Well, I've been lurking here since this summer. In that time, I've asked questions and been looking through the great worklogs posted on this forum. I've finally started my first mod and my first worklog. I hope you'll enjoy this mod and worklog as much as I do. Without further ado, I present Project: Grey Purity to you, a mod is inspired by the Grey Knights of the Ordo Mallaeus. Objectives: - bondo the vent on the left side panel - remove the convex mesh covering the duct intake - remove the mesh covering the front and rear fan - cover the side panels with acrylic sheets - left side panel will feature a cut out in the shape of the Grey Knights' chapter symbol (book bisected by a sword) - right side panel will feature an etching(s ?) of Grey Knights battle prayers in a "Gothic" (ie font that represents the Imperium) font - reinforce key areas with aluminum sheets and acrylic sheets (will post a picture highlighting areas I feel should be reinforced) - install sound-dampening matting throughout the case - cutout intakes large enough for 120mm fans into the top of the case and left side panel - replace all mesh that was in the front bezel with acrylic (will eventually be painted gray) - install power and reset buttons where 1st (from bottom) 3.5" external drive bay was - derivet and remove the 3.5" bays - reorient the top 2 5.25" external drive bays so that they are rotated until vertical (EzSwap2s will be installed there) - cutout the corresponding openings necessary in the top panel - in the space created by the two perpendicular twin drive bays: install a VFD, a baybus 6-fan controller (off&5V and a switch which changes the voltages over to 7V&12V), 4 USB ports, a card reader, a microphone and headphone jack and possibly a temperature monitor - recess this panel and install a door to cover it - the bottom two 5.25" bays will house two stealthed optical drive - install white LED fans with filters and either custom grills (in the shape of the Grey Knights' chapter symbol) or simple wire grills - imbed white LEDs into the right side panel to highligh the etching - fabricate a light controller for the open 3.5" external bay - replace the removed 7*3.5" internal cage with a custom 2*3.5" internal cage - dissassemble the whole case and paint with metallic grey (going to use auto paint, as I want a paint with flakes in it) and gold accents My victim for this mod is the Coolermaster RC-330 Elite. I choose it for one reason....Because it was the least expensive case I could get on short notice. My budget so far is approximately 100 CAD. The case ate up half and the hole saw which I bought, and will be returning (I don't need it yet) ate up most of the rest. Returning the hole saw will put me back into the black again, and I'll be able to buy some acrylic at the end of this month (or whenever I have time). Any ways, here are some pictures. Here we have the case stripped down to the bare chassis. I got a little overzealous and didn't bother taking any pictures of the case in all its glory. From left to right we have the bezel (with all the mesh and IO ports removed), the tooless retaining locks for the 3.5" bays (which seem really flimsy btw), the mesh bayshields and bezel covers, the power and reset buttons, the IO ports, a baggy full of the screws that came with the case and the lone fan that came installed. You certainly get what you pay for. There aren't any sharp burrs I have encountered, however, the steel is fairly thin and easily warped. This is the front of the case. I removed the metal bayshields, and in doing so discovered that there aren't even two external 3.5" bays. Anyways, in this shot you can get a perfect picture of the mesh that is covering the front intake. This will be removed (later tonight hopefully). The power and reset buttons will be moved below the open 3.5" external bay (which will eventually house a light controller). As you can see, the chassis is riveted together. Here is the 3.5" bay cage which will be removed. Removing it will consist of drilling out 4 rivets in the bottom of the 5.25" bays and 4 more on the bottom of the chassis. These are the 4 rivets that hold the top of the bay cage into place. They'll probably take the longest to remove (especially the back two and more specifically the back right one). I'll have to drill the out at an angle. And here are the 4 rivets which hold the bottom of the bay cage into place. These will take the least amount of time to remove, as I can drill downwards. Voila, no more 3.5" cage. Took about two hours in total to remove, as the battery died and had to be recharged until the next morning. The two sides of the cage had to be bent back and forth to get them out, as 3/4 of the rivets didn't drill out cleanly. Doing so warped the bottom to the 5.25" bays a bit, but was easily bent back into place. All gone. I did some minor cosmetic damage to the paint, but that doesn't matter. Drilling these rivets out were a pain in the berries, as death_hawk would say. And here is a shot of the rivetless bottom of the case. Removing these four rivets took about five minutes tops. Feel free to post any comments in this thread Enjoy
Sounds like this project has great potential! I'm especially looking forward to seeing what the metallic grey paint looks like as I eventually want to do a case in some kind of dark metallic grey as well.
Thank you. As far as I can tell, this project will take me right through summer to complete (As I'll only be working evenings (instead of watching TV) and the odd weekend). Next time I get a chance to go to a hardware store, I'll look and the paint and see what there is. This is what I've got done until now, I don't think I'll do anything else tonight (except for maybe sanding a bit). Next up will be cutting out the mesh covering the intakes and cutting out the window.
Good start and it seems that you got the pics resized no problem I'll be looking this project with interest, that's for sure. Janne
Hi there everyone, thanks for the kind comments. Tonight I'll make the template for what I want to remove from the mesh covering the fan intakes, and I'll try to get the template for the window drawn-up (Both will be done by hand, as my 3D skills are a bit too rusty).
I wish I could work more on this. It's very relaxing. Sadly, I have three tests this week (2 on Thursday, 1 on Friday) and I'll have finals the 17th, 19th, 22nd and 23rd. I'll try my best to do a bit of work until then, but in the last week of January I'll do a lot more. Once I find a good piece of cardboard to use as a template (100mm diameter circle) I'll start cutting out the fan intakes (hopefully tonight). Cheers
Don't get me wrong, I don't want to push you...everybody here knows that I'm taking more time than most people for my own project. I just wanted to sound impatient to see more
I know, I might actually have some time tonight. I went scrounging through the house and found a metal disc that I can use as the template. I'll try to get at least one intake cutout tonight. Surprisingly, it's exactly 100mm in diameter. Cheers
Finally I've had time to mark out what I'll be cutting out. The cutting will come later today, as it is far too late to do so at the moment. Here are the tools I'll be using to cut out the mesh covering the intake and the outlet. I'll be using a jigsaw to do the actual cutting, a cordless drill to create the pilot hole (no drill in this pic), and a Dremel clone to deburr (if needed). Here are the victims. Behold the front and rear fan positions. I pretty much eyeballed the measurements, the back I linedup what would be cutout using the holes in the mesh itself, as it was symmetric there. The front was a bit trickier, as the mounting holes for 80mm and 92mm fans are on stamped out pieces. I used a ruler there. Here is one of the parts of the case that I plan on eventually reinforcing with strips of aluminum. Hopefully I will have the time to do so this weekend. Anyways, about this picture. This is where the PSU goes, I plan on extending and reinforcing this as only that little ledge and the mounting screws will support a PSU, which could be problematic for longer and heavier ones. So, I plan on measuring out a strip of aluminium that will run from the lip at the corner of the case adjacent to the cutout for the PSU, all the way to the end of the ledge. A plate of aluminium will eventually rest ontop, secured with screws. I'll try and get a better picture of this later, hopefully this will be sufficient for now. This is another area of the case I will reinforce. Around the expansion slots and IO opening, the metal is fairly flimsy. I'll probably end up covering most of the expansion slots, as I'll only need four maximum (two at most for the video card, and another two for the sound and NIC cards). I might be using metal rods, in combination with metal strips to reinforce the chassis here. That's all for tonight (morning for me), I'll get this mesh cutout later today. Cheers
Getting ready to cut out the rear mesh. In the picture there is the cordless drill, which I’ll be using to drill a couple of pilot holes, my eye protection (a pain in the berries to wear ontop of glasses) and the jigsaw I’ll be using (it has a laser to help with guiding the cuts…mmm lasers ). Here’s a shot taken while cutting out the rear mesh. I didn’t bother doing the same (taking a picture) for the front mesh, as it was the same thing. However, cutting out the mesh got a bit tricky, as the steel it is made of is fairly cheap and thin, which caused the blade to snag. I was cutting down in the basement, where the lights were a bit dim, which wasn’t of any help as I was basically playing connect the dots. The back mesh is cut out a bit better than the front, as I lost the line I traced on the front for a little while during cutting. Ok, here are shots of the front and rear of the case with most of the mesh cutout. Right now, the area around the vents is very flimsy, enough to warrant reinforcing. I’ll try and get the aluminium I need to do so tonight or tomorrow (if I don’t have any time tonight I’ll practice etching). As you can see, there are some burrs that need to be removed; I’ll use my Dremel clone to do so. Here I am removing the burrs with my rotary tool. Took about five minutes in total That’s all for this update, cheers.
Anyone have any feedback? I have a quick question, what thickness of aluminium sheet should I get to reinforce the case? Thanks
Just guessing here but 1/8th inch might give good results. Steel is also a good option for strength, I've got a case with a 1/16" thick panel that is fit for a tank, plus it's cheaper due to less thickness/price of material.
You and I shall obviously have a deathmatch of epic computer case proportions This looks pimp as sin, I can't wait to get started on mine
Mine isn't going to have amazing artwork on it though...I suck at art especially people. I can hold my own with vehicles though. Oh yeah, I'm thinking of putting a great big =I= on the front bezel, probably extending from the top of the optical drives almost to the bottom...Maybe with a skull in the middle with red LED eyes.
Mmm, inquisitor! I think I've decided I'm going to actually cut the window in the symbol of Khorne (or I guess the archenemy for you ***). I can't wait to see yours take shape too! Yay, 40k goodness.
Eight pointed goodness? BTW, when are you starting your worklog? Onto my mini-update of the day. Today I had some time to swing by the hardware store on the way home. I didn't find and sheet aluminium, but I did buy a 3.5' steel dowel (7mm) that will be perfect in a functional yet asthetic manner to reinforce the flimsy areas. Hell, I might even run it all over all of the edges on the case (where possible). I need to pick up some JB Weld before I can start applying it, however, I will be starting to cut up the dowel tomorrow. Cheers
Hi everyone. Sorry, I was procrastinating for awhile there - at least until I got the metal I need to continue. Anyways, I'll be posting an update this evening. Thanks
