Scratch Build – In Progress AMD R9 Nano Project - Stellar - 150914 - Final Pics & Video[completed]

Once again, it´s time for our next worklog!

In the last weeks we were contacted by AMD, they wanted to see if we would like to work with them on a project for the upcoming R9 Nano Release. Naturally we were excited about the chance to build a nice little case for that release and the chance to work again with one of our very first sponsors....

Like you could imagine, we already planned a little scratch build case for that small and powerful GPU and hopefully the Hardware will arrive in the next days so that we can really start over.

And before anyone asks: "No, at the moment we can´t share specs of the new card"

Our project will be based on an ITX Motherboard so that we can stay really small (i think it will be something around: 30cmx16cmx20cm / LxWxH) and it will be cooled by air...later we will maybe build a second version with WC.

We also made a first a quick 3D Model of our plannings so that you can see in which direction we´re heading:







And with a bit of luck i can show you the first pics of the building process within the next days....

 

humm, for look

 

looks awesome!

 

thanks a lot mates!

As promised, the first update:

In the last 2 days a few things happened, first a package from AMD Canada arrives with a first mech. Sample of the GPU. It hast the same specs as the final product but it doesn´t work. I think the final product will arrive in the next days. The reason that we get this mech. Sample is quiet simple. We can use this to prepare our project for the final version. In that way we doesn´t have to wait until the release day so that we can make the final adjustments…..


Another good news is, that Li-Heat Industry is supporting our Build with their awesome flexible riser cards. Therefor we want to use this oppurtunity to send a big thank you to Li-Heat Industry for their support and their awesome products!


Their Risers already arrived and because we only could guess which exact length we would need, they send us 2 different length so that we could see which one fits better.






But naturally we also started to work on the Project itself.

After finishing the planning phase we started the building process with the bottom plate.

For that we wanted to use clear and uv red Plexiglas. So we transfered the raw dimensions of our build onto the clear sheet of Plexiglas and started to cut it out.

From that piece we cutted 2 smaller parts which we will use for the edges.

Then we cutted 2 pieces of red plexiglas out, so that we could glue all those pieces together.

After the glue has dried we cutted away 2 of the edges so that the bottom plate fits our needs. As last step we startet to sand and polish everything….









As next we´re going to prepare everything for the printing process of the Mainbase. We want to build this thing as one solid piece, so we thought why not print it?

Okay the print will take 16-20 hours….but after that we should have a nice and solid Mainbase….

 

Too early in the morning here. I thought you had glued clear/red/clear/BLUE together.
Still, big chunks of layered plexi rule.

 

Ok, it´s time for the next update:

In the last days we continued the work on this build. But before i start......the Hardware has also arrived:

First the mech. Sample of the R9 Nano......





and now the rest of the System.......













and yes it´s an I7. We discussed this point with the HQ of AMD before we started to work on this Project. And the most important thing on this beside that fact that the Card is really small, was the fact that it has a lot of Power. So we have to choose a system which can support enough power for the GPU to work perfect. So when we choose the Mini ITX Form Factor we also decided that we will go with an X99 Plattform mainly because of the DDR4 Support.


Naturally we also worked on the Build itself. Like we announced, we already started the first tries to print the Mainbase out. But we had a few issues. So we had to stopp the printing process several times.
First we had to abort after approx. 8 hours, because of a hardware reset from the printer hardware.....we don´t know why .....
the second try runs about 10 hours, but then we had to stop it because of an issue with our heated bed......

At the moment the next try is running.

I think it will reach 100% in the next hours.....but the next problem is also nearing....the filament for the printer will run out....i hope that we can finish it with this spool, it was the last one we had laying around....else i only have a few rests which we can feed into the extruder.....(then it will be a bit more colorized then it should....but we will paint the part either....so not a real problem....as long as we can finish the print)





and the fails.....

 

Time for the next Update:

Like mentioned in the last update, we already started the next printing process after those first fails.....

That last attempt was a success! Ok, we had to feed in a few chunks of filament because our spool really runs out by 80 %.....

Now it´s a bit more colorized like expected....but everything is solid so we can continue with the sanding process.....

After 12 hours of printing we were that far.....


And our Spool looks like that......



So after 6 hours printing later we were at this point....



As next we took that part and started the sanding process so that we get a smooth and clean surface as soon as possible so that we can start the painting process.......








And we cutted out the raw versions of our front and backplate......
The Front is already bended into the right shape, so that we can continue with the detailwork on both parts.

 

Time for an Update:

The last update stops when we reached the point that we had to wait until the mainbordholder dries. After the bondo was dry, we grabbed that piece and started to sand it so that we get a nice and smooth surface.

After finishing the sanding process we added a first coat of primer, so that we could better see where the last spots and dents were that we have to overwork again before we could start the real painting process.



After a bit of sanding, we added a first coat black paint to the holder.





And when it was dry we drilled the holes for the mainboard standoffs and tapped them.





Then after the next bit of sanding we added another coat of black paint to that part so that we can start the polishing process tomorrow....
We also mounted the hardware for a quick test.....just to see how it looks

 

Yesterday we worked on the mounting of the GPU and it´s flexible Riser.

First we made a mounting for the Riser itself. So that we could determine on which exact height of the mainboardtray we will mount it.

We waited until now, because we wanted to make sure that we could use the riser in an optimal way and so we waited until now.... when we could test mount everything and see which riser we´re going to use (longer or shorter version) and how far they reach.

After that we made another piece which we can screw to the backside of the GPU as additional mounting point. That way the GPU is secured on 3 sides with screws...... that card won´t move even if you shake the whole case....





After that we started to work on the the Front and Back for the Case. We already prepared 2 pieces of plexiglas for those parts, so that we could continue with the raw cut of them. This time we used only hand tools, normally we wanted to use our jigsaw for that but we hadn´t the right sawblades laying around.....so it goes quicker to made it by hand....then to drive to the store to get them....











After the raw cut.....we put the parts we have together.....




Then we glued the first parts for the outer Frame together so that the glue can dry and get hard ......

 

I hate to say it, but you probably could have milled the printed part out of plexi and had it assembled and painted in the time it took to print. :/

 

i would go 1 step further and would say....we could have built 2 or 3 of them in the same time with the help of our cnc router

Or we could have saved a lot of time if we would print it on our new printer (xl3dws) it´s bigger and faster & it would be much less complicated.....

But sometimes it´s more fun to go the complicated way.....

So we choosed the hardest way....we took the heated bed from our new printer & mounted it on our old Printer (that way we could use the chance to test our new heated bed), than we had to calibrate the z-axis because of the differences in the height of both beds.

Then we had to rewire our old printer so that it will work with new bed.....the old one was driven by the Printer Electronics the new one is connected via Solid State Relais....

Then we had the problem that our old printer is not big enough for this print....so we had to find a rotation angle for the tray in which it would fit on the space we can print....

Boys and their toys.....

 

Our last Update ended when we glued all parts together, now everything is dry and solid....so that we can continue....






as next we sanded all those edges with our Belt Sander so that they match each other and there are no differences in their height.....then we switched from the Belt Sander to manual sandpaper so that we get a nice and shiny surface......










We also added another coat of black paint to the mainboardtray.....(now it´s really shiny - it only needs a bit of polishing)




Our GPU also arrives in the last days.....








and finally we started to polish the Plexi Frame....that will took a while ...

 

Ah, Say no more. It's that stubborn, "Gonna make it work," mindset that gets us all.

 

hehehe yeah....i knew you would understand



It´s time for the next update....
Like you could imagine....we made some progress on this project:

At first, we finished the first part of the polishing process.....




As next we prepared a few stickers which we will use to airbrush a few nametags on the Mainboardtray. We will start with the Radeon Sign because we already know we´re we want to place it....the stellar sign is optional....if we find the right spot for it.....

Then we took the Mounting Bracket for the GPU, transfered the sticker and started to airbrush it.....






After that part has dried, we mounted it on the Mainboardtray and took both and put them inside the plexi Case to determine it´s exact position. Then we transfered the positions of the GPU and the I/O Panel to the Backside of the Case and the Position of the Mainboardtray to the bottom of the Case.
.








Then we took our good old Dremel and cut those openings inside the backside





Beside that we prepared a first test side panel on which we can test the bending and determine the exact measurements so that we can transfer everything in our plannings for the Metal version of the side panels......

 

Let´s continue this....the end is near.....

Naturally we were busy in the last days & spend a lot of time in our workshop. First we finished the work on those cutouts in the backplate. After the raw cut, we filed them in the correct shape & dimensions so that we only had to polish the edges.....






then we made another cutout in the backside....this time for an ATX Power Port so that we can route an second power cable inside the case to the PSU.....




Then we wanted to overwork all those cables on our PSU (modular was not available when we had to order these parts) but in the moment we wanted to start the work...we recognize that we hadn´t enough sleeve to get all cables done. So we contacted Aquatuning and they directly stepped in and made a nice package with all the parts we needed. The Package already arrived so we want to use this chance to send a really big THANK YOU!!!! to all those people @ Aquatuning, for all their help and support!! You´re really awesome!





In the waiting time we took our first test side panel and measured everything so that we could create a file for our router so that we could start the cutting process....





we already bended them in the right shape so that they match the rest of the case.....







But we are not very happy with the result of the sidepanels, the triangle pattern does look wrong for us....so we decided that we´re going to make another version with another triangle pattern.....

We also started to wrap the inside of the case with an mirror effect foil. From outside of the case it will look like a mirror, but when you turn a light inside the case on....it will turn transparent so that you can view the insides....

 

Lets finish this.....

In the last days we made a lot of progress....

First we finished the work on the inside of the case and wrapped everything inside in mirror foil.....





Then we fabricated a new version of the sidepanels....after the raw cutout....we bended them in shape so that they match the rest of the case.....







After that we prepared the sidepanels for the painting process. After a first coat of filler we switched to glossy black laquer and painted in and outside of the sidepanels glossy black....



In the time the laquer needs to dry we prepared the hardware and mounted everything on the motherboard tray so that we can mount the tray inside the case. We also prepared the hinges for the sidepanels so that they can be attached as soons as we could touch them.




And with the sidepanels & hardware mounted we made a first set of final pics......

 

Looks pretty cool.