Scratch Build – In Progress Project Stealthlow - Completed - preview of project next

Wayne why not take two fails to one good, as in take a good top section and glue to a good bottom section, say 2" from top curve. Not much to lose.

 

Thought about doing that Kojack mate but it's evolved much further now I'm just glad muckups force me to turn it into something better , a 3 layer window/mesh/grill could be really really nice if I take good care with the design, need to keep it simpleish so it fits with the rest of the style though but yeah the pictures I'm visioning in my minds eye are tasty and very doable .

Cheers Marcos .

Hmmm, I do have 1 more potential attempt left over, I see what you mean there so may as well have another go lol, this could end up with 2 switchable window panels the one I have in mind as an alternative could be sooo awesome but yeah I must be crazy so I'll have 1 last go at the plain window cheers for the nod on nearly getting it right cheaps .

Thats doable & an option but if only you could see the alternative I have in my mind, I'm sure everyone would say do that without question .

 

To get the curve where I wanted it, I used mdf, clamps and aluminium foil to heat shield the rest of the acrylic. It will still heat up, but slower and It will not warp because its clamped to flat mdf. But I've used ceramic fireplace as a heat source
Hold on and good luck

 

Great care would need to be taken to get all the wrinkles out if using foil though eh .

Thanks to cheaps pointing out how it was nearly there I'm going to clamp the 0.7mm alu sheets to both sides all over & heat it all up heavily so it's a hot plate sandwich , let it cool remove clamps & see if I have a perfect window on the 11th attempt surely 11 attempts I should get it right .

But if not then plan b will come into effect straight after but will need to order the 1mm acrylic, the alternative would be a 1 piece instead of 2 piece solution too but 3 layers .

 

wow this looks nice

 

Modding is mostly about learning by doing, but you're very close getting a medal from me.
It's really cool how you try, try and then try some more -and listen to the advice given from us, too. Makes this a dynamic forum, and I just love it.

 

+rep for not giving up!

 

Seems you've hit a bit of a bump with the double curve. Massive kudos for keeping at it and trying again (and again(*10)). I've used a company called trent plastics for acrylic sheets before and they offer a thermoforming service, I've never used it but they might be able to help.

 

Thanks password .

Thanks Nutman yeah I love modding forums & especially here, very lively place bit-tech with oodles of awesome stuff going on , since learning some basics a mod aint a mod without a new challenge unless your a master modder like filimon & quite a few others I'm still crawling easing myself into modding by trying something new in each mod, got close with the curves I wanted but too little too late as I aint buying more acrylic for this build I might try a piece of polycabonate though like Achron said with it being less prone to cracks & easier to form, we'll see .

Cheers bud but the time has come for me to think on & do an alternative, had to be done was costing too much so I'll have a go at something I think I can do .

Took me many hours today to get all the alu sheets in place & got an extra set of hands from my dad else I wouldn't have been able to clamp it all up right (alu sheets on both sides sandwiching the acrylic to make a hot plate effect with the heat gun), the top left mount snapped though lol but carried on to see if it this method works since it's all clamped up, I'll never know for sure since the mount broke but I think if done with long continuous alu sheets it very well could work & nicely but wowzers it really is a true pita to set up lol, maybe if I'd have thought about this method earlier I'd have got it done to a good standard, anyway the alternative is a go go now so I'll get the 1mm polycarbonate sheet ordered & get to work on finalising the designs for the 1mm alu panels .



No warpage, couple of slight high/low points but if done with full length alu panels I think it is doable but not putting out more money for acrylic, like said I just wish I'd have thought about this method before when I had a good bit spare, oh well on with plan b .

Here is a couple of shots of the sata holes on the mobo panel in good lighting to get this log back on a bright note, so much effort & no progress, but knowledge gained lol .

 

make that 11 times .
Thats the place I was thinking of asking after so many failed attempts, I have no idea how much it'd cost though I should get a quote, I'd expect they would need an example of the precise curve line too & precise mounting hole & vent positions as they offer cnc too , I think the price would probably scare me off though .

 

It's worth asking them, I'd be curious to know the price too! You've got the curve line on the case already I suppose, I think they use hot rollers on the acrylic so it would be a matter of running it through and matching to the profile you gave them. That's an assertion I make with no actual knowledge of the process!
If they could give you a ball park figure, you could at least plan it out and work on the case elsewhere.

 

You know what, I quit liked those wooden rods you had installed as bracers. Have you thought of doing something similar with clear acrylic rods? Or something else modular:

Flat - Rod - Flat - Rod

or

Flat - Bar - Flat - Bar

?

 

I'll be making an order very soon so I'll ask them when I do .

I agree I kinda liked the wooden rods & what you say has put another alternative in here lol, could put a 3mm slit in the ends of the rods so they slide on & shape the ends to be nice & then the flat pieces could make a very nice cover window & could simply add gaps for the vents, could even appear fairly seamless if done well thanks for another alternative Guinevere .

 

Great to see you still cracking on in the face of disaster dude! Learning's half the fun

 

May I ask where you bought the aluminum and acrylic?

Really nice build btw!

 

... 'nuff said...

 

Hate to see you're having so much trouble out of this front piece. Maybe an acrylic shop can get it done for you reasonably as was mentioned. Every build I've done presents unique challenges to figuring out how to get things done the way I want. +1 for your determination.

 

I'm too invested & nearly completed to quit lol, I could go & install all the hardware & use it as is which is a bit tempting but I'll get it properly finished before I do, anyway I'm not doing too well on drawing a small scale design on paper so maybe I should cut the alu to size for a full scale version to map out a design properly .

It's only because I'm insisting on making it so it's flush without supports why it's so difficult, if I added a few support tabs I could do it especially with this double hot plate method, the alternative needs tabs anyway so I might still make both a plain window with support tabs & the alternative idea I have planned, don't think I'll have chance to do anything today or tomorrow though but possibly on Wednesday but in the meantime I could cut the alu panels to size & work on the design part so it's ready for drilling/cutting .

 

I missed this one : thanks Kubba .

I used to get my sheet alu & bars from here
http://www.thealuminiumshop.co.uk
But I'll only go there now for bars as I found on ebay to be waaaaay cheaper for sheet alu, here is an awesome seller for sheet alu & is super fast on delivering .
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Aluminium-Droitwich?_trksid=p4340.l2563

For plastics I go here.
http://www.plasticonline.co.uk/
or here
http://www.theplasticpeople.co.uk
or ebay

For bolts & other bits, mostly randomness on ebay .

For spray paint here, they have a gigantic range of basic spray can paint.
http://www.wilcodirect.co.uk/

Just sent a description with dimensions & a picture of the window I'm trying to make to http://www.plasticonline.co.uk/ asking how much & said about a little cnc for the vents & mounting holes so just have to wait for their reply, if the cost is scary I'll pass but if it's reasonable then I'm up for it .

 

I sent a quote request to a plastics shop that has cnc & thermo forming capabilities for prices for the size of piece I need forming & that I want a little cnc doing on it & just worked up a design for the vents & a little extra stealthlow text worked in there & a silly doodle I did in sketchup which isn't a cut out but a 1mm sunken bit for painting that I worked in there last minute , the vents are of the side panel pattern mirrored, this is easily the best of the 4 I designed so won't show the others, I totally doubt the grin will be put in if this happens lol but the rest will if the price is reasonable & they are able to do the design exactly to my spec .






This design may have more added to it as it's fresh out of the mind .