Scratch Build – In Progress Project 30° by Sentek - [Project On-Hold Until I Have More Time]

thanks man

 

Update 4: Making the Back Plate

This update is going to more pictures and less text than the previous ones. Lets get to it!

The main piece of the back was marked, cut, and drilled from aluminium:


I then bent it using the bending brake to a 30 degree angle:


The frame was drilled and screw threads were cut. the piece was then fitted:


I then marked the other holes that needed drilling and drew around the motherboard backplate:


This was then drilled:


The back was refitted:


Here are the screws i used to hold it to the backplate:

These were used because the stock holes in the back of the motherboard tray are too large to be tapped. I plan to swap them out for some acorn nuts later, to improve the look.

Next i made a top piece for the back:


One of the bends in this piece needed to be more than 90 degrees (the maximum my bending brake can do), so i had to improvise:

I used the hammer to bend the metal until it was against the wooden stop. The small wooden block was placed between the hammer and the aluminium so it did not dent it.

When this was done i marked where the back piece needed to be cut off:


This was cut, and holes were also drilled:


Next the holes were drilled in the underside of the top bar of the frame, for the top piece of the back:


And here is the top part of the back fitted:


Then it was time to cut out the section above the pci slots. This was marked up:


The back was cut:


And the top piece was cut:


I then made a part to fill the gap between these two pieces. Here it is:

There is a 30 degree bend on one side, to fix to the back of the motherboard tray. The other side has a 90 degree bend to sit against the top.

This was fitted onto the case:


So good so far..

Now there are some triangular gaps in the back, due to the pieces being different distances from the back plane.
So i set about making some little triangular parts to fill these gaps.

Here you can see the first:


And here it is in place:


The middle one:


And fitted:


And the other side:

Not actually a triangle this one, but nvm

And screwed on:

They are not perfect but they will be filed down later.

Now i need some extra brackets to help hold them to the other parts. I marked up, cut, and drill some more aluminium:


I then cut out out the supports, bent them up, and filed the corners down:

Some finished brackets!

Here is two of them fitted:

This triangle was filed down after these were on.

The other side of the case:


The centre one didnt get any brackets.. poor little guy . it was not really needed here. although he did get filed down and the square edges of the tab were rounded :


After this my supervisor decided to check up on me.. making sure im still working!

All seemed to be in order, so i promptly got back to work!

One more piece was needed to finish the back off. I had to cover up the outside of the frame, and also provide a small hidden area up in the top to place a cathode. This simple piece was made:

It was then fitted with screws and filed to the correct size.

And this is the view from behind the case now:


Thanks for reading this update.. Next i'll be cutting out the area in the back for the cables to the motherboard, the power supply, and holes will be cut for the fans too.. maybe i'll even get 'round to making some HDD mounts! xD

Until next time..

 

Coming along nicely

 

This is looking amazing, keep it up.

 

Nice job, sentek. Looking very interesting - Looking forward to see it with the "lid" on

 

Excellent craftsmanship looks awesome

 

thanks

thank you

hehe, thanks, that will be comming soon i hope

thanks

 

Update 5: Cutouts and Mounts


A quick note before we start; much of the work in this update was done simultaneously, however i rearranged some of the pics to make it easier to follow.

Right then, lets get going!


The first thing to do was make a cutout for the motherboard backplate.
I traced out the area onto the piece of aluminium covering the back of the case:


I cut out the marked area using a scroll saw. Once it was cutout i used a dremel to grind down the edges to the exact size (i would have used a file but there was not enough space to move it without hitting the back of the motherboard tray).
This is how it looked afterwards:


When the back was fitted i noticed there was a gap by the side of the pci slots, shown here:


I wanted something to cover this up.
I cut and drilled this small piece:


It was bent to 45 degrees using the bending brake:


It was then fitted in place and filed down:



Next i moved on to making a cutout for the power supply.
I measured up the psu, using calipers, to find the dimensions and precise locations of the screw holes:


These were then drawn out onto the back of the case:


I cut this out and filed it down:


But; Doh! because of the way i measured it and the side of the back plate i was marking on, the holes were in the wrong place and didnt line up.
The cutout was flipped and the left side should have been on the right. Sort of hard to explain actually, and i couldnt show it in pics very well.. But it was just a stupid error.
So, i had to find some way to correct this.. In the end i didnt think i had much choice but to make a bracket to hold the psu to the case.. this method does have its advantages though; the psu can be slid in through the back of the case, something that ive seen on a lot of cases.. I wasnt really happy about changing the design, but, oh well

I cut out the hole for the psu a little larger than it was before:


The next step was to make the bracket.. There wasnt much to this, only measure, cut, file, drill.. so ive got no pics for it.
But here it is finished:


Now the bracket can be screwed onto the back of the power supply:


And slid into the back of the case:

You can see on this pic where ive marked holes for drilling

The bracket is then screwed onto the back of the case, and the psu is held in place securly:

After seeing it finished i was much happier about the mistake before, and i think it turned out better than what i had originally planned


With the power supply fitted it was time to make some side ducts!

First up i made some small-scale card versions, to help me visualize and plan how they would fit together:


Once i was confident i had a good idea of just how things would fit i moved to the aluminium
First up are these pieces:


And then these:


Its hard to explain how they fit together in words.. so heres a pic! :


Obviously the 2 parts of each duct would need to be secured, so i drilled holes and cut a screw thread.
When they were fixed together i could file down the overhanging bits too.
This is how they now look:


Well then.. with the main body of the ducts done i had to make some brackets to fix them to the case sides.
These were cut from aluminium:


And then bent:

You can see here there are 2 long ones, these will not actually be used because after making them i realised they would have to be bent to some other angle. It would have been difficult to get the bend correct, and everything should be rigid enough with just the other 4, so i left them out xD

I fixed the brackets to the ducts with screws:


I fitted the ducts to the sides of the case with yet more screws
Here you can see them on the inside of the case:



The vents will have some fan holes cut, but we'll get to that in a sec
Lets add some lights!

Ok, well there not actually lights, but temperature displays are close enough.
Im using orange XSPC LCD displays.. They look very yellow here, but in real life they are very close to the orange colour shown on the XSPC website.

They will be going on the flat space at the back of the case, so i need a way to mount them:

These are all the little bits of aluminium that go into the fixings for them.

They got bent into shape:

And now we have this.

The 2 small L-pieces are used to hold the main part to the case:

Same as was done for the side ducts.

This arrangement was then fixed to a part of the back of the case:


Holes were also drilled for the long piece, which will function as a top cover:


When all this was assembled the back of the case was put back together. And now the back looks like this:


I did test-fit the displays, and made adjustments to the holes using a file until they were fitting correctly:


When i was test fitting one of the side clips on the displays broke off:

It still holds in place ok though, and a little glue can be used to help it if needed I dont really want to have to buy a new display just for that


Now we need some handles on this thing!
I picked up these from B&Q:

The screws had to be cut down, but that was easily done with an old hacksaw.

I drilled some 6mm holes in the side of the case and bolted the handles on:

Although the handles can support the weight of the case, i dont really feel comfortable using them like that.. so i took them off for now, but ive got some washers ordered that will help spread the load a little bit. im sure they will be fine once those arrive.


Right then.. Now ive got to cut some fan holes..
I bought a few little toys for this:

114mm and 86mm hole saw blades, as well as an arbor.
The reason i didnt buy 120mm and 92mm hole saws is that those measurements represent the outside of the fan. If a 120/92mm hole was cut then the frame of the fan would be visible from the outside of the case, which in my opinion doesnt look as good.

To get the holes nice and accurate i used Bill Owens' fan templates (available from MNPCTECH.COM):

Checking these against some fans i had lying around on my desk they seemed spot on. Thanks Bill

Because the pilot drill in the arbor is quite large, i worked up the drill sizes with some other pilot holes beforehand:


I cut the templates out and taped them to the case, then marked the hole locations with a centre punch:

The part you see here is at the back of the case, being cut for a 92mm fan.

The holes were drilled and this was the result:

Of course the hole then had to be cleaned up with a file.

When the back was reassembled it looked like this:


I cut another 86mm hole on the side of the case, just above the psu to give it a little more ventilation:

No fan will be used here though.

More ventilation holes were cut in the front of the case:

The top 2 will each have a 120mm fan behind them, the lower 3 will just be mesh.
I actually had to remake the front of the case because i drilled the holes wrong

120mm fan holes were also cut in the ducts:


The ducts also needed some intake ventilation holes in the side of the case.. I made a card template to help with this:

Its easier than trying to measure it out equal on both sides

These holes were then cut out on the scroll saw:

This pic shows the holes just after they were cut, the edges were filed down a bit later.


A CD drive mount had to be made now.
First i measured out, cut, and drilled some aluminium:


They were bent:


And now i have some drive mounts :


I cut out a rectangular area in the side of the case, for the front of the drive to stick through. Using a file i increased the size a little at a time until the drive would only just fit through, with very little gap around the edge:


The next step was to secure the mounts to the base of the case. As you can see there is not a lot of space to get under the drive:


I decided the best thing to do would be to glue the mounts in place and then remove the drive, giving more access to the holes.
For this i used some regular PVA glue, because its easy to remove:


This was left overnight, then the drive was removed, leaving the mounts in place:

From here i could mark through the holes where i needed to drill.

When the drilling was done and the holes were tapped, i screwed the mounts back into place:


When the drive was in place and the side was back on, this was the result:

Not perfect, but it'll do


One last thing left for this update, the hard drive mounts..
First step; some more aluminium was cut and drilled:


I then made 2 bends in each piece, with the bending brake:


And 2 more:


We have some HDD mounts! :


When it comes to putting the HDDs in later, i will use this silicone to help absorb the vibrations and hopefully cut down the noise:

This is actually a baking tray, it will be cut to size later on.

I drilled and tapped some more holes in the base of the case for the HDD mounts, and they were screwed into place:


Here you can see that i actually had one of the screw holes in the wrong place the front-left one in this pic:

It should be about 1cm further back. i did consider remaking it, but in the end i thought this wasnt needed, especially as i didnt even notice until i got it screwed into place and it will be hidden later anyway.

I used this right-angled screwdriver to screw down the hard drive mounts:

it was kinda tricky xD not much space to work in there.

Finally i had to cut some holes in the side of the case for the 2 92mm fans that will be cooling the HDDs.
This next pic shows them cut and filed:


And here is a pic of the side back on:

And that just about completes the HDD mounts, as well as this update!


The next step for me will be to make the top of the case and some mesh covers for the fan intakes.. assuming i can get my hands on the mesh ^_^
For now i'll leave you all with a shot of the case as it stands now:



Thanks for reading!

 

Thats a big update!

I like it, also the design is just awesome! I really like how the motherboard is placed.

 

WOW, some really nice work there, congratz on the good job so far.

 

Awesome metal fabrication work, and I'm loving the design ^____^

What is the silicone's surface like? Also, have you tested it's noise reduction capabilities yet?

 

good work. i like the concept and the layout is unique. you seem to be coming along quite fast, unlike myself...

 

Great skills.Fast modding.Well done.

 

thanks

thank you

thanks.
the silicone surface has raised outlines of triangles, and the back is smooth.. ive not tested it yet but i imagine its got to help some with a custom hdd mount where its not 100% accurate, there would no doubt be some gaps otherwise.

ty

thank you

 

Congrats on the MOTM nomination!

john

 

thanks john

and thanks to bit-tech for the nomination, i really do feel honored

sadly i dont have an update for you guys, i was sick for some time, then ive had to look for places to buy some supplies and wait for them to arrive, and now i have a sore throat again.
ive done some work, but not enough to make an update out of it, but i'll try and get one up as soon as i can

 

Update 6: Feet, Fan Controllers, and Front Connectors


Im sorry its taken so long to get this update together guys, and i regret ive not been to do the work with the mesh on the top of the case this time (as i said last update i would), but i'll be starting on that next, for sure.


First thing to mention, ive got some new M3 screws (that match the others) and some cap nuts for them too:

These will be used in a few places where i cannot use the other 6-32 screws.


Some feet arrived in the post, so i quickly opened them up to have a look:

Bill's MNPC-Tech case feet They are actually much lighter, and also slightly thinner, than i had expected, but the quality is really awesome
(there is 4 in a pack, but only 2 are shown here)

To get these fitted i took of the bottom plate off and drilled a hole (i think it was a 7mm hole, but im not 100% sure ) in each corner:


The bolt is fitted through the feet, through the case piece, and then the nut is screwed on:


I could reattach the bottom piece of the case:


And the case now stand on its own two (4, actually ) feet!:




Moving on;
Ive got these front-panel connectors (but they are actually going on the side ) from FrontX:

As you can see there is a tap in that picture. I tapped the screw holes for the USB connectors, but it proved too weak to use in the end, so i will get some thread inserts later

I drill holes in the side panel where the connectors will go, the mic and headphone jacks can be fitted easily then:

The jack is pushed through the hole, and the nut is screwed on.

Here they are from the back/inside:


The slots for the USB connectors needed a little more work. 2 holes were drilled to get things started, then i worked outward with some needle files to create 2 rectangular slots:

Lots of test-fitting was done along the way!

Here is what things look like from outside the case, with 2 usb cables plugged in:

The bolts are just temporary, until i get the thread inserts mentioned before.


Whilst i was working on cutting out slots, i thought i would do the 3 on the back i need for switches (which will be used for the CCFLs).
Holes were drilled:


And they were widened and shaped as before:

You can see one of the switches i will be using (in the top slot) in this pic, although its not that clear due to the background im sorry.


Last thing to do for this update is to fit some fan controllers. I should mention now that i decided to fix to the controllers to the inside of the case. I feel this is a better place than at the back (which is what i had on the original plans) because access will be easier and quicker here.
I will be using 2 of these Scythe 3.5" fan controllers:

I would have liked to have made my own, but i know very little about electronics and circuit boards and such

The first step in disassembling them is to remove the front knobs:

They just pull off, although they are a little stiff.

The next thing to do is undo a few screws.

The 2 large screws hole the PCB in place, once they are removed it can be slid out the back. The front plate is held on by the 2 smaller screws on top of the controller unit (there is also another identical pair on the underside that have to come out too). When these are removed the front panel drops off.

The 3 main parts that make up the controller:


When i'd taken the 2nd controller apart too, i had this pile of bits:

I took some measurements, them set these aside for now.

I made these 4 little brackets from aluminium to hold the fan controllers to the case:


I drilled 4 holes in each:

The smaller halves will be fitted to the side of the case and have smaller holes drilled with a screw thread cut, whereas the larger sides will be fixed to the fan controllers.

These were then fitted to the fan controllers:


And with 2 more holes drilled; they can be screwed to the sides of the case:

The other one is in the same location on the on the opposite side.


.. And thats all for now!
Thanks for reading