Scratch Build – In Progress Scratch Build: The Ivory Tower

Long Time No See

So finally had the chance to make an update on this one...
It has taken so long because of too much work at school and had to work in July.


So I cut out the window to lighten up the interior...


I planned to use lots of screws. But in the end it was too much effort to loose the every time and wasn't very clean. So I filled some of the holes...



My GTX280 is failing on me:


For paint I was thinking about Plasti Dipping the case.
But it's hard to get a hold on of some Plasti Dip here...

 

Very interested in the Plasti Dipping.

I hadn't heard of it before so Googled it and it looks like a great solution - will be very interested to see how yours turns out (before I try it on mine - just kidding (ish))

Nice build by the way, should look great once its finished.

 

UPDATE

About those GPU-problems: The only method for being able to play was lowering the clocks from 607 to 550 Mhz. This required me to play on low settings for decent FPS. So I started my search for a new GPU. I was about to buy a GTX660 Ti when I saw a 2 month old EVGA GTX680 pop up. And I bought it.


So the card is a bit shorter than the GTX280 but cooler, quieter and of course faster.

I am also trying to order my Plasti Dip but no one seems to respond properly to my emails. Besides that I am bound to the scheduled delivery for the Benelux in 2 weeks...

But before any color comes on, I need to finish some things.

On the back there was a gap that had to be finished. I already made a plate for it but it still had to be mounted with JB Weld.


To fill the gap between the 2 pieces I used a piece of paper that prevented the epoxy from dripping down.

 

Revival



! REVIVAL !

It's almost been over two years since I posted here, let alone update this build.
The reason: not enough time because of my studies.
Two years later and I'm 2 Masters richer.
So I've got some time available (before I start working of course ).

In the meantime I've been working on the case but insufficient to update this thread.

So it starts (again) with the search for a solution for the front of the case, more specific the filling of the empy drivebays. The first plan was to reuse the original drivebaycovers. But this was somewhat difficult to get a good result. Also for some reason the baycovers wouldn't fit properly. So I thought to just close the opening in the front with some aluminium. But my fear was that the edges would be very much visible when it was painted. So I decided to order a custom aluminium part that will be the new front of the case. I also ordered another part but that will be for another update.
I encountered some problems: my sloppy work in the beginning of this build adapting the original chassis to an inverted ATX, was catching up with me. I had to modify too many parts to make them fit and I feared that the flaws would be visible in the end. So I decided to go for a scratch build case with similar dimensions.

Based on a CAD drawing I ordered some parts.

The profiles that will form the new chassis + some extra's:


The top and bottom panel of the case. The bottom one is 3mm thick as it will be used as base for the rest of the chassis. No bending allowed!


The chassis is build using epoxy to glue the parts together. This is easier compared to using rivets to get a perfect fixation. By using only rivets I would risk that in the process some parts move creating a bad chassis (like the one I had ). The rivets are only used when the epoxy has cured.

 

In the previous update the chassis was built. Since then a lot of progress was made.
It's starting to look like a case!

For starters, I've made the frontpanel using a custom piece of aluminium, some profiles, epoxyglue and lots of sanding. Seen here with the top-panel.


Unfortunately, the dimensions of the toppanel were incorrect (not my fault). The difference was only 1mm but it was enough to be visible.


Modifying the panel by sanding would take a lot of time and effort. Then it was still probably visible in the end. So I chose option 2:



After this it's just a matter of gluing the pieces together using some reinforcements and finishing it up using putty.


So after a lot of sanding and mounting some brackets, you get something like this:


Yesterday I also placed the backpanel. While attaching the panel I noticed that the chassis is somewhat skewed.

Luckily it's fixable by mounting the backpanel correctly. In the end this panel will be permanently attached to the chassis to keep it correctly.

I also made use of the opportunity to put some other parts in the case so you guys have an idea how it would look in the end.


It has plenty of space for the PSU that will be mounted in the front of the case.
Concerning the radiators, I haven't decided yet how I'm going to mount these in the case.
Could be the same way like before, or more like what TATH is doing.

I also ordered some parts from Highflow:



The box contains:
- MountainMods motherboardtray
- Lian-Li PSU Bracket
- lollipop

Assembly of the motherboardtray:


Unfortunately I won't be able to use the rear panel of the tray, but that was expected.
The panel is as wide as the chassis. This would mean I have to cut into the chassis. Other than that I wouldn't have a lot of room behind the motherboard for cablemanagement. Since this is already problematic in my HAF932, I chose to move it more in the center, meaning I would lose the 120mm fanhole.


Measure twice, (hopefully) cut once!

 

Welcome back and what a great build. You have some amazing talent when it comes to metal work. Love the case concept

Cheers

Fen

 

UPDATE



After the shape of the motherboardpanel was marked, it was time to make the cut using a prehistoric jigsaw. Compared to the cuttingtool I was using before, this is much easier to control so it gives better results:




It was my intention to replicate the original panel as much as possible. This panel had a flange which was bent inwards.




As you can see the flange is bent inwards but it still has a curve in it. Solution?
HAMMER TIME!!
Resulting in:


Unfortunately I didn't take the thickness of the material into account. This is why the parts don't align.
No fit:



There was an offset between the holes that was unsolvable.


Bending it back would be very difficult and the result would be ugly. So I decided to cut the flange.


Mounting the motherboardtray:



Your opinions plz:
-In the picture above the motherboardtray is 'floating' above the panel behind it. It was my intention to have it sit flush with that panel. But this would mean that on the left side the gap between that panel and the sidepanel would only like 1 cm.
-The panel behind the tray is now completely in the back of the case. The reservoir will be mounted on the angled side of it. This would cause to hang 'over' the motherboardtray which might make the scene cluttered. Maybe it's better to move the panel more forward (to the front of the case like the picture below) so that the reservoir is not above/in front of the motherboardtray. This would also give more room for routing the cables to the back of the panel. The downside is that there is less space for the PSU.



What's your opinion on this?

 

So I've had the chance to continue working on this build.
Warning! low picture quality!
For some reason my camera won't focus correct on these parts resulting in some blurry pictures.

I made some brackets to mount the bended panel to the chassis.




To make more room available for cablemanagement behind the motherboardtray, a part of the panel is removed.



Resulting in:

 

Nice! definitely subbed

 

Short update without too much text.
I've been working on the internal part of the case, which is almost finished except for some small things.
It still has to be prepared for the watercooling.




Next step will be the sidepanels. This way I have some new material to create the brackets to fit the radiators.