Scratch Build – In Progress GET A LIFE - COMPLETED

Thats a very good question, luckely I thought of this and measured all of the usb ports I had lying around to make shure a standard size would fit. However there is some of those overzised plugs out there that will not fit but I have no intention to use any of those. The recesse shouldn't be a problem since a normal usb cable actually doesn't plug all the way in. There is 2mm gap on most usb connectors so in my case they will be almost flush with the material of the foot.

Thank you for reading through this project and I aprecciate your comments

God point here aswell and the answer is almost the same as above. I havn't measured any usb keys and there is most likely some of the bigger ones out there that will not fit. But im pretty shure a normal size one will fit.

I do however see some interference with the powerplug from the PSU and the usb and audioconnectors. The PSU connector is a bit too big and also at an 90° angle so I will probably need to replace it with a straight plug. I was trying to avoid this and taking measures to be shure but it doesn't help if your taking measures from the wrong PSU. Anyway it's one of the more easy things to fix.

Thanks, Im a fan of your metallworking aswell

If you are nervous, then what do you think I am :S
I havn't talked to the anodizer yet, but my hope is that, it won't be too vissible on the black parts and, in worst case, I only need to redo some of the other parts.

But yeah, Im a bit nervous aswell.

 

I don't get it. I've used the same techniques to shape hot glue, but it always came out looking like a dried snot gob anyway. Your connector came out looking professional.

 

Fantastic work, as people said already this is somethink beyond my reach but still enjoy the pictures and the passion you put in the build

 

Thanks Cheap, My first tries ended up like that aswell. One thing I noticed was that you need to get the glue very hot and then put it straight into the corner of the profile in one go. If you slide it in place the alu will mostlikely have time to solidify the glue in some places and create "wrinkles" on the surface. I also applied a light stroke of cooking oil to the profile surfaces to let it come of more easely.

Thanks xsombrax, sometimes I hate myself for some of the details I insist on incorporating. Actually, Im in one of those times right now and on the part Ive recently started to work on. I'll show you what it is in a future update.

 

Hello
It's about time to show some of the pieces that have been done lately.
The last connector of the foot is done, and I've also been working on the powerswitch.

If you have been following this log you might remember that I was considering to use a touchbutton stealthed in one of the "pixels" on the front. However anodized alu will not conduct the touch and therefore wouldn't work. So I decided to go fo a simple switch and I tried to stealth it as much as possible.



I need all the room I can get down by the foot, so all the excess plastic had to go.














The right length and two small drops of superglue made shure the cable stayed straight.








I think these are the Smallest pieces I've ever tried to do on a mill. (The hole is a 3mm). Fixing it was probably the hardest part.




Apart from the mounting of the switch mechanics, you can also see to the left that I made a hole for the PSU connector wires I made in the previous update.





It might be hard to see, but the picture above is the underside of the case, the button and the vent will not be vissible if the case sits on a flat surface. Ther is just enough room to fit a finger and to feel the slight lvl difference of the switch.

There you have it, I was planning to post this update last week but the alu parts for the switch turned out to be smaller than I could handle. They disappeared some days ago and I have been looking like crazy for them. I was just about to admit my defeat and start over when I decided to do some dumpster diving and look into my trash, and voila. I had accidentally tossed them away while cleaning the working bench. phew

 

Well that power switch assembly just brought a smile to my face. Freakin awesome!

 

Can we get some photos with a Coke can for reference? I'm having a hard time visualising just how small these parts are.

 

hehe Im glad it made you smile since im no good at jokes.
Thanks attila

I don't have a coke can (or matches) laying around atm, sorry. Ill se what I can do
Maybe I made it sound like it was nano mechanics but they arn't really that small. It's just that they are obviously too small for me to handle
But if you look at the second last pic, all the screws in that shot is M3 screws. The golden ring outlined hole is a standard motherbard mounting hole.

 

Awesome solution for your power switch, looks like it fits in really nicely .

 

Incredible, ingenious and great machining. A perfect stealth-ed power switch.

 

Looking fantastic. Long time reader, first time poster in the thread.

Stunning work Gnu, cannot wait to see the final result of all this work.

 

O_O'

 

Brill idea for the power switch, I really like it a lot.

 

Soldering directly onto the motherboard requires some huge balls A few seconds too long, or a little distracted and BAM!

Anyways, this project is one of those with lots of awesome details and ingenuity

 

You continue to amaze me with your small wiring/ metal working skills

 

wow that one sick powerswitch construction :O!

 

You've outdone yourself with machining that switch.
I'd classify the switch stealthing as successful.

 

WOW. all of this is awesome cheese. So accurate and so stealthy. Will look like some high-tech military mini-PC once it's done! How much does she weigh now?

 

Thanks waynio, I was carefull to sand it a little at a time untill it fit to make shure to minimize any gaps. glad you like it

Thanks craig.

Thanks for reading and posting, the final results shouldn't be too long now.

Thanks, glad you like it, It turned out better than I expected.

Yeah I was a bit nervous when soldering on the mboard. They seemed to have used som coating or a solder tin with higer melting temps than im used to cause the points were really hard to solder. Hopefully I didn't overheat anything since the points were I've made the soldering is not so close from the more sensitive stuff.

Thanks, you amaze mee aswell with all your alu work

Thanks

Yay, thanks for the approval.

Thanks Razer. Judjing by the green, black and grey color it could pretty much end up looking like a military pc, but Im hoping for more of a mushroom look Nah.. just kidding I see what you mean.

I would estimate the overall weight once its done, with all the hardware mounted, to be around 4-5 kg. I don't have an exact scale at the moment but I will make shure to weigh it once it's done.

 

looking good mate cant wait to see some more shots of this build