Project: GEARED UP. More tinkering! 10/3.

yeah she sure does look cool, but the fact that there's a gap in the illumination kinda makes it look.. well... so

Let me suggest buying a 2nd one and stacking them so the gaps are offset. You can run the inverter at a lower voltage, perhaps, to control the intensity.

 

Gotsta live with the gap. Can't really stack them (although I have a second ring) because the gears will be more than an inch off of the surface of the panel. Later on I really think I may cut a hole to get it recessed into the panel.

 

That ring looks nice, shame about the gap at the bottom.

Will keep my eye on this one. Keep on modding

 

Got the 6" mulitcolor luminglas in yesterday and immediately ripped it apart.
This is what it's supposed to llok like all lit up.



And After I ripped it to shreds.




There are 2 main components.



The Luminglas itself...^^^



...and the component that feeds it power.



I snipped the wire that connected the 2 and plan on extending them
so that I can place the electronics inside the case. The glass will be held
to the perforated mesh by the 4 mounting screws/holes in the back plate of the glass.

My plan was to cut the top blowholes tonight after the wife went to work
but I may deviate from that plan to finish planning how to route all the wires.

My big question is this: The Luminglas came with a 12v AC adapter. If I
spliced a molex onto it would I be able to power the glass from the PSU?
The info off the adapter reads as follows.

Input: 120v AC 60hz 6.4w
Output: 12v AC 500mA
(class 2 power supply).

Any help in the electronics department will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to all that are keeping up with the project as it keeps me going as well.

 

Man you suck. I had the same idea for a gear inspired case. It was going to be my next project. Guess i better think of something else. Keep up the good work I really wanna see how it turns out.

 

Sorry.

 

Nah dont worry about it. There are different interpretations of gears. I could always do something different. Keep up the good work. Cant wait to see more pics.

 

Well, if the power adaptor plugs into that little box you took apart then you should be able to just run the psu 12v straight into that device, however you can probably relocate the device if needed. but that device converts the power to something else or modulates it somehow I am sure. I just would not be sure about the current draw, numbers are not my figure.


And look I didnt quote the picture.

 

carefull with those lumiglass plates as im shure they use very high voltages and that thing will give you quite a jolt. Also if you plan on extending the wire use a rellay heavy gauge multithread wire and make shure you solder it well and put some shrinktubing on it. Also wherever you place the inverter for that thing make shure you keep it away from hdd's and ram. Put it tucked away under the psu or something, but at the smae time make shure its got a decent amount of ventilation as it will burn out.

Gr8 mod keep it up

 

I was thinking after mounting the glass to the panel I may just route the power lead through the panel and out the bottom of the case and mount it there. Inside would be preferable though. Even mount a 40 or 60mm fan to the plastic casing. Add an on/off switch and be done with it. But then again this is the expendable glass and I can do whatever I want to it. The 8" is still on the way.

I plan on using 12g wire (sleeved of course) to extend the main power wire into the case so I'm not too worried.

 

If that is not a typo, and it really says output 12v AC 500mA - then NO - you cannot use your PSU to power the luminglas. The PSU in your computer outputs DC. DC: Direct Current. Like a for instance a battery (or your computer PSU). AC: Alternating Current. Like power running in your wall sockets.

DC is "constant". or,at least its supposed to be. 12v DC stays 12v DC.

Now, AC is different. Here in Norway, and many other parts of europe, mains run approx. 230v, 50Hz. In the US, 120v 60Hz.
The principle is fairly basic. Hz (Hertz) means oscillations per second.
Now, your 12v AC doesnt state it's oscillation frequency (Hz), but's let's say it's 60 Hz. This means it changes from +12v to -12v and back, 60 times per second.

Picture this. DC: water running from point A to point B through a hose. AC: same thing, but the water changes directions 60 times per second.

That's pretty much the basics. Got a bit too much body, but I just wanted to explain why you should NOT run that thing off your PSU. It might very well possibly harm both.

Want to know more? here is a good place to start.
Uncertain what voltage runs in the sockets in "you-country-here" ? Find out here.

 

Wow that's just odd. I was JUST looking at the power supply and noticed the output was AC and not DC so I obviously nixed the pan to power it off the PSU.

 

Hey man looking nice

Anyway.. why don't you just put the plug in your socket wall and work the wire away into your case. Shouldn't be that much of a problem I think. The only thing is that you have to unplug it when you want to move your case.

Oh and btw check your email

 

PM'd ya.

Cut and installed the top blowholes. It was a beeeyotch! My dremel skills suck but are improving. I just got finished. A planned hour long project took 5!!! As late as it is I don't have any pics but will get some up first thing tomorrow.

 

I read the thread, but couldn't know for certain if you mentioned wich fans to use. If it's 120mm, you could always slap a CD on there, it should be exactly 120mm. A mini-cd is 80mm. Maybe you knew this, but just thought it was worth mentioning.

A tip on dremling blowholes: if the material you're cutting is fairly solid, drill a hole in the center of the blowhole, and run a fairly long screw through there. Then, just put the dremel up against the screw - and when cutting you'll be "revolving" around the screw. The most ideal situation would be to attach the dremel to the screw, but I haven't figured out how to do this yet - at least not without obstructing the dremels ventilation airflow.

Why not mod your PSU with a double socket, like the ones that has a main power bypass to the monitor? then take power from there. Or, you could make a bypass from psu intake, and add a socket for the transformer on the "inside-case" side of the PSU.

Anyways, be carful with working with PSU's. these things can slap you silly, even possibly kill you. Morte.

 

It pwnesssss

 

Blowholes away!

Had these snapped off last night but was dead tired.
I had to reshoot them becasue I didn't notice my Crystalfontz
display wasn't actually displaying. I didn't take any
step-by-step pictures because it's a couple of blowholes.
And how many different ways does one need to see a blowholw
cut? So here are pics of the dual 120mm blowholes
in all their glory.



Front view with new additions on top^^^
The blue fan controller will be swapped out with a black one.



Side shot showing how purple the neon ring actually is.^^^
Don't worry. Just waiting for the blue ones to show up so I
can swap it out and mount the Luminglas at the same time.



Closeup.^^^
For some reason the rear fan lights up brighter than the
front one. I'm hoping it's because I have it running right
off the PSU and haven't connected it to the fan controller.



And another closeup.^^^



And another.^^^



And another.^^^



And yet another!^^^

I have some small gears on the way to accent the empty
areas of the panel and a bunch of black mirrored plexi to
cut and install to finish off the top and the sides. Then I'll
move on to the front and finally the interior-not necessarily
in that order.

 

I already commented on this, but this just keeps getting better and better. All the comments I make are for people's who's projects I really like, but this REALLY stands out, you should have ten times as many comments as you have now! I hope you get an article here for this, because this is just freaking beautiful.

 

Again, a very likable mod. be careful not to totally overdo it - would really dislike to see this mod loose its style

 

x2 on that one.. don't make it to crowded. You're doing an excellent job man.. keep up the good modding.

(Did you manage to order a Luminglass for me btw?)

-aevi