Modding ATTN: Custom Case Builders: Advice Requested

I've had (a little) personal experience with building a mini-ATX case from aluminum angle and aluminum sheet as a cover. The frame is extremely solid and they are easy to make. Get some countersunk rivets and the paneling can be flush up against the frame. You could anodize it or have it done by a professional, that may give you close to the powdercoat look you want (especially if the panels are sanded to a high grit and polished to eliminate the brushed look, or you could keep it even).

Just a suggestion, however it seems you have the experience to do much more, so I'd encourage pushing the bounds, just try not to go too far.

 

Not having the hump would indeed make things easier!

Hard is relative. To someone with the tools, skills and experience, this would no doubt be easier than to someone who has not. But the Wise Master says: To mod is to learn.

 

Nexxo: indeed it would then be easier. will you be my mod master?

Emon: anodizing would be cool. im guessing its right up there with powder coating in price. i need to check this stuff out. thanks for the idea.

AND NOW THE MOMENT YOUVE ALL BEEN WAITING OR:
(a crappy image of my case designed with my not so "1337" sketchup skills)


(gotta give props to my friend john for hosting my crap. PROPS!)

ok there she is. you cant really tell from that image, but the front and back are 3/4" shorter at the top than the base, and the sides both lean in 3/4" giving a sort of "A" shape. the sides are flat, the top is flat. the only curves are at the top. the arches at the bottom are, of course cut out.

the "floor" and "back" of the case arent shown, but there is a flat floor above the arched legs, and a back is square to the floor, but there is a facia covering all the ugly plugs that follows that angle of the case. huh huh waddaya think?

 

Actually, you can home anodize for nothing more than a few dollars. There's a guide here on Bit-Tech, and various guides around on the net. Though it won't be as thick a layer and you won't get as good colors.

 

thanks for the tip

 

The easiest way to get and keep a good shape/finish for that sketchup design would be to use 2mm aluminium like im using for my case :linky (had a major change of construction as plexi was a huge pita to work with).

You can do those bends, and it will hold its shape well enough. Getting a nice finish is merely a case of sanding it to the desired grit, then either leaving it a few days to oxidise completely (harder protective coating on the aluminium), or start painting immediately.

Its also much easier to correct mistakes with aluminuim than with plexi, and a heatgun/blowtorch will still heat it enough to make it handworkable (iirc alu melts around 600*c). If you are painting it and there are scratches then car body filler will do the trick. You can also take it to a car body repair shop, and if they're nice, they may paint it for you when they next do a car of the colour you want, they wont have to use the plasticiser etc... as they would on plexi.

I have never worked with fibreglass so I am unable to comment.

 

First off, really like the design. Second, as a first time project working with plexi, it's going to be a pain, but here's how I'd do it.

Get a board, wider than the top. Rip it to the width of the top minus the thickness of the plexi doubled and cut it longer than the base of the case. Using a router/sand paper, round the edges of the board, Attach said board lengthwise to a sawhorse or something of the like. Make Four identical sides out of MDF the taller than the sides of the finished case, and the same length as the board. Secure the bottoms of the boards together so the sides form the angle you want them to have. Make sure there are no little splinters or anything else that would mar the soft plexi. Using a sharpie mark the center of the plexi, and the center of the top of the wooden box. Put on some good, insulated, either leather or cotton gloves. Gently heat up the plexi with a heat gun over the general area of the top of the case to get it all warm. Next start working on about a 2" wide strip of the plexi with the heat gun. (This will be the first bend in the top of the case.) This is the tricky part. Be sure to take your time and practice a few times on scrap pieces before this. Even after a couple hundered bends, it still seems tricky to me to heat 1/4" plexi without a strip heater. Now align the center marks so the plexi is sitting flat on top of the box with on side drooping down. Finish heating up the edge to where you can make the bend. You can use your INSULATED GLOVED hand to smooth out the bend. This is the part where you use the extra to sides of the case. Place one of them on the outside of the plexi, sandwitching the plexi in between the mdf sheets. (When plexi cools, it has some memory and warps if you allow it.) Secure the sandwitch with some type of clamp, i.e. C clamps or quickrelease slides. Next start heating up the other edege of the case. Repeat the whole bending, smoothing, sandwitching, clamping on that side. Let cool for at least a couple hrs. I'd let it go overnight. The last thing you want it for it to warp after you've put so much work into it. Cut the front and back angles. Cut out the front and back panels and glue them on. (This should fix any warping that might have occured when cooling.)


I've gotta run now, but I think that's it. If any part of it doesn't make sense, just say so. Also, I don't remember if you said there'd be an eject button for the disk drive, or if you were just going to eject stuff with software, but I'd definitly recomend having one, especially since it's for you girlfriend. You could move it to the back of the case with just a little spst momentary submini pushbutton.

 

thanks for the tips. that case look like its gonna turn out to be pretty nice. i really like how you did the corners where the aluminum trim meets. thats sweet.

thanks.

this was pretty much the idea i was having. make a wooden form and shape around it. so, this is the best way to do it?

what exactly is a "strip heater?" is there a major difference between a strip heater and a plane jane heat gun?

if i smooth out the plexi with my gloved hand, or anything for that matter, wont it leave marks in the plexiglass when it is done?

excuse my ingnorance yet again, but mdf stands for what?

this is the exact same thing i was thinking. i planned on having it eject with software, but was thinking about a small eject switch on the back (stealthed of course) so that it could be ejected if something went wrong. shes pretty smart and if i showed her how to sw eject it, she would rember, but sometimes that stuff just "breaks."

thanks for the info, if you could help me fill in the few holes, i think ill have a pretty good understanding of how exactly i should do it in plexi if thats the way i go.

i havent decided yet. i like the deep look of the plexi painted on the inside, but it sure sounds easier to work with aluminum or steel. then get maybe a powder coat job or something. argghhh! decisions decisions.

 

MDF = Medium Density Fibre board. It is like chipboard, except that instead of wood chips, it uses wood fibre. It is great all-purpose stuff; strong, light, dense, vibration proof, easy to work with.

I'm sure your girlfriend will not consider that remark patronising in any way. In any case, your new case design is easy to make, both in aluminium and plexi. If you go for aluminium, I would consider welding/hard soldering the seams from the inside and polishing the outside smooth. If you go for plexi, I would consider a proximity switch circuit for the CD-ROM eject function. That way you (or your girlfriend) can eject the CD-ROM simply by touching a spot on the surface of the case (a bit like in Apple LCD monitors). Put a nice white LED underneath that glows when you activate the circuit, and the effect is complete!

 

thanks for the link to that info. i guess you can tell my modding experience meter is way down at the "low" end.

its starting to not look that way.

that is a pretty pimp idea. (might have to start considering the room for a proximity switch in there) my idea involved the back facia of the case. make the top of the facia flexible enough that when pushed in on it would trigger the switch. either way....

seeing as how i am sitting in front of a 20 inch apple cinema display right now, i think i am gonna go have some fun pushing the little "button."
<push...>
<push...>
<push...> .....

 

First Shagbeard that case is going to look awesome!! I think plexi with leds giving it that glow effect would make it look uber sexy and kind of futurestic.

Where would I get one of these switches. Never seen one but I have to have one!!

 

thanks phiber. i believe i saw a thread in the electronics forum a long time back. i believe that you could find it by searching. i dont think you can out and buy one yet.

 

I hate to hijack this thread, but nexxo, do you have any idea how to develop one of those prox switches!? I have just started a plexi case and I think that would just look awesome.

And shagbeard, I recommend NOT going with a software eject button.

1) Murphy's Law: You KNOW that somehow you'll end up freezing windows at some weird point, and then you can't eject the CD.

2) Murphy's Law pt. 2: Windows is one of those wonderful things that when it gets too messed up, you have to reinstall it. If something ends up where the comp won't boot past BIOS, how would you boot from CD to recover if you can't open the drive?

I know you mentioned that you already nixxed this idea, just thought I'd give you some more reasons to keep with that decision.

 

again, i recall seeing a thread about it in the electronics forum some time back, try searching there first.

i havent nixed the idea. im still gonna have software eject, im just going to employ a hardware way to do it as well. maybe proximity or maybe hidden on the back of the case.

 

LOOKNG FOR INFO ON PROXIMITY SWITCHES? START HERE.

OOPS! forgot till now. this weekend, i tried my hand at bending a scrap piece of acrylic i had. i found an old heat gun in the shop, so i fired it up and gave it a go. my first bend turned out ok, there was a bit of a flat spot in the middle, but really all i was doing was seeing how long it would take to get soft enough to bend. it didnt take near as long as i thought it would, but then again, i probably wasnt going as slow as i probably should have been. i tried it again with better results. i think i could do prety good with the shape of the case, if i really took my time.

this also reminds me... i was thinking about frosting the inside of the case before painting it white. i thought it might help with some light diffusion if i decided to shine light through it. my dad told me that he had recently purchased a sandblaster. he said that if i took the acrylic and sandblasted it with tiny glass beads at a low setting, it would work like a fine grit sand paper. anyone ever tried this? it would be perfect for my idea because i could paint an area black, apply a decal, sandblast then remove the decal and paint the thing white. this would leave the area under the decal unfrosted and smooth. so, there would be shiny smooth black writing, and then a frosted glossy white case...in theory. does this logic work? i mean will this plan work like i hope? its worth a try, so i may give it a go this weekend if i get a chance.

any advice on what to paint a scrap piece of acrylic with?

EDIT: added link to proximity switch thread.

 

Hey, sorry to post and run out on you, but I'm taking calculus this semester (without having had pre-calc), and it's really giving me a run for my money.

Unless you have a vacuum forming table with male and female molds already made lying around.

A strip heater heats the plastic, sometimes to a preset temp, in about a 2" wide strip. Here's a pic of one. Here a link to just the element that you might could build a small table out of, but I'm not sure if you'd want to spend $40 on something you'd only use on this one application.

Nope. Pretty cool property of hot plexi, imho. Just make sure there's nothing hard on your gloves, like a metal shaving or bit of wood or grit or something. On second thought I'd probably recomend using a soft cotton towel. Btw, I'm sure you'd know, but no snythetic stuff. Don't want it melting to the hot plastic. Whatever you use, try it out on those test pieces in the garage. Heat 'em up with the heat gun in a strip, just bend them over with your hand, and see if you can make the edge sharper using your *heavily insulated* fingers. (Oh, how I loath stupid disclaimers. If you are stupid enough to touch molten plastic with your bare fingers, you really don't deserve to have them in the first place. Ok, back to topic now.)

BTW, thanks Nexxo for picking this one up. Just like he said. The reason I suggested it is because it is completely smooth, (i.e. good for making molds out of) and has a decently high temp for burning. Although I have set it on fire once or twice. (Had a really long bend on some really thick plexi that kept cooling off before the heat gun would come back to that end. So I used an LP torch. Left it at one end a little too long and well, MDF will smolder if you get it hot enough. However, I was able to just slide the plexi down from that end and make the bend ok.)



I'm really liking the idea about the proximity switch. I highly recomend the QProx line of chips for this. One of the QT11x series should fit your needs quite nicely. *Edit: Totally missed the link.*

Good luck with this, and I can't wait to see where it's headed!

 

yeesh! good luck with that. calc 2 really ate my lunch. took it three times...no comment... hope it all turns out ok for ya.

wow, that thing is pretty pimp. now, just like every other tool ive ever seen, i have to get one... sooner or later... hopefully sooner?

good advice, thanks. didnt even think of synthetics...and uh as for touching it with my fingers, well, i almost did.... i have a tendency to do that. but i caught myself this time...thank goodness....

i took a look at the local lowes the other day just parused around and found the mdf. ive seen it before, just didnt ever realize it was called that. pft.

thanks for the tip. i havent gotten this far in the design. im still trying to figure out hardware.... but i do like the idea a lot. ill probably do this, and maybe make the switch led flicker blue for activity. i dont know yet. one step at a time. and the step i need to look at now is the hardware.

have thought of adding a couple features to this thing. thought about adding a tv tuner card to it so it can play dvds, cds ant tv. i dunno. i might be over complicating it.

thank you thank you thank you so much.

 

Shagbeard, thanks for the link. I think I need to take a bit of my own advice and . But, I suppose that's what I get for never even having heard of those before.

This case will be sweet. And strip heaters are awesome little pieces of equipment. Though I find it hard to justify their cost sometimes, if you need to make a nice clean bend (i.e., drive cages, etc.), they're terrific. Just don't try to use them for any type of graceful bend, or it will more likely than not look like total $hit. You can do the same thing as a strip heater with a heat-gun and decent mold, you can't replace a heat-gun with a strip heater, though. Just in case you're on a budget. It's one of those "finesse" tools that are nice to have kickin' for that occasional time you need them.

 

no problem. i needed to find it again for myself.

i sure hope so. and i hope that i can make it happen.

 

Why not make a mold out of a foam block and cover it with fibreglass and resin?