Scratch Build – In Progress ProtoHype - (paused)

Thanks guys...yay first cheesecake.

Thanks. Steel is nice and so is your work. Sometimes I prefer the machining properties of steel but that wasn't an option for this project. I wouldn't be able to lift it in the end

 

HDD Window

Hi again.

I am currently in the planning stage of a HDD window mod. I know that there is a HUGE possibility that the drive will fail me afterwards as it has done on all the window mods I've seen out there. I'm actually expecting it to fail but I feel like it could be fun to give it a try. And I won't be sorry WHEN it fails. If it would in some strange way work afterwards, it would be well worth it.

All the tries I have seen soo far haven't been kind of clean to mee. I mean wraping the drive in saran wrap doesn't seem that clean. And building a cleanbox by cutting holes with a dremel and spreading the inside with cutting dust doesn't seem that clean either.

There is a "Clean Room" at my university that I could bea able to use, but I don't feel like taking all the corses and paying all the fees to have access to it. So my theory is to fabricate a whole new top for the HDD and make a quick switch between the two topes in an as clean as possible environment. The top of the HDD will bee open to the air for a very short time, atleast minimising the risk of dust entering.

Therefore I am wondering if anyone has done or know of any successfull Hdd mod?, as I havn't seen any. Or what is the most advanced try you have seen?

Thanks in advance..

 

I can't say I've ever seen a successful HD window mod. They die out quickly.

 

You could do as you said, and make the swap in one of these:
http://www.boxgods.com/dept/modding/index.php?Action=Article&ID=98&Page=1#Introduction

I have seen 1 succesfull window-hdd-mod. Let me search.

 

I would read up a bit on cleaning a camera sensor (for DSLR's) they use very similar techniques. I would suggest using a place also used for painting as they also need to avoid dust.

 

You could try creating a vacuum somehow, maybe a sealed acrylic box with an electric pump for blowing up inflatables, set in reverse. Then you somehow need to find a way of getting your hands in there. Cut two holes, one on each side and attach some rubber gloves so you can access what's inside.

Don't know if it would work, or if that type of pump would be powerful enough, but that's my two pennies

 

Univ clean room would be the best idea.

 

i have put a window in a hhd before, although i didnt use it that much as i didnt want to rely on it for keeping the datas safe and i was not all that happy with the results. but it worked fine when i tested it in the short term.

i took the top off and put the main half in a ziploc bag.
then cut out a hole in the top using a dremel and put some thin plexi covering it on the inner side (i cant remember the thickness im sorry, maybe 1mm. it was quite flexible and i just cut it with scissors).
i used double-sided tape to hold the plexi in place, and i put a layer all the way around to keep a nice air-tight/dust-free seal.
the problem i had was that the original cover had a bulge above the spindle but my plexi cover did not, so when i had tried to fit it back together i had a few problems there. i ended up cutting a hold in the first layer and glued a larger circle of plexi over the top, but i the glue i used didnt leave a very clean finish. it was kinda messy and just didnt look good overall. i had planned to remake the cover but never got around to it in the end, and i dont know where the drive is now

the drive i used was a seagate barracuda i believe.
one thing i would say is that if you use a drive with a screw through the top of the spindle you have to tighten it just enough; too tight or too loose and the drive wont work, so you might need to play with it a bit to get it right (edit: the screw might have been at the base of the read arm actually.. i dont really remember tbh )

as for running the drive long term; maybe you could get a 2nd drive hidden away in the case somewhere and run them in raid1 just in case the worst should happen.

 

Those support bars between the motherboard and the front of the case are pretty sweet. Any chance of milling the top to give them a rounded edge instead of a flat one? Or are they going to be covered by other stuff anyways so it wouldn't matter? Just wondering.

 

Thanks for all the replies
I really appreciate you tips and thought's

Me neither and this will probably just be anotoher one added to the counting.

Thanks for the link. That's pretty much how I have intended to do it at the moment. Would really like to see that one that was successful.

Thanks for the tips, will take a look at that.

I'm guessing that a complete vacuum is not the optimal, then I would need some other gloves than normal rubbergloves. And I don't think the drive would like to operate in a vacuum either. But the idea of sucking air and dust out of the "box" might be something. However would make shure the air entering is dustfree.

Yeah absolutely

Thanks a lot. Nice to get feedback from someone that have tried it. Sorry to hear it got lost.
The drive I'll be slaughtering is also a seagate barracuda 160gb (IDE). There is one screw through the top where the "readerarm" is attatched. My plan is to do the new top cover a little higher than the original one to make shure there is enough room. Will have to try to work something out. I will definately have a spare drive for all the important data but I still want it to be big enough that I can use it if it end up working.

Thanks, the support bars are hidden beneath the plate that is mounted on the last pictures. They will not be visible.



Thank you all for your replies and I'm looking forward to some more.

 

I like your metal work and machining.

 

Nice to hear you like it, I hope you'll like the rest as well.

 

Excellent job so far brother! I believe the hd window mod it will be a waste of time and money but... modding is an experience isnt it?

 

Great looking sketches and work so far, defintely keeping an eye on this. That wouldnt be the pcb for a Coolermaster musketeer by any chance...?

 

it's coming out great!
like to watch you process!

 

Yeah I think so too. I belive there's a 99% chance of failure but it's still not enough. I just can't let go of that 1%, it's still worth a try

Thanks. Your spot on with the musketeer. I asume you have been playing around with one of those aswell...? If thats the case, any link to some pics?

Thanks, im watching you aswell and your work is
Keep it up

 

this is a monster! haha

i can't wait to see the next update

 

hehe thanks.. so is yours. Really professional looking work you got there.

 

Yay, MOTM nomine...
I didn't expekt this one since there hasn't been much progress on the case lately. Therefore I thought it might be suitable with a progress report. The reason for the lack of updates is because all other things ocupying my time such as Surgery, projects and exams at university, and I have also been moving to a new apartment.

However I have also finaly (waited 2 years) been given access to the university metallworkshop which has more advanced machines than my workshop at home. Will go there this weekend to play some with the 7kg of aluminium I ordered today . Also have some pictures of the hd block taking shape but I'm thinking of saving them for later since I'm not able to finish them at the moment and would like to keep a flow in the worklog and make the reading easy.

Thanks for the votes so far..

 

The MOTM nomination is well deserved, looking forward for updates.
BTW, wich university are you attending?