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Scratch Build – In Progress Diesel Engine (ITX / SFF / Console)

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by ChrisHowell, 1 Mar 2016.

  1. ChrisHowell

    ChrisHowell What's a Dremel?

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    I haven't decided exactly which model yet. It would be great if I can cram as much performance in to the console as possible, but we'll have to see how the heat and space requirements fare. Thanks for the recommendations!




    Power!

    A big part of building small form factor computers seems to be about figuring out how much power you will actually need, before trying to pick from a wide array of power options. I think there is a general trend where people over-estimate how much power thier system uses, insisting that anything under 500W isn't going to cut it. It turns out that is mostly wrong, especially if you choose efficient components and also strip away all of those bits that you probably don't need (optical drives, hard drives, additional PCI cards + case parts that require dedicated power).

    After reading a bunch of bit-tech articles on CPU and GPU power consumption of various similar components, I calculated that anything above 300W should be sufficient, but a 400W or 500W would give my system more 'wiggle room' and operate more comfortably.



    Pico PSU - I discovered Pico PSU early on. They have an external power brick that converts the AC mains to DC. Then an adapter inside the case splits the voltage to the required components. I think though, that the highest Wattage they support is about 160-200W, which simply wasn't going to be enough for me. Though, this looks like a reasonable choice for anyone with a HTPC-type system and doesn't have a dedicated GPU (or has very low power GPU). Seen here is an example of the power brick and adapter. Note the power brick isn't very pretty either!
    [​IMG][​IMG]





    SFX Form Factor - On the other end of the scale, Silverstone have some super powerful supplies in a small form factor. The smallest volume they have is 100mm x 125mm x 63.5mm(I think!), which is available up to 600W! For quite a while I contemplated using one of these supplies and was trying to figure out how I could orientate the supply and components inside the case, without wasting valuable space. Positioning the PSU next to the other components would waste space in at least two dimensions. Event positioning the PSU behind the other components would add extra height and depth to the console that I didn't want.
    [​IMG][​IMG]



    Flex ATX / 1U Power - Then I came across the standard form factor for server power supplies. These come in wide variety of shapes and sizes and you'll see the names "Flex ATX", "1U" or "2U" used to describe server power supplies. While I do know 1U and 2U refer to single and double height supplies, I'll admit I'm still unsure if flex ATX is the same as 1U!

    Either way, they're all 40mm in height, which is very close to the 'flat' height of any GFX card you might see and also pretty close to the height of a motherboard with stock cooler and standard RAM. The width and length of these power supplies vary A LOT, but the smallest comes down to about 81mm in width and 150mm in depth - which again, is pretty close to the 170mm depth of a ITX motherboard and the 150-170mm length of a graphics card. They also come in Wattages from 100W up to about 500W (if you can get your hands on one). The 350W and 400W specced models are quite common though, and sufficient for what I wanted to do.


    A 40 x 81 x 150 Flex ATX PSU
    [​IMG]



    Be Aware that many 1U supplies are the larger 100mm Width or are very long!
    [​IMG]


    Other 1U supplies also do NOT ship with standard cables or are hot-swappable units. Check before buying!
    [​IMG]


    In the end I purchased a 400W Flex ATX supply from FSP. The power should hopefully give me enough room to operate comfortably without over-burdening the PSU. The manufacturer also came highly rated, so we'll see how it fares!


    Last Note: I discovered HD-PLEX after I purchased the power supply. Which seems to be the basis other modders have built small form factor PC's with dedicated graphics. Another power brick style solution that provides much more power than Pico PSU. Something to consider for the future!
     
  2. Cheapskate

    Cheapskate Insane? or just stupid?

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    That lack of space under the I/O prototype might get you. Most boards have 1/8 inch thick backplate. Honestly, leaving 1/4 inch of space on my last build was cutting it close.
     
  3. ChrisHowell

    ChrisHowell What's a Dremel?

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    You've lost me a bit there :D. Are you talking about the back I/O for the mobo? Cheers!
     
  4. Cheapskate

    Cheapskate Insane? or just stupid?

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    It looks like you have zero space under your motherboard. I'm using 1/4" spacers on my new rig, and there's a lot of stuff in the middle of the board that sticks out more than that.
     
  5. ChrisHowell

    ChrisHowell What's a Dremel?

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    Oh really? I planned for about 5mm and have just received some 5.5mm stand-offs to try out. I guess I'll see how it goes - thanks for the heads up. If I do have trouble, I will probably just run a deep laser etch across the base of the console where the motherboard sits. I could remove a couple mm off the material safely I think (it's 6mm thick)
     
  6. Vault-Tec

    Vault-Tec Green Plastic Watering Can

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    That power supply at the bottom (the one in the hex mesh) looks like the one I used to use for my JAMMA set up. It even looks like you can tweak the voltage too (JAMMA was very fussy about the 5v line).
     
  7. ChrisHowell

    ChrisHowell What's a Dremel?

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    [​IMG]

    Manufacturing the Shell

    I started researching companies that would be able to take my CAD files in DXF format and manufacture the case parts for me in sheet metal. I started looking at a few big companies in the US, including the company who's software I was using. But after a few emails to thier rep, it became clear that they would require the design to be as flat-packed as possible, otherwise the shipping cost for the parts was going to be huge. I got some advice from a fellow modder on this forum and contacted in a bunch of smaller companies in the south of the UK, where I live.

    After chatting to a few local sheet metal manufacturers, it became clear I had a few options regarding how much work I wanted them to do. Generally, the less work that needs to be done by the manufacturer to setup the file and the design, the cheaper the cost. As a result, I did all of the design work and took all the responsibility for the fitting and measurements of the parts. I found there were 3 main options:

    Most expensive: You provide a 3D model or non-technical drawing. The company re-creates the design in 2D CAD and translates your idea into a complete product

    Average cost:You provide CAD designs that require tweaking/modification before manufacture. The company products the final product

    Lowest cost: You proved exact CAD designs that require no additional work. The company doesn't build the product, but just produces the finished parts


    I spoke to a few guys that would take my files and supporting documents and produce the parts for me at a reasonable cost. It turned out being able to have a few phone conversations with a local company was great. They even recommended the specific type of mild steel (Zintec) and the thickness required.


    A few weeks later, I got an email that the parts were ready and a very excited me went to go and pick them up :D

    Seeing something real for the first time, after it only existed on my computer screen for many weeks. Totally awesome...
    [​IMG]

    The stainless steel spacers take standard M3 screws. They won't be seen when the panels are on
    [​IMG]

    The metal was laser cut directly from the DXF file, so matched perfectly to my paper model
    [​IMG]

    The PCIe bracket bend. Worked out really well!
    [​IMG]

    The button bracket assembly
    [​IMG]

    The SSD Bracket. Driving a PC case screw through the holes created the thread itself.
    The holes turned out to be a great fit for this purpose

    [​IMG]

    I started to test-fit the components that I had
    [​IMG]

    The Motherboard I/O panel. Looking better than my paper case fitting :D
    [​IMG]

    I threaded the holes for suporting the PCIe card
    [​IMG]

    I purchased some 12mm deep M8 hex brass bolts to try out. I created the thread and slotted them in to test the fit
    [​IMG]

    And there it is. Naked, and with no lid or base. But it's coming together! It feels great to see the edges and angles in real life.
    I'm also super chuffed that everything fit together so well.
    It's going to be so small! ha ha.

    [​IMG]




    In the next update...

    This is what I was up to while I was waiting for the case to be completed. More detail on the wooden lid and base soon. I spent a bunch of time trying to find thin-solid wood. It's so much better looking than plywood and other man made boards.
    This was my first attempt using guess-timated laser power settings for the etch + cut.

    [​IMG]

     
  8. disturbed13

    disturbed13 What's a Dremel?

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    im loving the geometric design of that lid
    looking forward to seeing this project continue
     
  9. sethnmalice

    sethnmalice What's a Dremel?

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    Interesting.
     
  10. Vault-Tec

    Vault-Tec Green Plastic Watering Can

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    Wow they did a great job it looks just like the internal structure of something like a Sky HD box.

    Nice one.
     
  11. ChrisHowell

    ChrisHowell What's a Dremel?

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    Thanks dude. Coincidentally, when the idea initially came into my head, I researched buying and modding an aluminium shell that sits inside an Xbox One. You can buy them online, but it was the wrong shape for what I needed.


    [​IMG]
     
  12. ChrisHowell

    ChrisHowell What's a Dremel?

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    [​IMG]

    Wooden Lid + Base

    When I started searching for materials to use for the lid and base of the console, I knew that plywood and other man-made boards weren't going to have the look that I needed. The problem with that was, natural wood boards aren't usually supplied in the very-thin thicknesses that I would require for the console. I also found that nearly all suppliers sold natural wood boards in standardised plank widths (usualy between 100mm-200mm plank widths), which was pretty frustrating because the console measures about 207mm across the short edge.

    In the end, I found a company that sells 'furnature board' for furnature makers. It comes in Pine or Oak and is professionally glued end-on-end to provide really wide (and thin) natural wood boards. The thinnest sheet that they had was 6mm thick - which was about right for what I needed, so I purchased some of this in Pine.


    Lasers - I also spent a bunch of time figuring out how I was going to actually make designs in the lid so that it both looked great and allowed enough airflow for the components. Since all the components are layed flat, the airflow of the lid was crutial to allow the heat to rise up and escape. I searched online for laser cutting services, which threw up a bunch of results in the UK. But a friend told me about a local 'hackspace' where the idea is; you pay a monthly fee and gain access to a whole range of support and machinery that would cost any individual a lot of money (too much for a single project). It turns out they have a couple of laser cutters, a small CNC machine and a bunch of other metal and wood working machinery that I could use myself - result!


    I cut a sample of the boards to 450mm in length to try out my first lid design
    [​IMG]

    The wood is great. It's great quality and looks and smells like fresh pine
    [​IMG]

    Before I got the board cut, I wanted to check the total height quickly
    [​IMG]

    With the 6mm pine boards, I'm at 62mm high in total - not bad! :)
    (so thats 50mm internal space plus two 6mm boards)

    [​IMG]

    This is my first design for the lid. I'm going to take it down to the Hackspace and see if we can cut it!
    [​IMG]

    Annnnnd, we did it! The pine was a odd material to cut because it varies in density around the knots and grain of the wood.
    Some parts took a couple of runs before the laser made it through

    [​IMG]

    The contrast of the black lasered edges against the fresh wood looks great. You can also see to the right here, some of my curves were not actually cruves, but very small straight lines - I need to fix this before I try again.
    [​IMG]

    The base was also cut. It contains mounting holes for the shell and the hardware
    Exact-positions I might add! If I've done all my measurements correctly, everything should slot into place

    [​IMG]

    I did a test-build to check everything fit together OK. First the L-brackets
    [​IMG]

    A close up of the L-brackets
    [​IMG]

    Then I slotted the shell onto the brackets and screwed it in
    [​IMG]

    A close up
    [​IMG]

    I placed the lid on and was happy to see the lid screw holes lined up for my brass bolts
    [​IMG]

    It's still 'naked', but I'm chuffed that it fits together so well
    [​IMG]

    The back view
    [​IMG]

    And the scale shot against those meatballs
    [​IMG]


    A Quick Graphics Check!

    To finish up this post: I borrowed a small form factor Graphics Card off a friend, who had a few lying around. I just wanted to check the fit and see how much room I had when I pulled a random card off the shelf.


    The mounting at the back was really tight, but I got it in and it feels really solid!
    [​IMG]

    Space inside the case pretty-much lines up with my 3D model and expectations, which is great.
    [​IMG]

     
  13. Vault-Tec

    Vault-Tec Green Plastic Watering Can

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    Awesome stuff. Love the optical illusion on the top :)
     
  14. disturbed13

    disturbed13 What's a Dremel?

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    wow
    thats coming together great!
     
  15. ChrisHowell

    ChrisHowell What's a Dremel?

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    [​IMG]

    PCI-E Riser Cables


    I had a bunch of options when choosing a riser cable and I continued on research that I had started when I built my wall-mounted PC. The difficulties with the console build would be bending the cable into the small space and making sure that it actually worked, operating so close to the underside of the graphics card and edge of the motherboard.


    Option 1 - Buy another Premium Shielded Riser from 3M. However, they are very expensive and I was concerned that I simply wouldn't be able to bend the cable into place in such a small space. My wall mounted build had big bends in the cable and I was able to appreciate just how thick the cables are.
    [​IMG]

    Option 2 - Try to manually shield, an unshielded cheap cable again. These cables are super cheap. But when I tried this before, it worked fine, then didn't work, then worked fine again, then stopped working completely. These cheap cables are so hit and miss. I don't think this would work so close to my other components. Also, the contacts aren't very strong, which is something that was immediately obvious when I got my hands on the more premium cables
    [​IMG]

    Option 3 - Buy one of the cheaper, but still premium shielded cables that exist online. I was tempted by these ones that are sold on ModDIY.com . They look to have re-enforced contacts and thick shielding
    [​IMG]

    Option 4 - I discovered another brand of premium shielded cables from a few members of the small form factor forum. Li-Heat cables seem to be reasonably priced and they come in a couple of different styles that have 90 degree angled ends in a few orientations. This seems to dramatically reduce the space required to bend the cable around and into place. This was looking like it was going to be perfect for what i need, so i ordered a 285mm length B. type cable through facebook directly from the company.
    [​IMG]

    I tested the fit inside the case to see how tight the cable can be against the edge of the case. I have to say, it's pretty dam close! I think it's going to fit really well. The only thing left to do with the riser is design a few strips that will pin the cable to the bottom of the case below the GPU.
    [​IMG]

    More small updates soon!
     
  16. ChrisHowell

    ChrisHowell What's a Dremel?

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    [​IMG]

    Woody McWoodwork


    I started the process of staining the wood to get the antique effect that I wanted. The fresh wood was a nice start, but I needed something that would complement the brass. After searching online for coloured waxes, I found out that the most common technique for colouring wood was dye or 'stain'. There is a bunch of videos on YouTube of guitar makers using wood stain to sunburst thier guitars. So I purchased some small sample pots and gave it a go!

    At the same time, I had to work out some weaknesses in my first lid design. Some of the holes were too close together and were causing the top-left section to be rather unstable. I needed to adjust the distance between each of the holes and redesign the location of some of the pattern.

    I purchased some "Light Fast Stain" and used a rag to apply the dye to the wood
    [​IMG]

    My first session with the watered down 'Antique Yew' colour, plus a bit of after-sanding
    [​IMG]

    I came back the next day and wacked some 'Black' around the edges, then applied some neat Yew to blend it in
    [​IMG]

    A bit more sanding to achieve the weathered look. And I wiped it down with a sponge to get rid of the excess
    [​IMG]


    After I was done, I really liked the look of it. So I went down and lasered my V2 lid design into it.

    The V2 lid, back on the console
    [​IMG]

    The design gets lost quite a bit amongst the black, but it looks great here. Nice knots!
    [​IMG]


    I spent quite some time looking at the second version of my lid. I looked great, but I lost a lot of the laser design in the black dye and I wasn't sure it was going to match the brass panels when I put them on. I realised the 'burnt and weathered' look is quite modern and I failed to make it look antique-ey and steampunk-ey. Lots of the sunburst guitars I looked at used the black, orange, white sunburst. It was just too modern!.

    So I bought some 'Rosewood' dye and set about my lid v3 design. This time I would sand it less and not distress the wood as much either.

    First layer of the 'Antique Yew' again
    [​IMG]

    About to cut the lid. You can see a softer colour transition and less sanding
    [​IMG]

    Mid way through the job
    [​IMG]

    Aaannnnnnd. The final result for V3. I think this is the one :clap:
    [​IMG]

    Both lid and base together
    [​IMG]

    A close up :) Looks good!
    [​IMG]

    Another close up!
    [​IMG]

    I finished the job by covering the inside of the console panels with the 'Rosewood' colour
    [​IMG]

    A close up of the base. The colour really IS nice. It looks very antique to the point where you wouldn't recognise the original colour.
    [​IMG]


    After the stain dried completely. I sealed both parts with some clear oil. This prevents stain and protects the wood.

    .......Meanwhile in another part of town..




    Brassy McBrassface from Brassville


    I ordered some cut-to-measure brass sheet for my panels and they arrived while I was waiting for my wood dye to dry. I ordered two thicknesses (1mm and 2mm) to see how they would fare asthetically and structurally. I was conscious the 1mm might be way too bendy.


    My brass sheets! 2mm on the left. 1mm on the right
    [​IMG]

    The 1mm looked cheaper in appearance and wasn't the same grade as the 2mm.
    I chose to scrap the thinner material and begin work on the 2mm

    [​IMG]


    I started by sanding the sharp edges of each panel. They had been guillotine cut and had blemishes and nicks.
    I then began using ebrasive paper to polish each sheet. I had 120, 240, 600, 1000, 1500 and 2000 papers

    [​IMG]

    I can't remember what grade this was, 600 maybe.
    [​IMG]

    This was 1000
    [​IMG]

    And the 2000 grit
    [​IMG]

    A before and after comparison
    [​IMG]

    All three after the work had been done
    [​IMG]


    These guys need to go through a mill to engrave the name into the front panel, then they'll get some antiquing treatment before being fixed to the shell. Very cool! The material itself looks great when working with it.
     
  17. BeauchN

    BeauchN Multimodder

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    I really like the finish on the wood panels. Good job!
     
  18. Mockingbird

    Mockingbird What's a Dremel?

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    Lovely! The brass is going to look great. How are you planning on 'antiquing' it?
     
  19. arduum

    arduum Minimodder

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    mmm... slimcase
    sub :thumb:
     
  20. Journeyer

    Journeyer Minimodder

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    The meatballs have disguised themselves as chopped tomatoes. You've got to keep an eye on them; I think they're planning something.

    Loving your work though. Really liked the effect you got when staining the wood.
     

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