Scratch Build – Complete ⭐ Da Module Thingy - Handmade Not Sponsored

It is planned, the problem is previewing it without screws.
It will be more noticeable on the other side, because the CPU cooler and the GPU need a couple of mm to stay inside the case

 

No screws man, no screws....

 

Kim just says it best

 

Update.

So I'm getting close to the finish line and now I'm working on the exterior part.
The frame is so tough I can sit on it without a problem, and I weight about 90 Kg for a Case is enough .
I have reinforced the the external shells with an aluminium tube frame.



Then I put it all together with the outer metal corners.
The Idea was to leave it as one big C section metal shell, but due to having almost no space between it and the main frame slipping it in and out led to scratches to the main frame .
I then cut the tube frame and now I'm going to use a 2 C section outer shells configuration.



This is the Base Crown, it took a couple of days to really get it square and now it is.




I want a couple of handles, but I had the bad Idea of trying to bend a steel tube with my little bender and I broke it again ( yes again ) but I repaired it today.



I looked at the case with the outer shell on, and I was starting to think that it was a bit too bland compared to the Main frame.
Then when I was working on one of the shells, I turned my view to the case and it gave me the impression of looking like a Sci-Fi Bin .
After that I couldn't unsee it this was a BIG no no , so I'm adding some complexity to the outer shells .
Here a couple of pictures of one of the metal layers that I'm going to add to the outer shells to give some texture.




I have a couple Ideas on how to make the outer shell attach to the main frame, I know which one I'll use (no screws) but I will tell you about it when it's done.

I will not use glue to keep the acrylic glass, it would limit future repairs and color changing of the outer shells (it will happen I already know ) so there are going to be a couple of screws for these.

Before you ask why I won't use tempered glass, it's because:
A: it would add useless weight to the case
B: I would brake it after 5 minutes or less I know my self .

Thinking about the final phases, I never told you about my custom GPU cooler with dual 120mm Fans I crafted in November I will show it when it's all complete.

Thanks all for the comments, have a nice day.

 

Thrust vector control?

 

Small update more to come in the next days.

I had a problem with the aluminium tube, it wasn't the same thickness on all it's length.
I had this same problem with the final parts of the big Cs, thankfully for those I was still able to get the parts done.
But for the handle it didn't work, I didn't have any aluminium tube of the same size around so i went a different route rectangular tubing.

The new handles are now of a different shape, maybe stronger as there are steel corners riveted inside the aluminium tube.
The handles are going to be wrapped, so the holes and rivets won't be visible.



I had to modify the top fan module, the opening system I was going to use would not work well with the new handles so I went with another option it's not the only change caused by the tube problem.
These are a couple of pics of the teeth for the shells, these will clamp them to the bottom crown.




I know that I didn't explain or shoot it during the crafting process, but I'm going to explain the connection between the modules.
Between them there are and there will be some neoprene padding to prevent noises and vibrations.
I used rivets to make a solid structure for each element composing every module, but all the modules are connected one another by screws + nuts for future maintenance or repair.
Here is a photo of the holes on the main frame base, I made it when I was refining the base crown itself and before putting the neoprene strips on the main frame base.



I tried to thread the parts, but it was just a try as I already knew from past experiences if the aluminium isn't thick enough it's not the best for thread strength so I went with Inox fasteners.

As we get close to the finishing part I made a final choice the shells won't be bare aluminium, I already thought about it at the beginning of this project and all bare doesn't work for this case.
I'll leave the rest bare aluminium, so these parts will have a lot of contrast with the black shells like the wrapped part of the handles and no I won't paint them.

One of my many passions are cars and bikes, I don't have a problem doing anything on a car or bike and I already restored and modified upholstery so it' all good don't worry.

 

Eye candy!

 

Incroyable fait main! Tout ce que j'aime!!!

 

Now that I'm sure the shells are going to be wrapped with leather, I have more freedom with the shells and every rivets will be hidden.
Not having to leave the shells bare aluminium is handy, I can work faster on them and I just have to make sure to not scratch badly the inside.

These are the top crown teeth these keep the shells aligned and are now riveted to the crown, but you can't see them when the shells are on



Welcome to the brushing train , using this technique save a lot of time when brushing a lot of small parts with the same finish.

Before



After



If you want a finish similar to this on aluminium
Patience
Sand paper grit 80 until you remove all the bad looking scratches and get all uniform
Patience
Sand paper grit 320
Patience
Brush to get more matte finish but not to fast or the metal warm up too much and tend to become almost orange peel looking and not brushed.

If all goes well at the end it will look similar to a lot of brushed metal products you buy in stores.
If you get the "orange peel" problem let the metal cool down, and start from grit 80 but go slower this time.
It happens nothing tragic as long as the metal is not too thin for your needs.

Here is the case when testing the top teeth at the early afternoon



These next shots are just before dinner, and show how the shells are evolving to the final shape of an octagon gemstone from every side not only from the top or the bottom.





Tomorrow I'm going to finish the borders especially near the handles, and rivet the base teeth as there are already the holes done but I need to finish the inside near them before locking all parts in place.
As you can see after the tube problem the round tube will act only as support and will stay there as frame, I don't have enough elements made from it to justify having only 4 tubes maybe in another project.

Then some pics of the top module, I have chosen to put the wings outward so it's like they guide the airflow and they do if you think about it.





Some may have noticed that there are no holes for the power buttons, that's because there won't be a power button on the case it will have a remote power switch on the desk.
In one of the last photos there is a glimpse of the hole for the CPU cooler, more on that in the next days.

Thanks all for the comments and likes , I'll keep you updated.

 

WOW, man i really want to se this finished!!!

 

This is starting to look realy good

 

The handles, if they are handles, strongly dissonate with a general streamlined shape.

 

Thanks for the input much appreciated, I've been thinking about it too and know that they may look a bit too intrusive now but I'll wrap them in black so they won't stand out as much as they do now.
As I told in one of the last posts, they were supposed to be made with round tubing with a very different and clean design .
Now I don't have enough aluminium tubing to craft them, so I had to sway to another path to complete the project with what I have left in my garage and they still help me in grabbing the case without having to worry to scratch the frame.
Worst case scenario I can change them or delete them altogether, they are screwed on the top crown not riveted so it takes just a couple of minutes to remove them and be done with it but I want at least one handle so I'll look into it.

Here a couple of pics of the shells teeth, do you remember that the main frame has bended wings near the base? Beside looking cool they hide almost completely the teeth especially when the hardware will be all in place.

Where are they?



Gotcha



Tomorrow I'll probably make a bit less progress, but on Friday I'll start to full speed again.

 

I thought about the pipes, too, when I saw the handles. The main frame looks amazing!

 

I'm agree with censored_Prometheus, you should remove handles that doesn't sounds great with your amzing case design and amazing shape. Couldn't you keep only one handles with an unmountable system ? Just to use your handle when you'll need it?
Or one telescopique handle like luggage?

 

I have the concept in my head, and to be honest it is hard to give a correct idea of how it will look in the end because I have not seen an hybrid idea like what I have in my mind around.

There are also very few Sci-Fi concepts like mine, it's rare to see leather mixed with other materials especially on something that is not a wearable item like clothing or some kind of luggage or furniture.

I want it to give the idea of being a movable module, like a AI or powercore module you take with you so I want it to have some handles.

Maybe I will get it a bit closer to my original small case concept, that was vaguely grenade like but I moved a bit away from it when the case got bigger.

Still for sure I'll leave the connection for the handles there as those can be useful for a lot of things and are hidden by the shells.

I'll wrap the handles black so I make the final choice by tomorrow.

 

I wrapped the handles with some elastic black grey band I had in the garage, it's not how it would be wrapped at job finished but I got a visual about them a bit darker.

I think that maybe I overestimated how much the case is bigger than it really is now, bigger but still not gigantic.

I'll get back to the drawing board for these, I think it's more about proportion than anything else.

But they're more a side project, as they work for what they are supposed to do so finishing the shells is a top priority.

 

Yep, you maybe should do smallest height handles.

I did on my handlebar aluminium bike a straping with bands i had cut in a air chamber tube.

Its a nice recycling stuff and easy to find. And aluminium and black/Grey Rubber are 2 fantastics matching materials.

 

Thanks for the input, I'm already drawing some new handles concepts.

I still have some aluminium tubing and sheets, it's just the round one I'm missing or to be more clear I don't have enough of it to craft the handles.

I will make them good looking, right now I'm looking to find a way to get them closer to the round tube concept but with different section .

The handles are going to be wrapped with black alcantara, leather or paracord with a cool weave pattern , I used the elastic band as a fast way to look at it in black and now I know they are too big.

In the next days I'll work on the shells mostly those are going to stay that way, and working on them may give some inspiration for the top handles.

I didn't show you the external back handle/ cable guide/ foot of the case, remember that I want it to be able to be placed vertically or horizontally and the back cable guide will do both jobs.

 

Handles or not, this is still the greatest metal work I'v seen in a while, I really love your concept