Modding AMD Case Mod: Chillin at Computex Show in Taipei

For those of you who have been following my video segments for the amd case mod. Part 3 segment was finally posted last night. This reveals how the doors would open/close with latch. fyi: the left side panel design mirrors the right side.. Thank you for watching! All comments welcome




Updated: 3/18/08

 

Looks a tad bit on the heavy side.
But that is a great latch.

 

God, that thing is a beast, Bill! Amazing work on it. Stunning. Are the panels getting sprayed, or are you leaving them machined?

As far as the video itself, great job on the cutting! Pacing was fast and rhythmic and really keeps the attention of the viewer IMO. Very professional.

 

The first truely HEAVY METAL case mod... seriously tho, it's 6061 aircraft aluminum.. it's not as heavy as it looks.

Thanks Jeremy! It's getting polished and chrome plated.. Yes, I'm just that crazy

 

Your work always amazes me...
Are you selling those drive covers on your site? and how about the grills?

 

never mind now I I looked on your site..
time to start thinking about my ultra case for modding ideas

 

voooovvvvvv

 

I've been following this one closely...and drooling over it. As always, absolutely amazing work. You guys make it look easy.

 

Very Cool indeed!

 

awesome mod there bill

 

Thanks everybody! I had a bit of a scare. I was gathering up all of the parts for my trip to the plater, I couldn't find the AMD logo cut-outs! Finally after 30 minutes I found them in my tool box drawer. I forgot that I planned to paint them instead of plating

 

Could a Bit-tech mod please move this thread into "Project Logs" Thank you

I've done a lot of aluminum polishing with an electric buffer and by hand. Until you've done your own polishing, I can only describe it as extremely tedious work. It numbs your brain, but not in a good way. Theres only a few Modders like myself that have been crazy enough to polish their own aluminum parts, sethnmalice and Paul from coolercases.co.uk. It takes a lot of patience! Last year I polished the 26" tall machined 6061 aircraft aluminum side panels and motherboard tray on this tower by hand. It took me 2.5 weeks of work, on/off otherwise the task drove me out of my mind. If you don't have the proper buffing equip, you can wetsand out any imperfections first before buffing out the finish. I don't have all the pro equip, so the problem with 6061 alum, is it can scratch real easy. Any speck of dirt caught under a sanding block will create havoc in the finish, just like wetsanding a paint finish. Of course, this did happen a few times and you started over. I vowed I'd never do this again and seek a professsional next time I wanted this type of finish. "Project Phenom" presented this challenge again so I made some phone calls and found AAA Metal Finishing.

Yesterday I picked up the first pieces from AAA. On a saturday no less! Since Mnpctech manufacturers their own line of machined aluminum parts, I've always wanted to learn about chrome, copper, and bronze platting. AAA's owner, Raul gave my son and I a tour of the facility. The building is a city block long! He showed us the steps involved in plating metal parts. I noticed one of Raul's clients was BigDog Motorcycles I recognized their logo on handlebars and frame brackets in different stages throughout the building. Before any part can be plated, it must first be Bead blasted and then polished, otherwise you will see any surface imperfections in the final chrome coating. Raul was kind enough to allow me to record some of the steps with my camera. I plan share this footage in the next video update for this project


The first parts to return are the new top panel and factory front bezel trim from the Thermaltake SwordM Case. The factory finish on the bezel was originally anodized silver.

 

hey, all.. I made another picked up today.. this onesy twosy pick-ups will go on for awhile. Raul must plate my parts in between his larger customer production runs.

You'll remember this panel as the new top from the video

 

Bill, as I stated at TMN, this build is amazing. But that's an understatement.

 

Thanks dude! look 4ward to seeing what you do with that remaining CF-1009 case

 

I'm picking up more chrome plated parts this saturday. I hope they have the side panels finished! I'd really like to get to the re-assembly of this case. Otherwise I should have a new update posted by this Friday. We're painting the SwordM's rear door with Alsa Corp Chrome FX and airbrushing circuit board trails over it that play off the recessed portions in the milled side panels.

 

Thanks, man. I've been thinking on and off about a custom aluminum front bezel...

Wow, that sounds killer. I really am amazed at seeing this thing every time. And to think it's a Thermaltake!

 

last minute change here, not enuf Alsa Corp Chrome F/X paint left, we're gonna use HoK's Kosmic Krome mirror reflective we can get locally instead of ordering and waiting till next week for Alsa Chrome

 

I think you guys could paint it with feces, and it'd still kick ass!

 

I think I'll pass on quoting that job... lol!

Photos from tonight's painting session, House of Kolor's "Kosmic Krome" Paint.. It's freakin cool paint dudes, but not something a paint newbie should start out using. It's very fickle in how it's applied. No worries here tho, Brads behind the spray gun.