Scratch Build Epic PC Kyubu: Help me donate to the Tsunami! | 21.3.2011

[Djayness]

Originally Posted by stuartwood89

Integrated res looks like an awesome but risky idea. I look forward to seeing how this turns out. How come you're using silicone instead of an o-ring? I thought o-rings were supposed to be better. I'll be watching bro.

This was something I did a considerable amount of research on and after many calls I realised that finding a company that would do a single run of a custom sized o-ring was just not going to happen.

So I devised the current design. The silicon I am using is the highest grade possible and is often referred to by plumbers as the closest thing to liquid rubber. Its used in high capacity fish tanks often

I remill the silicon after its cured in 4 days so it is completely level, of course I will be testing this sealing method on a smaller scale beforehand.

Originally Posted by Attila

Tell me if I'm wrong, but this machine looks smaller than the one it replaces.
Anyway, I'm watching with interest at how your factory/home set-up goes. Looks
very cool.

Hi Attila,

I have too much respect for you to tell you that you are wrong haha. The machine has the same dimensions as the previous machine and is essentially the same model with a few notable improvements that will save me many, many hours.

1. Two Vaccuum Pumps pulling 4kws and 51 amps each

2. 4kw spindle

3. Higher grade stepping motors

[Djayness]

Originally Posted by Nutman

Some types of silicon turn yellow-ish after being exposed to air for some time - have you considered this?

Yeah that doesnt happen to this silicon, its used in aquariums for decades without discolour.



As you guys know, I post heaps of vids up about my mods. Recently I did away with my old digicam and went full crazy with a HV40, Wide angle lense and stabiliser. I thought I would do a video to show its quality and review the wide angle and if you are interested, feel free to check it out above.

I will be using this camera on my youtube channel from now on!

[Djayness]

Finished the plastering and painting, this is the best sign yet that this project is about to start.




I need some PVC tubing for those pumps, ill need to seal them before use as well. Any ideas on how? Not sure if silicon would hold with that sort of pressure.


So now you can see what I am on about. The MDF goes on top of the table and the grid evenly distributes the suction. 12 by 22 grid with 4 suction points and 2 pumps.



I will be resurfacing tomorrow as well as visiting a plumbing centre for the PVC pipes needed. The suction is incredible and normal tubing would simply collapse upon itself. By the end of tomorrow, this thing should be starting on Kyubu!

[Djayness]

Originally Posted by Mattmc91

Looks great!

I want to see the tiling :P

Which tiling would you like to see?


The CNC in operation

[Djayness]

Originally Posted by barry99705

No, it's not made to cut metal, at least not real thick metal. Dibond it usually okay with these things. Materials for this type of cnc would be wood, foam, plastic, you could probably get away with engraving aluminum, but not cutting.

Actually it can cut metal and thick metal at that, you can do as many passes as you wish (above: my CNC cutting metal) The only reason I won't be cutting metal with my new machine is that I cant use cutting fluid with the vac table.

Anyhow lets start.

I won't be using the full 1m of the table because I buy my sheets in 800*600. For those who havent bought in bulk, the industry standard is 1.2*2.4m and you get 6 of the 800*600 sheets when cut up.

The silicon keeps the table sealed so even when using 800*600 sheets, there arent any leaks.


I also removed the T-slots and sealed them. Once the silicon dries ill screw the threads back in.




The vac system is working I am happy to report. Even through 6mm thick MDF, I simply could not move the material on top no matter how hard I tried. The suction will be even greater when I surface the MDF to 3mm thick.

I start tomorrow

[Djayness]

Originally Posted by Nutman

Not that it's important, since I assume you're wearing some sort of protection for your ears, but how loud are those vacuum pumps?

I dont know how to describe it. Its loud....but its not high pitched ear hurting loud (like a table saw), its just...loud. I do wear foam inserts and eye protection and I also use heavy duty gloves when removing tools from the collet.

Can't be too safe right?

[Djayness]

Originally Posted by LooseNeutral

Now when does the computer building begin! I've bought a new bundle of paper towels for the drool thats to come now that you have the new CNC ready! It is ready, right?

Well....


I guess....


It begins....


Around about now



Take note, only about 2cms of that white panel is actually on the vac part Fan power!


The vac system is incredible and I played around with the MDF thickness. The suction was better at 3mm rather than the original 6mm and I will most likely mill the MDF down to 2mm or 1.5mm to get an even better vaccuum.

I'm still in the process of having the factory built and quite a few essentials aren't working at current like the air con or hot water. I live in Australia and you need both haha.

[Djayness]

Originally Posted by Waynio

So with all the really well designed parts being ready for action will this be a pretty quick project minus the waiting for a couple of other things after all the design work? I look forward to seeing this all working, water flowing around the mobo will look very cool .

Just realised what looks slightly familiar about this, the sun beam bit reminds me of my air cube prototype side panel kind of except mine is in the middle lol , here looky.

Ah, my inspiration was the Japanese flag actually

Oh and will this be a quick project, probably not. I just spent 45 minutes polishing one of the pieces I just cut and I have say about 12 more to go. Im taking my time haha.

[Djayness]

Originally Posted by barry99705

You need to build yourself a dust collection system. They also make mufflers for the vacs, but usually people put them in another room and plumb them in with pvc. The place I used to work for makes $100,000 and up cnc router/cutter tables for the prepress and signage industry. That's usually how they set up the tables.

Hmm, I wonder what wood I could use to dampen the sound sufficiently. I could build a box around it with foam and wood. Do they have any tips on keeping the vac strong even when the MDF is leaking during a cut?

Originally Posted by LooseNeutral

Good to see some parts for the build there. I guess you do have a bit of work to do just getting the cnc setup the way you want it. look forward to this project

A CNC for a modder? Well it won't stay at stock

[Djayness]

Originally Posted by Nutman

Yeah, paint it black, change all LEDs, put a couple of CCFLs under it and sleeve all visible wires!
Oh, and watercool that bad boy, too, hahaha.

It's already watercooled but I might change the vac configuration so it can hold smaller parts down. At current, the grid itself has squares that are just too big, ill be milling into it to almost double the suction area.

[Djayness]

Originally Posted by barry99705

Heh, their tables didn't pull through mdf. The top was steel, with a grid of holes maybe a 32nd of an inch in diameter spaced out in a half inch grid. Over this was a sacrificial polymer sheet about a quarter inch thick with corresponding holes. The tables are zoned for vac, but if whatever was being cut was smaller, they'd just use poster board to fill in the uncovered areas. For your setup, some corrugated board would work. If you build a box around the pumps, they will overheat. Our new demo room had the vac pump, air compressor and a couple power inverters in it. It then had it's own air conditioner.

I might have to just deal with the sound as the pumps create a huge amount of heat. I am slowly finding the limits of the machine in order to get the best results. I came to the realisation that I needed to engrave at 1000mm/min rather than 1500mm/min to stop the acrylic from melting etc etc, I still need to find at what speed gives the best finish on the acrylic.

Then theres the never ending climb mill vs conventional mill argument with acrylic. I will most likely do up a batch of 10*70 rectangles all at different speeds and using both methods of cutting. The straight cutter can go through acrylic at 8000mm/min but the finish isnt great whilst any slower will cause melting etc etc, I will work it all out soon

[Djayness]

Originally Posted by The boy 4rm oz

The cleaner the initial cut the least amount of sanding for you .

Strangely enough, im actually quite enjoying sanding...I must be going bonkers.

Moving in was and still is very challenging. Clearly the amount of space we had previously has now shrunk but the stuff we own hasnt exactly shrunk with it. This presents a challenge...and a headache.


Old place


New place


My CNC room


The CNC is actually going at the moment as I type this post and I can see what it is doing through the webcam which is handy because I can't see through sound proof walls, im not superman or anything haha.


I have a heap of footage that will eventually make it to my youtube page but at the moment I am quite pre-occupied with the CNC. I filled the leak spots with silicon and will re-route them flat.



As for the table, I will give it more suction points to deal with the smaller parts I am making. In simple terms, I am doubling the amount of squares on the table to distribute suction to a greater number of points.



I'm not deliberately being a tease. As I type this post, the front panel is being engraved and cut. There will be two red cold cathodes that will remain unseen but they will provide a glow for that engraved bit.

More to come!

[Djayness]

Originally Posted by Razer2007

Very cool. I really want to see that panel done.

Its half done at current and I am waiting for some silicon seals on the same cut to dry. Should be completed tomorrow

[Djayness]

Originally Posted by Waynio

Must be nice to see it finally taking shape .

I knew progress would be slow but yes, its good to finally see it start out!

Originally Posted by barry99705

I hope your cnc has brushes in front of the gantry rollers. All that crap flying around the room is going to get in there and cause issues.

Yeah I might look at modding something to solve that issue. The chunks flying off the machine are relatively large though so I am not overly worried at the moment.

[Djayness]

Ah some more progress!


The front panel is now cut and ready.






As you can see here, there is another piece on top. On top of that piece will be the black kyubu squares and underneath that will be the red cold cathodes. The effect is such that you cannot see the light source from the front or inside but you will still see the red shining through.

[Djayness]

Sometime around last year I bought a straight cutter for acrylic. Solid carbide and expensive (around 70AUD for that one bit) but no matter what I tried I just couldnt get a good enough finish.

At the time I was cutting at around 1200mm/min with single flute cutters and whilst they produced a great finish, 1200 to 1400mm was their limit, any faster with 3mm passes and they would eventually snap (something that should never happen with carbide bits and acrylic).

Anyhow, I dusted the straight cutter off, determined to find its sweet spot. I had read on another machining forum that straight cutters do better when they go through the material faster.

I basically made a grid full of squares and for each speed I did two boxes, one box would be cut with a conventional cut (right, up, left, down) and the other would be cut with a climb cut (left up right, down). Each pair of boxes would be done at the same speed.

1000mm/min, 1500, 2000, 2500 etc etc all the way up to 10 meters a minute. I collected the squares and inspected each one with a magnifying glass and found that 6000mm/min climb cutting provided the best finish of them all.

The moral of the story? Well I recut the first panel to get the best possible finish and....

The first time I did this cut it took 2 hours

The recut of that panel timed in at just 30 minutes...6000mm/minute is fast!

[Djayness]

Three updates in three days






Here be the HDD tray which is suppose to house 2 Samsung spinpoint F3's in raid 0. Budget depending I might just throw in another two SSD's.





The legs in their unpolished glory (althought they will eventually get polished). You can see that I will be taking advantage of the clear bit to shine light through and I might just drill in a few LED's into each leg.






The motherboard tray, this is a test cut to see if it fits, the final cut will have a custom IO plate to ensure there are no unsightly gaps.














The front panel almost completed. See the black squares? twin cold cathodes will be housed in there and shine light across that panel lighting up the entire engraved bit.










Thanks Aaron from OCAU for your dedication to my sleeving. Awesome bit of work and my photos dont really do it justice, this sleeving is crazy good art.

Will be releasing a video soon and I am working on polishing the parts.

[Djayness]

Originally Posted by Waynio

Wow, I had no idea using a CNC machine could generate so much mess, plastic dust & chunks everywhere lol, appreciate the pictures mate, I honestly thought it would be a fairly clean process . The pieces are turning out really nice though & a nice ready made sleeve job by Aaron .

Yeah its heaps messy Ever drilled into a wall to install shelving? See how messy that is to do a single hole? Multiply by 1000=CNC.

Originally Posted by Nutman

Awesomeness in play here!

Thanks Nutman!

Originally Posted by chocolateeminem

Where did you buy the cnc machine from and for how much?

China, PM me if you want more details.

[Djayness]

Originally Posted by bulldogjeff

All stating to look very nice indeed. What made me laugh though is when you compared the length of time it took to make the panels. Imagine doing it by hand to that standard and the hours that would be involved. it took me about 45 minutes to do the front panel on my rig with a router and thats very basic. I'd love a full blown CNC machine but some how I can't see Santa leaving one under the tree for me this year , even though I've been a good boy.

Top modding mate..+ rep

Thanks Bulldog,

The CNC saves a heap of time on my end and I wouldnt mind santa bringing me in another one end of year (not going to happen though, too old for fat men + chimneys).



Going to work soon so here are some pics of the backpanel (you know, the one with water going through it).

6 hours and still going -_-









BTW I am trying to change the lighting in my cutter room so not everything is...orange.










Its still going, more when im back from work!

[Djayness]

So the front panel is now cut and yeah, that took forever to finish. Its finally done though so thats all that matters

Anyhow, this gives you guys a better picture on how the water will move throughout the entire case.






Did a test fit for the motherboard tray, it fits. Nothing else to report here, moving along.




My hands are in a whole new world of pain. That sandpaper spounge is good for a few walls but didnt last long polishing the back panel.




As I always say, if youre gonna tap it, make sure the hole is wet and well lubricated or you wont have a good screw




Thats a good tap






This is the fill port and I had to squish two 4.5mm piece together so I could screw from both sides (like so I can put another fitting on the pass through). I feel so dirty!