Case Mod - Complete Neptune's Trident: Wallpapers

No it won't interfere. The sliding bar hangs just under where the hdd rack mounts to the case at the top. I also removed one of the guides.

I will have some pics to post up in a day or so of my progress on the side panels. I've just been doing the boring stuff (sanding and bondo), so there's not much to show until I get a coat of primer on them.

I should also be getting some parts in this week as well. I had some stuff laser cut in the interest of time (trident window, reservoir rack, fan grills, rad/fan mount), so I can't wait to see how all that came out.

 

Laser cutting, huh? I can't wait to see what you've got coming...

 

i love the idea on how to thread acrylic! simple and effective

 

It made me cringe a little. I'll stick to my friction fit in a 1/8" hole. (DON'T twist the meaning on that one!!!)

 

Yeah, I designed up some killer fan grills using the trident shape, as well as a front logo badge that will house the power button.. oops, I think I said too much!

Well, it's not the cleanest method of tapping by any stretch, but it worked in a pinch.

 

Ok I have an update for ya.

For the last week and a half I've been chuggin away at these side panels. The last side panel update I left off with prepping
them for the cold weld epoxy for the edging around the holes.

So here is a shot of the edging being epoxied down, held in place with as many clamps as I could find. ;-)


It's been pretty cold up here, so I brought the panels inside to set up overnight. After that, I applied a bit of bondo to smooth
out the transition between the panel and the edging.


After the requisite amount of sanding and filing, here is the result. I also went ahead and rounded the corners for a nicer look.


Since it's too cold to paint, I set the panels aside and started on the three mesh boxes. I scored a sheet of aluminum
mesh from a local metal supply warehouse. 12x48 for $20. So in order to get three 7"x3" boxes out of that piece,
I had to do two parts per box. So I cut the first piece and measured out my bend lines.


Using a couple pieces of mdf and a piece of L bar, I started my bends.


I used a rubber mallet to bend the mesh over.


Got the first two-part box cut and bent.


They slip together like so. Since the inside of the boxes are what will be seen, I made sure my overlapping ends were on the outside.




I'm securing them together with some short screws that fit perfectly into the 1/8" holes. The mesh doesn't line up,
so I drilled out the outside to match the inside, and screwed them together.


A shot of the screw from the inside. Pretty subtle, and once painted, will be unnoticeable.


Got all three boxes bent.


And here's a shot of them inside the case with the side panels on.


A closeup of the first hole.


I got them propped up on some wood pieces right now, but they will eventually sit on the custom rad/fan mount I designed. Will show that when I get it in.

 

The measure of any workshop is the number of clamps available! Human life on this planet is dependent on clampage. My only suggestion is MORE clamps. One or two more and you will hide the part being worked on and generate pages of "What is that Bod's hiding?" Keeps em coming back.

Excellent as always.
john

 

Wow, that is looking good, i can't even imagine how it will look painted...

 

I love the mesh Brian. I do have a question though, how thick it it? 2mm or so?

 

LOL I actually have more clamps, but I couldn't fit any more in those holes.

Thanks. I got a sick paintjob in mind for this! Here is a teaser:

The mesh is 1/16" thick (not sure what that is in mm).

 

wow! good luck in painting that way, seems to be hard to do

 

I'm betting he's going to airbrush using water spray as a mask. It's an old trick, but very effective.
-Love the mesh cages.

 

The paint trick may be old, but I think it would in perfectly with the theme he has going on. I've no doubt he'll take it to the next level.

 

Ok, got the acrylic pieces in and they look sweet!

So I went straight to work on the rad/fan mounts. Rather than designing them as two one-piece
rails and bending the mounting tabs, I opted to have them cut separately so I could glue them together.
That way I get a clean 90° corner.
Here they are with the tabs glued on.


I didn't waste any time putting the fans and rads in place.


...And sitting in the case with the mesh boxes resting in their places.


I will secure the rails to the bottom of the case with some brackets.

8)

 

Nice work on hte fan mounts bod.

Didn't Cobra do a paint job like that? You paint the base colour, wet the surfaces so it is covered in water droplets then paint a different colour. When the water dries you get a "bubble" effect.

 

The radiator mounts look great! It's such an original concept to begin with, but it's all in the execution, and I'm really enjoying the results.

 

great idea on the rad placement, but the last rad will get hot air, wont it?

 

I see a lot of 90 degree barbs in your future.

 

Yep, that's basically it. You spray a black over the droplets at a low angle so it just covers one side of them. Then stick the panel under a heat lamp to evaporate the water. Then clear over the whole thing.

Thanks Craig!

Yes, if all fans were in the same direction. But I will be reversing the middle one so all rads will get relatively cool air. First rad gets cool air from the front, second and third rads get cool air from the middle hole. Depending on how well it performs, I may even add a clear diagonal partition in each mesh box to completely isolate the intake and exhaust. Once I get it up and running, I'll do some temp tests and see if there's any difference.

lol yes, I'm afraid so.

 

Time for the weekend update! Worked on more acrylic stuff. In addition to the fan/rad mounting,
I had Moddersmart cut me the window and res rack, also out of transparent blue acrylic.

Here is the center window, with the backing peeled off the end that will wrap around the corner of the case.


Here you can see I had them route a V-notch at the bend point to facilitate a sharper corner,
and make it easier to bend with a heat gun.


The idea in setting up for the bend, is to direct the heat right where you want it. So I sandwich the
acrylic between two pieces of MDF, with a larger piece clamped just above the bend line. This helps
direct the heat and also helps keep the acrylic flat as I bend it down.


Some closeup shots of the isolated area to be heated..




After applying the heat, the acrylic is slowly bent to shape. The weight of the large MDF actually did
most of the work lol.




Here it is, taped in place.


Next up is the res rack (formerly the 5 1/4 drive bays). After numerous measurings, I made up
a design that would take the place of the drive bays, and accommodate the three pump/res's with
room for a slot loading DVD drive at the bottom. Cross members were strategically placed so
they would be in between the pump/res's and eventually hidden from view behind the two trim pieces.


In order for the rack to be flush with the front of the case, I had to round the top corners to fit the
case's radius. I used a socket with a matching radius to mark the acrlyic.


Here is the rack assembled. Once I get the Typhoons in, I will drill the mounting holes to match,
then glue everything together.


Placed in the case..


..And with the metal trim pieces.


I'll be working on securing the res rack into the case today.

You also may have noticed I made an acrylic cover for the inside. This will go behind the motherboard
and hard drive rack, and will be painted to match the interior.

Ok, now for some goodies! I thought I'd reveal some of the hardware that will be going in this thing:


EVGA 790i motherboard
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 3Ghz CPU
EVGA GTX260 cards (x3)
4Gb DDR3 Crucial Ballistix Tracers in blue 1600Mhz
Samsung 1TB HDD (x3)
Corsair 1000W PSU (shown previously)



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