Scratch Build – In Progress Project: Seawolf, July 20. #40 Getting ready for Assembly Summer 2010!

Very nice.Its getting very interesting now.Keep going.

 

totally amazing, and the logo is wonderful!
Just a question, I see that you have done two mb plate, but how do you plan to keep in place the pci boards on the second plate?
I don't see any hole for the screws...

P.S. kudos for the pci holes!

 

Good question! I'm either going to make a slot with the dremel or drill a hole to mount the bracket. I didn't want to have one premade because there is so much guesswork related to the actual position of the pci/pci-e cards. As you can see the slots for the tab are a lot wider than the tab. I won't fix the holes/slots in place until I've got the final motherboard.

 

Nice to see some progress on your project... I'm gonna have to come over and see those pieces first hand some day

 

nice scratch build... couldn't wait for the finished project

 

#13 Rear fixtures

I couldn't wait any longer to get my hands dirty with the new plates.



First I did some mockup with a marker and a ruler.
There is a good 8-9mm gap between the ruler and the pump top. I can cushion the pump with foam this thick.



I drilled and tapped four M5 holes for the 120mm fan grill and screwed the bolts in place. This shows the bottom side of the plate.



This shows the top side. The bolts are a tad too long for the 3mm plate, but I don't really have a need to shorten them.



Next, I drilled some 3.2mm holes for the rivets and popped the brackets in place. On the underside we can see two nice and clean domes.



On the top side we have weird mushrooms poking through. My rivets were too long for this.



I then drilled two 5mm holes for some more bolts and countersunk the bottom edges. The bolts are now flush with the bottom of the case.



And the rear bottom is complete! The small gap between the fan guard and the plate will be hidden when I add the pump anti-vibration pad. I will paint the plate and the rivets black. Also there will be two bolts added left from the rivets. Nevertheless, it always feels nice to have something complete!



Here the rear bends and the rest of the assembly are in place. They will be bolted to the bottom with the brackets. Note the long screws at the back. I didn't have shorter countersunk bolts. They will be shortened. I would have shown the pump mounted in place but I didn't have correct washers on hand.

 

Not it's the assembly time, and I'm really happy to see this items in place!
Good work!

 

Impressive work. This is going better and better.

Althought, still have no idea about the final cases's shape

 

You are not alone, Kumo.

 

#14 A dab of things

Here are some pictures from modding I did on Monday. I was trying to find time do some more but had no such luck.



I drilled and tapped some holes for mounting the bottom plate brackets to the bends. I used M3 bolts.



I shortened the M5 bolts on the inside so I could attach the lower M3 bolts too.



I drilled and tapped the lower holes from the outside. I couldn't see the brackets from here so I had to make some careful measuring. The holes came out perfectly in respect to the brackets.



Finally, I cut the ends off the upper bolts. Now they're flush with the bend. I will probably bondo the hole. The lower bolts will be cut when I get the gap between the bends filled.

That's all for now. Hopefully I will get more done next week.

 

#15 Resurrection

Sorry for the long pause. I was a bit busy with schoolwork.

This part has been waiting for publishing for a while now.



First I filed the edges of the motherboard panels. Then I countersunk the mounting holes.



This Level HDD Shell will, surprisingly, become the hdd enclosure. The upper piece needs some tender love to fit my needs.



I began by sawing slits in the side with a hacksaw.



Then I broke the pieces off with a wrench.



I still needed to cut more metal so I stole my little brother's arc saw. Notice how the blade refuses to go straight at the beginning of every cut.
This alloy appears to be harder than the usual 6061. Perhaps it is heat-treated. Nevertheless, I had quite a few problems with it and broke about a dozen arc saw blades.



After getting far enough with the arc saw, I could switch into a handheld hack saw blade.
Surprisingly, this seems to be easier on the hands than the slow arc saw!



Isn't it pretty. It needs some more filing.



After a while, the piece is dimensionally ok. It still needs filing, but the fit is good enough.
I need to putty the other sides of those mounting hole to reinforce them.

 

Looks great!
I'll admit I almost forgot about this log. Glad I had subbed

 

I'm not done yet!

I still have a lot to say.



I needed some supporting bars for the motherboard plates. I cut 10 107mm long pieces out of 10mm anodized aluminum rod.
The tenth rod is made in case the motherboard will have all the mounting holes described in the ATX specification. Usually they have only 9 holes.



I faced the ends of the rods in the lathe. Then I freehand-chamfered the edge a bit. Next I drilled 3.0mm holes in the center. I'm going to use M4 screws for mounting. Officially you should use 3.3mm drill bit for a M4 but I didn't have one on hand. Then I flipped the rods and did the other end. The goal was to have 10 105mm long rods.

I wanted to see what the accuracy would be using calipers and the lathe without cross-slide angle adjustment. I had to take the pieces out of the chuck to measure the length, which makes it difficult to maintain accuracy. Here are the results:

1. 105.10mm
2. 104.98mm
3. 105.06mm
4. 104.96mm
5. 104.95mm
6. 105.07mm
7. 104.96mm
8. 104.93mm
9. 105.02mm
10. 104.92mm

The average turns out to be 105.00mm and the standard deviation is 0.07mm. With practice, the deviation should become smaller

After getting the rods finished, I started tapping them on the lathe.



Lo and behold! After getting 5 of the rods tapped, my cheap tap broke inside the hole. Never trust Biltema products!
I tried drilling it out, but the drill bit would have broken too if I had continued. I decided to make a new rod instead. The new rod turned out 105.03mm

I also went shopping and bought new M3 and M4 taps and 3.3mm drillbits. I quickly re-drilled all the rods with the new bit.



Threading the rods with the new expensive taps was a breeze. Quality costs.



I was lacking proper countersunk bolts, but I managed to assemble the motherboard cage.
This is how it will look from behind.



I still need 5mm spacers between the rear plate and the motherboard.
Also I need to get foam or rubber studs between the motherboard and the newlymade rods.
That should provide enough cushioning to prevent the motherboard from cracking under tension.



This is where the GPU card will mount to the motherboard plate. I need to cut proper slits for the screws.
I'll probably put the screwheads on the inside to keep the surface flush.



The radiators will be mounted over the hdd shell, flush with the motherboard plate surface.
The rear of the cage will have to protrude past the white profiles in the back. This is going to become a tight fit.



There's plenty of space between the cage and the side profiles.



By leaving enough space between the cage and the fitting I can install the watercooling hoses.
It also gives me the opportunity to use the existing holes in the radiators to reinforce their mounting.
There will be a small gap between the HDD shell and the lower plate.



Next, I need to make the mountig holes in the HDD shell for the motherboard cage.
Also, I have to mount the HDD shell to the lower plate.

Thanks for reading!

 

Finally! Nice to see some progress at last... I'm going to have to come over some day and see this thing in person.

Nice job btw..

 

Really interesting desing! I'm very exited to see finished case.

 

you got some skills, keep up the cool work!!!

 

that is CRAZY elaborate!
Now I'm definitely glad I subbed this

 

This is a very well executed project so far. I can't wait for more.

 

Really happy to see this wonderful project again!
Go on, you're doing a really good job!

 

Nice work so far... it's really coming together! I'm liking all the metal work, and can't wait to see what else happens.