Scratch Build – In Progress [Scratch Build] Project BlackBird

Update 27

First thing i got working on is the power button.
Salvaged the reset switch from the old case front panel. Drilled holes and cut it. Shaped it to shape and attached it on the cut front panel connection panel.
















The next step was to redesign the case feet.








Used some old wood laying around. Cut it into perfect size including the slots to accommodate the frame & side panels of the case.











Now the next thing is working on the wood, getting it to shape and sanding it are the next steps.

Till then, Peace

 

I like the slanted setup because it incorporates the psu nicely. The flat setup looks like you just took the case and put it on top of the power supply.
Good work. Can't wait to see it finished. I love mods with the bare minimum of tools and lots of elbow grease. You get a lot of satisfaction when it's finished.

 

Update 28

So for the past days had been brainstorming to come up with a good design for the feet of the case. Finally came up with a good enough idea.







Next started working on the base of the feet as the wooden side pieces of the feet were about 5mm apart. Hence, has to work on the base plate.
Phase 1: Marking and punching holes for the drill



Phase 2: drilling the holes (*109 to be exact)



Phase 3: Sanding the base plate, removing all the metal pieces and all. This was the hardest part of all the 3.






All joined and sanded to shape.





Now the next 2/3 days would be used in sanding and painting the case.
Till then, Peace

One if the reasons for continuing this project was for the SATISFACTION.
And the reason for the flat case is because of height issues.

 

Sneak peak

This here is a sneak peak at the color scheme of the case






This is how the yellow/orange part shines in the presence of a flash light


Stay tuned until next week for the final case all colored.
Peace till then people

 

Wow, almost missed another great looking build! Reminds me of a robot from WALL-E.

 

SO this week had been busy, had to attempt for some exams.

Almost got all the panels painted, used up 2 cans of paint (400cc each).



Started working in the name of the case.
Came up with many designs but then stuck to this one. Cut it out on paper first.



Next traced and cut it on RETRO-REFLECTIVE SHEET.



Painted it black and applied it on the front of the case.




All assembled and ready for the accent pieces.







Till then, Peace

This is way off from Wall-E (excluding a bit of color) but now this post inspires me to use motors and all to make a robot like Wall-E

 

Update 30

Added a few accent pieces on the case to make it pop out a bit more.



All paint work done on the exterior of the case.









All that is left is to work on the interior of the case, and it would be done.
Interior of the case includes the addition of the mid plate , mobo tray, HDD covers, and LEDs.

Till then, Peace

 

i am very impressed by the case in your last pics....the final result is really great, when I see what you've done with simple materials and basic tools, imagination and creativity, patience and obvious skills in modding, very nice case, after the paint job, it's a real original and beautifull case MR Sagar...can't wait to see the hardware inside...

 

Update 31

Thank you Mr.Kim, all this means a lot for me. I have all the hardware. Had it from about 1.5 years now.


So for the last 2 days had been working on the mid panel for the case.
Got the metal cut to size.



Next started working on the other part of the mid panel which would partially hide the HDDs.





Then cut a piece of the alu/pvc sheet for aesthetics and support.






Now i am facing a new dilemma about the color scheme.
How would yellow and white in the interior of the case contrast the exterior, open for the community's answer.

Next am working on drilling the holes to mount the mid panel and the LEDs.

Till then, Peace

 

Update 32

So drilled holes for mounting the mobo tray and the HDD mounts.







Next thought of ways to make the cleaning and changing the hardware inside easier to access.
Divided the case into 3 parts.




Also screwed the nuts pretty tight so only a few screws would need to be unscrewed to get the case broken down.




Takes only 2 screws to mount the HDD compartment to the front and base of the case.



And takes only 6 to screw the rest of the top and back panels.



Next thing to work with is the LEDs, acrylic side panels and the hardware itself along with a few minor tweaks.

Till then, Peace

 

Update 33

So people back with an update.

This is more or less all the hardware to be installed inside the case. Had to buy a 24pin extension cable.



and this is how it looks after the installation WITH THE COOLER OUT.







Acrylic side panel for one side, cut, removed protective paper, and finished.







Now the same for the other side except had to cut out a cavity for the cooler to stick out. Cut it using an angle grinder.





This is how it looks on the case. Still need to polish it somehow because the acrylic I got was from a scrap pile and the glue didn't really peel off so have a lot of scratches.







Next thing is to buy/get some magnets, small ones to stick on the side panels to make them easier to install and remove.
Also now am facing new problems:
1) Cable management is an issue. The stock cables are too rigid to bend.
2) SATA and power cables for the HDDs are all cramped.
3) Polishing the side panels is gonna be an issue.
4) Will have to make another cover for the lower part of the HDD side of the case to hide
the cables.


Till then , Peace

 

A build log at its best, documenting the issues and then reporting on the solutions. Thank you for sharing the journey with the Bit-tech community. Too many logs show progress with no apparent hiccups or problems.

Case is looking good. The retro-reflector cover just make it hard to photograph.

 

Thank you for the compliment.

Put everything inside the case and solved a lot of issues i was facing. Sorted the cable management using some mobo stand-offs from old case and used them to create a gap between the HDDs and the mid panel and routed cables through there. This also helped remove the extra cable for powering the second HDD hence reducing the cables.
The only issue I can't solve easily is removing the scratches from the side panels, so will be getting them tinted using the same black transparent film they use on car windows.
Also as the metal used in the case frame is aluminum hence magnets won't work so will have to find another way to mounting the side panels.

Got the case set on my table





So a few more steps and it'll be done

Peace till then

 

Update 34

Its been a long time since the last update.

I finally got the special nuts and bolts for the side panel. They cost 3 times the normal screws i used.

I marked the points for drilling the holes on the acrylic and drilled them.







Next I transferred the holes on the side panels of the respective sides.



Used double-sided tape to hold the panel.



Here all mounted up, but i screwed up the holes. Made the holes next to the frames and hence the holes were bigger and uglier.



Screwed the screws with the nuts outside in one place.





You can see that the screw holes are bad and will have to fix them later on.



Had to make some support for the screws to fix them inside.







All mounted up and done.





Now the next thing remaining is tinting the side panels with dark vinyl because the acrylic is all scratched up. and its done.

Peace till then