Mod of the Month Mod of the Month June 2013

I actually do have a couple of reservations with the current use of CNC work, although they're not what many would expect. I really support the use of modern techniques, after all I'm having a significant portion of my NUC build 3D printed. My main issue is people not really being very imaginative with the machine's capabilities. Project N.V's water channels, I thought, were a very interesting and successful use, much in the same vein of other mods like the Twister 800D one last year. But using a CNC to cut rectangular pieces of metal for a square case bothers me a little, there's just so much design potential not being realised there. Many users have shown you can go for fantastic, unexpected shapes with hand tooling, just imagine the possibilities when 3D printing and machining are introduced. Key example here for me is Acronym, which I thought was simply beautiful, a truly brilliant use of a CNC mill to achieve a very unique, professional profile.

 

Thank you for the nomination.

 

So many killer builds.
So many disillusioned forum members. Where's the whimsy, guys?
There's a lot of innovation and inspiration in these builds.

 

I'm hearing you, people, and this is precisely the sort of solution that was springing to mind. Will see what we can do.

 

My worry is that people (and sponsors) would only pay attention to said 'premier league' and views for other builds would drop.

 

Would a better idea be to do a non sponsored category?

 

Am I the only one that wants to be able to click on the images and enlarge them?

I read through the article and when introduced with the eye candy, instinctively clicked so I could see them in their full glory.

Great work anyway, some really lovely builds.

 

Many great builds indeed this month! Will have to look closely who to vote for this time!

And to be honest, the CNC made stuff only gives me more great ideas to put into my modding even if I don't have access to them myself Sure it takes me a bit more time to get to the same point, and it can be a bit frustrating at times to see the CNC-ed stuff, but in the end, its the building process which is half the fun for me as well!

As for the sponsored builds league. On one hand I think that would be cool, but you would have to limit it to guys who are actually paid to do the build itself, not those who get parts sponsored as the latter still have to put in all of their own time and work and money!

 

How much was your CNC?

I'll stop now.

 

like that i can also complain about you using a dremel because some people only have a handsaw...
i agree that some build are to much sponsored but there is nothing you can do about it.

and i dont see so much differnce between buying a reservoir for instance or letting somebody build a custom one.

 

I do not own CNC. But my best friend does.

 

Totally right.
How long before some people will just accept it
Lasercutters, CNC milling, 3Dprinting ... were totally out of reach up until a few years ago.
Some of these 'tools' can already be ordered below $500 now..... it's the future.

It's up to you to see what kind of work or design and by what machinery or tools is done on a project and not just look at the end result.
(I am a fan of Atilla's handmade scratchbuilds)


I do 100% agree that non sponsored and sponsored builds should be separated. IF that's possible. (means a lot more work for Bit-Tech)

 

Personally I'm not quite sure if we need to separate things. After all, people can definitely get into the MotM competition regardless of whether you've been sponsored. As for actually competing, people vote for what impresses them, at the same time they like to stick to what they know. Unless you present something simply so novel and fantastic, a rookie will lose out to one of the ol' pros, despite there not being a huge difference in quality often. I've always seen that as part of the challenge. Much like sponsors, you have to win over fans and followers.

As I mentioned earlier, I don't care what tools are used as long as they are used to their fullest potential. Great modders like Attila have consistently shown how much you can accomplish with simple tools, but plenty of others have shown remarkable ingenuity with complex machinery. I just don't like it when somebody uses something like a CNC to produce something that didn't really need it, it just feels like they've missed an opportunity.

 

Been thinking about this a bit tonight. Would certainly be possible to run a two tiered motm competition, especially if it was done on an 'every other month' basis. The difficulty would be defining what fits in each category. I think it would prove difficult and possibly even contentious at times.
I have come up with an idea that may be suitable without needing a large change to the current system. My idea is to keep the motm as it is but add a 'Notable Mentions' section at the end where a couple of builds can be highlighted. This could promote new modders, interesting elements found within an otherwise routine build or original concepts etc without that build having to be good enough overall for a motm nomination.

 

I feel what you're saying - I actually stayed away from the forums a while back when I was working on a scratch build that went wrong just about every step of the way. Got a bit depressing to realize I can barely squeeze solvent out the bottle right when there are some people on here doing mindblowing work - some with access to tools and machinery I'll never have, but some using not much more than a cordless drill and a Dremel, as I do.

But, I can't hope to get better without continuing to work on it, and seeing the bar get raised the way it seems to have over the past few years here should be an inspiration, rather than a downer.

 

this will be a though one many good mod's in here this time

 

You read my mind. By pushing the edge of modding, collectively we are all getting better. These projects are like hot rods, a man building a machine is more about the journey he took to get there then the end result.

If Chip Foss was modding a computer would you be un-happy?

 

Talk about opening a can of worms, Sponsorship and use CNC/3D printers ect....

To be honest they are getting more and more accessible to everyone. I have been fortunate enough to have made good friends here at Bit-Tech and you will find that most that do CNC work would help out guys who don't have them.

As for sponsorship, Sooo difficult to get and if it starts going down the route of separating builds like another forum. It's a short step away from charging advertising fees to post builds ...overclock.net?

The simple truth is every single build promotes manufacturers retail products, it'd be nice to get the support, but the cost is always bigger for the builder.

 

Sheesh, this is a month I couldn't pick 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 so all +1.