Scratch Build – In Progress Homemade Alu case /w copper highlights. FINISHED.

thanks! I have been doing that (whenever I remember); it usually works quite well but the bit slips a little anyway sometimes. Really though, I think I need a new 1/8" drill bit. I bent one of them and the other is dull.

EDIT: actually, if you look in this pic, you can see the small punches where I haven't drilled yet.

 

Update 12!

Small update, I've got more coming though... Don't forget to vote for me in the mod of the month competition! http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=146190

To the pics:

I had originally intended for the PSU to draw in air through a hole in the bottom of the case. But I changed my mind after I though about it for a minute. Sucking in air through the bottom wouldn't be bad, but it wouldn't help draw air through the rest of the case. If I can do it, I might as well.


So I marked where to cut for the PSU intake on the inner-lower panel.


And after a few minutes with the jig saw...


Then I cut through the rest of the material on the corners and cleaned it up with some files. Fit's nicely.


And with the mesh in place. I'm not too sure about the screws though, kind of boring. I need to find a few more hex head screws...

And that all the pics I have today, I did more work but it was very monotomous; I started marking and drilling the hundreds of holes in the bottom of the case. Very tedious. I also ordered a new piece of aluminum for the front panel. I realized that you can't counter sink into .05" thick material. So I ordered a piece of .25" x 20" x 36" Aluminum Plate. Ain't cheap stuff.

Also, I need new ideas for the external DVD drive. Epoxy did not hold together well. Plus I wasn't sure I liked the way it looked anyway. Didn't quite match the rest of the case.

Comment? Suggestions?

 

can anyone else not see the pictures of the reservior being leak tested? I am having problems.

 

Flawless. Looks great! The hexx mesh really adds character and sophistication to an otherwise 'boring' item such as a hole, lol. Really looks good. And well executed, man.

 

nope........ can't see them ...........


Alan

 

Update 13!

Fixed them. They magically disappeared from my imageshack account.

Did some work today....


I believe they call this the money shot


This was an absolute pain in the arse to do. I have to mark the position of each hole with a knife, tap each mark so I drill the exact location, drill every damn hole, then sand off all of the excess material (which was considerable). The whole process took the entire weekend and part of monday. It brings tears to my eyes to think that I'm going to do 3x this.


I marked where to cut on the right side panel.


My jig saw cutting "jig."


Immediately after cutting with the jig saw.


Then I filed the edges to straightness.


And in place on the side of the case. Turned out alright.


I tried to do this with plexiglass, but I don't have the tools required to bend it.


I'm going to screw this to the lower panel inside the case.

And that's where I stopped today. Comments? Questions? Suggestions?

 

'A pain in arse' is an understatement regarding drilling holes manually for a mesh field. LOL. I did that recently for a case for a friend's parents, and it took me over an hour to drill out a mesh field for a simple 120mm fan size!! Kudos for the effort and time put into it. It's a labor of love, as they say. Looks good!

 

Yeah no kidding. I thought the first image was of a stock Lian Li until I scrolled down

 

really love what you have done, i have massive respect for people who build scratch cases.

and regards to the plexi, as if you dont have an oven and a block of wood?
put the flat piece of plexi on top of the wood in the oven and it should heat up enough for its own weight to mold over the wood.

 

Hmmmmm, what temperature? My alu support is kind of blah.

 

here are some general bending temperatures depending on what you are using
Styrene------70C
PVC----------70C
Polyprop------90C
Polythene-----100C
Acrylic--------130C
Polycarb------180C

also make sure you warm your oven up to reduce moisture as this will negate bubbling
link to more plastic information
theres also a lot on these forums
here

 

hmmm, ill give it a shot. Thanks!

 

Not really an update, but I half assembled the case just to get a sense of what it will look like. This is the first time I've had all of the panels in place on the frame at the same time.









Hello Kitty says "hi".

 

I wonder where does that part come, I like things with such holes in it.

Nice alu work, and you made a cewl dvd player mounting/housing thing.

 

Heh, the irony of the whole thing is that the panel in that pic with all of the holes drilled in it will not be visible; it is for the bottom of the case. The only reason I did all of that work on the bottom panel is to see how good I could make it work for possible use on the sides.

 

Really looking good. Fine work being done here.
John

 

Looks sweet

 

Looking awesome man, really coming along

 

Not really an update but I dismantled my old machine. The old components that are going into the new machine are: PSU, 2 video cards, pump, cpu waterblock, and the hard drives.





Sad day

 

Update 14!

Been a while since my last update. I haven't really been busy, mostly just making cheesecakes. To the pics!


I decided to run the main ATX connector through some copper 1/2" pipe. So to get it through, I had to cut all 24 of the wires and resolder them.


This was fun, lemme tell ya.


All of the wires going through the pipe. They barely fit.


I ordered some solid aluminum casters that go well with my case theme.


I cut my huge 1/4" thick plate of aluminum to fit the front of the case.




Then I used the old front to drill all of the hole in the new front.


I used a larger bit to countersink the screws.


I also ordered a fan grill for the radiator on the top. I think it goes well with the black screws used on the rest of the case.


Here's where it is now. Starting to shape up.


Buttons!


Closeup.

And that's where it stands now. If I work hard, I can probably get it mostly finished by the end of the week. Comments? Suggestions?