Scratch Build – In Progress ARMADILLO

Hi everyone, i'm relatively new to the forum, but after reading through some of the awesome project logs..I've been drawn back into the dark art of modding. You see my story goes something like this...after atempting a case mod a while back(and messing it up big time)..i vowed to never mod ever again..ever, i made up my mind that i would buy a good case that looks nice and leave it at that...and that lasted for about 2-3 years. Now i have the hunger to mod again...so i decided to do a scratch build.

I really wanted to use fibreglass for this build, mainly because i'm not ready for metal, and i've had really bad experiences with plexi. So here goes, hope you enjoy a noobs attempt at modding

After alot of rough sketches and planning( ok maybe not enough planning), i came up with an idea...so first things first, i needed some wood, i popped into the shop and got 2 pieces of supawood, first problem...they didn't have the size i wanted, the pieces they had were about 1-2cm off my measurements, but i decided to just take it...

Here's the first side of the frame cut out, now i just gotta duplicate it...


I used panel pins to join the support peices to the sides, unfortunately it was difficult to use without the wood splitting, it's not a huge problem though, as it will be covered up with fibreglass...


ok there we go, attached the other side, now have a complete frame... if you look closely you can see that i put a bit of wood glue on the joints.... everything lines up relatvely well



After building the frame out of wood i decided to reinforce it with some fibreglass, it wasn't really neccessary, but it was good practice, since this is my first time using fibreglass...i just took small strips and overlapped them

here i am sipping on some resin,lol


The resin wasn't mixed very well, it took ages to dry, it really worried me,but after a day or 2 it was solid...here you can see the one joining piece all fibreglassed


I have some more progress to show, but will post that up tomorrow if i get a chance, i just thought i'd show the first couple of days of modding...peace out

 

Good start! I like the shape of the case. How big is it? In the 4th pic it looks huge!

+1 for using a backdrop canvas when taking a picture. I should start doing that too.

 

Only problem with fibre glass for a computer case is the smell, it gets worse as it warms up aswell. lol!

 

Thanks, but it's not really that big, must just be the angle the pic was taken at, it's only about 65cm tall...but i must admit that i do like bigger cases.

 

So let's continue then...

My main concern was to just get the frame completed, I decided to just fibreglass
the entire frame for no other reason than I felt like it...After trying out fibreglass for the first time with a small repair kit, i decided to go out and buy my materials in a larger quantity.
I was so excited to buy the large sheet of fibreglass because it meant i wasn't restricted in that regard.

So i spent the whole day just covering the frame, and i think i finally got the resin mixture right

This sheet was huge, this pic shows it folded in half

So i just took it slow and applied layer upon layer...let me tell you that inhaling resin fumes the entire day really isn't too much fun

I made my first 2 panels, i made a simple mould out of mdf and a piece of laminated paper..i'm not gonna show a pic because it's not too interesting


You can see here that the frame needs alot of tidying up




So i whipped out the jigsaw, just to take off the main mess, and then some sanding with 80grit sand paper...just a tip...don't sand fibreglass while wearing a short sleeved t-shirt, those tiny pieces of fibreglass seem to find a way under your skin...it hurts


I just had to show this little bug it's been on my computer frame for ages, through the cutting and the sanding, it just never leaves... i think i'll call him Toby


Here's the frame after tidying it up

I placed the 2 panels on top just to get a rough idea of how it will look...it's not gonna look like this though


Ok that's it for now, i feel like watching a movie now..it's between 300, Lord of the Rings or Iron Man...Peace out

 

well i gotta say mate, a fiberglass scratch build is something i've been in the process of planning and designing for about the past month. the unfortunate part is my shape looks sort of like yours

looks like i might have to adapt my own design a little so it doesnt look like i'm copying yours when i build it

so far so good though mate! great shape you have going there and i really look forward to seeing some progress

 

great! looks good really looking forward to see what you going to do

 

This looks interesting... although I do have a question... I know this is going to sound dickish, but I mean no harm. Did you intend to spell the project name like you did? If not, Armadillo would be the correct the correct spelling.

 

Good job so far But will this thing Hold a pc over 5 to 10KG?

 

I had the same problem, after i had the idea and started building the case, i spotted a very similar design from someone else.. so while i'm buidling this i'm thinking of any additions that will make this build mine, and not a copy

Umm, yeah i think you right about that.lol..got so caught up in posting my log, i forgot to check if the name of my log was spelt correctly..thanks for pointing it out

Once the panels are placed, it will add extra strength to the overall structure..

Just a question...does anybody know how long a moderator takes to check a post, coz i posted some new things last night...just wondering when it'll come through?

 

Ok cool the pics came through

 

Looking good so far. I've been wanting to try glass fiber out for ages, but the lack of suitable working space and fear of the nasty dust is a huge turn off

 

yeah mate the dust can be very very dangerous. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE wear a respirator while you are working with this kind of material!

I really hope you have been wearing one so far. But its starting to look really great!, i continue to be excited to see how it comes out

 

Good start. This looks promising!

 

Nice!

 

good start..

cant wait to see what happens next!

 

"Panel Beating"

I've got the same problem, I live in a flat so I do all of my work on my balcony...because I have neighbours above, below and on either side of me I have to take them into consideration...So sometimes it really slows down the progress, as i can't use things like my jigsaw because of the noise it makes...

Ok, the first thing i wanna show you guys are my new gloves, lol.. they're normal kitchen gloves, but they are much better than the latex examination gloves i was using, atleast they don't keep breaking



The frame is a bit neater, so i started on the panels, i spent the entire day sanding and sanding and sanding, the first panel... it took ages.



My idea was to smooth out the panel as much as i could and then apply bodyfiller to the imperfections and sand it again, but after the first panel I changed my mind, it is much easier to just apply bodyfiller onto the panel before sanding it and then just sand it once after the bodyfiller is applied...

Here's the first panel on the right and the second one on the left


Once the panel was relatively smooth i attached it to the frame, i did this by first sticking it to the frame using clear adhesive to get it into place, and then i applied small strips of fibreglass to the reverse of the panel attaching it to the frame and then some bodyfiller to the corners of the panel...
The bodyfiller in the corners still needs to be sanded




At the moment I'm working on the other panels and the dvd bracket..I'll show you guys when it's done...cheers for now

 

Nice fibreglass mod!

 

hehe can't wait to see the case in a further state

 

only time i used fibreglass was in repairing a boat. will your case float?

nice work with the fiberglass.
why the name?