Scratch Build – In Progress future ne[]n - 100% complete!!

So this is my current project I have been working on for the last month n a bit and still a W.I.P. (work in progress).

future ne[]n - futuristic styles with neon elements.

So without futher adue...



I gave everything a real good thinking over and made myself some plans, these plans are prototype sketches of the case, not everything you see is the final idea, everything is subject to change as the project progresses, but its a starting point for future ne[]n.


Front.

Side (subject to change)

Back.

And so begins the project.
I dont have alot of cash and I'm not the most expierienced person behind machinery, So, I decidedto consstruct the case from MDF first, so I could have a better attack plan when I upgraded to ALU.






Cutting it all out...

 

Then I began to piece it all together making sure my measurements were pretty accurate and so forth.











Working out the DVD Rom tray...





I'm not overly happy with this concept, so I'll keep working on it...




I changed the front panel in these pics to compensate for the new concept of the drive bays, but reverted back to the original way later on but kept the concept idea for the drive bays.

 

Came up with something like this...




Added the hard drive caddy in aswell (subject to change)



Then got to work on the front facia...





Lets see what it all looks like whacked together...





So thats the basic idea, and theres still a lot to do, and not everything you just saw will be used on the ALU version, this is just a prototype to help me understand things alot better, and also see if its actually achievable, because in some cases the dream is only a dream because one cannot achieve the impossible, I'm trying to achieve the possible

 

Time to begin the ALU Version.
When working with MDF, you can cut corners so to speak, with ALU its a little bit different unless you have a Laser Cutter or CNC Mill in ur back pocket, well I had neither, nor the cash to make the frame one solid piece, so I improvised.


Not a bad effort.

And got to work on other bits n pieces...


Work on the Rear PSU 'eye candy' piece...






Test fitting some pieces to make sure my measurements are A-OK...





This is one of the ALU sheets I'm working with, its 1 metre square and i spent the day ruling out my lines....200 lines 1 cm apart, took forever to do..




Then I cut it all up and wallah, we have a front panel..



Did some more test fitting...


Back Panel.


Front Panel.

 

Got my pccasegear order aswell, it consisted of 5 x 80mm quad red led fans, 5 fan grills (which i was going to re-mod n transform into swesome looking fan grills - but they messed the order up) so...(make my own was a better option - but thats down the track), and I got a fan controller aswell, this controller , controls 4 x fans @ 5 volt and 4 x @12 volt and also allows you to have 6 LEDS connected to it, perfect for the ne[]n side of the project (but thats a way away)

-This happened prior to the project commencing, but I was at the local Milkbar and saw something that i though would be perfect for a mod project.
We've all seen turbine fans - you know with the propeller nose on the front of the fan - looks pretty sweet, well, there was this candy thing, and the lid was made from clear acrylic, and wouldnt you know it, fits perfectly on a 80/92 and 120 mm fan, so I bought a few, and modded them to each of my new fans.


Thats the candy thingys in the background with the lids on them.



Now dosnt that look awesome....$2.00 lid and $6.50 fan.....modders bargin

So with my fans all looking pretty sweet, I needed a fan grill, so off i went to draw, and after a few days or so i came up with thse ideas...


I'm going to be using the one on top far right, as it suits my project perfectly, the others are for future mods.

So back to the build...

Time to put some of it together...




I also made a sub frame to re-inforce certain weak spots of the design
and rivetted the whole lot together...








30 rivets per side, total of 120 rivets just for this section, more rivets to follow.

 

Now to begin work on the frame supports....

Using pre made corner pieces i just cut the size i wanted which was 12mm, same as the frame pieces...




Got a bit creative here.

Then rivetted the lot to the frame pieces...



All the frame pieces done...

Spent some time on the front panel, working out how things should be and lots of measuring and so forth, preparing for other parts that should arrive later on down the track...






Back to the ne[]n side of things, i rigged up some fans to see what they would look like with the propeller noses installed....here's some pics...

 

I had to make 2 riser beams to match the rest of the case for the laying of the floor plate, so i spent the day doing that...




Then I thought id make myself a fan grill from ALU, but I have to say it didnt work out to well, here's a pic...

It dosnt look the best and I decided I would make it from acrylic as I prefer to work with it...

This is the net result of hours of work (4 hours of filing)...



Looks pretty cool if i do say so myself

 

Right time to get this case together, but first lets add the PSU support...




Lets get those frame pieces put together...







Wohooo.....when youve gone from MDF to ALU, it just screams out at ya, and this did....beyond anything i could have imagined...
But lets not forget the prototype, I will still be using it, for top , bottom and side panels and anything else i can think of along the way...

T W I N - N E [] N S



I had to rebuild it, as i took some of it apart while templating certain parts...




Added corner pieces so now its all ready for the next stage - top , bottom and side panels and anything else ive missed.


I added in some extra support rails to the base of the frame, the reason for this is that under other configuration, the rivets woulld have been in the way of the sliding motherboard tray, this way they arent, although the rivets are now visible, but a cathode on either side would conceal them.


Floor Plate in and secured, also strengthened the overall case too.



Got to work on the DVD Rom 5.25 drive bays...

Going from the MDF to ALU version, things went a bit haywire and I didnt keep the original plans but went with a new idea, but simular to old idea...






I still have alot more to do, currently this is completely up to date, so today I have added in the front mesh so i can rivet the 5.25 bay in because once it goes in i cant manipulate my hands around to add the mesh later, bit of a bummer but thats the way it has to be, and also the top frame bars will be in place by tomorrow.

Ohh...almost forgot, finished one of the front fan grills too...



I hope you have enjoyed the read and the view thus far, feel free to add a comment to two, and I will be back in a few days with another update.

Cheers
Seth

 

Awesome project, will be keeping an eye on this.

 

That looks frickin' awesome!

I've never seen someone plan a mod so well. I wish I could cut my own metal, but I'd never be able to do this much.

Good luck with the rest.

 

Nice mod, looks promising.

 

Nice work. If you don't mind me asking, what are you using to make your cuts?

 

Wow... -and the way you posted makes it feel like you did it all in a day! I feel like I just got off a rollercoaster. Whoo! I'm gonna read it again!
I can't wait to see this finished, spinning-glow-nipples, and all!

 

wow!!! great mod man!!!

 

Except those candy covers aren't acrylic, most likely polyethyline or polystyrine, in which case they will yellow in the light in no time.....May want to consider painting them.

 

My guess would be polyprophelene blend. They needed something that wouldn't stain red from contact with the... whatever the hell that stuff was.

 

Yeah, you know.......polyprofilacticalene........

 

:O

I'm beginning to think this'll make it's way on to Bit-Tech's front page, amirite?

 

No doubt!

 

Yes you are I certainly believe its going straight to mod of the month. Definetly watching and voting for this one, Subscribed