...or to the purists among us--Project: Highly Derivative. ------------------------------------------------------ Updates 19 Oct 03: Loose Ends, Tentative Cut, Initial Case Masking 9 Nov 03: Final Cuts, Minor Setback 26 Nov 03: Painting the Case 25 Dec 03: Disaster Mods, Minor Success 15 Jan 04: Window Tinting 4 Feb 04: Radiator Shroud v2.0, Tubing Sleeves and Radiator Grill 17-18 Feb 04: New PSU & Cable Management, Quick Disconnects 11 Jul 04: Water Cooling ------------------------------------------------------ Introduction Let me add my voice to the many who are inspired by the works of Macroman, Linear, Nexxo, and G-Gnome (to name a few). Once I saw Macro Black, I knew I wanted to do something similar. Project: Macroverse and Orac3 also inspired me to try my creative hand at a case. And I was intrigued by all the acrylic crafting that Linear's been so generous in sharing with us all. Unfortunately, while I have some great ideas kicking around my head, I don't yet have the skills to bring them to life. So, I decided to use existing mods to hone my skills. That way, I'd have a nice case, acquire the skills I need to branch off on my own, and be able to approach my "own" mod ideas with some confidence! So, this project draws heavily on Macro Black, but with watercooling and some other gear that Macroman didn't use. Since I'm still a huge Star Wars fan (despite Episodes I and II ), I've decided to put an Imperial logo on the case and stick with the tried-and-true black and silver motif. I'll also be drawing from Nexxo's "industrial" look--after all, it fits well with the Imperial theme. Some chrome and "custom" wire/hose covering (a la G-Gnome) to accent the overall theme will finish it off. Honestly, I basically intended to just build the case and enjoy it in private...but after today's initial efforts, I wanted to share it with others...constructive feedback will only serve to strengthen my skills for future projects. So, let's get started... Baby Steps: Radiator Cooling/Air Intake Shroud The first step, of course, was to order my case. I went with the ClearPC that Macroman used for Macro Black...primarily because I didn't want a case that had 4-5 fan cutouts, as seems to be "standard" with most other clear cases I looked at. Since my computer's watercooled, I only wanted two fan holes--one 120mm, the other 80mm. The ClearPC case fit this bill exactly! Additionally, I found I could order the case with the 120mm hole already cut at clearpc.ca...one less thing for me to potentially mess up! While I waited for my case to arrive, I began planning. At first, I planned to cut a intake hole for my radiator in the floor of the case and use the 120mm fan to exhaust air out the front. I'd use a section of curved PVC pipe to give the radiator dedicated airflow. (I saw this layout in one of Mashie's designs over at Pheaton.com.) When I got the case, I realized that my idea wouldn't work...the hole sits too low to give the radiator and fan adequate clearance. I played around with some alternatives, using mockups of the radiator and fan (they're in use in my current system). Finally, I decided I'd mount the radiator on the front of the case, pull air through a short PVC shroud and into the case. I wanted to keep with the industrial theme, hence the shroud and, after looking at the case, realized I could get some hands-on acrylic work by building a clear fan mount! I laid out the design and got to work... ...and realized that bending acrylic, while not difficult, required some practice on my part. I finally got the fan mount done, after a few "practice" runs: The early victims--too much heat, primarily--are in the background. Here's a closer (albeit slightly blurry) look at the final mount: For the shroud, I was fortunate enough to discover this little treasure...a scrap left at a local construction site: With an external diameter of 110mm, it's about perfect for my needs! I cut off the length I needed and trimmed the ends for the shroud: Obviously, this project's giving me some much-needed exposure to digital photography... Anyway, I cut out two 120mm square mounts for either end of the PVC out of 4mm clear acrylic: When I test-fitted the pieces together, I had my first success of the project...a suitably "industrial" looking intake shroud: (Since I don't have ready access to either the fan or the radiator, I've elected to drill the mounting holes just prior to assembly.) Here's how the shroud and clear mount are relative to each other (picture a 120mm fan between the two): All told, this took me about 4 hours to complete. But I now have some confidence that I'll be able to cut my case (for my fan controller, USB ports, etc.) and not screw the whole thing up! More updates to follow. Thanks for taking the time to read this!
An intriguing begining. The shroud looks nice so far. Its some nice acrylic work. That stuff is pretty hard to work with, very unforgiving. The inspirational mods that you site are definately the right ones to work from I look forward to see what you make with it
Looking nice so far! Looking forward to see the development! And it's a good thing to recycle! No point in paying for what you can get/make for free!
Super stuff! I love the 'Imperial' Star Wars look/Symbology Great intro and write up so far - Your fan shroud = I look forward to future updates. Welcome to the forums...
first welcome to the bit forums! (well.. i were just told that so now i feel i can asy it to other pps :X ) any ways the mod looks pretty nice gave me some ideas for my future zelda case (those black tubes.. usefull when you diy them green ) by the way i guess that you will cut the grill on your own ?
Thanks all for the warm welcome and words of encouragement! I'm glad to be part of such a great modding community. To answer some of your comments/questions: Actually, it's my callsign from my organized Laser Tag league days. I registered as "SharkBait" last December...long before I knew about Finding Nemo! I agree...the tubing looks nice...and will match some other things I'm working on for this case! As for the fan grill, I won't be using the Imperial emblem--it'd block too much airflow. Instead, I have another Star Wars inspired design. More to follow on that, too. I can't promise when the next update will be, but with such a great crowd cheering me on...well, I'll do my best to make it soon!
Tum-dum-dum Tum-ti-tum Tum-ti-tum... */hums the Emperial theme tune from Star Wars while jumping around excitedly on his chair... The force is strong with this one...
Minor Update: Loose Ends, Tentative Cuts, Case Masking Another weekend, another opportunity to work on my case. This update will probably read like Memento...you'll see pictures in reverse chronological order. Hopefully it'll make sense after you read it! Loose Ends: Intake Shroud The more I looked at my shroud, well...the more it looked like something I'd picked up at a construction site. I found the nicks, scratches and other assorted dings took away from the clean "Imperial" look I wanted...and besides, I wanted to see how the fully assembled shroud looked mounted in the case! First thing was to break out the 400 and 600 grit sandpaper and give the PVC a thorough sanding. This--and a few coats of Plasticoat--took all but the most severe dings out and restored a cleaner look. I really liked the use of socket screws in G-Gnome's and Nexxo's works, so I procured a few. I decided against the finishing caps and instead went with plain old washers...dunno, I just like the look better. (I'd like it even better if I could find some rubber washers, but haven't been successful so far...any suggestions?) I also procured another 120mm fan for use in drilling the mounting plate holes. So, without any further ado...the finished result, mounted: (The white object in the background is my mockup of the radiator--constructed from some old matting board my wife had.) The small screws I'm currently using to hold the fan mount in place will need to be replaced with countersunk, flathead screws...they scrape the inside of the inner bezel when I slide the outer one into place. Overall, though, I'm very pleased with how the shroud looks. Tentative Cuts Before I could actually mount the intake in the case, I had to do cutting on the case to allow the radiator to fit properly. Seeing how acrylic is (as FlashPanHunter so aptly put it) very unforgiving and that I'm a relative noob to case modding, I kept having visions of a dremel horribly out of control, the smell of melted acrylic permeating the air, and the sounds of me trying to convince my wife that I needed a new case! However, if I wanted the case to look the way I wanted, some cutting needed to be done. Sure, I could find someone else to cut it...but my pride of ownership wouldn't allow that. My initial solution? Avoid the whole issue and start prepping the case to be painted! Eventually, though, I picked up the dremel...then reconsidered and used a small hacksaw with a fine-toothed blade: Not too bad! I remasked the area and began filing and sanding...in no time I had a fairly clean and straight cut! It needs some more smoothing and polishing to blend in with the original (factory-made) cut, but with the help of forum posts like this one , I'm confident I'll get a good finish on it. Initial Case Masking While I hesistated on cutting my case and while the Plasticoat was drying on the shroud, I began masking off the case for its eventual date with a few cans of Plasticoat. I followed Macroman's masking scheme pretty closely--right down to the large side window and small top window masked off with Con-Tact paper. One difference was the "Frisket"-type paper I used. I was able to find some that I could run straight through my laser printer...one less step to deal with! In hind sight, I should've run the paper through backwards...would've been nice to see the logo without the (uneven) toner burned on it. So, in short, I started out prepping my case for masking and ended up making my first (admittedly tentative) cut on my case...hopefully you now understand why I started at the end and moved backwards! Thanks for reading!
Nice work, and well done for cutting your case. Its very scarey ! I like the look of the toner on the the symbol, it makes it look metal liked, tarnish, rather than one flat colour. Gives it an industrial lookie. Gd for a bit of paper -cLoWn
Excellent work with the duct work there. There is some huge potential with the look of the black, I think. Maybe make the drives black and sleeve cables. Lots and lots of possibility, keep it up.
