Scratch Build Evolution

[Editor22]

Something like this with each colour representing a different cable route

green & red = Mobo and gfx
yellow = Lighting junction, dvd-rw & fan controller
black = Power/reset etc




Mind you that is likely to change once I get started, hopefully the wife will let me send nils an order this month

[Editor22]

Cheers Robby that blue stuff is lovely to work with, so much so I'm on the last scraps of a 1000mm x 600mm sheet

[Editor22]

Well its that time again as the project is called evolution I thought it only right that it evolves (that's my way of getting out of changing my mind so much lol)
As you may know from the start I was unsure about my HDD mounting method so after much pondering that's changed. The reason being I'm going to be adding a second 240 stealth radiator in its position
ok with that out of the way on with the log.

I started the day with some light sanding work on the bottom panel. Its not perfect but there's not a gap greater than 1mm so at this stage I'm fairly happy considering I'm a bit gun ho with measuring.





As I'm using 1/2" bars for the main frame of the case I've found that the number of screws being used due to the inability to pop out the rivet gun is getting out of control, plus there are certain panels and bits that I need to permanently attach to the bars. Not to be outdone I set about trying a method out on how to rivet the new PSU support bar into place.

Started off with the usual measuring and marking.





Then it was onto the drill press. I took a 3mm bit all the way through followed by a 8mm 75% which would serve to give the rivets 5mm bite inside the bar.


Popped them in and smiled as it was solid as a rock



I also countersunk the top just for ascetics.





The HDD rack is nothing special yet but I thought it best to share the progress.

Started with some more 2mm aluminium then marked, drilled and squared the piece.



Tapped the 2 test drives to M4 and mounted them to the plate using 12mm rubber tap washers to stop nasty vibrations This section then got mounted in place with some more M4 button heads threaded through some grommets.



All fitted with the test hardware

[Editor22]

Cheers Robby, I'm thinking of going gloss black for the outside and satin black for the inside but haven't sprayed anything in about 10 years so if it all goes wrong I may just send it of for a powdercoat.

[Editor22]

I wish pope... Maybe ill get really lucky and find an SSD in one of my birthday boxes lol till then its a lonely 320gig F1.

Thought I'd post a pic of what I was up to today, started work on the 2 bottom panels and also received the aluminium for the sides. Now Ive gone really close up for this one to show how its almost a perfect fit but not quite. I'm a total perfectionist so its going to bug me but as its only a 0.75mm gap and will be covered I'm trying to forget its there :P



If all goes to plan I should be bringing an update containing shots with all the side panels cut and fixed tomorrow

[Editor22]

Originally Posted by p0Pe

put some bondo on that thing, and seal it shot for good

Originally Posted by stonedsurd

A little gap like that is perfectly acceptable. Please don't bondo it

Lol I considered it for 2 seconds then remembered that the panels in that area need to be removable for hardware mounting :P

Originally Posted by ModaRobby

That would look tits.... Lmfao.

Anyway, so Gloss on the outside and Satin on the inside. All black. Nice.

And i wouldn't worry about the gap. If you are going to have lights inside, like the blue i've been seeing, then you might want to seal it up. Or put some tape on the inside of the gap. You don't want a seam of blue light leaking out.

EDIT: I just realized in your post that you said it's going to be covered..... So on that note, **** it.

It "should" get covered if I can source a louvre grill to the right dimensions but that's turning out to be a killer. If not no light will get through as its covered from the back via the 1/2" aluminium framework

Originally Posted by AnG3L

I love your work mate, I watch your work and I expect more updates... oh and than means more coffee too! Mod on man!

Cheers dude, I'll try and get out there this week but life's getting hectic for the next couple of days :P

[Editor22]

Right update time


While I'm waiting for some more 1/2" channel to arrive I made a start on the "little" bits that needed doing. Today was the turn of the CPU block bracket. This also gave me a chance to get my macro lens out which is something I'm doing less and less of these days so excuse the poor shots :P

First up a few shots of the block I'll be using in the build which is the "Ybris black sun"
I would have loved to give a review on the block but truth be told this is my first WC build so I don't feel confident enough in my knowledge but I can still show you all how pretty it is













Ok so enough shiny things and onto some modding!

The ybris didn't come with a back plate so I decided to run one up myself using the plexi plate as a template. Weapon of choice for marking out is the inside of a pen, it just makes it easier to get into small screw holes and corners.





Then the same shaping process of fret saw - selection of files.





Damn that's a huge backplate! ooo no wait its just a tiny file



A little sanding later and its all done ready for paint



take it easy

[Editor22]

Thanks guys the plate was originally made as the rear support to go behind the mobo but after the suggestion I may have to make another for the top and throw a couple of small leds behind it. Thanks for the idea :P

[Editor22]

Sorry its not a project update but it is an update for why I haven't had enough time to get stuck into evolution
About this time last year at work we looked at our main office and decided the mish mash of desks and 10 year old blue carpet had to go so I set about designing a new one. After about 6 months of planning we finally found time to make a start so for the next few weeks most of my time is going into getting this finished :P
Heres a shot of how it is at present and the original render.

[Editor22]

Originally Posted by The boy 4rm oz

Great looking office, looks very welcoming and professional, plus you got a ton of desk space .

Thanks, its crazy how much desk space there is now its all coming together, all I need to do now is price up some shuttles to free up even more

Originally Posted by stonedsurd

Needs more light

But no seriously, that looks pretty good.

lol unfortunately I was limited by the building for light

Originally Posted by ModaRobby

I always think aluminum over plexi looks badass. Add some white or blue LEDs.

I'm hoping white LEDs to offset against the blue fluid and shine up the blue on the surrounding mobo

[Editor22]

Yay the office is just about finished other than building some shelving but that can wait till the hectic summer period is over :P I'm pretty happy with it and the chippy did a good job with routing all the desks in which saved me a lot of time!






So now that's done its time to get back to evolution here's what I've been up to in the small bits of free time I've had.

Got the holes cut out of the motherboard tray and finished them off with a large grommet and some U channel also added 3 extra gaps on the bottom left of the tray to let more light through into the blue plexi of the reservoir plate. Still got to tidyn out the hole for the cable routing on the left but that can wait until its all sleeved up and I know exactly how much room I need.



Made some more progress on the bottom section panels. The upper side panels will be fixing into the 2 central bars so I needed to add a rail for the bottom panel to fix to.
I clamped some 1/2"x1/2" angle to the middle bar then drilled, tapped and fixed it in place with some more m4 button heads.





A quick test fit and then it was time to mark out and drill through the angle and the side panel.





With that screwed in place I moved on to the holes for the bottom.



And then my wife called me in for dinner... so that's it for today but I feel like I'm on a bit of a roll now so hopefully it will be updates a plenty for a bit

now some padding :P



I'm using a poor mans drill and bits so I have to use A LOT of force to get the job done and always seemed to clip the drill jaws on the metal when it penetrated all the way leaving horrible deep circular scratches. Just stuck a piece of scrap card over the end and voila no more circles :P


See you next time

[Editor22]

Originally Posted by ModaRobby

Keep in mind that these rails you are adding could be used for another purpose. You can hide cables in there. Makes everything all nice and tidy. I've seen a lot of modders do it. My favorite being the SpeLL7 project. He had a double wide Lian Li case and constructed an "L" shaped aluminum column and hid ALL his wires in there. It was bad ass to say the least.

Still watching patiently....

I remember that build, as for cable management goes... its all taken care of :P that was one of the main things I focused on in the design phase, The idea is to hide all the cables with only the small portion showing between the mobo tray and the connector.

[Editor22]

Another update so soon.... this is madness!

Received a package today



Inside Is a large sheet of 3mm lightly smoked plexi for the windows. The smoke is really subtle but should still enhance the lighting effects and blend in better with the black finish than standard clear




So tonight I finished off the bottom front panel. from where we left off yesterday I carried on with some filing taking the panel down to the 1/2" angle.





Then a light sand to finish off.



The reason I'm doing it this way is mainly due to the discrepancy in some of the measurements, while its only 1mm or under it would be visible once the main side panel is butted up to the bottom panel. So doing it this way I can be sure to get a 100% straight edge

Time to fit the panel on




And now a small teaser of what I'm thinking about for the main panels. The bend on this piece was a few degrees off so it will be going into the spares pile but it helps to visualize the basic design.



Well I'll be doing all that again for the other side so wont bother posting all that as it will just look exactly the same :P

Until next time

[Editor22]

Lol yeah I might just do that, it's all a bit slow at the moment as it's just little fiddley bits but I Wanted to keep the log alive so people know it's not dead. think the panels should be done by next week then it's on to the windows

[Editor22]

Originally Posted by oldnewby

Nice metal work 22, it's always a pleasure to see nice fitting parts.

Thanks mate and also thanks for that filing guide you made a while back, helped no end with speeding up filing down to a straight edge

Originally Posted by ModaRobby

Well on that note I can't wait to see how the smoked plexi looks.

You and me both :P

Yesterday I made the other bottom panel but as its the same it seems a bit pointless making a duplicate post so ill hold off until a parcel arrives and I can get cracking on finishing both panels ready for painting

[Editor22]

Received a package today inside was something that's taken me ages to source.
A x flow stealth 240.



So now I have all the components for the WC loop minus some compression fittings. Dont they just look cute together



Hadnt planned on doing anything this evening but while I had the rad out I figured it would be a waste not to mount it.
Started off but printing out a template from WCUK and drilling the fan mounting holes.



Then ran round the edge with the jigsaw



Time for a rough test fit before some light filing. You can see here how the interior layout is shaping up.



And with the fans running. I only noticed while I was editing the photos that one of the bolts is slightly off centre but hopefully it will fall into place once I strap the grill on.



And that's all I got for tonight.

[Editor22]

Originally Posted by ModaRobby

LOL! Every time I look for that rad it's in stock but I don't have the money. When I do have the money it's on backorder! Grrr!

I like how your hiding everything in the bottom like this. It would give your case great airflow if you weren't WCing it. The beauty of having all the tools to construct a case to your exact specifications.

lol I had a hell of a trouble finding a UK stockist and any I did find were out of stock ended up going with http://overclock.co.uk/ was great service actually As for workspace.... when I started the project I had the top of a washing machine as my bench and the only tools In the shop were a £25 drill and a cheap junior hacksaw :P

Originally Posted by The boy 4rm oz

The rad mounting looks great, where did you get the template from?

Thanks dude I got the template from WCUK on one of there fan grill pages

[Editor22]

Originally Posted by PingviN

This is an awesome mod, that's for sure. Really like the UV-reactive panels, not to mention all the metalwork, it looks stunning.

What fans are those? They look great!

As 4rm oz said there coolermaster ones

Originally Posted by ModaRobby

Lol. I've got my bedroom, a patio, a dremel, and some files. Woe is me.

Those fans may be awesome but I still swear by Scythe Gentle Typhoons. Quiet and powerful.

I was thinking of swapping them out for these once the project is further along but it all depends on funds


Ok on with the show, Got the second Rad mounted this evening but it was pretty much the same process as before so no working pics. As you can see my bars look a bit like swiss cheese at the moment due to a few trials but nothing some filler cant fix "i hope "



Currently I only have 2 120mm fans and Im reluctant to buy any more untill I settle on what ones to use



A front a back shot showing how the 2 rads connect and the clearance between them.





That's all I got tonight but bring on a weekend full of modding and if there's time maybe an update or two

[Editor22]

Originally Posted by AnG3L

Very nice job man, I ve been watching this worklog for a long time now and I must say I am really impressed. I am planning on a new mod right now and basically I will do a simple chassis from aluminum like yours but bigger, can you show some close pictures of the main chassis connections please? I am gonna do that completely different but I was just curious how did you put that frame together! Thanks!

Thanks man loved you last mods so will be great to see what you have planned for your next one, I'll try and get some shots of the frame or a SU model later for youwhen I'm done in the shop

Originally Posted by ModaRobby

Swiss cheese. Lol. Case looks fine to me bro. You could always sand it and go for the brushed aluminum look. Always sexy. Too bad it's more sanding than any one person should ever tackle.

And I really want to see this finished so nevermind sanding the entire thing. Haha.

Lol there's no way in hell I could sand it. I know I would go all ocd and end up polishing it to a mirror finish, need to get me some self control lol

[Editor22]

Thanks fellas, as for the x-flow.. it just looks gorgeous and in a weird way kinda cute being all diddy and thin:P

Got the top of the case done today but its not really worthy of an update in its self so hopefully I'll get time to make a start on the side panel tomorrow.

PS. anyone know of a good way to bevel plexi? been trying a few tests with the jigsaw set at various angles but all seem to come out pants when cutting inner curves