Scratch Build – In Progress Mr3D - Project Tatami (mATX computercase from scratch)

Hmmm. May I suggest a quick trip back to the drawing board?

I mean, here you make an awesome CNC'd aluminium frame, with exact compound bevelling and curves, and then you hide it all under some fairly uninspiring brushed aluminium panels. With prone dome head screws. No, that is lazy. And in the pursuit of modding art, gentlemen, laziness will not do.

Don't mount the panels on the frame; mount them flush with it. Cut the pattern so it reveals the beautiful CNC'd radiator shroud instead of hiding it. And at least use some countersunk or counterbored screws! You've come this close to creating a work of art. Don't mess it up now!


DISCLAIMER: all this is entirely my own personal opinion and should not be regarded in any way as fact or gospel. YMMV. Take it or leave it, etc.

 

^^^ Yes, now you're talking!

 

Agreed,CSK would make it 'finished',unless He has some boutique bolts coming?

I like the design work and ethos,I would even go as far as to say I would buy one.



...And give it a serious paint job

 

I appreciate that you say what you think, and I mostly agree with you.

Let's start it off by saying that this project got really bad planning from the start. The 3D model wasn't complete when I first started with the frame(aka, no side-panels). Why did I start you ask? Well, one of my(in this case) bad sides it that I was really eager to start building the case, I couldn't come up with good looking side-panels, so I just pushed the problem in front of me.

About the screws, I thought it would look nice when doing the design. But now when I mounted the plates, well, it doesn't look sooo good. So I'll be counter-sinking those.

About mounting the panels flush to the case. Now in the later stages of designing the panels, I got those thoughts, too. But it was already too late(because of screw-placement on the frame). So I just made the best of it.

Clear acrylics on the other hand, that's just lazy imo. I think the plates look good and show/hide just the right amout, creating a nice looking outside. When you look more into the case, then you see the beauty.

 

Looks awesome to me.

Keen to see the up & running shots.

 

I can relate --there were a few details on Ada I kind of left for later to work out and that came back to bite me. I have been doing a lot of redesigning some bits after the fact. But when you make a case from scratch, certainly with the tools and skills you have, there is a unique opportunity to go outside the box and do stuff that hasn't been done before. Think different.

The other thing is: the style has to be consistent. Your frame has a lot of curves, so the panel shapes and cut-outs need to honour those curves. They also need to emphasise the frame and its features, not hide it.

You can still do it --you just have to be creative. I'm thinking small connecting arms that bridge the corners of the panels to the corners of the frame. Alternatively continue the 45° angle bevelling of the frame into the edges of the panels, so there is a seamless transition.

 

Don't think that I dislike the build, I still think it looks awesome. But he is right, it got some flaws. But I think I'll manage to fix them just fine.

What's a build without a few mistakes? We all do them, and that's fine. I'll just try to fix my mistakes as good as possible.

 

I should have seen that design coming after the wall of figures popped up.



Can you bevel the existing panels? Unlike the others here, I'd rather see a double-bevel. I like those.
I'd add random plexi color inserts to the holes too.

Also, I'm the reigning king of build first, design last. Join the club.

 

This I dont agree on,the style has the right amount of Oriental influence,the frame is not the star for me,its the cohesiveness of the whole that matters.

If I had a choice....

I would use this...



With a milled pocket for the door to act as an infill.

Sadly,those panels have a tolerance of +/- 2mm so are not really ideal,I looked at it to make a res out of for IDORU.

 

Yeah, that's true. And well, I'm trying to improve, but one step at a time. With my current knowledge this've been a good project(beside the hiccups) imo. And this won't be my last, either.

That's one thing I didn't see at all. I'm more of a mechanical person, rather than artsy.

Yeah, I'm thinking about 45* chamfers, too. Tho maybe not making them flush with the existing chamfer of the case. Making a sharp edge that's 135*, well, that's like asking for trouble.



Have to think more about it tho.


Thanks for your feedback, was really appreciated!

 

Haven't seen that vid before, but it was awesome!

Check my previous comment(wrote that before I saw your answer). Chamfering the existing plate shouldn't be a problem at all. Might take some time and give me some head-aces, but it shouldn't be a problem.

Double-bevel, could you explain that? Or was it like the pic in my previous comment?

Well, about the holes. I won't add colored inserts, but I will indeed modify the polycarbonate to make it flush with the panel.

Sweet, just joined a new club! All of my project is more or less, build first, design last. Well, to a certain degree that is.

Adding bamboo sides would've been awesome, indeed! But that wouldn't fit the style of it, I want a more modern/sleek look to it. But hey, that's just me.

 

I'm going to throw a curve ball and say I'm not so sold on the panels. Not because of the design itself (actually I really like that, seems to just fit the build nicely) but because of the exposed screws. Thus far the entire design has been about making things fit exactly and with a beautiful level of precision, so to me the screws just seem a little clumsy in comparison. I think the design as a whole would be stronger with a seamless look to the panel surfaces. Even having them countersunk as per the model you showed above wouldn't quite work IMO.

Maybe I've just got magnets on the brain, but IMO they would be a really cool way of securing those panels given they're not structural, although it would likely require them to be made again from scratch :/

Regardless of which route you take, it's going to look awesome, for me at least that approach would be the icing on the cake.

 

That already looks a lot better, including the stainless countersunk screws and panels in dark titanium (rather than black).

Feel free to cast equally critical feedback over Ada.

 

I think the case looks bad ass as it is but I also would have expected the overkill to continue on the outside. A CNC milled side panel with a stylized 3D tatami pattern with some depth in the same vein as Pope's Experiment Nr.5 would be amazing I think.

 

i think magnets is a good idea - maybe combine that with some smoked acrylic to still be able to show off the insides with some subtle lighting...

**for lack of anything better, please imagine a smiley scratching its beard**

 

Important.

Constructive criticism should be welcomed at every opportunity,sadly some get very upset by this.....

 

It's partly what in progress project logs are for, personally if it requires remakes I don't like suggestions.

I agree with Maki about magnetic panels but it's a suggestion too late since they are already made unless willing to bin the current ones which would just be a heck of a waste.

Unless you added nice little cover pieces to cover the mount holes, better yet since you have awesome tools at hand, magnetic corner blocks.

 

That last picture nailed what I was trying to describe.
Don't be too quick to rule out a splash of color. The color options for plexi are a lot less bombastic now.

 

Yup. One of the Wizard Design forum member's mother worked at a perplex company in Birmingham. I saw some of the colour charts. It is absolutely amazing what range they have now, and a lot of it really nice subtle shades, with different opacity and even mother-of-pearl effect.

 

Let's not talk about pearl. A 24X48" sheet will put you back $500 here.
-Anyway, I don't consider black/white/metal a color scheme. It's a total lack of one.