Scratch Build – In Progress [Intel NUC Competition] Project FLUX by FAT

So, this is almost the most important part of FLUX. Making the top cover plate look very awesome .
It was quite tricky because I had already bended some plexiglas with heat but never a shape like this. To make it a bit more nerve wrecking was that this was the only piece left of the plexiglas plate big enough for this shape. You don't want to burn the plexiglas because than you will get all these bubbles.

I made a nice construction ( n a steel IKEA Bowl) and put it into the oven.
I used a low heat and kept on turning it up after I tried to bend the material. At first I was a bit to careful pushing the material by hand but in the end I took drastic measures and .... SAT (thats right..in like a chair: sat) on the construction
That worked really well haha!
Below you see the results !

I made a short video of cutting the top plate in aluminium:





I had to fixate the plexiglas to the aluminium to keep it in the right place. Afterwards I will take the extra material away.



The plexiglas I use is Fluor edge so sometimes you have these amazing colours and sometimes it looks a bit dull.



Here you see the first and second attempt.





After that the drastic measures.... haha



But(t) it worked really well !







You can see there is a pattern on the Plexiglas, this is due to the towel I used to press the plexiglas into shape. It looks quite nice actually but I will polish it away!







So I've got the shape that I wanted now and will need to refine everything!

 

Jeez, we may as well pack up and finish now, this thing is going to look insane! I just love how many different processes you've used too, makes simply printing one off seem like a cop out rofl

 

I figured you would use vacuum-forming to make the bulges, but butt-power works too . Ingenious design!

 

This project is awesome, I'm highly impressed.
Was wondering how you was going to do the fancy window.

 

Thanks for the huge compliment
Haha, well I hope it will look as good as your build when its finished! (I really liked the polka dots actually )

Yes, Vacuum-forming could have been an other option, but(t) i preferred this way of forming the material ! Thanks

Great, Thanks!! Good to hear!

Thanks for the compliment!
Haha, I hope I will keep adding more "awesomium" to the build so in the end it will almost explode with awesomiumness !

Pixel really likes to "help-out" in the workshop. Too bad I cut away the original audio of the movie clips. He usually mimics the sounds I make, like the sawing. And then sometimes throws in some of his favorite words like "Kiwi" and "Peekaboo".

 

Seeing new methods for building stuff is often the best thing about a project log imo, and this one has lots of them! I look forward to seeing how the water cooling will be implemented.

 

MAGNIFICENT work!!!! Butt power!! Looks like you had some help in that video. Love the cute little bird that's hanging out with you!! I hope that bird is potty trained!

 

Wonderful work there... Love your techniques, inspiring as hell!

 

Mooi gedaan!

I'm impressed with the combination of techniques brought to bear on this project. Also nice to see that I'm not the only one using a piercing saw to cut metal. I think that this is going to blow some minds by the time it's finished.

 

Seriously, that is so awesome ! I want a bird now too. Great job so far and glad to see some video logs, it helps a lot in seeing how things are done. Keep up the good job

 

Fantastic work.

 

Love the budgie


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Video: Sped up with your little friend it was like watching a coked-up pirate.
Butt-press forming: I've done that. I always get a crease down the middle, though...

Seriously, though, It's great what you are doing. I think you are the only English-speaking Jewler/modder we have here. The fact that you take time to explain the processes is incredibly valuable to the community.

 

I'll finish something one day cheeps, honest!

It's looking very awesome, simple geometric form with a pseudo organic twist, that's right up my street! And I love the effect of the plexi bulging through the aluminium - may have to steel a variation of that for something completely different. Oh, and major laser cutter envy, those sections look so crisp and clean, particularly the watercooling section - functionality as art.

The only thing I don't like so far is the PLA mounting plate, I know it's going to be painted and probably hidden, but it still bothers me. It's a purely personal thing, I just like really restrained/limited pallets. There don't look to be any under-cuts, would you consider milling an aluminium billet?

 

Yes maybe a bit too much ! That keeps things interesting! Thanks !

Haha yes, nothing beats Butt Power !
The birdy is "medium" potty-trained, but he always likes to help you clean up his mess and throws it off your shoulder. .
Luckily it is a very tiny bird !

Thanks!

Dankjewel !
Hope it will look stunning when its finished!

Great! Good to hear you like the additional videos!

Thanks !!

Haha Coked-up-pirate-movie! (it does look like that)
Thanks for your nice compliment!

Great ! Thanks!
I know the plate doesn't really fit in with all the nicely cut plexiglass and aluminium casing.
Maybe next time I would use a aluminium mounting plate

UPDATE

So this time everything is almost done, all the parts are there. They just need te be finished and fit together.
The fitting together is the most tedious part....

I refined the top aluminium frame, gave it a texture and spray painted it afterwards!













The water-cooling assembly plate.







The copper cooling block is made using a de-soldered part from the original cooler added with new copper fins. Everything is soldered with REAL silver solder, not the terribly conducting tin solder that all mass produced coolers use. Only Silver conducts more heat then copper so this should help a lot.













The copper cooling block is mounted in a black plexiglass cases with a transparent top plate! The tubes are permanently fixed on the sides so it doesn't make the case higher.











The casing, cut out a nice big part for the cables (this will be covered up nicely don't worry )





The cable extenders need to be stripped so they fit snugly in the casing





So thats it, all the parts are there!
now I just need to assemble everything !

on to the final result!!!

 

DIY waterblock.

Look forward to final result.

 

Oh, that ghetto plumbing job.
Definitely an interesting approach, but I wouldn't trust it for a long time.

 

True, but I learned a lot about what blows up, corrodes, pops open, or leaks like that.

 

Yep, that was the tricky part, the "Ghetto Plumbing job" (love that )!
I know it isn't a solution for the long term, so I will check it frequently now to see if there is any leaking. For now everything seems perfectly ok. So I was really happy !


Andddd.... the last update before the final pictures...!







Tiny bird, Tiny computer







I made some copper letters and goldplated them so they give a nice finishing touch to the pie, like icing on a cake !

















I also made a short video about filling up the loop, I will post that one later !





The small screws are now also gold-plated and mounted to the top of the alumimium cover (like a cherry on the icing of the pie ?! )
Cant wait to post the final pictures!

 

Am I seeing this right? Is there a water channel in the shell!?!?! I'm having trouble understanding what I'm seeing, because of awesomeness overload!!