Perforated, Maximum PC Rig of the Month! Aug 2005

Thanks, yes it is. I will show a shot of it later today. I should be working...

Man! Your are hard to please…. Actually its only the base coat. This will be aged later in the mod. Hopefully soon as I would like to finish this mod.

You are correct! I think is still needs something added. I would really like to do something functional instead of cosmetic. Any ideas ?

 

hehe okey i just said it was looking that way i didnt say that i didnt like it..Its actully looking awsome

 

Update 10

Sticking a power strip in a pc case is nothing new. I did not want to stick one in my case even if I had the room. So I came up with the idea of placing a wall jack in the back of the pc. This way I could plug my monitor in with a shorten cable and maybe reduce to amount of things I had to carry. With this mod I could plug in two items that need 110 volts. This will not help me with surge protection, but then I could plug one cable into a friends surge protector and then run the rest off the pc.

Prepping the area.



Template.



Hole cut.



Making the mounting holes. Drill then tap.





Test fit. Still needs a little something.



Safety handles.



Test fitting a plug.



I have additional pic’s showing it working. And I will post them as soon as I get them out of the camera. As to how I powered the connections. Basically, I just soldered wire to the pu connection and brought them down to the plug. Of course this left exposed connections that could cause damage if touched. So I made a cover for it. You’ll see it also in later pictures.

Personally, I really like this particular mod. I think its original. Correct me please if anyone has seen this done before. I hope not…
Update: got the pic’s out of the camera and resized. So here are the last two, they show the plug under power. The lamp that is shinning onto the back of the pc is connected to the plug mod:





Go to Update 6 for the pic's on the wiring.

Here you can see the orange power cable that comes down out of the pu and connects to the plug. This needs to be covered for safety.



I cut a pattern from cardboard and did a test fit.



When that got the seal of approval, I marked up a piece of plastic.



I cut that out on my scroll saw.



Sanded it.



And then used a hot gun to bend the plastic. First side.



Second side.



Test fit.



Made mount brackets.



Installed. Well sorta, it just taped in place for now. I will have to grind down some screws to fasten it.



A nice side effect to this is that I have a hidden channel for running additional wires. The bare spot just above the head of the hammer, is where I will place the distribution box for the lights. That still needs to be made. Should have it ready in a few days.

Next: Auxiliary wiring

 

I think it looks great too. I've seen it done before, but nowhere near as well. The "safety handles" also look totally natural.

 

Update 11

With this post I have caught up to what has been done to the pc. After this post I will have to create, photograph then post any updates. Things will slow down now…

Time to wire the case. Main power to the HD, optical drive, fans and the USB hub has been handled. Still need to create a power distribution box for the lights, this will get it’s power (12volts) from the unused fan jack in the power unit. I only plan on using one set of lights at a time.

Other than that here is the checklist of what has to be wired:

1- power to the network switch
2- USB to the 7in1 card reader
3- power to the white lights, maintenance lights
4- power to the red lights, LAN lights
5- power to the green light, emergency locator beacon
6- USB to the custom USB connection
7- Make, install and wire panel light

Here is what we got so far.

Faceplate has switches for the lights.



Wiring the switches.



connections for the lights attached to the door. This will let me remove the door by unplugging the lights. Three of these plugs are taken leaving me a free one for expansion.



Back side of the door connections.



Running the wires from the switches to the distribution box, where they wont be seen.



After taking a look at these pictures, I see that I will have some polishing to do... Well, I have completed posting all the pic's that I have taken to this date, 09/07/04.

 

looking realy good keep it up. BTW where did you get the handles?

 

Sweeeeeet I dont particularly like the cathode on the side, but other than that, its looking good

 

uhhhh... thats not a bandsaw. Its a scroll saw: http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDU...m2msn&cm_cat=shopping&cm_pla=prod&cm_ite=prod

Band saws use a bade that looks like a (really) long hacksaw blade with the ends welded together: http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDU...m2msn&cm_cat=shopping&cm_pla=prod&cm_ite=prod

It looks really good, though i am interested in the explanation for the fluroescentl light stuck onto the case's side.

 

You are of course right, sometimes I sleep when I type. The light on the side is an emergency locator beacon in case you loose the pc or in case of rapid decompression.
There was a story that went with the mod, but I did not get any response to it so I removed it. When the case is done it'll all come together and make sense. I hope...

 

Try this www.allelectronics.com

I get a lot of stuff from them.

 

love your work mate,
i like the idea of using the plugs so you cant removve the front panel http://forums.bit-tech.net/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=732213#
thumbsup

 

if it were i said; mee likeeee but now mee nooo likee... its just have too much mesh... and silver god dammit! why not pearl white and litle blue? artic warefare magnum

 

Hello, that is just a base coat for the texture, I will lightily sand the shiny-ness off. This pc is going be aged. And I am going to add more mesh as the main window is going to be a security window as well.

 

great idea shortening the case, and nicely done.
(i do have to say that some details like the yellow/black stripes are a little too cheesy however).

and man do you take a lot of pics! but that's a good thing.

keep up the good work ,and keep us updated...

 

this mod is sweeet
great idea and even greater implementation, keep it going!

 

i REALLY dont like it mostly because i like BIG huge beefy cases where you have dubble the space you need
and i hpe you realize that the psu will really heat up your cpu coz there isnt much airflow going to it.

 

I understand your sentiment but I am tired of lugging a full size case and of being careful with the custom paint job on it (I haven’t posted pics). Now I will have a case that is smaller and has some character.

Both fans on the pu will suck air from the area of the processor. The proc. will be water-cooled. I have done some testing, the temps will be a little warm but okay. I will have room on the fan bus to add one more fan. And the perforated metal on the bottom of the case is a perfect place to suck some additional cool air.

If you like them big, I am also modding a full size dell server case, just wait for that one...

 

i really like this mod...

to be totally honest, before i saw this i had plans to cut down my chieftec (sp) case.. its just like yours.. i was going to cut it the other way though, so i have the drive bays..

and now i see you got to it before me ...

anyways, great job..... your constructing is excellent and would you mind if i used some of your ideas?

offtopic.. some of the comments have been kinda harsh i think... but i really like your mod.

and about the story behind this, i didnt get to see it, but i dont think you shouldve taken it down.. cuz the way you put it, it sounded like you were a little discouraged or something.. well i encourage you to put it back up.. most people ( i think) on these boards just look at the pictures and dont read anything

good work
-DyLaN

ps, if you have aim maybe we can share ideas and stuff. my name is : whatne1wuddo

 

hey boot, nice project going so far, i love the idea of taking a mid-tower and turning it into something small and custom! I noticed that you and i have the same ryobi sander tool thing!, it works wonders on plexiglass and aluminum

 

how about a rotating flow indicator for your watercooling?
http://www.thermaltake.com/watercooling/cl-w0012flowIndicator/cl-w0012.htm

http://www.coolfan.be/index.php?include=prodinfo&productid=939

Those are a couple I could find. (the one on the second link is better.)