Scratch Build Project: Refraction- Final Photos And Closure @ 9:00 6/09/11

[KidMod-Southpaw]

It's finally time to get this started!
REFRACTION


Welcome one and all to my new project, and my first scratch build. If any of you read my last log, you'll understand the common criticisms. So I am now introducing the KidMod log promise:
1) Good photography
2) Regular updates (if feasible)
3) Replies to every comment
4) Longer and much better descriptions

Enough with that, I should explain the concept of the mod. We are pulling a motherboard tray from an old case and making something similar to a test bench, it won't be open air, but it will have direct airflow, a perspex roof and plenty of brushed alu! As for painting, everything will be black and the panels will have blue and white accents similar to the logo. Anyway, the first update comes to me with the help of scan, the first thing I will be working on is the intakes, which will go to the right of the motherboard tray.


Oooeh! Delivery! Address not for your eyes.


I can never get these things open!


Finally!


Too many layers of bubblewrap!

The first thing out was the box from XSPC, these are the mounts for the rad grill:

Unboxed with accessories:


The next box out was from phobya, with their fantastic 360mm hexx rad grill. This thing is pure sex!



Testing with a fan:



Then it was time to put them together, the regular screws were too small, which means I had to dig in to my oversized collection :


I can screw it together by myself, I need help from Doctor Computer!

That's better:


Done!



Then I put my fan screws in, ready for my next order:




Speaking of fans, I also began work on the one's I have already:


Removed and ready to clean, don't they look good? If you're wondering why I have dismantled the frame, Waynio has prepared some copper fan frames for me, the same as the ones in his Stealthlow mod. I'm the process of removing the other: SNAP! But now, I have a really cool looking exhaust that shares it's looks with the be quiet silent wings fan:


Ballocks!

Last but not least for today, a comparison of the fans:




Well, that's all for today, not a bad start? My next update will be sunday when we will have our tray and will be spraying and cutting! See you then!

[thetrashcanman]

got your pm mate, looking good so far, looking forward to more updates, subbed

[KidMod-Southpaw]

Originally Posted by thetrashcanman

got your pm mate, looking good so far, looking forward to more updates, subbed

Thanks a lot, that makes a good start to the project

[Waynio]

Subbed & very curious to see how this turns out the header looks pink floydish & good to see the main portion of the damaged fan is usable .

[AnG3L]

Wow nice start Kid! Much better photography for sure and a worklog full of surprises!!! I am watching!

[bulldogjeff]

Originally Posted by Waynio

Subbed & very curious to see how this turns out the header looks pink floydish & good to see the main portion of the damaged fan is usable .

Thats what caught my attention, I'll be keeping an eye on this one.

[KidMod-Southpaw]

Originally Posted by Waynio

Subbed & very curious to see how this turns out the header looks pink floydish & good to see the main portion of the damaged fan is usable .

A simple copy and paste and a trip to photoshop is all it takes, thanks Wayne, considering how poor I am, I'll be making use of everything. Making the case isn't going to cost a penny.

Originally Posted by AnG3L

Wow nice start Kid! Much better photography for sure and a worklog full of surprises!!! I am watching!

Ah! Subscribers! I rarely see those! Thanks very much Alex, very good to see you here commenting.

Originally Posted by bulldogjeff

Thats what caught my attention, I'll be keeping an eye on this one.

Thanks Jeff, very nice to have some top modders here.

[djzic]

What kind of design are you going for? In case you're interested, I'm designing my scratch build at the moment

[KidMod-Southpaw]

Originally Posted by djzic

What kind of design are you going for? In case you're interested, I'm designing my scratch build at the moment

Awesome, I'll enjoy seeing that.
It's similar to a test bench, but will be paneled and enclosed. I'm not going to reveal much. I'm getting the basic structure done tomorrow.

[KidMod-Southpaw]

I'm guessing that nobody is interested in the dr computer tool kit from asus?

[KidMod-Southpaw]

Okey dokey guys,
If anyone was familiar with that build I did for Tim (a friend of mine), then you may know that we picked up the HAF 912 to use as his case. I needed to keep the build cheap and I thought "what about all that spare stuff we took out of the case?" And after some begging, I came away with these:

Coolermaster 5 drive rack:


This thing is bloody awesome, and the powdercoating is top notch:


It also comes with an SSD mount for if I ever become that way inclined...


Test fitting with some old drives:


It's so easy, pop the rails on the drive and slide it in:


Test fitting:


So, that will be going in the bottom shelf of the case, I also picked up:


These are the vented PCI slots we had spare, the powdering on these is also very well done. that saves me £3, cheers Tim!


I have a full day to work on this tomorrow, we will be cutting, drilling, welding and possibly painting- now using primer!
We will be hacking the mobo tray and PSU mount from an old coolermaster elite 331, to again stay cheap. We will also be welding a cable management tray to the right of the motherboard tray (just like in RV3N) and this one will also have screw mounts for the rad grill. Most will be made out of 1mm steel.


You get rep for finding danbo!



That's all 'till tomorrow, there be a massive update then. Keep up the comments and GET THE HELL ON HERE MANKZ! See you then.

[KidMod-Southpaw]

Right guys, we've been hard at work today and will be again tomorrow. I'm trying to pack as much as I can in before I go on holiday on Saturday. Like I said yesterday, the next few days will be spent working on the basic structure, and we have the top half done!
Let's get to work:


De- riveting the case.


Cutting the back panel.


Motherboard tray ready for primer!


Quick fit.


Taking the nibblers to the floor to get rid of it.


Back panel after primer.


Failed rivet attempt!


I also decided to use the case feet from the elite 331.


Motherboard tray after primer.

We were now ready to get most of the stuff painted. And I'd just like to say what paint I'm using. Most of bit tech's budget builds use halford's rattle cans and the results are fantastic. I however use a brand called hycote (you've probably heard of them), but the primer and colour is very quick drying- about a minute- and the coverage and coating is fantastic! The coat for all our panels will be matte black and the details will be in blue and white:



Finished painting the back panel- fantastic results!

Last for today, I would like to thank Coolmeister for generously sending me a beautiful pack of blue andonized thumbscrews to match the mod- 3 cheers!





Well, I will be carrying on again tomorrow. We will be painting the motherboard tray and mounting the radiator, and starting work on the bottom half of the case, see you then!

[KidMod-Southpaw]

Okay guys,
we've made massive progress today and done a lot more than we thought! We finished painting the motherboard tray and getting everything mounted there, we then began thinking about how we were going to fabricate the sections, as we have decided to use perspex with brushed aluminium accents. So:




We will be using 7mm perspex from an old case of mine, this is also where we got the corner screws. We knew these already fit, so the fabrication will be much easier. We then got to work on the motherboard tray to get that finished.


We began by drilling mounting holes for the rad grill.


All drilled! We'll be using 2 screws at either side to keep it stable.


Quick test mount to check. The tray is now ready for a coat of paint!


Tray after a couple of coats of matte black, ready to apply the final one.


So that was that! Both were pained and put back together with rivets.



We mounted the rad grill again- we were now ready to get the case structure started.


We need a start, so we moved on and got the base cut to size, this was some thick stuff, and the jigsaw wouldn't handle it. So we turned to the powersaw- the acrylic shaving really hurt when they hit you!


One base, ready for paint.


Oh, wait! I don't like hurting myself, out came the powersander.


We then moved on to the side panels, the first one was clamped and ready to be cut.


We then got the first 2 cornerscrews, ready to drill the panel and mount it to the base.


One side panel- mounted and also ready for a lick of paint!


I'm lazy, so I can't be bothered showing the process for the other side, but we repeated the steps and had panel number 2 mounted.


Using a temporary roof to keep it rigid- we popped the tray inside, ready to test fit and help us size up the front and back panel.


Then, placed on it's side, we did one of the final fittings for the bottom section using an ancient PSU filled with cigarette smoke and other crap!

We've made huge progress today, and I will be back on thursday to finish the case up. That will be the final update before I go on holiday on saturday. When I get back, we will be giving the whole thing a lick of paint and putting on the finishing touches. See you next time!

[Stem83]

Well thats deffo one hell of a start. nice job... keep it up.

[KidMod-Southpaw]

Originally Posted by Stem83

Well thats deffo one hell of a start. nice job... keep it up.

Cheers mate- glad to actually have some comments here

[Waynio]

Good progress, I like the cube connectors .

[thetrashcanman]

nice progress mate looks like it's going well so far, i'm loving the use of perspex for the outer shell, looks great looking forward to the next update now

[KidMod-Southpaw]

Originally Posted by Waynio

Good progress, I like the cube connectors .

People- here! Having cardiac episode! Thanks Wayne, it looks like we'll be needing more of them though.

Originally Posted by thetrashcanman

nice progress mate looks like it's going well so far, i'm loving the use of perspex for the outer shell, looks great looking forward to the next update now

You don't have to wait very long, thanks very much mate.

[KidMod-Southpaw]

Hey, does anybody know where I can get some brushed aluminium at a good price?

[KidMod-Southpaw]

This will just be a quick text update.
I've been making a few phone calls and discussing some fabrication ideas for the chassis. We definitely know we will be using brushed alu accents and will be painting soon. About an hour ago, we got hold of some machined corner screws and some steel rod to hold the motherboard tray. One of our considerations is coating the rod in blue plastic and have them running up the bottom half of the case. We may also do this to the case feet. We will be discussing this in more detail tomorrow as we finish up the chassis and begin painting (before I go on holiday hopefully) and adding the finishing touches.