Scratch Build – In Progress ATX Cube Case (26 Aug 07 - Completed! But not entirely...)

Hi all!

I eventually stopped planning and started doing some real work on my new case today.

Firstly, here is some Sketchup pics of my new case I am gonna build:

Front:



Front Angled:



Back Angled:



So, I started off today by cutting and grinding a 6 meter Angle Iron into smaller pieces (37cm each) to make the structure of the case.

Here they are, all ready to be welded together: (This took me several hours to do!)



As I know absolutely nothing about welding, my dad will weld the pieces together for me tomorrow.

So, I also need 2 drive cages and a mobo plate - luckily for me I found 2 cases willing to take one for the team and donate their inners

Donor 1:



As you can see, Its already stripped for some reason I cant even remember, but oh well - the insides are still fine.

Donor 2:



Yup, This is my current Superman case. I have a small problem now as I have to take out all my stuff, put it in some other old case laying around so I can get the insides out - but that will also only happen tomorrow.

 

Okay, so I got the drive bay out and test-fitted my new Thermaltake iCage.







As you can see, the top part of the drive bay cage must be removed as I only need 3 slots for my case - it will have to be done on both drive bay cages.

The pink part must be removed:

 

Nice design. Looks well organized and easy to get effective cooling. Is the mobo gonna slide out? Looks like it'd be hard to get to otherwise.

Just curious, why 3 CD/DVDs?

Any ideas on the outside? Or are you holding that back as a surprise?

 

LOL - I am only putting 1 dvd drive - I just put them in there in sketchup and never removed them....

There will be a fan controller in one of the bays and the extra one will be left open for the time being.

The outside....I want it to be as sleek as possible, no windows. i am getting some nice translucent black plexi from Dae Ja Voo most probably next week some time. (Remember my thread in modding? Where I want the case to look mirror-black when off but almost see thru when on...)

I will be covering the fans with black mesh covers from performance-pcs so they'll be a bit stealthed when the pc is off.

 

WOOPS. Yeah, but I got in on that thread towards the end and I hat to admit it, but I never went back through it. Now I have. Forgive me?

Looking forward to seeing it come together!

 

LOL - not a problem I cant wait to get home from work tomorrow to continue with it

 

Hey guys!

Just a small update - a lot of work though.

Firstly, I had to shorten the uprights and grind the angle iron a bit more:



Here's what it looks like before welding. As you can see, my corners isnt that great at all, but when I am done, you wont be able to see the gaps





Oh, trust me, the sides are all straight, for some reason the bottom side always looks a bit wavy on the pics

So, here's my dad starting the welding process:



And here the bottom side is almost done:



Almost done: (Dont look at the light for too long, you might get arc-eyes!



So the main frame is now welded together and as you can see, I have a LOT of filling and sanding to be done on those welded corners.

Here's some pics of the case with my test mobo in, it fits very nicely!







For tomorrow I am going to remove all the parts from donor number 2 so I can take out the internals I need, even though I doubt very much there will be an update, I promise that I will be doing work on the case

Okay, thats it for today! So far I am very happy with what I am seeing. Any questions and / or comments?

 

im so envious! you have a welder! arrrgggg i hate you!(not really though) nice work on the frame!

 

LOL! Thanx a lot Teyber.

Small verbal update: I disassembled donor number 2 and cut it into pieces so I can get the parts I need out of it. So, tomorrow I will cut the "pink" parts off and try to make a small inside frame for the psu. I still have no idea how I will attach it to the main frame, but I am sure I will think of something when I get to that point.

Also, I need to use body-filler on the corners so it can dry thoroughly through the night in order for me to sand it nice and smooth on Thursday.

Will post some pics tomorrow evening

 

Okay, so I have a small problem.

In the sketchup pics you can see one single frame going around the outside frame that will hold the psu and drive cages. But, it seems my PSU is bigger than a standard ATX psu , so, I will have to make two seperate internal frames for the psu and drve cages.

I really dont have any idea where to start, or how I am gonna do this

Hopefully it will come to me during the afternoon.

 

Another small update.

Okay, so now I get it why modders take so long to buld their cases. You know, I had all the things planned I wanted to do today, but I only managed to do one actual thing. My friend came over to look for a speaker and killed about 40 minutes of my mod-time, and seeing that its winter here, it gets dark very very quickly!

Here's some pics:

Firstly, I managed to disect donor nr. 2 and remove the internal parts I needed. So now I have 2 drive cages.



And, here is where all the parts from the superman case went: (Also, what i am using at the moment to do this)



So, today I managed to cut off the "pink" parts from the cages and now the HDD cage fits perfectly as well as the top DVD drive.







I am also going to be using the mobo tray from Donor 2 instead of the one from donor 1. The things is, the tray is not connected to the back plate, so I will try and get the two attached to each other tomorrow afternoon.





Here is the front panel from donor 2. I want to use the power / reset buttons for my case, including the entire middle section where the hdd and power leds are. The bottom part for the front USB and headphone / microphone will also be used in my new case.



Oh, one other thing I managed to conclude today - my measurements on sketchup was in fact correct!! I dont have to build two seperate frames for the psu and cages, I only have to give them both some slight support underneath!

Hopefully I will have another update tomorrow.

Comments?

 

ARE YOU A GIRL!?!??!?

 

What question is this? Trying to get back at us?

I am a dude. Promise

 

If he is, he's the hairiest girl I've ever seen......

 

Hey, thats my dad in the pics!

 

LOL. Didn't catch that part. Looks like my cousin "Bear". He had a scratch on his forehead once and I asked him if he cut himself shaving.....

 

ah jkjk. man how old are you then? DUDE

 

I am 25 years, 1 month and 5 days old

 

Wow this is looking great. good job man can't wait to see this one get finished.

 

Thanx a lot man - I cant wait either