Case Mod - In Progress NZXT Lexa -Experimental Modyssey - June 5 - new CCFL, lighting question

nice job with the drive rails... i think i need to get a router! would make things so much easier when it comes down to getting similar parts the right width...

it looks as though things are starting to take shape for u... its nice when one can actually realise how much progress one has made!

 

Thanks Spenc,

I love the router! I was talking with the manager at the tool lending library, and
he was telling me about a palm router, which is midway between a dremel and a router. I'm gonna be borrowing that soon.

Tables make things some much easier, so if you're serious about picking up a router for this kind of small piece work, Imho, get a table thrown in there, too! I like this little bench top router table. I should have the video of me routing up soon. (For those who really want to spend some minutes of their life watching me rout! )

I am liking seeing the progress and the shape develop as well... I like being able to throw the ccfls in the diffent 'vents' or compartments and seeing the effect on the neon green plexi... course it means I get to move onto the "challenging" parts.

I've been rereading old posts (man ,there have been quite of few of me babbling on and on, up way later than I should have been... hmm, kinda like now!), looking for mods I wanted to include and had forgotten or other things to include on the To Be Done list.

 

Good work!
ASAP I can (here is k**ing cold in my lab) i need to put in real work environment my cnc router

Are you planning to FIN this mod sometimes?
No?
LOL, I like the never-ending mod like your!

 

Never-ending? Nah, this will have a finish point for sure. Or at least a point where I've done all I'm going to do to it ... for example, I think I will call it FIN for this version before I repaint. But there's a bunch of other things that still need to be sorted. I hope to back off the pace a little, and still finish by March, if not sooner.
I think what I'll do is post up a To Be Done list, with all the rest of the work as I see it laid out, and then cross off from the list as it gets done. When the last line is crossed out... then it's done.... for a while... until next time...

Can't wait to see your CNC work!

 

I think everyone who is serious about this hobby should have a rig they can experiment on.
It's possible that you will never finish this build, but the tricks learned here will enhance your future projects.

 

Preferably several rigs... and a dedicated area to work in.

I have learned a lot so far, thanks to you and other fine folks at bit-tech, and worldwide on the web. And this rig will be finished! (Even if I have to hide the unpainted areas from you in the "final" photo shoot!)

 

i have to agree totally! the project that i am doing now will get finished but my next one will be so much better!

i think its fairly uniform across the board... i remember the first website i done at college! when i look back i can only laugh at how nieve i was... and the same apply's with modding! i will look back in a few years and say " what on earth was i thinking when i done that"

 

Yes, I agree!
For me , for every mod that I do, I want to experiment with something different : plexy, iron, steel, watercooling and so on...
Probably I'll never do a mod using the same material , I need to experiment much more to do my first "serious" mod

 

Agreed. (I'll probably look back and say " Neon Green Paint?! What was I smoking!"

Me too on the experimenting with other materials. I think Plexi will be a big part of future mods as well since its so cool and versatile, but I too look at these other logs and think that it would be cool to make something out of wood or metal! and h20 cooling is going to have to be tried as well!

 

Weekend Shenanigans

Jan 26 – Weekend work update & Pics:

Renewed the router table today.
Gotta spend some time and make my own.

Cut some rough layer pieces as well as a few new ideas:

One is a thin uv green cover plate to go on top of the clear doublethick bottom HD Bay cover. The other is a Join Plate/Badge (for lack of the official terminology.)

Glued some layers together, let them dry.

Artistic Drying… :what?:


This is where I’m at with the PSU cover:

Kinda almost done! :yay: You’ll notice the split? As Eazy-E said, it’s “for easy access.” Then again, we know that didn’t turn out so well for him… [PSA]Kids, wear a rubber…[/END PSA]
… anyways…

The current incarnation of the plan is to have a piece about 5 in spread across the join part and bolted to the 2 pieces when on. (plan b adds a back pearl piece behind the uv green shroud cover.) You would remove the backmost two bolts to remove the PSU cover by rotating it forward and out. While playing with it, I thought about a cool joint hinging the 2 cover pieces… Visualize a bent inward hinge when rotating in, then straighten out once it’s past the metal case lip.
(Ok, I may not have been clear there … Well, I made a video… It would go here, but it’s too long and I’ve been to busy to chop it up with Windows movie maker. Anyone have freeware alternatives they recommend for video editing/capture? I’m gathering some really long and boring footage of me doing stuff like drilling, cutting, routing, and rather than subjecting you to 30 repetitious minutes of the like, I’d like to get it down to a minute or 2 of small size yet good detail (suitable for PC video) clips)
Plan C includes a big fronting panel –


I’m just happy to have it in a pretty decent line up with the bent shroud parts:




I trimmed that little notch I showed you away:

I still have to trim some of the bent shroud to match:


Last night I spent a good hour or so sanding down the HD Bay accents to 500grit, then polishing them on the wheel. They look pretty nice… but I may just take it up to 1000 or more and then repolish. I think that’s called for. 



In a little while, you’ll understand why there’s no CCFL goodness as normal at this stage.


CCFL Surprise.
I also worked on something for the CCFLs after thinking on Inferior Planet’s post and pm’s. This is just a test piece, I wanted to try it out before grooving my UV green up. I don’t think I’ve seen this in a mod, but it must’ve been done before. I’m sure it will be done again, since it’s such a cool technique:
This is the router bit, key to the whole thing- a small veining bit. You can see the plexi to be cut in the distance there:


Other items involved:

I thought I was gonna hafta dremel off the tube surrounding the CCFL tube, but to my pleasant surprise, the heat from the little space heater I keep in the garage, caused the seal on one of the cubes to be easily broken by hand. A little more force, and the cap with the wire came off, though the hot glue/silicone plug holding the wire and tube in the rod stayed put.

That I pulled off with a little work of the hobby knife, cutting it down to size

And then eventually off.
The groove I made in the plexi needed serious sanding. I did this the stupid way, trying to take all that plexi out at once. What I should have done was go in steps, slowly increasing the depth of cut. That would have helped with the final finish.


But since it’s a test piece, I don’t really care that it’s not silky smooth, and I stuck the CCFL in.


I flipped it onto that thin black piece I’d picked up as scrap.

(This shows the tools of the trade: that thin rod and some sandpaper, plus a coat hanger, and the sanding was on! I may go back over certain areas with that 220 grit just to get rid of the scars.)


I’d show you how it looks lit up … but for 2 things…
1) that tube’s not working well.
2) That inverter is not working at all… (take a look at the pics, and see if you can see why I’m going !





So, just to be clear, this has nothing to do with the tube holder mod at all. Here I was trying to mount the nekkid board to the pearl sheet. I located one clear area, and drilled it out, then located another (or so I thought.) When I looked at the back I realized my error. It’s one reason to own a soldering iron!

Now if it works, imagine it trimmed down to a much smaller footprint. I’ll have more flexible placement options as well. Of course it still has the weaknesses inherent to the CCFL, like the inverter whine and bulk, plus the restrictions on wiring length and sleeving.

 

Leave me out of this YOU! I can't wait to see this happen!

That's a possibility

Glad I could give you ideas to run with Bro (and thieve the outcomes in the future lol) !

 

Looking really good dude, keep at it.

 

Thanks Guys! I hope to repair the inverter later tonight.

 

Jan 27- CCFL repair

Spent a little time in the garage this evening, but due to a later start, had to keep the noise down, so I stayed away from the power tools. I did some more gluing and sanding of accents, instead… nice quiet work.

The biggest development, or most interesting anyway last night was that I fixed the CCFL inverter… again… This is turning into the FrankenVerter.

A small wire, soldered just so:

Actually, I had trouble soldering direct to the trace, so I soldered to the pins. I know, I know... it ain't pretty, and that melted insulation screams hackjob, but it works, and the wire won't short on anything.

I mounted it on the intended pearl sheet with its risers. To help insulate the circuit, I used those little cardboard/paper washers normally found on mobo screw mounts.


And just to prove it worked, I turned it on for a little bit (then forgot and left it on all night… (no problem!)
Apologies in advance for the blurry pics, I didn’t feel like setting up the tripod.

 

Nice Idea. You want to leave the ccfl tube removable. They have a reputation for being short-lived.

 

Ah, good point! Thanks! I was gonna bond the acrylic layers, but now I'll just figure out a removable method like screwing or hot glue.

I think tonight I should be able to try it out.

Edit-
What do you think about the CCFL location? I like it down there below the rail ledge. It doesn't quite fit all the way, but maybe the modified one will be small enough. Wire length becomes an issue though.

 

For the wire lenght, try to use the extension, I've used the acryan brand and they work perfect!

 

Good idea, thanks! Forgot it was an option.

 

UV lighting is looking really good.

 

Wow, still looking great.

Please do me a favor: don't mount the CCFL's inverters anywhere....important. The problem isn't your modding, the problem is that sometimes they die and sometimes they die a fiery death that consumes anything in the vicinity. So please be careful.

Did you ever redo your custom backplane/port thing? That's a real pain, sorry for your loss . Maybe next time scan/photograph a ruler right next to it just to be sure about the scale?

I'm still loving your mod!