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Scratch Build – In Progress The case that needs a cool name....

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by MarkVarley, 10 Oct 2014.

?

The case needs a name!

  1. Clarity (99% perspex, mostly black)

    29.4%
  2. Project Clarity

    5.9%
  3. Project Bankrupcy (because, just because)

    29.4%
  4. Black & White (the main colour scheme)

    5.9%
  5. Tenacity (with everything that has gone wrong, it's requiring tenacity!)

    29.4%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. MarkVarley

    MarkVarley Minimodder

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    The case now has a cool name: Blackened

    Background
    Due to the multi-purpose layout of my living room / office / workshop / studio I decided I needed a new PC case that had opposite-to-normal orientation, meaning that the windowed side (it has to have a window right!) was on the right side of the case, this is so I could fit it to the other side of the desk which has an area of free space instead of taking up some of the length of the room.

    Obviously I considered commercially available cases, particularly Silverstone (I even bid on one on ebay but lost) before deciding it was time for a scratch build. I've done a couple before in wood but I decided on perspex for this as I had a curvy idea in mind. I've worked with perspex on modded cases before (building PC's is one of my jobs) but only windows and flat panels, so some learning was required.

    The Plan
    To fit in the dead-space I have by my desk and the height of my desk I decided that a dimension of around 700mm square and just over 200mm deep.
    I decided to work with an aluminium frame with perspex panels and a single long perspex piece with two 90 degree bends would form the top and sides (front top and back in conventional layout).
    I wanted a smooth look so I decided that the main front (side) panel would be made from clear acrylic with a window area masked off and the rest painted black.

    [​IMG]
    This was my idea for the layout.
    Two 3x140mm rads with both push and pull fans on either side through the side panels.
    My current drive-bay res/pump mounted in the upper left facing the window.
    Below that 4x 3.5" hard drives mounted flat against the rear panel, or possible another panel mounted off the rear.
    The motherboard is my current ATX board mounted with the IO in the roof.
    My 4x SSD's mounted flat below that.
    Then on the right side another 3x140 rad and 6 fans.
    The PSU will live in the bottom below the window, power cable coming through a hole in the rear panel.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Suppliers used in this build.
    Specialtech (wc fittings, fans and rads),
    E22(wc rigid tubing, electrical connectors, sleeving, combs),
    QuietPC (more fans),
    C&C Central (various bits).
    Watercooling UK (UV Cathodes & misc)
    Scan.co.uk (Hard Drive & Lighting)
    ThePlasticPeople (perspex sheets).
    Kay's Fasteners (ebay) (nuts 'n' bolts).
    Carbon Supply UK (ebay) (carbon fibre and other vinyl).
    Tennyson Trading (ebay) (Spray Paint).
    Crabtree Stickers (ebay) (Stickers).
    UV Gear (UV Reactive paint).
    Bit-Tech forum member BeauchN (Second Pump).
    Bit-Tech forum member Williz (New Mouse to go with the new build!)
    These are all paid suppliers, not sponsors, and I use them all often, all highly recommended.
     
    Last edited: 6 Dec 2014
  2. MarkVarley

    MarkVarley Minimodder

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    I also needed to practice some work with Perspex which I've not used like this before, so I ordered a sheet of 6mm clear to practice cutting vents, bending and painting.
    [​IMG]
    Vent holes marked out, 10mm wide with 10mm spacing.

    [​IMG]
    Cut with a jigsaw and shaped with a dremel (the dremel that has a fault and keeps randomly deciding it's only going to run at full speed for a few days at a time!).

    I decided on an alternative to vents as these are too big and I found smaller ones too fiddly.

    Next I bent it around a 100mm cardboard tube, no photos of that but it went really well, you'll see the piece in later photos with 100mm 90 degree bend and i also tried a sharper 90 degree bend.

    So it was time to try painting it, I wanted to see if it would still look properly black from the other side if I sanded it first, so one area was sanded. I also masked an area to see what the edges would look like for my masked-window idea.

    [​IMG]
    My temporary spray-booth, my bath, with lots of plastic bags cut open and taped together.

    [​IMG]
    Plastic bags taped together is not enough to stop a little overspray!

    [​IMG]
    Here you can also see the smaller vents I tried cutting, made a mess of that...

    [​IMG]
    The sanded area and the non-sanded area appeared equally black so there is no problem sanding the sheet when the time comes to give the paint something to grab on to.
    However I decided to order some different tape to mask the window area as the edges with this tape look really bad and I'm not sure how I'd neaten them up if they came out like this, razor blade probably!
     
    Last edited: 13 Oct 2014
  3. MarkVarley

    MarkVarley Minimodder

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    Frame time, I ordered some lengths of aluminium angle and a piece of flat bar.
    My idea was to cut out a section of one side of the angle and bend the corners, leaving the two ends to meet on one edge.

    [​IMG]
    I had to take a little more metal out of this and it ended up messy but the first corner worked fine.

    [​IMG]
    The second one, not so good.

    [​IMG]
    This happened with two corners, one on each piece. I'm not sure why, maybe I didn't cut out quite enough material, but now it's starting to worry me.

    However, after some research online I found either on here or overclockers someone asking about glueing aluminium and some Sikaflex EBT was recommended, so I ordered some.

    [​IMG]
    and with the flat-bar cut to length I attempted to glue these pieces of metal into a computer case.

    [​IMG]
    The clamps are holding the joints together, the strings are holding the frame in shape.
     
    Last edited: 8 Nov 2014
  4. MarkVarley

    MarkVarley Minimodder

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    Next I decided to make some internal panels from a sheet of 3mm perspex that I've had in the studio for a few years, it hardly gets used these days so I thought I'd put it to use here.

    [​IMG]
    However, it looks like perspex becomes brittle with age, I assume thats the reason it shattered so easily and so many times.

    [​IMG]
    So so many breakages..

    But eventually I had the three sheets I wanted for the top, bottom and rear (side behind the MB).
    [​IMG]
    I set them with more of the same glue and left them to set.
     
    Last edited: 13 Oct 2014
  5. MarkVarley

    MarkVarley Minimodder

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    It's about this time I started reflecting on the state of this build so far.
    It's a mess really.
    The glue didn't stick very well so I started adding bolts.
    The drilling of the perspex caused it to crack way more readily than I'd expect.
    The thing is sitting there looking like a piece of junk and I'm at the point where I'm about to spend more money on a pair of rads, sets of fans, and the perspex sheets to finish the build and I'm wondering, I could buy and mod a case for less money than I'm about to spend.
    Am I Nuts?
    :wallbash::wallbash::duh:

    However, this is a personal build so it doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to look perfect from the finished outside.

    1. Press on and finish the damn thing.
    2. Order more metal and perspex and redo the work I've done so far before continuing.
    3. Bail-out, save my time and money, buy and mod a case.

    I've tentatively decided to press-on, even after working the perspex for the main outer panels I can remake the interior later if necessary. And I've never been one for quitting anything.

    More is coming. :dremel:
     
    Last edited: 8 Nov 2014
  6. Maki role

    Maki role Dale you're on a roll... Lover of bit-tech

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    Acrylic can be miserable stuff to work with at times, but once you understand how the material works everything becomes so much easier.

    That case is mahoosive! If you're going with a structure that large you'll definitely want to use some thicker material, 3mm cracks and shatters like nobody's business. Alternatively, you could use polycarbonate for clear/painted clear panels. It's not as scratch resistant as acrylic, but it's a hell of a lot more impact resistant.

    Personally, I would try to make sure that the true strengths of each material are being used effectively. The aluminium section there is remarkably strong if joined correctly. I remember using thinner stuff in an engineering module to make a bridge, we got ours to support 570kg before buckling by only using some basic struts and machine screws.
     
  7. MarkVarley

    MarkVarley Minimodder

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    I was thinking about switching to polycarbonate, as long as it behaves similarly when bending it'll be fine. I was going to use 6mm for the long strip as well as the side panel as I intent to make them a single piece, though as I don't want to use bolts I'll have to look again at adhesives.
     
    Last edited: 8 Nov 2014
  8. Cheapskate

    Cheapskate Insane? or just stupid?

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    First, you need a name? I shall loan you one of the many I have bestowed upon other peoples' pets:
    Lord FuzzyButt of WigglesBottom.
    Now, drilling plexi: You need to have it laying on or clamped to some sacrificial wood.
    It does become more brittle if left in the sun for years. I've even used aluminum pop rivets on 1/8" plexi.

    I'm not sure about bending polycarb, I will say it's much more flexible than plexi and may be wobbly in such a huge side panel.

    Dremel: The switches are awesomely bad. 90% of Dremel failures are the switches, and the replacement parts cost nearly as much as a new unit.:( -In your case, it could be a simple matter of needing to clean the switch. (If that's even possible. I seem to remember they are sealed.)

    If you want your cuts to look better, invest in a ultra-fine point sharpie and some files. Another option would be a router attachment and some guides for the dremel.
     
  9. Maki role

    Maki role Dale you're on a roll... Lover of bit-tech

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    I found a really good tool for great cuts is actually a jigsaw paired with a wood bit. The wood blade has nice open teeth that don't collect dust, meaning heat isn't as much of a problem. I used this method when cutting out the acrylic and polycarbonate pieces for the stand in my project, worked a treat. In fact, the edges were so smooth in parts that they could almost be polished up straight off the bat.

    Acrylic has a fair number of shortcomings, but if treated carefully it can be really simple to use. Although my introduction to anything DIY related was through acrylic so I may be biased, although I don't tend to use it that much either.
     
  10. MarkVarley

    MarkVarley Minimodder

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    I've been using a wood blade which tends to cut the best but the edge then needs work.

    According to the place I've been using for acrylic, polycarbonate can't be polished and a nicely shaped polished edge is going to be essential.

    I'm leaning back towards 6mm acrylic for the main panels again.

    Any recommendations for a glue or adhesive to attach a 6mm edge to a surface?

    As for the name, cheapskate, been playing too much borderlands 2?

    The first dremel I got (3000) has that fault out of the box, it's replacement was OK for a while, and I can't find the damn receipt, so I got a second one for now, cheapest recon I could find.

    I've been thinking about a router thing and bits for the dremel.... might be the way to go.
     
    Last edited: 8 Nov 2014
  11. Cheapskate

    Cheapskate Insane? or just stupid?

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    Polycarb is a turd to sand, thought I might add that. So getting it to polish is a lot harder than plexi.
     
  12. Maki role

    Maki role Dale you're on a roll... Lover of bit-tech

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    Bah poppycock, found it to be no harder than acrylic tbh.
     
  13. MarkVarley

    MarkVarley Minimodder

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    Thanks cheapskate, I think I'll stick with 6mm plexi for the main exterior panels.

    The supplier I've been using does say
    "The edges of acrylic can be polished smooth if necessary; polycarbonate cannot be polished".
     
    Last edited: 10 Oct 2014
  14. DeafGamer2015

    DeafGamer2015 Minimodder

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    Pictures are dead.. Weird..
     
  15. MarkVarley

    MarkVarley Minimodder

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    They're live for me now.
     
  16. MarkVarley

    MarkVarley Minimodder

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    A quick update, I've just painted the MB tray and part of the rear panel removed from an old scrap case, it was generally rough-looking steel so I sanded it down and gave it a couple of coats of flat black in my spray booth.
    [​IMG]
    As before my spray booth is my bathroom, but this time I have a 3x4 meter plastic sheet that I taped to the wall and pretty much everything, using the shower curtain rail to hang the pieces from worked well! :clap: something went right!
     
    Last edited: 13 Oct 2014
  17. Meelobee

    Meelobee What's a Dremel?

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    About the Acrylic; there are several types, the one you're using seems to be the brittle version, the plates have alot of 'tension' in them and crack at the slightest impact (ie, your drill & saw)
    Ask your retailer for tension free perspex (Plexiglass GS they call it here) and you should be making clean cuts with both your drill and saw.

    If you use a woodblade, make sure its a medium one without the teeth facing outwards, or you'll be cracking panel after panel. I prefer a medium metal blade on a medium speed myself for 3-5mm plexi.
     
  18. MarkVarley

    MarkVarley Minimodder

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    The sheet I've had sitting in my studio for a few years gave me no end of trouble, but the 6mm practice-piece I ordered was really nice to work with and thats what I'll stick with for the rest of this project, though I will need some 3mm pieces, most will be 6mm.

    Also I was going to post another photo update as I've just fitted the MB tray and IO panel, but as I picked my phone up with a gloved hand (whilst cutting with the dremel) I dropped it and the lens glass smashed, direct 3-foot drop onto a random piece of metal. I have a bombproof screen protector but nothing protecting the lens.
    :jawdrop:
    Thankfully I'll be upgrading around 2nd quarter of next year, when the next samsung galaxy S comes out, in the meantime I think this one is insured...

    I'll switch to taking photos with my camera now, I am a damn photographer after all!
     
  19. Dr. Coin

    Dr. Coin Multimodder

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    Not sure if it is only me but none of the pictures are loading.
     
  20. MarkVarley

    MarkVarley Minimodder

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    I've transferred all the photos to another of my websites, if the problem is what I think it was it should have fixed the problem of them not loading for some people.
     
    Last edited: 13 Oct 2014

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