Guide Lian Li Bezels: Flush Mounted LEDs

A Simple, Quick LED Mod to Enhance Lian Li Alloy CD Bezels.



by Pookeyhead

Parts needed:

Lian Li C-01 Alloy Bezel(s)
3mm Metal Drill Bit
Low or Variable Speed Drill
Quick Drying Epoxy Resin (or other strong glue)
Wire Cutters or Snips
Low Wattage Soldering Iron
Solder
3mm LED(s)

Difficulty: Easy Peazy, Lemon Squeezy.


Intro
Lian Li cases are great. Lian Li Cases fitted with the custom alloy bezels are even better… but, Lian Li cases fitted with custom alloy bezels have no LEDs or apertures to show the LEDs of your drives: A flaw in an otherwise brilliant design. Whilst some may like the minimalist look, it IS useful to see the drive's activity, especially a writer, so I set about redressing the issue as soon as possible.

My first idea was to use a light pipe, or fibre optic to simply direct light to a small hole drilled in the bezel but as I wanted to use old school GaN Blue LEDs (beautiful colour, but not very bright) I decided that the loss caused by the fibre would be too great: I wanted them bright. The only sure-fire way of getting a really bright light was to directly mount the LEDs in the bezel, and file them flat to flush mount them.

In theory, it sounds easy and in practice, it turned out to be quite easy too. Here’s what I did.

Preparing the Drives

First was to take the front panels off the drives themselves. If you already have the C-01 bezels fitted, they'll already be removed. Have a look inside the front of the drive to ascertain where the LEDs are in each drive, and also to look for space behind the bezel where the wiring and pins of the LEDs won’t interfere with anything. If you have more than one drive of different makes, find an area common to both drives so as to keep the LEDs in the finished project aligned.

Carefully measure out where each LED will go, and whilst supporting the bezel from underneath, use a sharp punch or sharp nail to punch a very small pilot indentation for the drill. Without this you run the risk of your drill skidding all over the front of that Lian Li goodness, and making you very sad indeed. I was going to include pics of the drilling, but really!... if you don’t know how to use a drill, then you have no right attacking your case with one Use a very low speed drill, with a very sharp bit. It’s worth buying a new drill bit for this, as a blunt drill can severely wreck the finish. Drill using fairly light pressure or you may distort the bezel. Once the bezel is drilled, file off any sharp alloy from the back. If you used a very sharp drill there probably won’t be any though.

Ok. LEDs. Now, the whole point of this mod is to have flush mounted LEDs. The easiest way of doing this is to simply file down the end of a LED. I found that instead of filing, using 400 grade Wet & Dry paper better. Lay a sheet of paper on your desk; grab the LED by its legs, and simply rub it on the paper. Ensure it’s held perfectly square to the paper, or you’ll get a crooked top to the LED.


File down just enough to ensure the flat top is the entire width of the LED and no further. Excessive filing or sanding may take you too far inside the LED and then expose the LED’s die. This will kill it.


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A word about LEDs.

In all likelihood, the LEDs already on your drives will be using 5V as their supply, so there will already be a resistor in the circuit to drop the voltage to the LED, but it won’t hurt to check with a multi-meter across the LED’s terminals.

If the voltage is already dropped, then as I said, there is no need to add a resistor. This means you have to choose your LED carefully. Some LEDs from PC Modding outlets already have a LED fitted, and some LEDs designed to run off 5v will incorporate one inside the LED itself.


Almost ALL LEDs without resistors are designed to run off a low voltage, and 99% of LEDs follow these rules:

Green, red, orange and yellow = 2.4v
Blue, white, aqua, pink/purple, UV = 3.5v

If you buy a LED that states 5v or even 12v for its supply, it incorporates an LED already, and you should avoid these.

These figures are nominal, and may change slightly from LED to LED, but stick to these and you can’t go far wrong.

I mention this because if the voltage from your drive is already dropped, you don’t need a second resistor with the LED.

A good source for LEDs is Farnell. They have a massive range, and they’re very cheap. Link Here

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Once you have filed, or sanded the LED flat, you may polish it with 1200 grade paper, then metal polish to get it clear again, but to be honest, leaving it with a brushed effect looks nice and having it frosted means more even lighting.




Fitting the LEDs

As the wiring to the LEDs may be under pressure when the final assembly is mounted, it’s a good idea to mount the LEDs with very strong glue. I opted for epoxy for this reason. I advise you get the fast curing type, as the epoxy will need to be added in layers usually.

As the LEDs are to mounted flush with the front panel, the most accurate way to do this is to simply lay the bezel face down, and insert the LED. The fit may not be tight enough to hold it completely square with the bezel, so it may be necessary to hold it, or support it while the epoxy cures (another reason for the fast setting type). If the LED is not a very tight fit, then it’s likely that the epoxy will run down past the diode and get onto the front panel of your bezel. I know epoxy seems very viscous and thick, but trust me, it gets past. To combat this, apply a tiny amount first; just enough to hold the led, and seal around the edge. Once this is cured you can then apply it liberally.

You need to lot to ensure the LED can withstand pressures caused by the wiring upon reassembly. As no one will see it, don’t worry too much about appearance – just keep it away from the front panel.

Once the epoxy had cured, you should have some beautifully mounted, flush fitting LEDs.






Once the epoxy has set, trim the leads, first noting which is cathode, and which is anode. At this stage consider how much clearance is required behind the bezel.

Wiring

If you have a large iron, it may be necessary to remove the board. As I use a tiny iron with a 0.5mm tip, I managed to do this with the board in place. Repeat for the second wire

Once you have completed the bezel, it’s time to remove the LEDs from your drives. This is straight forward enough: Just gently heat the solder holding the LEDs to the board whilst pulling the LED gently away from the other side. Power up the drive and using a multi-meter, test which solder pad is anode and which is cathode and make a note.

Cut two lengths of wire (useful to colour code them red and black for anode and cathode respectively), and trim around 3mm of insulation from each end, then tin the wires with solder. Pay attention to how much wire you will need: If the drive's LED terminals are on the opposite side from where you mounted the LEDs, then you will need more wire, obviously.

Solder one end of the wires to the drive's board by inserting the wire into the solder pad’s hole from the top side, whilst applying heat to the under (solder) side. The wire should slip through the hole easily. Once through, apply a little more solder to ensure a good connection..


Once the wires are in place, you should now connect the wires to the LEDs on the bezels.

Note: It may be a good idea at this stage to solder in place some bullet connectors half way along the cables, as this will make removing the bezel easier if you ever need to remove the drive, but it’s not necessary.

Before you connect the bezel, slip around 5mm of heat shrink insulation over the wires.

Tin the terminals of each LED then solder the wires in place, making sure you get the polarity correct. LEDs are diodes, and will not work if wired incorrectly. It’s also possible to damage them this way.

Once soldered, slide the insulation over the soldering, and heat up the insulation with a hairdryer, or gas lighter until it shrinks tight onto the terminals.

Fit your drive, and then fit your bezel ensuring wires don’t foul any moving parts, and there you go.




Simple, easy and effective.

 

very nice, great idea and well implemented. nice guide as well

 

Very good guide for n00bs like me

 

Very nice and thorough. Except...

It would be nice to see you make the holes for the LEDs. Did you just drill it and sand it? And what size bit did you use?

I'm just being picky though, because I don't have a Lian Li, but someone else might want to know.

Other than that, excellent job on the right up and the pictures are very clear.

 

great guide, but LEDs can also be had uber-cheap from www.lsdiodes.com. Think under 70 US cents for most, and $2 worldwide shiping.

 

Well.. as I said in the article, I was going to, but it's simply drilled. Nothing else is done.. no sanding, nothing. Just drilled with a brand new 3mm bit. I thought a pic of me holding a drill was a bit redundant, as everyone knows how to drill a hole... I hope

I'm glad you like, and I hope you all give it a go. No LEDs on your drives is pants!

 

Yes.. I knew about them, but wasn't sure if they did international shipping. Farnell's range is staggering however... they stock hundreds of different kinds.

 

Nice guide, but would you not just be easier drilling a small hole and using a piece of fibre optic or a cutoff from a plexi bar as a light guide. Saves on the soldering...

 

I said why in the article. I wanted to use GaN Blue LEDs (deep violet/blue) and these are not bright. Light pipes are lossy, so you;d have to use a bright InGaN type, or at least a 450nm blue... I didn't want that. Besides... no matter what LED you use, it will be brighter this way, as you're viewing the LED directly. Also... Whilst the Lian Li bezels have no LED or aperture, you can still see the original LED shining behind the panel, which looks awful: Looks gheto, and obviously a home mod, especially if the LED is on the other side from your drilled hole.

You're right tho, it is easier, but this isn't exactly difficult Plus, since when has being difficult stopped anyone on here doing anything?

 

Can't see the light behind my stealthed panel. I didn't have time to read the entire article, but I prefer it not to be ultra bright. It tends to light up the room at night enough as it is. I just like a little indicator on my bezel, it looks almost invisible when inactive

 

Hi

Great Idea, nicely worked out, And very good guide! Thank you

I have the bezels aswell. But I can see the leds of my cdrw and cd true the small gap between the moving part and the other part of the bezel...

so its not really necessary.

I didn't even remove the front part of the cd'rom's yet.. I just putted the universal bezels in front of them.. works fantastic.

L

::edit:: I just removed the front parts of the cd-rom-tray... and they do go a bit 'smoother' in and out.

L

 

Yes.. Lian Li recommends removing at least the front of the tray, or it can catch on the way back in.

 

If you dont want ultra brightness.. you can install a light pipe, or fibre optic cable from your drive's LED to your bezel. That still requires drilling however. It won't be as bright that way.