Modding Project: FloBox (Front Extension Update May 20th, 2006)

To get it looking better, why don't you fill in the existing vent holes in the case with bondo then repaint the case to a low-gloss black? It will make the flames look tons better

 

WOW, nice freakin' job dude. I can appreciate the time you spent on those cuts, and it really turned out nice.

Is backlighting the only other thing on your to-do list? Anything else planned for this small box?

 

very nice

 

I was thinking just that...

Looks very nice though! How come my work never comes out that good?

 

Yeah, I really want to, but I'm leaving saturday for 5 weeks so won't be able to. It's on my to do list when I get back though

Eventually a blow hole with one of the flame fan grills and a red led fan and a right side cutout. ButI want a different cutout on the otherside.

 

Turned out pretty decent dude. Need to do things when you arn't pressed for time. Rushed work is never the best way to get things done. But again, great idea!

 

I'm back from my first year of college and it's time to finish my shuttle...talk about procrastinating.

Actually alot has happened that I didn't document here. Let me give you the quick and dirty:

I filled in the holes under the flame and applied primer to see what it would look like.

In hopes of lowering my temps even more, I cut a huge hole in the front of my shuttle and screwed in a 120 mm fan. I also relocated the hard drive to the back, above the heatpipes and behind the dvd. Temps dropped dramatically, I idle in mid 20s and max I've seen was 44.




Here is a photoshop of a prototype front. The front flame is a still a work in progress.


I also extended the media cable and mounted the front ports along side the 120mm fan.


That about sums up year and a half, on to the new stuff!
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I wanted to rebuild the hard drive mount because it was abit of a hack and flimsy. So first made a paper template, cut out a piece of .025" aluminum, and drilled holes.


Test fit....


Rounded all the corners with a file, all thats left to do is drill holes in the frame to screw it down. I'm hoping to do something with this large blank piece. Cut a flame into it? Put some logos? Anyone have some cool ideas?


I also picked up a wiresleeving kit. I'm almost done, still need to cover up and heatshrink some ends.


Check out my 120mm fan with filter at the top. I'm thinking of putting a plexi flame, then illuminating it with some red and yellow leds. What do you think?

(Oh, can a moderator move this to the project logs now?)

 

sweet zilla of manilla thats nice.

 

Today, other than scratching away the small sticky pads on the chassis, I focused on the lighting. I bought these 7" LED light strips on ebay, one red and one yellow/orange. I soldered them in series, and sanded the right one a little so that it would fit vertically in the shuttle.



Then took out my scrap box and salvaged a molex power cable, broken fan leads, and a 2 pin connector.



Put it all together and made a quick test


Applied black sleeving and heatshrink everywhere, and checked to see how it looks


I've been waiting a VERY long time for this next image....the flame is finally lit up!!! I like it



Next up is building the front piece that extends the whole shuttle and houses the front fan and dvd drive. Then paint...

 

wow. Sweet lookin i must say. 1st sff i have said that about i think.

 

Thanks customholle, means a lot to me

I started my job tuesday, so I apologize for the lack of updates. Today, I tried making tracks for the plexi but with only one clamp handy, my resulting cut wasn't straight. So I'm going to borrow some more clamps from work tomorrow and have another go.

 

In either case, I'm cut the last of the plexi pieces today to build the front extension.



I spent a lot of time clamping and making tracks for the blade for everycut. It definately helped, but I was expecting really nice cuts. The blade bent while cutting the plexi and some pieces came out better than others to say the least. Nothing I can't fix, the worst edge will be cut out for the side ports anyway and I'll straighten some up with bondo.

I'm having trouble designing the front faceplate. I've been looking at cars for inspiration but nothing is really appealing. I know I want to use these: Flame vinyls and make the curved ones start at the fan intake, and then wrap around to the top and sides.

I used this site for most of my research: DieselStation wallpapers

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

 

The weekend has arrived, so today I'll be working on the front extension exclusively.

Here are the results with the jigsaw, (top piece not shown).


With the fan...


As you can see, the cuts for the side pieces are horrendous. That's where the blade bent. But I'm confident I can save it:


I'll cut out a piece for the ports with a hand saw.

NOTE for anyone trying to cut plexi with a jigsaw, I used a water bottle with a hole poked in the cap and sprayed a mixture of motor oil and water while cutting. Kept the blade very cool. There were times where the blade was cold after cutting the 6mm plexi.

Next update tonight with progress I made...

 

Spent 3.5 hours outside filing and cutting to get all the pieces to their proper lengths and the cuts straightened up. I'm beat, I'll upload the pictures tomorrow.

 

I have the picts of the plexi cuts, but it's just 4 pieces of plexi. I decided to save you guys the load time.

I also trimmed the port mounting bracket:


And worked on the front extension mounting. The original faceplate used 4 clips like these:


So using 5 mm plexi, I cut and sanded new ones that will be glued to the front extension. I have one left to do.