Scratch Build – In Progress Project ZOE

Thanks for the info, I've bought my aluminum at Mansen Levytyö so far which is aswell in Hervanta, as they're cutting and bending smaller things on the go. A little bit more expensive tho I guess.

 

Time for a smallish update.

Started to build IO-panel.. PSU mount first.







I'll cut motherboard and graphic card openings later when this part is mounted into the mobotray.

 

Wow what a beautiful cutout! what finish is that? It doesn't look just like raw aluminium.

I also love the photos. +rep for everything

 

Some very nice metalwork going on in here

Aluminium + stainless steel = galvanic corrosion, not a good idea.

 

Oh. :\ but SS is an Alloy isn't it? Still corrosion?

 

Thanks guys.

Aluminum is anodized.. I ordered normal aluminum sheets, but they came with anodized surface. I'm not complaining about that. It's really a shame to ruin nice surface finish with cutting and painting..

Screws will be countersunk and changed to more classier, but they also won't be visible when I finish.

 

Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been really busy lately.

But anyway, I got some work done. Motherboard tray is rough cut, made some slots to attach it and IO-panel together. Also cut some L-profile for mounting.

Quick picture of the progress (with Tape Mounting ™):



I'll write a proper update at some point with more pictures.. Too tired to do that now.

 

Unless I'm not reading the back-story for this part...which I may not be...but galvanic corrosion really needs some sort of conductor between the two materials to take off.

"Galvanic corrosion is an electrochemical process in which one metal corrodes preferentially to another when both metals are in electrical contact and immersed in an electrolyte."

Air is not a good electrolyte.

 

Thanks!! I were getting worried! +rep

 

A bit strange. Are you sure they were anodized and not just nice pieces?
I'm asking because aluminum grows a thin natural oxide layer when exposed to air and anodizing is just an electrochemical process to grow that oxide layer thick. If you want some other surface finish then that might need extra steps to remove the oxide layer. That could be a real PITA if you're removing it yourself and it's a large or oddly shaped part.

Do you need to remove anodizing before painting and have you considered re-anodizing with color?

 

Unless there is water in the air, like when someone lives near an ocean, like Razer does? Which makes things worse since its salt water, meaning the water is an even better electrolye.

 

gaaa great I got stainless screws in prox, and it will be anodized alu. What will happen/what do I do?

 

give us more pics!

 

More pictures you say?

Well, here's some.







Those pictures might need some explaining (?). IO-panel is on top of the case, PSU is in the front and window will be 'left-handed'. So this design has 90° rotated motherboard just like SS Raven 2 etc. - or in fact I'd prefer to call it 95° micro-ATX.

Until next time.

 

OK I hate to hijack, but this needs to be straightened out. A little chemistry lesson, shall we:

Galvanic corrosion happens, as said before, when there is a difference in the electrochemical potential between two materials within the presence of an electrolyte (something that contains free ions, which can conduct electricity easily). The greater this potential, the higher the voltage, thus more corrosion.

Here (http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/tables/electpot.html) is a table of electrochemical potentials. See aluminum near the top? -1.66V. Where's copper? Down towards the bottom, at 0.34V. This is why copper + aluminum + electrolyte = bad news for the aluminum.

Now take a look at iron and chromium (the main elements in stainless steel). Chromium is at -0.74V, whereas iron is at -0.41V (or -0.04V). Much less disparity than with the copper.

For all intents and purposes, if you're worried about corrosion between stainless and aluminum in a computer (that isn't watercooled); don't be. It will take years to begin to corrode, even more so with anodized aluminum. Not to mention that screws have a very small surface area to begin with, further limiting the ability to corrode.

Hope that helps.

 

Thank you very much! Rep rain on your house. We are buys what oxidation/reduction in chemistry at school, but not so complex yet that we work with different electrolytes.

 

Hi guys.

Today I sanded most of the parts.. Example:



Gah, can't really see anything. Reminds me that I'd have to buy a macro lense. But I'd call surface finish smooth.

Then I took one meter long 15x15x1mm aluminum L-profile and cut a bit off it for bending. The bending itself went pretty easily:



I'm also happy how L-profile ends go together with other parts.



More bending.. And the sun is also starting to go down. Days are way too short when winter is coming..



And then we were ready to do some gluing. I used quite strong glue that can hold 18kg / cm^2.. Should be plenty for a computer case.

And now I can just wait - it will take full 24 hours to cure completely.



Oh, and I ordered CPU cooler - Antec H2O Kühler 620. Got it for a pretty good price and I've been happy with it in my last build. But this time I'm thinking some modifications for it..

 

That's a nice idea! * remembering it for future reference*

 

Thats a good idea, what type of glue is that ? 2K epoxy ?

 

I agree. A very good idea .