I am, by and large, a sensible bloke. However, I have been lurking around here, and a couple of other sites which sadly since have disappeared since the whole modding idea sparked my imagination way back when. So, the project. I have been given my brother's old rig, the bits of which he wants, he has cannibalised (i.e. the HDD, DVD, DVD-RW, and other bits and pieces.) So I've now got a perfectly tidy Athlon rig sitting here with no case. Now I could get a pre-modded effort, but I thought I'd turn it into a learning opportunity, so I can prove (to myself more than anyone else...) that I can do this sort of thing and make me something from scratch. Basically I have an idea of making an acrylic case from scratch. This is because I'm thinking along the lines of moulded/shaped sides to the case. I was wondering how to fix it all together, and after a bit of a natter with my housemate, we came up with the idea of brass wingnuts. Those, with a nice bit of smoked acrylic, with red led's inside the case and cold cathodes, it'll be lovely! So, basically i suppose I'm asking is, where do I start? I can't seem to find anywheres that sells smoked acrylic sheet, I don't know what thickness I'd need for the case, and I'm generally not sure where to go from here. As I say, these are all ideas whirling around my head at the mo, and so I'd like some advice/feedback on me ideas. Design concepty sketch type things on the way. Thanks guys, Joe
Where to start: http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?p=969559 It's ALOT of work. But here's where to start. If you don't have a decent collection of powertools then I don't recommend attempting anything more complicated than just a basic box. If you want to save yourself 90% of the time involved I recommend scalping or buying an existing motherboard tray. There are replacement trays in Micro ATX and full ATX available from http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...th=210&zenid=58283edd4ac643219c23451e3884c440 I also do not recommend using arylic on your first go-around. It's not a terribly forgiving material. Polycarbonate on the other hand is. It has the strength of aluminum, but the machinability of medium density woods like Maple.
It depends what you mean by "a decent collection" I have access to a jigsaw, various drills, a dremel-a-like if I ask my housemate nicely, so i can buy various dremel bits and use them... I also have access to a heat gun (a paint remover - so about 12/1300 deg. C... ) and a housemate and a father who generally know their beans. Failing that I can always ask my grandfather - he has probably every tool in existence! Laptop threw a wobbler last night and decided to kill photoshop for me. So the designs with any luck should be going up in about an hour. Joe ::EDIT:: My case design wibblings can be found here - http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/bunkerline/case-design-01.jpg J ::/EDIT::
1. Optical drives are not going to be easy to load if set sideways. 2. Don't plan for parts on the inside to be any closer than 1 inch from each other because you will need a good deal of room for cables. 2. Think more about where you're going to put fans and the frame. 3. I don't recommend attempting a funky shape without a strip heater. Bending one long piece with a heatgun consistently is very difficult. 4. You will need to go use your grandfather's tablesaw in order to get your sheets cut to square dimensions. Having a plastics shop do it for you wold be kind of costly. Your personal collection of tools probably won't be enough to make a decent case of any complexity. Mitering frame parts will have to be done with a miter box, table saw, or dropping band saw. And you'll definitely have to use a pre-made motherboard tray. That leaves you with a few tasks. 1. Cutting, drilling, and tapping frame pieces 2. Affixing frame pieces together 3. Cutting an drilling exterior panels 4. Cutting mounting holes for motherboard tray 5. Cutting mounting hole for drives 6. Making mounting brackets for drives 7. Cutting mounting holes for fans 8. Cutting mounting hole for PSU If your grandfather has a scrollsaw I would recommend borrowing it because I good deal of the work above would be much more predictable if done with that tool. Your rotary tool is going to be nearly useless for doing the majority of the work on this case. It's not precise enough for anything except detailing and if you do need to use it to do small trimming work on your plastic you will only be able to use high-speed cutting bits.
Right, I think I will abandon this line of thought because of the sheer lack of gumph I need to do even the simplest things. So I revert to my former ideas. A clear acrylic case, with carbon fibre applied to the inside of the case, and gashes etc. cut out of the c/f and filled with red lighting. Sketches and wibblings on the way. Joe
Apologies for double-post (if such things are issues here...) Anyways, I have had another thought about my computer case. I have got several computer side panels spare, and so I have decided to try my hand at cutting/engraving. The plan is as follows... on one side panel, I'm going to mark out four sets of flames, the top one of which will remain black alu, the two middle ones are going to be cut out and replaced with smoked and orange plexi respectively. The last set is going to get engraved. And if that works, I'll think about continuing the theme to a case. How does that sound to people who generally know more about modding than me? Joe
It sounds good, but flames are possibly THE most whored-up side panel imagery used. However, if it's what you want, then go for it.
hah hah hah. I would have guessed skulls. What are you using to engrave, the Dremel or are you getting it done by someone else?
I'll take my life into my own hands and try engraving myself, and smile nice at my housemate to borrow his dremel-a-like. He doesn't have a flex-thing - is that an issue? Also, what sort of bits would I need to do the engraving? It's just a test, I probably won't use flames in the long run - i like drawing them, but I agree with Duste, they are probably the most overused images on computers that I have ever known But yeah, if it all turns out OK, I'll upload some photos for y'all to see. Joe
Thanks... I'm gonna have a word with my housemate when he gets home about borrowing his dremel-a-like. Which would you recommend for cutting metal - a jigsaw or a dremel? I am unsure as to whether it's alu or steel or other unknown metal - it's off a crappy Packard Bell tower, so it's prob not gonna be alu... Thanks, Joe
Right, just thought I'd update you on how my ideas are going. While working today, i discovered the following item. Now, I know it's a football, before anybody says anything, but the colours gave me an awesome idea... Black alu case, with green plexi and chrome detailing! How does this sound to people? Comments/crits/calling me a crazy person welcome. Joe
Right. Time for a quick update I've had a quick bash at engraving and taken some (pretty naff) pictures. The only decent two are uploaded for y'all to see. http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/bunkerline/Modding/DSC00323.jpg and http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/bunkerline/Modding/DSC00321.jpg. Have a look, and give me some feedback. These engravings are only rough, but it's a start. Thanks, Joe
Hmmm I've never done anything like this before, but maybe as a suggestion, I'd look at some of the other mods in this section, alot of them contain mini tutorials. It seems that you're rushing away with ideas & are unable to set your mind on something. The original idea you had was scrapped due to? having to allow room for cables and because slot loading drives was a suggestion? Something else which I thought of doing since, Ive never carried out one of these hardcore mods, was to start with a case I actually quite like a perform something simple like a side window mod & basically see how it goes from there? Thats my 2 cents
First: use <image>[IMG] instead of links. Second: For engraving, although I am no expert, i know that a flex-thing helps a lot, its more balanced than the Dremel so you have steadier hands. Third: Look around the project logs, take what you like from the projects and add your own twist, be innovative. fourth: In case you want to go back to acrylic is very annoying to work with, although it looks good. for acrylic you definitely need a scroll saw or very good jigsaw skillz. Fifth: I WISH U GOOD LUCK
Thanks Zhang. The only reason I didn't use the links is because the pics are mahoosive and I couldn't be bothered to resize. I have taken some more (darker, but distinctly less shaky) shots. These can be found at [url]http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/bunkerline/Modding/[/url]. See what you think then comment back Joe
