Case Mod - Complete ⭐ Achromodic - Mod of the Month | July Nominee

Sooooo Beautiful mate

These are laser cut? do you supply the design?

I remember trying to do this exact same thing years ago with a case mod with webbing and gave up.... it was just tooo bloody hard to do by hand.

You have picked the perfect case to use this on i gotta say

 

Thanks! Yes, laser cut.. I designed everything in Adobe Illustrator and sent Primochill the files to cut. I can imagine doing all this by hand, it would take quite a while! I had also tried to 3D print some of these pieces, but they are so long I'd have to print in sections and glue them all together. Lasercutting seemed to be the quickest and most effective way to handle the job.

Yeah, this case is awesome.. I can't wait to get it all together with both tempered glass panels on and see how it looks. I love being able to see completely through the center of the case.

 

This is something I wanted to do since I cut the hole in the front panel for the reservoir window. The original CM logo badge was an unfortunate casualty of the hole position and was lost, so I am relocating it down lower. But I didn't want to just move the thin metal badge down and re-glue it, I felt compelled to enhance it.. make a more elegant and fitting badge for this case.

So first step was to establish the center of the panel, and mark the new location of the logo. I had a few small logos cut along with all the other acrylic.


Once the logo was on center and traced, it could cut it out. I made sure to keep inside the line so I can trim out to it.


Initially using the dremel and then some files, I carefully removed just enough material so the logo fit snugly into the hole.


Next I turned the panel over and added a piece of scrap acrylic that I scuffed up to the back of the hole. A single white led in the center should be plenty to light up the logo.


I painted the center of the logo badge, but left the outer ring clear, as that is the only part I want illuminated.


Here it is with the logo pieces in place over the lit acrylic backing. I didnt want to include the actual Cooler Master lettering, as it's not really necessary. Just the well-known shape of the logo is enough to identify it!


Now the front panel is ready for final finishing! As I mentioned in the very first post and as shown in the concept rendering, certain parts will be done in black chrome: the webbing, top and bottom handles, and the front panel. I'll be sending these parts out to a specialty shop to get this done, since I'm not currently set up for chroming lol. Can't wait to see how they all come out! Stay tuned...

 

So the truffle pattern is getting chromed too? That should look pretty cool, but I don't envy the amount of sanding needed.
-I'll stay on topic -for now.

 

Wow that dremel work looked fiddly. I bet that made you sweat !! your patience levels are reaching Waynio status I tell you what it reminds me of..

 

suspended motherboard? sold.

 

.... what... in the name of all that is holy.... is that!??!!?!??

 

lmao, pig stomach lining. It's used to make faggots etc. *rubs his tummy* I love faggots. Went to a restaurant in Glastonbury a couple of years back and had them every day

 

Ah, well I hope that is before it's cooked and you don't actually eat it that way lol.. Also the term 'faggots' means something else entirely in the US..

...Aannnyway, getting back on topic...

Did the painting some weeks ago, just never posted the pics.. so here ya go!

Getting primer on all the panels.. Ziplines are good for other things too.. like hanging up parts for paint lol


After doing the bodywork and priming, it was ready for the white.. but it got cold outside so I had to throw up some viqueen in the garage.


After a few coats of paint, it's looking pretty good.


Next was the angled side panels.


All the parts have sufficiently dried and cured by now. I still have some color sanding/polishing to do, just waiting for a nice day so I can do that outside.

Until then, I'm getting the other parts ready to send to the chromer's.


Can't wait to get it all back and see how everything looks!

 

Looks awesome all those parts together

 

Smallish update.. didn't get as much as I wanted to over the weekend, but I did manage a few hours in the garage, so I got two of the four light panels figured out.

There's not much room behind the bottom panel to do a lightbox of any depth, so it will have to be edge-lit. I added a piece of clear 1/4" acrylic under the 1/8" frosted piece, and ran the led strips around the entire thing, securing it with aluminum foil tape. I then covered the back of it so no light would escape anywhere but the front. The aluminum foil tape is perfect for this as it has zero bleed-thru and is very reflective.


For the back panel, there is a bit more room so I can mount the led strips a bit farther back, which will yield more even lighting.


testing the lighting on both bottom and rear panels. The fans aren't lit at the moment, but should fill in the center of the back panel nicely.. The bottom is not as bright in the center, but shouldn't be too noticeable once the motherboard tray and all the webbing is in place.

 

Mobo tray design is amazing

 

Got more headway on the light panels over the weekend (since I wasn't able to attend the lan, I needed to stay away from the computer and all those taunting Steam alerts.. So I locked myself in the garage lol)

Built the side walls for the back panel, added the led strip, and aluminum foil tape to keep all the light going one direction: thru the front.


Light box mounted to the fan bracket..


Fan bracket/light panel assembly mounted to the case frame..


View from the inside of the case..


Starting on the top light panel, I decided to do something different. I have two pieces of frosted 1/8" acrylic that, when sandwiched together, makes up the 1/4" panel. I was going to glue them up when I inadvertently reversed one over the other, and I liked what I saw..


Since the panel is symmetrical, only the random holes cross over each other creating a more complex design, and adds depth. It will be interesting to see how the light shows through both pieces now.


Adding the side walls..


Placing in the case to figure mounting tab placement. The top fan/radiator bracket is the exact same as the one in the back, so I'll be mounting the light panel in the same way, with four aluminum tabs.


Gotta adjust the gaps a bit between light panels, but overall fits well.




Once I get the leds in and the panel mounted, I'll do a light test with all three panels. Hopefully tonight!

 

The dual layer looks pretty sweet. You might need to upgrade the other panels with a similar treatment.

 

Agreed. I already glued the two back pieces together, however I do have an extra top grill I can cut down and place behind the back panel.

 

Just a quick update to show some teaser shots of the black chrome pieces. Should be getting these back in the next day or so.. Can't wait!

Motherboard tray, top grill, and the two webbing pieces hanging (gold tubes not mine lol)


Closer shot of the top grill..


One of the two webbing pieces..


Same webbing comparing it to regular chrome..


Strix 1070 fan bezel..


Front panel..


Zadak511 SSD trim piece..


Will get more detailed shots once these parts are back in my possession. Stay tuned!

 

One more: Top and bottom alu rails..

 

Was the webbing getting compared to the chrome broke?
Gold...Yep, there's the V-Tec logo. Fart can car aesthetics.

 

yeah there was a small leg that snapped off when I was routing the edges before I sent the pieces out to the chromers. But it's at the bottom of the piece so its not a big deal.

 

Had a great productive weekend! Made an extra webbing insert for the back light panel so it matches the double layers of the top panel. With the lights on, it creates some really cool shadow effects.


Got started on the front light panel as well.. With the reservoir mounted directly in front of it, I needed to make some pass-thru holes for the in/out ports. Fortunately, the frosted 1/8" panel is transparent enough for me to see exactly where the fittings are.


The view from the res side, and my markings seem to line up nicely.


I used a 3/4" spade bit to start the hole, then finished it off with the dremel.


With the Primochill flex compression fittings..


..and a view from the other side..


Once that was done, I figured I'd make the pass-thru holes on the top panel as well. After marking the holes and seeing how close they were to the webbing, I decided to work them into the design, rather than having just perfectly round holes like the front panel. So I free-handed some random shaped holes to blend it in to the overall web pattern.


..and cut! I also added a couple smaller holes next to the main ones, but didn't go all the way through, just to enhance the effect.


..and with the white fittings..


Lastly, I of course just had to see what it looked like with some black LRT flex tubing!


Only thing left is to add the led strip to the front panel, and then all the light panels will be done!