.

shinji2k · 29th Jan 2013, 01:50

I prefer to have the countersink the same diameter of the screw, but I didn't feel like buying a countersink to fit my 6-32 screws. So I made my own. Grabbed a cheapo from a local hardware store and ground it down to 0.300".

Used it to countersink everything and install the mobo standoffs.

I also went ahead and finished counterboring the screws for the front and back panel.

Time for the cpu intake.

There should be just enough space under the mobo to mount two 2.5" drives. I'll probably only be using the one ssd but there was room for a second, so why not.

Rabbiting bit ready to go. Don't try this at home! I purchased a mini mill for cheap but it's back-ordered so I won't be able to use it for this project. I wish I had it for this.

I ended up redoing the wood pieces. It was really hard to get everything lined up when I installed the threaded inserts. I cut the new ones slightly oversized and will trim them down later.

It started to get late so that's it for now. It'll be pretty warm the next couple days so I hope to get some more done.

dream1 · 29th Jan 2013, 12:15

LOL me "ooks" good.

Mankz · 29th Jan 2013, 14:12

That HDD mount is awesome.

shinji2k · 30th Jan 2013, 01:56

I squeezed in a little modding today. First up is finishing the hdd mount. Since I prefer to keep all my fingers, I made a jig to route the other side.

I had to order more 1/8" to redo the top and it came in today. I never bothered to show how I made the other panels so I'll walk you through my technique. First, a rough cut with the jigsaw.

Then to true up the edges, a belt sander at a 45 deg angle works wonders. Just move side to side with it and you end up with a nice edge.

I also received my neodymium magnets. I'll wait until I decide on how I finish the aluminum to glue them on to the top panel, but here's how it'll work.

I also trimmed down the new wood pieces.

I still need to do some fine tuning and cut out the I/O panel, but it's starting to come together

Thanks for reading!

20th Jan 2013, 21:26	#1
shinji2k Minimodder Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Ohio Posts: 20	Project Malin update 2/9 Project Malin Concept I ended up with an extra i5 so I decided to do something simple to keep me busy during the winter. mITX seemed the way to go so I picked up some more parts and I was ready to go. According to the internet, Malin can mean "little strong warrior". Components i5-3570 (non K) ASRock H77M-ITX 150W PicoPSU X-25M 80Gb Noctua NH-L9i Last edited by shinji2k; 10th Feb 2013 at 02:21.

20th Jan 2013, 21:37	#2
shinji2k Minimodder Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Ohio Posts: 20	Update #1 Pile O' materials These will be the sides. Pieces of 1/2" to join everything together. Sometimes hand tools just work better.

20th Jan 2013, 21:44	#3
shinji2k Minimodder Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Ohio Posts: 20	Update #2 These will be countersunk eventually. Cut the mid-plate. Time for the bottom. More flat head screws are on the way so ignore the random hardware. Case feet from an old Lian-Li case. Cut the top panel. Nice spacers are on the way too, just using washers for now. Picked up some maple for the front and back. Threaded inserts for joining everything. Here's where it sits for now. I don't have much time during the week so hopefully there will be an update next weekend.

21st Jan 2013, 12:31	#4
GuardianStorm Ultramodder Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Bournemouth Posts: 1,474	Very nice so far, subscribed __________________ Sites: My Site :: My blog Tools: Project Log Previewer Curent Projects: Dark Vortex Finished Projects: Yarrrbox :: Laptop Stand :: Bench PSU MK2 :: FS2 Guides: How To Bend Metal

21st Jan 2013, 15:23	#6
Mosquito Hypermodder Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Minnesota, USA Posts: 628	Nice work. Reminds me of the Mini-HTPC I built. __________________ Mosquito Scratch Builds: Just A-PC \| Mini HTPC \| Music Box \| Ham Theater PC Case Mod: Definition: Server \| IBM PC AT Reborn

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21st Jan 2013, 12:38	#5
Mankz dat steak Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: SW1H Posts: 13,519	Pweety.

21st Jan 2013, 16:04	#7
Editor22 E22.BIZ Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Bristol <UK> Posts: 1,622	What a wonderful start! look forward to seeing the progress __________________ Store: E22 Social: Youtube \| Facebook Projects: Evolution \| K2 MK1

21st Jan 2013, 23:08	#9
Ream Multimodder Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Tyne & Wear Posts: 83	Looks real nice, would sit rather pretty nest to my TV. Cant wait to see the finsihed photos.

22nd Jan 2013, 00:23	#10
exexs Multimodder Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Belgium Posts: 72	Boner alert __________________ Support and comments for my FIRST worklog are appreciated: http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=228161

22nd Jan 2013, 14:50	#11
dream1 Multimodder Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Estonia Pärnu Posts: 207	Wow ooks good so far

23rd Jan 2013, 19:19	#13
morgansk I've got wood Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 49	Very nice - and good to see some wood.

23rd Jan 2013, 21:32	#15
Sissilisko Multimodder Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Kajaani, Finland Posts: 87	that's really nice __________________ Finished: -Mini-PC http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=248203 unfinished: none!

24th Jan 2013, 23:54	#16
maestro0428 Master Modder Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: USA Posts: 357	Seen a lot of SFF Pcs lately. Liking this so far. Ill be watching. __________________ JAllen Labs GT1000- 3770K, 32GB Dominators, MSI 570GTX, Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD, 4 drive RAID 0 and 3TB storage in a Silverstone Fortress GT03, Logitech G9X Gaming mouse on Razer eXact Mat, Custom built Fostex studio monitors, Yamaha amp, Onkyo Tuner and Garrad turn table.

29th Jan 2013, 01:50	#17
shinji2k Minimodder Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Ohio Posts: 20	Update #3 I prefer to have the countersink the same diameter of the screw, but I didn't feel like buying a countersink to fit my 6-32 screws. So I made my own. Grabbed a cheapo from a local hardware store and ground it down to 0.300". Used it to countersink everything and install the mobo standoffs. I also went ahead and finished counterboring the screws for the front and back panel. Time for the cpu intake. There should be just enough space under the mobo to mount two 2.5" drives. I'll probably only be using the one ssd but there was room for a second, so why not. Rabbiting bit ready to go. Don't try this at home! I purchased a mini mill for cheap but it's back-ordered so I won't be able to use it for this project. I wish I had it for this. I ended up redoing the wood pieces. It was really hard to get everything lined up when I installed the threaded inserts. I cut the new ones slightly oversized and will trim them down later. It started to get late so that's it for now. It'll be pretty warm the next couple days so I hope to get some more done. __________________ Current Project: Malin

29th Jan 2013, 12:15	#18
dream1 Multimodder Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Estonia Pärnu Posts: 207	LOL me "ooks" good.

29th Jan 2013, 14:12	#19
Mankz dat steak Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: SW1H Posts: 13,519	That HDD mount is awesome.

30th Jan 2013, 01:56	#20
shinji2k Minimodder Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Ohio Posts: 20	Update #4 I squeezed in a little modding today. First up is finishing the hdd mount. Since I prefer to keep all my fingers, I made a jig to route the other side. I had to order more 1/8" to redo the top and it came in today. I never bothered to show how I made the other panels so I'll walk you through my technique. First, a rough cut with the jigsaw. Then to true up the edges, a belt sander at a 45 deg angle works wonders. Just move side to side with it and you end up with a nice edge. I also received my neodymium magnets. I'll wait until I decide on how I finish the aluminum to glue them on to the top panel, but here's how it'll work. I also trimmed down the new wood pieces. I still need to do some fine tuning and cut out the I/O panel, but it's starting to come together Thanks for reading! __________________ Current Project: Malin

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