Scratch Build – In Progress Metaversa 02: Ada

Keep turning , man

 

Oh my god! THAT PLUG! I MUST MAKE A PLUG LIKE THAT!

 

QFT!

Hey Nexxo. What does it take to get such a plug made? I can offer you a six year old child. It's okay, I have a spare (and the wife might not even notice)...

Awesome thumbscrews too btw. Brass is wonderful stuff.

 

It takes buying a plug from eBay like this:



And then turning a new housing out of a piece of brass.

They are sold off the shelf with aluminium housing:





Of course making your own housing means you can make it from any material you want and give it any shape you want. If you knock up a design in Sketchup I could probably turn you one from brass, copper or aluminium (don't want any kids though --our cat wouldn't play nice).

 

interesting idea... hmmmm

 

FORWARD MOMENTUM!!!
Bill's leading into to the machinist's 'plug' story...

 

pity i can't get one for my PSU... yay IEC C19 plugs/sockets... bloody mare to connect/disconnect...

 

Ideas: I haz them.

I also have many different designs of fan hubs/cones.

 

Hmmm, I guess I have a project for the next time I'm at dad's. I think there was a piece of 2.5" brass rod there too.

 

Today some more gratuitous milling action, as I made the top rails for the case that will hold the motherboard in place. They are made from 15x10mm aluminium bar. One gets a 6x6mm chamfer to hold the corner of the motherboard...



...and the other a 3x3mm groove which will hold its edge.



The result:



After some precision drilling and tapping...



They are mounted in place. This gives the whole case more structural rigidity, and also completes the arrangement which will hold the L-shaped motherboard in place:



Not a lot to look at today, but it's a tricky bit of work where everything has to line up exactly. Luckily it does!

More to follow...

 

I noticed you say 'motherboard' and not 'motherboard tray'.

 

Motherboard tray, sorry. I'm not so ambitious as to make my own L-shaped motherboard... yet.

 

Nexxo I think you must be an alien with advanced technical skills

I have just read through all pages of this project thread and was engrossed from start to finish with the concept, the machining and all the Victorian lore that's gone (and going) into Ada.

My love for 'proper' Victorian steampunk is as strong as yours and it's a real pleasure to see someone nail the subject spot on.

Too easily in the past modders have moved out of the steampunk ascetic and into dieselpunk....lured by the look of electric vacuum valves and such like. Nexxo, you have it bang on!

Ada is a class above anything else I've seen and I am longing to see more updates on her build. My hat is well and truly off to you sir!

Steve

 

Hi Nexxo I've been following this build and the workmanship is excellent. This is one of
the best builds I've seen and so unique. Great build looking forward to seeing more.

 

Another small update is due. Today I have been directing my attention towards construction of the motherboard tray. This presented an opportunity to break in my sheet bender.

First I squared up a 3mm aluminium panel using the mill. Then I used the sheet bender to fold it at a 90° angle. This required careful measurement of where the fold should be, making sure it is exactly parallel to the top and bottom edge of the panel.



Then after a test fit I used the mill to trim it to size.



And the result was brushed with some green 3M scotch brite pad to remove any scratches (pro tip: sheet bendering created more scratches than I anticipated. Next time I will use masking tape) and get a nice brushed finish on the aluminium.

Below the test fit:



And here a side view. There is still much to do to this tray, but it is starting to look like a case!

 

I thought you would have milled the details, then bent. Any I/O height discrepancies could be fixed with custom risers.

 

It is going to be a tight fit so not very much wiggle room. Also I am concerned that cutting the blanking plate holes first will distort the frame when bending it.

I am not entirely happy with the result --the bend radius is rather big-- and have already been thinking about how to do it better. I will try another sheet but mill in some surface detailing first.

 

Looks like it needs to be brass to me. Personal opinion. And at least a milled edge if not homework or some such.

You came to build the ultimate, and I think the unornamented aluminium looks kinda off compared to the rest of it, but I don't know what's next either. Food for thought, nothing more.

 

Brass is too heavy. But it's not going to remain unadorned. I haz plans...

 

Jeeze. And I thought I was being cryptic.
Bend: Milling a groove, slots, or both?