Scratch Build The Mineral Oil PC - 3/24/2011 - More leaks :(

[Cheapskate]

The faceplate designs do not work for me because they look like the comp is wearing a speedo.
The first one gets props for having a face, though.*____*

[legoman666]

Originally Posted by Cheapskate

The faceplate designs do not work for me because they look like the comp is wearing a speedo.
The first one gets props for having a face, though.*____*

Lol, I hadn't thought of that.

[sortableturnip]

Originally Posted by legoman666

If I go with SSDs, I'll just stick them in the oil. If I use regular platter drives, they'll be in the upper compartment.

After reading an article on how to prevent the oil from ruining your hard drives, it seems to me that it's not even worth it to do it

[Nexxo]

Originally Posted by Cheapskate

The faceplate designs do not work for me because they look like the comp is wearing a speedo.
The first one gets props for having a face, though.*____*

Originally Posted by legoman666

Lol, I hadn't thought of that.

Lose the orange bits. Make the LCD screen appear to float. Less is more.

[legoman666]

Originally Posted by sortableturnip

After reading an article on how to prevent the oil from ruining your hard drives, it seems to me that it's not even worth it to do it

Yea, it would be a lot of work. They'd be safe in the upper compartment of my case; there's no oil up there.

Originally Posted by Nexxo

Lose the orange bits. Make the LCD screen appear to float. Less is more.

Probably a good idea since I don't want to purchase more copper anyway. I still have some left over from my last mod, but not enough to do either of those drawings.

[Mino]

Coming back to my reply, I was thinking about the lcd, not the crystafonts, I saw this one i the lower compartment, but the upper one is in the oil...
So I was interested in how do you seal it...
Anyway, for the copper, Nexxo is a genius, if you can make it floating-like style will be amazing!
And yes, I loved the faceplate design because looks like a speedo :-)

[legoman666]

Been working on the upper frame all day.


Did this Thursday. It allows me to plug 3 fans into 1 fan header on the SCAB and still pull the RPM data from one of the fans (the one with the shortest lead).


With the 3 fans attached.


And then tucked away, in position and plugged in. Works well.


I cut the 12 L brackets needed to construct the upper frame.




I spent the entire day on this silly thing. This will have no weight on it, so it's entirely over designed.


The frame completed and in place.


Drilling the holes for the panels.


All of the panels attached. There's a lot of work in between these pictures that goes undocumented simply because it's so tedious.




And then in position on the rest of the frame.


Quick pic with the acrylic in place.

That's where I stopped today. Tomorrow I want to work more on the upper section. Hopefully I'll think of a way to hinge it. As is, I can simply just lift it off the top of the case.

[The boy 4rm oz]

This is starting to look really amazing. Keep at it, it's looking beautiful. +rep

[Mino]

Really good and clean look!
If you plan to use some hinges, you maybe need some modification to allow the rotation...
The "lift only" method for me is better, because allows you to open it quickly...

[Odin Eidolon]

i would put something to block the top, it would be better IMHO

[legoman666]

Originally Posted by Odin Eidolon

i would put something to block the top, it would be better IMHO

What do you mean?

Originally Posted by Mino

Really good and clean look!
If you plan to use some hinges, you maybe need some modification to allow the rotation...
The "lift only" method for me is better, because allows you to open it quickly...

Thanks! Yes, that is the main problem. I know they make all sorts of weird hinges though, maybe there are some out there that will solve my dilemma.

Originally Posted by The boy 4rm oz

This is starting to look really amazing. Keep at it, it's looking beautiful. +rep

Thanks.

[Loom]

Now you have to stand on it with one foot to show us how strong it is...

[sortableturnip]

Nice job with the wire management. Everything is coming along nicely!

Question: How are you going to attach the drives into the top of the case? I know your initial idea was to make it so that you could change parts easily, but in order to do that, the drives would need to be on a stationary piece (not attached to the top part) so that you can pull the top off without having to detach the drives. Also, have you thought of a way to keep the oil from dripping onto the drives when you pull components in/out of the case?

[riekmaharg2]

I noticed you were having trouble cutting the plexi with a scroll saw in the first stages of your build as it melts back together behind the blade. Did you know that if you put tape on one side of sheet you are cutting it strangly stops it from melting together behind the blade?

[legoman666]

Originally Posted by Loom

Now you have to stand on it with one foot to show us how strong it is...

Lol, I don't think so. Once the acrylic is in place, I could probably do it. But as is, the risers would probably twist and rotate, making the whole thing collapse.

Originally Posted by sortableturnip

Nice job with the wire management. Everything is coming along nicely!

Question: How are you going to attach the drives into the top of the case? I know your initial idea was to make it so that you could change parts easily, but in order to do that, the drives would need to be on a stationary piece (not attached to the top part) so that you can pull the top off without having to detach the drives. Also, have you thought of a way to keep the oil from dripping onto the drives when you pull components in/out of the case?

Thanks. That's a good question. I had intended to attach them to the top section. This might require disconnecting them when I want to pull the components out of the tank though.

Another idea is to attach them to the removable mobo tray. Above the PSU would probably be a good location.



Or maybe there. We'll see.

Originally Posted by riekmaharg2

I noticed you were having trouble cutting the plexi with a scroll saw in the first stages of your build as it melts back together behind the blade. Did you know that if you put tape on one side of sheet you are cutting it strangly stops it from melting together behind the blade?

Eh? Thanks for the tip. I'll give it a shot if I need to cut plexi with the scroll saw. I hate scroll saws so it's very unlikely.

[edzieba]

If you're using SATA drives, you could get an hot-swap backplate (or make your own non-hotswap if you can get a hold of some SATA and SATA power PCB-mount connectors) and mount that to the mobo tray. The drives could then be in a simple frame that aligns them to the backplate. Disconnecting the drives would just involve lifting them off the plate in one block. You could solve the oil-wicking problem that way too (cables hook up to the backplate, seal around them.)

[Shuriken]

Don't know if someone has already suggested this, but the way I have always cut plexi with a scroll saw is to put masking tape on both sides of the plexi covering the lines you're going to be cutting (you should still be able to see the lines through the masking tape).

I'm not exactly sure what it is the masking tape does, but when you cut through it the plexi wont melt back together again

[legoman666]

Originally Posted by Shuriken

Don't know if someone has already suggested this, but the way I have always cut plexi with a scroll saw is to put masking tape on both sides of the plexi covering the lines you're going to be cutting (you should still be able to see the lines through the masking tape).

I'm not exactly sure what it is the masking tape does, but when you cut through it the plexi wont melt back together again

Oddly enough riekmaharg2 made the same suggestion only 2 hours ago. Which is weird because the post about the plexi was 31 days ago and no one has made that same suggestion before now.

Originally Posted by edzieba

If you're using SATA drives, you could get an hot-swap backplate (or make your own non-hotswap if you can get a hold of some SATA and SATA power PCB-mount connectors) and mount that to the mobo tray. The drives could then be in a simple frame that aligns them to the backplate. Disconnecting the drives would just involve lifting them off the plate in one block. You could solve the oil-wicking problem that way too (cables hook up to the backplate, seal around them.)

I think I'll just attach them to the mobo tray. Saves me a lot of trouble and money.

[sortableturnip]

Are you enclosing the oil into the middle compartment? If not, have you thought about how you are going to prevent the oil from getting into the upper compartment (from vibrations, moving the case, etc.)?

[legoman666]

Originally Posted by sortableturnip

Are you enclosing the oil into the middle compartment? If not, have you thought about how you are going to prevent the oil from getting into the upper compartment (from vibrations, moving the case, etc.)?

It will be enclosed but not sealed. What sort of vibrations are you envisioning? It would take some pretty powerful vibrations to splash the oil out. The case will be too heavy to move, so I don't think that will be a problem