Case Mod - In Progress Project; Mark1

Nice looking build so far and I cant wait to see the servo controlled doors on the front. Surely you must get a video of that in action. How are you going to control it in software? Also and feel free to steal this idea for your build, years ago I built a case with 8 superbright leds in each of the 8 corners of the case wired to the parallel port on the motherboard (8 easily accessible i/o lines and more if your crafty) which I controlled via a simple vb app, I had various modes like random, sequence, bounce, and one that pulsed to the music. Not knowing what kind of controller you're getting you might be able to interface some lighting or other effects to your controller.

And if you're bored, an old car alarm could be the perfect remote trigger to open and shut your case doors or lights

PS: 40 bucks says you bought that drill because its normally 80 and they had it on sale for 40, I've been eye'ing that very same adorable drill for quite some time I logged in to actually only say just that about the drill

 

thanks fo the comment! I am going to do some lighting, but I am going to use a special switch setup. As for how I am controlling the servos, I am using the program Lynxmotion offers. I am still figuring it all out though lol.

And you owe me 40 bones, cause the drill wasn't on sale here. Regular price (Boooo)

 

Sweet drill press! I love having one!
You've gone far, padawan!

Oh yeah, + rep for "It's on like donkey kong"

 

Update for today, and as usual, I didn't get as much done as I had hoped. But in my defense I had an excuse today. Car drama, and some kid drama too.
Anyway, Been working on a special place for my ipod. A door, behind the vent, that will open and presto, docking station.
Here is the rough cut hole.


And ipod for perspective.



Filed smoooooth;



This is the backside of the door. I am using 5/8" U channel for the ipod to slide in. Eventually I'll mount the connector in the bottom, too.


(I realize I should have set it on the table, not on top of another panel, to avoid confusion. Oops)

Now, the putting a hinge on here is way trickier than I thought it would be. Hopefully you can get an idea why. Here it is closed;


Here it is open;


It lifts just a little in the back, so a straight hinge won't work. This kicked my butt all day trying to get something worked out. I tried making a hinge with a bar and lines cut in sheet metal, but it wasn't stable. So, I decided to try making an assemblage that would allow the door to slide straight out.

The concept;


mocked up in place;


and trashed;


Sigh. Came up with a different solution. It won't be hidden, like I wanted, but if it works, then it's what I have to do. It's a simple as just flippng the hinge around, and making a notch for the barrel. Here it's done on a scrap piece for testing;



Here it is mocked up, to give you an idea of what it will end up looking like...



Oh, and for anyone interested, I have still been working on that pesky front piece. I don't make it focal point for now though. I work on it when I feel like taking a break.

 

looking good mate. nice idea

 

Nice idea for the iPod. Hmm. Now you've got me thinking...

 

Loving the ipod dock. Its coming together nicely.

 

Quick update today, not much work done.
I decided to make a groove where the barrel of the hinge will rest, instead of cutting a notch. This will make it more discrete, cleaner, smoother.

Here is the hinge resting in it's new home,



And getting glued.


That's it. Tomorrow when the glue is dry we'll see how it fits/works.

 

Not much progress today, just little work on the ipod door. Good news is, the hinge will work just fine!
Now, one thing I've noticed while parruzing through hundreds of photos in countless worklogs, is the exurberant number of pictures of peoples cats. My wife asked me about it, and I have to admit, I just don't know why there are so many cat pictures.
Now, I don't own a cat. However, I don't want my worklog to be viewed as sub par due to feline deficiency. So, I, ahem, borrowed the neighbours cat for a quick photo shoot.

 

Looking good mate, will be interested to see how it turns out

 

Lookin good buddy... one stock thing that I like (pre-mod) will be the shape of the case. Probably should grab it for the next mod

 

Here we go.
Been working on my ipod dock this week. I've been doing little bits before going to work. Little bits of progress that aren't worth posting about, but are time consuming nonetheless.
Here is the door, with the guide in place and sanded down a bit.



Made a bracket to mount the servo;


Ha didn't see that one comin, did ya!

Here it is all clamped up



Now the last step, glue on the piece for the armature mount.

I did this last because I wanted to test out the servo first and determine the best postion for the mount.

Now I have to wait till tomorrow for the glue to dry (dammit) then do some sanding, and cult some felt to line that uchannel with, but other than that, the ipod door is done!

 

Here is a short, crummy video of the ipod door in action




I know, nailbiting action. But hey, it's shot in HD

 

:O u win thats awesome.

 

Nice work on the door!

 

Very nice work on the door.
Are you gonne lay some softness in it, to keep the ipod from getting scratches?

 

thank you, thank you all!

And yeah, like I said, I am gonna cut some felt to line it.
The felt I have turned out to be too thick, the ipod didn't fit anymore lol. So, some thinner fabric and I'll get that done.

 

Nice door.
Now... can you rig it so it flings the I-pod across the room?

 

Great work on the dock door!

 

hehe mebbe I can put a srping in the bottom so when the door opens, the ipod pops out like a toaster pastry from the old toaster ovens.

I call it the iPastry.