Scratch Build – In Progress Level Eleven

I hate people who can just whip stuff out of their heads like this and make it work.

I'm far too plans/design dependent. If I don't design a case first before building, I'll end up with nothing but a mess.

 

Great comments guys! Thanks. I'm currently off-planet but here are a few photos.

 

What can I say?

The size is freaking me out

 

That's what she said...?
-Shot-

And damnit, now I want to make a little PicoITX computer for downloading while pulling a minuscule amount of power.

 

wow... it looks amazing

 

Thanks

The twin boxes measure 32.3 cubic inches each and the support box measures 35 cubic inches. I'm working at one-third scale of the original.

Velcro and rubber bands holding it together. There is plenty of opportunity to move stuff around. It is freestanding in this photo. Smaller boxes for the two empty quadrants are being imagined. The top/back box will have aux jacks and a cooling fan. The front/lower quadrant will be pure form over function. Something tasty I hope.

 

Whats the retail pricing for the mobo? Id love a tiny media Pc to replace the bulky one i have now, but the only place i can find them for sale is HERE and they want a whopping £263.26 or $402!!

I know small form factors command a bit of a price increase but really that much?

 

I like your very smal case, and the basic work you do. I will follow to your project, to see the result

 

http://mini-itx.com/store/ - good in the UK, but you can order from them in the US

http://www.itxdepot.com - good for US mini-ITX and pico-itx boards start around $225

good spot for mini-itx, and pico-itx, Pico ITX board there at £139.00, but it does lack the HDMI

http://mini-itx.com/store/?c=43 - this kit comes with a tiny PSU, case, and a huge amount of extra cables for IO, and is only £189.00

 

Cut the I/O shield to size.






Cut out the I/O shield box opening.






Hand-turned a hole saw to start opening the vent port.






Used my four-faced hand rasp to finish opening the vent.






Pause for a pose.






Attached the I/O shield.






Checked the fit.






Showing the gaps around the shield area that will be dressed up.







Cut out and glued in some filler pieces.







The filler pieces tighten everything up.







Cut out a few pieces to dress up the lower section. These pieces will be glued to the mounting board and not to the box. This will allow me to remove the box while the computer is operating and cables are plugged in.







Result of efforts. Thanks for looking.

 

Looking better and better every day. I'm still going to find some use for a PC like this in my car... I do want to get a few other things taken care of first though.

 

Thanks. I think this particular Pico-ITX model was designed to be used in a set-top box. The HDMI and 1080p would be wasted in a car unless you happen to drive an RV.



I cut my vent screen gaskets out of 1/32" basswood. The interior cut is precision but the outer cut was loosely hand cut.






Stainless steel screen is cut to size.






The gasket is slightly thicker than the screen so I can layer another slightly smaller windowed piece of wood across the assembly. I'll set this aside for now.






Cut some wood to use as a mounting system for the SSD.






The two smaller pieces are glued together.






This creates a "sliding bracket" kind of thing to insert into the aluminum angle.






The center section is slightly raised so that I can glue this bracket to another piece.






Cut some 1/2" square stock to use as spacers for the support box.






Dry fit.






I've gotta get a "glue drying" photo in here somewhere.

Thanks for looking.

BTW, this project is more of a tribute to the Edelweiss case mod by Pius Giger than to the Thermaltake Level 10. IMHO, BMW and Thermaltake just ripped off a fellow case modder's original idea. I have been wanting to do an Edelweiss-inspired mod since I saw the original in 2006. I'm not a big fan of the Level 10 mainly because I believe the basic design is more suited for a smaller PC.

 

I remember checking out that case on mdpc the design was pretty unique. This is shaping up very nicely

 

What kinda OS are you going to run on this slick looking machine? I'm assuming a flavor of linux.



BTW great progress on the build

 

Ah a true master of his craft..... Your work is awesome man.

 

3 boxes of Orden ?

 

Thanks. I call the Edelweiss and Level 10 "inside-out" computers. Hang the components on the outside of the case and hide the wires inside. Make the "case" smaller but still structurally sound and there you have it. The Level 10 has only wires inside. Edelweiss has the PSU still inside the case and mine will have an optical drive.

Thank you. Probably 64-bit Win 7.

Thanks for that. I appreciate it.

Huh? Boxes of Oranges?



Mark the window size on a piece of cherry veneer.





Cut the windows out.





Gather the components.





First, the gaskets get glued on.





The stainless steel screens are layed in loosely.





The cherry windows get glued over the top and trimmed up after drying.








Thanks for looking.

 

Your detail work is excellent. That IO plate is dead on as well as the other box cuts.

Where do you get wood that thin i.e. 1/32", etc. ?

 

I don't know why there aren't any stars on this thread, every time I see a slipperskip log I know I'm in for high quality and inspiration.

Have my stars.

 

+1

Those mesh windows are cool! I assume you are not going to put any extra fans behind them?