Scratch Build – In Progress Epic PC's Carbide Series is now the Lamptron Vector Series! 12.8.2011

Very true .

 

Try stainless steel screws with a black-oxide coating, here is a link:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#socket-head-cap-screws/=c4r0o4

From a quality stand point, I always use stainless steel hardware--just has a better look and is only margianly more expensive.

 

I had already made the side panel but.......

But because I want this case to kick arse, I threw away 60 bucks of side panel and started again.


I present to you, magnet side panel! There is a 1mm pocket into the 6mm thick acrylic and then we shave down another 6mm part down to 1mm, that becomes the lid.

Then the top is bonded and polished and then bonded again to the side panel. Magnets? You won't even see them.

But hold the phone, won't the panel slide up and down, left and right?



Nope. For those who don't understand what they are looking at, the top corners and bottom corners have pieces that jut out but are level with the original window. These stop the panel going down, left or right. You'll notice I haven't gone on the cheap either, the panel features 24 magnets on the frame and another 24 on the side panel.

I am almost 100% certain that if these magnets pull 600 grams each as stated on the website, then this side panel won't be going anywhere.

If you are wondering what magnets I am using, look no further; http://cgi.ebay.com.au/100-x-Disc-N...AU_Supplies&hash=item35b19bfeba#ht_4992wt_905

They cost 10 bucks and hold around 600 grams each (the ones I got are not in that link, that link just has a good pic of them).

 

+1.

These are the only screws I use (if I want black...which I always do).

 

Personally I hate plain stainless steel hardware, but black oxide makes it a harder material and they become more tolerable.

 

Oooo i like it

The only thing i would say is $1300!?!?!?!

Who could afford that on a case... have you sold cases previous for that much?

 

Sold previous cases for much, much more. Anyhow there's only one me, imagine if I got swamped with orders eh? Plus, this case has over 600 AUD worth of materials in it, I'm hardly going to work on it for 30 hours and give it away for free

Also, the first two are already sold with pre-order deposits =)

 

Jesus... thats unbelievable i wanna be the guy who can afford that

$600 worth of material its a wonder you can afford to produce them, i understand you pay a deposit but damn **** it up and thats not a cheap fix

And i thought mountain mods was expensive

 

Agreed it is very expensive to average joes who don't have that kind of money to buy a case but there are plenty of rich people out there who would like a limited run or entirely unique one of a kind awesome case I'm sure & he already has orders for 2 .

I couldn't really fathom what I'd have to charge for a fully manual made case, suppose I'd have to have a stop watch so I could start & stop it only when actual work is being done to find out how many hours went into actual production & even charging min wage would come to a fair expense & I'd have to account for tool wear & electric used so if I ever have a go at this I need to get way more efficient & somewhat better than I am currently lol but is something I'd like to do at some point but would be even better to make awesome affordable cases for the masses but yeah it would be cool making ambitious cases for the rich too .

Back on topic .

I always thought magnets for side panels would be dodgy but seen G-dubs use them & had no problems from it & if your using them then that assures me there is no problem using them & it really opens up some nice options for mounting side panels, it's an awesome way to mount them I just wasn't sure it's safe so I'll probably use magnets for some things in the future, it really allows for nice removable panel mounts like these that your making .

 

Yeh

Just a little OT that last bit "And i thought mountain...." sounded a like i was saying that was bad

You can see the quality is more than worth it, one thing would be cool is if somewhere in the case you put a serial number (im not sure if you're planning it) then in the future you can see how rare they will be (i can't imagine more than 50 being made before you revise or start a new design)

I love the finish you get on the acrylic aswell looks sorta like acetal on the top of waterblocks

 

I dont care what the quality is... it would have to be worth more in material resale for me to even remotely consider spending that much on a purchased case. If people make nice cases out of cardboard and particleboard then its simply not worth the money to me. Id much rather spend 50-150 on a case, mod it to be what I want/up to my standards, and then spend the remainder on better hardware.

I would definitely spend 1000 or more (if needed) to build my own case if I was dedicated and like the design, but never would I spend even remotely close to that on a purchased case... ever. Now this is not intended to be disrespectful to the builder, I wish I could be the one to build PC cases for a living haha (or at least make some solid money off a much loved hobbie), so the fact that there is some money in it is fantastic! And this definitely is some high quality craftmanship, I'm just saying thats a lot of money and I'd rather spend it elsewhere. Hopefully this doesn't come off to cheeky...


All that aside though this is looking super sezzy, I'm stoked to see how well the side panel sits with just the magnets, and at 600g a piece I would be astounded if it doesn't stay on there I say continue down the path of awesome and keep up the good work!

 

This is it though eh not everyone mods either from lack of any spare time or would just rather use things straight out of the box, many still buy pre put together pc's & rely on tech support over premium rate phone lines & pc repair shops etc.

I think anyone that doesn't mod is missing out on something awesome, it doesn't end with just pc cases, the more you learn the more things you see as possible so some things that don't exist at retail you can just go & make, ranging from a simple case to an aeroplane even , can't imagine myself stopping making things ever other than extremely bad health, it's just too interesting & enjoyable to me .

 

Yeah but the thing is I am not here to sell this case, all I am doing is showing you the creative process. Think of this as a Honda Civic tuning forum and I'm busy in my mad workshop trying to create a BMW M3.

You guys surely want to take something from stock and get more out of it, thats what modders do. I don't expect anyone here to actually want to buy a case like this regardless of cost, you're all here because you like making things yourself and I am no different. This case appeals to a market that doesn't exist on these forums.

 

This is how I'm looking at it mod on .

 

Can somebody here tell me where I can go sell one of my kidneys? I want one of these beauties.

Suggestion:
You should give these puppies a serial number.

Question:
Production timeline? Say I were to send you the $650 deposit (U$650 = AUD$600)... How long would it take for the case to be completed? What would be the shipping costs to North America? Not sure if US or Canada yet.

My thoughts:
- Expensive? Yes.
- Do I even need this thing? Most likely not.
- Smart buy? It's entirely up to the buyer. Some of you may look at it and its price and simply say "got to be out of your mind!". I look at the case and its price and say "where can I find the damn money to buy this beauty?".

 

PM sent.

 

I 100% agree, apologies for hijacking your thread for discussions sake

 

My fault asking how much lol, but noticed he said any questions & as the case is looking in perfect form that was the only question on my mind .

 

No apology needed Anyhow this case is getting back on track this weekend!


Finaly door panel drawing and I got some new carbide and HSS bits in. The HSS should be interesting as it can go through the plastic without overheating. Faster through acrylic = better finish.

HSS doesnt lose strength when heated so might even be able to go up to 6000mm/min!

 

Incoming update, quick someone get us to page 4!