I really like the look of the fan duct thing! Looks very professional, plus the matte black goes really well together with the plexi! About rubber washers: Why don't you check out a store that has parts and accessories for cars, maybe you can find some kind of rubber sheet (noise isolation mats or something), and make your own washers.. Just a thought.. Keep up the good work, bud
Yes, nice work. That first cut can be pretty freaky, especially with a new/expensive case. It gets easier though - just don't get overconfident or rush things. Slow and careful. If you 'underdo' something its easy to just do a bit more. If you 'overdo' something there's no going back! Am I correct in that the symbol is a mask and will be peeled off after painting the inside of the case? For rubber washers - I couldn't find any either. Plumbing places have o-rings but for washers I made some by cutting rubber grommets in half, then using scissors to cut away any bits that still stuck out in the middle. Grommets can be found in electronics/hardware/electrical and auto shops. Second to last pic in this Post shows the ones I used. With socket head cap-screws having such a narrow head in relation to the thread diameter, you may still have to use a metal washer over the top of the rubber one to stop it distorting or popping off. This isn't a worry if it will be between two larger/flatter surfaces. Keep up the good work!
Q&A Thanks again for the feedback and encouragement! I have a Innovatek InnovaRadi Single radiator (like this one here). While I know some people aren't terribly impressed with the Innovatek's performance, the chrome and black goes with my theme...and I'm already enjoying a decent overclock with my current system (Barton 2500+ @ 2.2GHz). Thanks for the advice...I'll check these places out! (My problem, which I haven't mentioned so far: I'm currently living in Germany and Ich spreche kleine Deutsch .) G-Gnome: I plan to place the rubber washers between the acrylic plates and metal washers, so it should be okay. That's correct. What I was saying in my update was that it would've been nice to see a truly "clean" design on the acrylic until I actually paint the case, that's all.
Thanks, Spyder! I'm actually planning to have the air pulled through the radiator from the outside. Good catch, though...I currently have the fan mounted to blow air through the front. It just looked better for the pictures.
Final Cuts and a Minor Setback Cutting Complete Sorry for the lack of updates...the last couple of weeks have been pretty busy and I haven't been able to work on my case like I want. However, I had a few hours this weekend, so I continued cutting my case in preparation for its paint job. I decided that I really needed my watercooling components for the new case...my mock ups were OK, but didn't give me a true idea of how more complex shapes (like my pump) fit in relation to other components. So I spent a couple of hours setting my current system back to stock speeds and restoring all the aircooling gear. (The pictures that follow have the actual radiator I'm using in them...just thought I'd fill you in.) Once that was done, I began cutting the hole for my Bulgin vandal-resistant switch. The ClearPC case comes with rather small holes for the power and reset switches...no way my switch would fit. My first idea was to simply enlarge the round hole...a fairly straightforward task that I quickly finished. Only after I finished and did a test fit did I realize my problem: The Bulgin has a nut which tightens on the inside of the switch and given the clearances marked in the picture above, there was no way I'd be able to tighten it down with the front bezel in place! I considered mounting the switch to the inner bezel and trimming the inner side of the front bezel to allow it to lie flush...but I wasn't really happy with the look. That left me with cutting the inner bezel to allow the switch to be mounted directly to the front bezel. One simple square cut... ...and a test fit showed that this approach would work... ...but looked rather out of place with the curved cuts over the rest of the case. Even though the front bezel will be opaque, I wasn't content to leave my cut as it was, so I rounded off the corners and was very pleased with the result...it looked almost factory-made! And the final test fit: With the cuts I was more concerned about behind me, I marked and drilled the holes to mount my pump on the floor of the case. (No pictures, sorry.) With the exception of the drive bays (I'll be stealthing my drives as Macroman did with Macro Black), I'm now done with the cutting and drilling. Hopefully the weather will continue to be fair and I'll be able to paint this week! Minor Setback Although my fan shroud was a pretty tight assembly, I'd always intended on glueing the fan mounts to the shroud. I figured some gel super glue would fit the bill nicely...boy, was I wrong! Every time I'd re-assemble the radiator, fan and shroud there'd be a crack! as the glue gave way. The super glue also messed up my clear mounts (as shown above)...so it's back to the local baumarkt for some more plexiglas! This time, I'll just leave the pieces unglued. That's it for now. More to follow...
An other great clear PC Here is a site I found on working with acrylic http://americanplastics.net/technical_guide1.htm . Maybe you guys know this already, it's just for information. Taking myself as an example. I didn't like clear PC's but seeing the wok of the men (see the openingspost) now I really love them. I still got four of those buttons lying here, maybe I'll use them in a future casemod...
W3RD! Nice job rounding the corners on the cut for the bezel. That is attention to detail! And that is what seperates a hack and slash modder from the elite. Keep up the good work, you're well on your way.
I agree…Those corners are excellent. Very nice job with the plexi, you might be able to save those pieces by using a jewelry epoxy. It is extremely clear and will melt the scars from the previous attempt. I forgot to add…getting the bubbles out of the epoxy would be a mother.
Painting the Case All Dolled Up Well, thanks to a spell of unusually warm weather, I've spent the last 10 days masking the case and painting it. Many, many thanks to Macroman for his thorough guide on how he painted Macro Black--which you can read here. I won't bore you by repeating what Macroman did...instead, let me highlight a few things I did differently: 1. I used a spray paint specifically designed for plastics. It didn't take me long to find what I was looking for at a local baumarkt: A quick test with some scrap acrylic revealed that this stuff didn't "spiderweb" the surface, even with a fairly thick coat. Perfect! The downside is that it took me a significant number of coats to get an opaque finish. (It took Macroman two 500ml cans to achieve what it took me 3 400ml cans to do.) I also went with a matte black paint...just a personal preference. 2. I masked the entire outside of the case with contact paper. The contact paper I used had a pretty clean adhesive--it peeled off things fairly easily (to the point where I had to check the edges between every coat of paint)--so I decided to use it as my overspray mask. This allowed me to leave my overspray mask on while I checked the finish with a flashlight. Since the contact paper was clear, the light would shine through when I passed it over a thin area of paint. I did mask the edges of the case with painters' tape to ensure they remained paint-free. 3. I finished painted surfaces I suspected would rub against another surface with a light layer of clear coat. This would primarily be the front bezel and the side window. Given the fact that these surfaces shift when you assembly/disassemble them, I figured a light finish of clear coat would keep the paint from scratching off. Other than that, I basically followed Macroman's instructions...and ended up with this! And a close up of the side window: And an extreme closeup of the front bezel (prior to polish...lots of fingerprints)... ...which I wasn't very pleased with. A closer study of Macro Black showed that Macroman had painted the side drive supports which helped hide them on the front bezel. (It also looks like Macroman trimmed the edges around the drive with the adhesive felt he mentions in the related project log.) I wanted to keep the side supports clear to show off my fan duct and other items but that meant I had two "clear" lines running down the front bezel...not exactly the look I wanted. What's a modder to do? Break Out the Tools! (Again) I gave the bezel issue some thought for a few days...the idea kicking around my head wasn't one I wanted to rush into. I sent a few e-mails to ClearPC about the structural layout of the side supports: did they support the front bezel in any way? (answer: not really, the inner bezel provides that support) how about lateral support for the drives? (answer: perhaps, not sure) worst case scenario? (order another bezel...about $30 US, plus shipping) So, now that I understood the risks I could proceed. What I decided on was to cut about 5mm from the front of the side supports, paint the front bezel where I'd removed the acrylic, then re-fasten the side support at the top with a small piece of scrap acrylic. I had some concerns about gluing the supports to a painted surface (not entirely unfounded, as I later found out ), but since clear coat is acrylic and I've had consistent success with Household Goop, I figured it was worth trying. So, I masked off the side supports, broke out my trusty handsaw and made the cut... ...sanded and painted the cut edge then refastened the side support to the front bezel... ...which took me three times. The first time, the glue didn't set right on the painted surface and the supports popped loose from the front bezel when I removed the clamps. I tightened the clamps too much and the bezel was warped...so the supports popped loose of the front bezel (again!) when I attached it to the rest of the case. The third time proved to be the charm...no warping, no popping loose. And while the finish isn't 100% perfect, I do like it better than the clear lines running alongside the drive bays: The clear lines on the bottom half of the bezel will be covered up with an acrylic facade, pretty similar to what Macroman did. (I love how he "stealthed" his fan grill and plan on doing something similar.) So, that's it for this update. One last picture before I go...a better shot of how the Imperial emblem turned out. In short: much better than I ever hoped for! It'll look awesome with chrome window tinting behind it! Until next time, then!
Kick. A$$. Now... To make a Rebel case, and detonate yours with a few well-places proton torpedoes! You are required to manuever straight down this trench....
Sharkbait, being a Star Wars fan myself, I've gotta tell you this is looking very very cool indeed. I've got the same radiator myself, what screws are you using to mount it to the case? Cheers, keep up the good work!
