Scratch Build – In Progress 1925 - An Art Deco Adventure, 9th December 2010

Hello everyone, this is my first post since my last project concluded in August 2005, Passiv-Agressiv. You can see my brand new redesigned website HERE!

Also, you can follow this project on my site as well as here at Bit-Tech.

I began a new project in October of 2010, the purpose is to create a beautiful, functional HTPC case for my home. I chose Art Deco as the major influence of the case, and I hope to integrate the detail and design philosophy of Art Deco into the project.

A little background information on the theme source: Art deco features trademark geometric shapes, stark contrasts of dark and light, and fine detail. The period of Art Deco's popularity was from the early 1920s, through 1939 and the rise of post-war mid-century modern design, which replaced Art Deco. Art Deco is what defined the Roaring Twenties in America, and the style that shaped the nation's architecture during this period. I live in Phoenix, and many of our buildings downtown were built in the 1920's and 1930's. New York however is the most dominant and rich source of Art Deco architecture in the country.

All this in mind, my project will feature common Art Deco styling, using hand tools to create authentic Art Deco styled pieces and integrate them into the finished build.

On to the dirty bits:

This project:
-Scratch build

Hardware:
-Intel Atom 330/Nvidia Ion based system
2GB Kingston DDR3

Storage:
-1(2TB) Samsung Spinpoint F4 5400 RPM drive, upgradeable to two later on.
-1 SSD, undecided on which model to use.
-1 Asus or Samsung Blu-Ray drive

The purpose of the build:
-To be able to serve 1080p content, using a slick interface(considering XBMC at the moment. Thoughts on UbuntuXBMC vs Win7+XBMC welcomed)
-Playback BluRays, DVDS, and .mkv files(and less)
-Have the ability to disappear when watching movies(no noise/light)
-Look amazing sitting on the TV furniture we currently have when the lights are on, and no one is watching a movie.

The Atom platform with Ion GPU is a perfect choice because it is low power, the system will have just one fan on the PSU, so low heat generation is key.

Projected Budget: $500


So, this leaves us with nothing left but to get down to business. First I began with sketches, LOTS of sketches. And even and Art Deco book. It is important when learning about a certain theme to practice drawing and thinking in the methods that are commonly found in the theme. The way lines flow together, common shapes, textures. Art Deco motifs are very uplifting, projecting images of sunlight rays, gazelle, and plant-like structures, while adding the industrial, bas-relief feel to everything, as if the entire world were chiseled out of solid stone. Once I had a grasp on these principles, I came up with sketches like these:



















Next, naturally the first thing you do with a shiny new expensive piece of hardware is rip it apart and make sure everything is up to snuff. It wasn't. Asus did a mega fail here, the Atom CPU(right, dual core) and ION GPU(left) are not the same height.





However they thought it was a good idea to use a flat base heatsink for the whole lot and fix the problem with about 0.100" of thermal pads (not pictured).







I confirmed the chip misalignment using a CMM, or coordinate measuring machine. We have a Mitutoyo and a Brown&Sharpe, these machines are capable of measuring with extreme precision, down to 0.0001" on a day to day basis. After examining the motherboard, turns out the GPU is actually 0.0231" HIGHER than the atom CPU!






Using the ruby probe to contact the surface of the chip.








Needless to say I wasn't amused by this laziness, and I simply fixed the problem using a 3/4" solid carbide endmill.



The total flatness of the surface is now less than 0.0001" overall, taken with a 16 point average.




Much better contact is being made with all surfaces.






Thats all I have for now, Currently working on this little bracket to mount the BluRay drive 0.125" off the case floor. The drive will sit on the left side of the case toward the back, facing out the left side. The motherboard will be mounted on a tray about 2 inches off the case floor above the drive. See the sketch above for details.

This bracket will hold the drive using little rubber grommets cannabalized from a WD external hard drive enclosure. Starting with an ordinary piece of aluminum angle stock.




Roughing the shape out





Time to get filing, my arsenal includes over 100 files of different size, cut, texture, and shape for different purposes, here I will just be using a few though.




Getting closer:





Almost done, test fitting the rubber grommet dealies.





Perfect!






Add a little gold leaf accent in the middle, clearcoat for fingerprint resistance and surface finish, aaaand:












Until next time!

 

Love it! Sub'd

 

I'm subbed as well. This ought to be sweet.

 

Some epic equipment being used here

 

Very cool. Sub'd. Good luck with it.

 

Wow, am I glad you came along. I was about 2 days away from purchasing that very
same board for my next project. I don't have access to the gear you used to even out
the heat sink though. Nice file work on the mountings.

 

Thanks everyone for the interest, I am looking forward to sharing my progress in the coming weeks with everyone

Attila, I should be the one who is glad that you came along, your build Na'ir al Saif inspired me to build this project from the ground up! Incredible work! We share a passion for filing

 

Pulls up a chair. I love art deco. going to be watching this one.

 

Nice start :0

subbed

 

You surely are willing to be precise.

 

Me likey!

 

//November 17, 2010

Small update, playing around with engraving, here is an Art Deco style eagle I drew up in Illustrator

I most likely wont use this exact piece in the project, but it gives you an idea of what the potential is. I will engrave things like markings on the back panel for I/O ports and power jacks, etc.

Creating a flat surface on the round stock:






The paths for the engraving




Finished engraving:




Until next time!

Sanatarium

 

Somewhat nazi ish emblem...

 

Because it's an eagle in art deco? Might as well be a US American eagle from that period...

Anyway: NICE! Looking forward to seeing more engravings.

 

Perhaps. Just a style of the era though.
http://richardbrenneman.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/napa-eagle-bw.jpg
http://www.edsmart.com/stamps/images/3471A.jpg
http://www.futurenostalgia.org/images/20060903123532_69st_deco_eagle.jpg

All american. Googling Iron Eagle will direct you to the more German style.

Thank you

 

Very nice work and I´m just jealous about that machinery you have at your disposal *looks at his poor dremel copy*

I´ll definitly keep an eye on this thread

 

Glad you have such confidence in your builds mate

So far it looks good! On your way to that AAHHH-MAAAZEEEE-INNNGGG finish!!!

 

True, i really like the design anyway, hope you use it.

 

Thx a lot for the missalignment info since I have the same issue with my board. If it wasn't for you and your beautiful measuring machine I would have ben stuck with that pile of thermal pads. for your probe.

 

I have the head and neck as a tat on my left arm. Covers the tat underneath.

H.A.M.C.
Society Sucks.

Eagles are classic. Especially Balds

john