Scratch Build – In Progress * r e f l e X i o n *

A view from the front. The effect is starting to come to fruition.



All four drives attached.












And now... FINALLY... the near-completed Zero Gravity Chamber!



Here you can see the bottom compartment for the PSU.








Some close-ups of the drives.










Of course, this will all look nicer once it's powdercoated. The plan is to powdercoat the entire interior in "Starlight Black" so as to give the effect that you're looking into space. Both the interior and the exterior of the chamber, as well as the rest of the interior of the case frame, will be painted this color.

Next on the agenda is to notch the shelves in place with the centerpiece and then weld them in place with solvent cement. Then, the Zero-G Chamber is officially finished, and it's onto the next stage of the project.

Lighting.

 

Looking good!!! Are you going to put screws in the other side of the drives as well? The side where there is no plexi? I think it would add to the illusion, causing the onlooker to think "Oh its bolted there" and then they see it isn't and go "Wait?" lol.

 

Gah, I was just going to say that! Definitely put something in the screw holes on the empty side.

Looks awesome!

 

Thanks, guys.

Yeah, that seems to be a common question about the screwholes.. I always get asked that. I do plan on inserts of some sort to fill the holes but have had trouble finding something nice that will fit. Any ideas?

Originally, I was going to use the black MDPC screws that I have that are bolting in from the other side, but they're a little too long to sit flush with the drive. Perhaps I could try cutting them down?

Let me know if you have any good ideas on some inserts. Thanks.

 

Set screws?

 

how much does powder coating cost?

 

They could possibly work, but I would prefer something that had a smooth edge like some sort of a button-finish.

I haven't had this color priced yet, so I couldn't tell you. From what I've seen, good powdercoatings usually fall in the range of 150-250, though.

 

Amazing work as always Xion.

Quick question, will you be placing a powder coated panel over the top of the PSU? You can see the stickers which distracts from the build quality.

Also for the dilemma of seeing the screw holes in the SDD set screws with....putty would work perfectly. Simply put in the set screws (less whole to putty, also this will be a soft putty so it can be removed and not ruin your SSD of course) buy, or make (i don't know brands where you live but in Australia i buy a generic wood putty that is colourless and you add pigment, black in this case obviously) and then simply paste the tiny amount on, use a perfect edge to smooth off and voila your SSD looks like it has no holes in it

 

Thanks, Autti.

The stickers will be taken off the PSU, and the PSU will probably be powdercoated. You won't see any stickers on any components like that by the final build. I'm still in the build stage right now, so these things aren't getting as much attention as they will later on.

Thanks for the suggestion on the SSD screwholes. If I can't find some form of inserts to put in there then I'll look in possibly going that route.

 

Hm. What you could is make your own screws. Basically take a quarter inch stainless rod and thread part of it, machine the other end to make the button contour. In order to screw them in, you could make two sides of the button flat so you could grasp the screw. Sort of like if you took a clock and flattened between 2 & 4 and 10 & 8.

If you don't have access to a lathe you could always get a willing bit-tech member to make them for you :-D.

 

Waterblocks came in from DangerDen yesterday. Had a chance to snap a few photos tonight. I'm even more impressed with the blocks in person. They have a nice futuristic look which I think will go great with this build. Thanks to DangerDen again for their wonderful support on this project.

 

Build Summary + New Sponsor/Partner

At this time, I'd like to provide a brief summary of r e f l e X i o n , show a glimpse of what the next steps are, and then I will introduce my third sponsor for the project.

First of all, thank you to everyone who has participated in r e f l e X i o n to this point by posting many encouraging and flattering comments here about the work that has been done thus far. I read each and every comment that's posted at each of my logs and try to respond on a person-by-person basis, because your comments are both encouraging and entertaining, and I appreciate anyone who takes the time to post and +rep to let me know they're enjoying the build or to offer suggestions. These comments greatly help and sometimes are the difference in motivating me to go forward--especially during times when you've hit a brick wall with your fabrication or design. So thanks to each and every one of you here at bit-tech.net.


Design and Build

To this point, everyone has seen the first two stages of the project: Design and Build. I designed the Galaxy side panel with 3dsMax, an autocad program. A freehand drawing of the galaxy image was first done by my friend, Mark (a part-time artist), which I then imported into 3dsMax and made several modifications to. The design time once in 3dsMax was around 80 hours, and the drawing is composed of over 300 individual vertices that were used to create the circular, orbiting rings from a 3-D perspective. Here's a shot of the image editing in action:



After that, I had the finished 3dsMax drawing file cut into a clean side panel at a waterjet shop about two hours from my home. You've probably seen it a hundred times by now as I'm quite proud of it.

Next, I began designing the "Zero Gravity Chamber," also in 3dsMax.

Concept:


Reality:


This part I have fabricated myself except for the windows which were carved with the same waterjet that did my side panel. It is now close to completion.. just a little more polishing and fab work need to be done, and then it will go off to be powdercoated with the rest of the case frame.

So now, it's time to move into the next key stage of the project, which is:


Project Stage III: Lighting

And with that, I would like to introduce my next key sponsor for r e f l e X i o n, Lamptron.



Lamptron contacted me a few weeks ago about partnering on r e f l e X i o n. I let them know that it was perfect timing on their part as I was just about to start creating the lighting scheme behind it.

Lighting is a priority in this build, as I will be using it to give r e f l e X i o n its identity. There are three distinct lighting techniques which will be used. Lamptron will be assisting me with two of those, while I will be both designing and fabricating the other myself. In the coming weeks, I'll be revealing the specific items that Lamptron will be sponsoring me for and the lighting techniques we have decided on.

A special thanks to Lamptron for joining the team. I look forward to working with them in the coming weeks.

 

Great work and equally great photography.

 

Thanks, Storm.

 

5970 Lovin'

 

Is that a mini displayport between the DVI ports?

 

Yep.

 

a mini display port, not the fullsize but a mini? I know what my next graphics card will be

 

Yep, it's a mini, alright.

All of the 5xxx series cards have one, I believe. In fact, the refresh are supposed to have two of them, allowing you to run up to 6 LCDs off one card.

I'll be running a 3x LCD Eyefinity configuration for surround gaming.

 

those cards are killer