Scratch Build – In Progress Baby Moon *Complete*

*Final Pictures*​

Hello everyone!

This is my second project here at Bit-tech, although I still haven't quite finished my previous one. I'll finish Malin soon enough. But I am "borrowing" the hardware from it for this project.

It's another mITX mod inspired by some chrome hubcaps I picked up. These particular hubcaps are nicknamed "Baby Moons", hence the project name. I'm not a 3D wiz but here are some basic sketchup models to get an idea.





The hubcap/side panels are ~10.5", just big enough to fit a mITX mobo inside the diameter.

The hardware for this will be:

Asrock H77M-ITX
i5-3570
2x4gb Corsair 1600mhz
An old Intel X-25M 80gb SSD
150W picoPSU


This can also be found at OCN.

 

Obligatory materials shot.



Making the outer shell comes first, starting with a 1/8" round-over using a router.





Milling an opening (to be explained later) with my new-ish toy.



You like my budget DRO .

Using a 3/16" ball mill I started cutting the groves.



10 down, 104 to go . I'd kill for a cnc router. The groves will make it much easier to form the shell and I think will look cool. I went ahead and did a brushed finish just in case anodizing can be fit into the budget. If not, it'll get some flat black paint eventually. That's all for today. Thanks for reading!

 

I like the idea and materials! I'll watch!

send from Deathstar via HAL9000

 

This gonna be good can't wait to see the next steps

 

Subbed.

 

Ooh! This looks exciting! I await more!

 

I'd love to give a decent update on my progress, but after three hours I'm still far from done milling the reliefs.



It'll probably be three more hours...

Maybe tomorrow I'll have something more interesting.

 

Update!















Even after 10 hours in the garage today I'm still not quite satisfied with the shell. It'll never be perfect so I''ll be moving on tomorrow after a bit more tweaking.

Next up will be making the base. Thanks for reading!

 

Great work!

Must have been one hell of a job forming that thick alu around the wooden mold!

 

That is awesome looking, I'm looking forward to this build! The unique design really pushes the envelope.

 

How on earth did you manage to get that strip of aluminium around that mould? Did you heat it up or something, or just go crazy with a hammer?

 

Wow, this is shaping up to be awesome. Really unique design, looking forward to the rest.

I'm really intrigued about how you got the Ally around the mould too!
It cant of been that pliable even after the notches.

 

The mould you used doesn't appear to be that rigid either (looks like chipboard or something). The mystery continues.

 

Very nice projekt.
I am already glad about the next updates

 

That form pictured is more for reference. Most of the bending was done by hand with a lot of swearing. I made some wood blocks to do some fine tuning with the help of a mini sledge.



What I haven't shown is that I messed up on one of the grooves and it ended up being ~0.025" too deep. This made it a weak point and I had trouble with it bending more readily than the others which didn't end well.





Time to make a new one.

To make the grooves in the shell I used some two flute HSS mills. To makes things go a bit faster I'm going to order some four flute coated bits and try it again. Because of the small diameter I think I can move up to four flutes and not push my mill too much. I figured something would happen so I bought enough material to make a second shell. The next one should at least be a little easier to make

 

Seriously awesome, that ribbed hoop is brilliantly done & the mirror finish domes, can't wait to see those added.

I really should save up for a mill, every time I see one put to good use I know I should get one.

Oh sheet, just seen the update, nightmare.

 

oh, to such an update I did not think.

You should heat up this before, then it is better perhaps

 

I said the same myself for years. Luckily I picked up a cheapo mill for $400. The next best one was $1200+ so I'll just have to make to do with my Harbor Freight mill.

Alu isn't like steel when bending with heat. It's really tricky to get the right temp without melting and I just don't think I have the skill to do it. What I might do is try to find some untempered stuff, maybe it'll be a bit easier to form compared to the 6061-T6511 I have now.

 

That's an absolute nightmare.

It's a really interesting design, hopefully mkII works better though.

 

I do have some good news. I did some experimenting with annealing. Using a small propane torch I was able to soften up the piece that broke off and it seemed to be easier to bend. Some googling taught me that if you color the back side of the alu with a permanent marker, the color will fade when the metal gets to the right temperature. Although if I do this to the whole piece I may need to buy a torch nozzle for my 20lb propane tank. It'll probably cool off faster than my little torch can heat it. Hopefully it will also be less prone to crack.

At this point I'm not sure if I should go ahead and start milling the new piece or order some different ball mills. I could order new mills and then start on the base... We'll see.