Case Mod - In Progress Maximum Security - FINISHED 11/20/2011!

hi great project, might be a good idea to add a battery pack to your board in case of power outige, or the need to open the case where no mains is awailable, since I dont think that actuator could be opeened without power.

there are some very cool chips at maxim that have powersupply, battery managment fully integrated. it charges the a 1.2v battery when there is input 5v voltige, and converts via a boost dc/dc converter the batteries 1.2v into 5v when the input voltage is not preasent.

 

When you lapped your CPU what did you do to protect the underside from being attacked by metal filings.

Those fittings are excellent, cant wait for next update.

 

Well the plan is to have some kind of quick disconnect on the actuator mount so that it can be opened without the need for power, just in case

As far as covering the processor goes I did nothing. I just washed it off good with warm soapy water. The processor is a sealed unit so there's no need to worry about getting it a little wet

 

Those fittings look great. Maybe I should use them when I do some upgrades to my computer.

What are you going to put the RFID chip in?

 

The RFID chip is in a standard business-card sized package. I'm going to have a decal made up for it too

This is the card I'm using:



http://www.trossenrobotics.com/store/p/4753-Thick-Cards-Clamshell-.aspx

 

Big update this time, I got a lot done this weekend!

I got the top 3-way splitter's mounting holes drilled.

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I also got the Phobya pump top mounted. Damn is that thing heavy!

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Then I got the res and pump temporarily installed to check fitment.

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Then I made up a pump mount plate from black acrylic. I used the 4 120mm fan mounts in the bottom of the chassis to mount it, along with 4 rubber dampers.

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Then I ran into an issue with the rear radiator. I thought just the single Phobya rad spacer would be enough, but it wasn't The fittings still wouldn't fit in the holes. I found that if I used a 140mm fan on the outside of the case then put the rad spacer and rad on that they fit perfectly. So I decided to not use the 120mm turbine fan and use the 140mm fan that came with the case because it's still got that look I want. I decided to cut out the rear of the case so you'd be able to see the fan.

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Now the fittings line up nicely! I had to run to the hardware store and get some 10-28 x 3" SS screws to hold everything together. I drilled and tapped the rad to accept the larger screws (for strength) and cut the screws down to about 2.25".

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I also picked up this cheap momentary key switch off eBay for $3.

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I drilled out the stock power button mount and installed the key switch. It fits in there perfectly.

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I had to cut the stock button mount in half to clear the key switch. I'll still need to either modify the steel part of the case or bend the tabs on the switch to make it fit 100%

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That's it for now! Once my motherboard comes back from Gigabyte I can get the bottom 3-way splitter mounts done, then it'll be time to drill out a TON of rivets and paint the case! Stay tuned

 

Minor update.

I got the case disassembled (mostly). I plan on leaving the drive bays as a single piece like they are for ease of assembly later.

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I also got the EK waterblock mounted to my 6870.

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Bye bye warranty!

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All cleaned up and ready to go.

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MMMmmmm shiny

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All ready to install!

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I should have the case painted this weekend. I've got to steal the garage for a few days to paint. Scuff, primer, sand, primer, paint!

 

That key reminds me of the old lock on the IBMs we had at school- turn it and the keyboard & mouse inputs would be disabled..

Coming together nicely

 

Thanks

 

Very cool!

 

I didn't know they made momentary key switches, VERY cool.
I love all the stuff you've done so far, aside from the rad being mounted outside the case, but that's just something I'll never really like.
Great work so far~

 

yea I'm not a huge fan of it being outside either, but that's where it needs to be lol

 

HUUUUGE update today

I got all the parts hung in the garage ready for primer and paint.

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Here is the paint I used. It's from Arctic Cat. I saw a 4-wheeler come into my dealership in this color and immediately thought it'd be perfect for this mod! 3 cans of primer and 5 cans of paint later, it's all done!

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And I was left with a whole lot of overspray dust to clean up as well.

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Here are the front and top panels with the masking tape removed.

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Next it was off with a box of rivets and my rivet gun to reassemble the case. I think it looks pretty damn good, no?

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Then there was a point in time in the basement when I was just running through putting stuff together without snapping a whole lot of pics, but I did get some taken

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Kingston 96GB SSD mounted to one of the hotswap trays.

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And more assembly pics

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Here you can see the side panel and it's windows and frames mounted. I also mounted the NZXT Sentry 2 fan controller into its place on the front side panel.

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I also designed, etched and assembled a circuit board to hold the two RGB LCDs. The spacing is perfect so they fit centered into 2 5.25" bay covers.

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I also got the plastic frames for the bay covers fit to the LCDs. Next I need to cut the foam filters and the outer mesh to fit the LCDs as well.

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That's it for now!

 

That colour looks awesome!

But, with all the red details, why go for a mobo with green detailing?

 

It'll match the super-secret sweet coolant that's going in this thing Details on that later on

 

The words super - secret have me excited =]

 

Nice colors! and the technical aspect of this mod is looking very slick. Im looking forward to the next bit of this chapter

 

Got some airbrushing done Thanks again to Auto Air Colors for providing the paint!!

Still have more to do on the smaller bits. Enjoy

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this is looking GREAT!
love the paint job

 

Thanks!