What exactly does it sense? Flow rates as rpm? Or just that there is flow or not? Looks like an interesting product. EDIT: Nevermind. its a flow switch. Looks awsome btw. Where are the updates?
The last two updates show the side panels being fitted; they're just screwed onto the frame. The last side opening will be covered with a plexi sheet in the same way. Yes, its just a switch. Idea is it will be hooked up to a buzzer to warn me of pump failure. Expect an update next weekend, I've been living it up in sunny Wales this week and so not much has been done
The AC wiring was the next thing to be finished off. The connection to the main power connector and to the pump had already been done (in order to test the pump) so only the power supplies needed wiring up. This Right angled IEC cable connects to the Main PSU... ...through this hole on the back panel... ...like this! I had originally bought a right-angled IEC connector which I was going to splice onto the end of some suitable cable. This connector was cheap and would have looked awful, so I bought the moulded cable and cut the plug end off. Much nicer. The other end of this cable was soldered to the rear of the two power switches on the side of the case. A length of wire and connector for the 2nd PSU was soldered onto the other switch via the 2nd circuit breaker. AC wiring all done. From left to right we have the main PSU, power input, aux PSU and water pump connections. This is how it looks with the PSU's in place. Just need some cable ties to tidy it up. Some people have commented on the wisdom of having the exposed wiring on the power switches. Despite using heatshrink on them there is still some bare metal showing, and I began to think that covering it up would be a good idea. So, I cut down an ABS project box from Maplin to cover the whole area. The other nice thing about this is it makes it all look much tidier. The box being marked up... ...and after being cut to shape. About 20mm had to be cut from the height, and openings cut for the wiring. Fits like a glove To lid of the box was screwed into threaded metal inserts in each corner. I rescued these from the discarded top section of the box and pressed them into the lower section. The idea was then to drill some holes and screw through the side panel into the ABS box to secure it. Problem was I could only get 1 screw in The screw below this goes right through the join between the panel and angle, the one to the right would go right through a circuit breaker, and the one diagonally opposite right through a rivet. Hmmmmm However, due to my millimeter accurate cutting the PSU was a snug fit against the box, as were the circuit breakers. Even without the screw it wouldn't move far. So, that one screw is all it needs. Tucked up against the PSU. The next job is to move on to the low power electronic and wiring. This has so far involved playing around with component placement and realising you don't have the correct sized drill bit for your fan power connectors. The only piece of work worth taking a picture of was of the motherboard wiring As seen previously, the USB, switch and access lights were wired up to an IDE cable, all I did was crimp a 40-way header on the other end. Thats actually a tricky job when you don't have the proper tool...
The crux of the electronics in the case is a box mounted underneath the optical drives where all the wiring congregates. The connections to the motherboard, front panel, fans and sensors all plug in here and with any luck, I'll be able to wire them all together correctly. The box is nothing more than a Maplin's aluminium project box. The project box as it started. With the fan connectors added The fan connectors are 4-pin screw locking jobs; one for the internal fans and one for the radiator fans. I went for the 4-pin in case I need to run anything else to the radiator, like lighting or sensors. One of the plugs screwed in Below the fan connections I cut away the case to fit a 40-way header which will receive the other end of the cable to the motherboard. 40-way header in place. The header will be hot-glued in place once the wiring is complete, I'll also need another one for the connection to the front panel. Due to the res location, the lower CDROM bay is useless for drives, so thats where I mounted the box. I initially was going to rivet it in, but ended up using M5 screws intead, in case I ever need to remove it. As the next picture shows, the rivet heads on the bottom of the CDROM bay create an uneven surface, so I made up a spacer from 1.6mm aluminium. Spacer in place... ...and the box screwed down. how the box looks from the back with the hardware in. It looks cramped, but theres enough room to plug the cables in. The connector to the radiator passes via another connector of the same type on the side panel, below the water fittings. Radiator power connector in place Just need a short length of cable to join the two. Theres still room in front of the control box in the lower bay, so I decided to make use of it and mount a USB compact flash reader. As the USB lines from the motherboard are piped into the control box this can plug right into it. I picked up a cheap multi card reader, in black. The reader as it arrived. Its obviously meant to go in a floppy bay, but for my uses the rear section was quite useless, so I trimmed it down a bit. The casing just snaps together, so it didn't take much to dismantle and cut away the unnecessary bits. The trimmed down reader This then attaches right onto the bay panel. I re-used offcuts from the case and made up two right-angled brackets, then cut out a floppy sized hole in the bay panel for the reader to poke through. The brackets were then rivetted onto the panel. Reader with mounting brackets Reader posing with the bay panel The brackets rivetted to the panel This covers my media reading needs (only really need the CF, but you never know...) and the USB port is a bonus. I have two USB lines left from the motherboard, these will be connected to two USB ports on the front panel, I just need to find space for them. They'll most likely end up on the panel below the reader. The reservoir has also been finished. The final addition was a 10mm push fit fitting on the top to act as an air-bleed. From my leak testing air-locks were common when filling as the res is at the lowest point, this fitting and a suitable length of hose solves that. Air-bleed fitting. I will pack the air-bleed end of the res with a couple of washers to raise it up a little, that should help the air collect at the correct end of the res. Finally, you guys with long memories may remember the radiators I was proposing to use. I bought a Mazda heater core from ebay, which turned out to be quite big in the flesh, and was then given a JCB heater core, which was of a more sensible size. Sorting the radiator out has been on the back burner, but as I'm approaching the end of the project its now time to sort it out. I went with the JCB one, mainly because its thinner and shouldn't present as much of a restriction to airflow. Its size makes it ideal for two 120mm fans (although squeezing 4 in may be possible...). First job was to clean the rust and crap off it, then flush the insides out. Slightly cleaner rad Its currently receiving a few coats of Hammerites finest, then I'll make up a fan shroud.
Real Life has definately got in the way of the project, so I haven't had as much time as I'd like to work on the case. I have this weekend free and aim to have the case ready to receive the actual hardware, so I can finish it off during the week. As I'm moving house in a week I really need it all in one piece, so fingers crossed it should be operational by the end of next weekend. First off, carrying on from the last update, here's the newly painted radiator Shiny looking radiator The core does look a bit tatty; one side will be covered with the fans, the other I think I'll cover with some mesh just to make it look a little tider. Building the fan mountings and shroud is the last big job to complete. Finishing off the electronics and the control box has been the focus of the last few days. First a couple of extra connections were added to the back side; a 16-way header to connect to the front panel and some smaller headers to connect power and the flow and float sensors. Front panel, power and sensor connections The final set of connections were for USB, essentially replicating the header layout on the motherboard. There wasn't room for this on the box itself, so they were tacked on the side. First the USB wiring was brought out to the side of the case. You'll notice I'm using old IDE cabling, I seem to have miles of the stuff going spare since the 80-way cables came in. USB wiring brought out The USB style 9-pin headers were then made up on a piece of stripboard, and the above wires soldered to the correct (I hope) pins on the back. USB connection Some hot glue secures the wiring in place and the board to the case. It all looks a little rough, but this is all being hidden in the drive cage so I'm not overlay worried about aesthetics. Next, using yet more IDE cable, I made up a cable from the motherboard header to the control box. Motherboard to control box wiring I will be adding some braiding to the cable to tidy it up a bit. A similar cable was needed for the connection to the front panel, but first I needed something to plug it into on the front panel. Completed front panel The connector top right carries the signals for the power/reset switches and the fans. The cable is just rated to support the current for my fans, I've doubled up the wiring to be on the safe side. Theres a few extra lines in the connector which aren't used, gives me some room for expansion if needed. Completed panel with ribbon cable down to the control box Cable (left) going into the control box. As with the connection to the motherboard, folding the cable over to tidy it up can alter the order of pins on the connector at each end. So, I spent a few minutes with a continuity tester checking which wire was which in the control box. Continuity testing Then I could connect the lines for the power/reset switches There are lots of unused wires on the motherboard end, these are for things like the speaker and access lights. I don't have plans to use them as yet, but they're there and easy enough to hook up to if needed. The next stage was to sort out the alarm circuits for the sensors. If flow or the res water level drops I want some form of audible output. A form of audible output came in the form of some buzzers. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz These are really old and a bit knackered, I'll be ordering some replacements soon. Hopefully they won't be needed though... Control box in the midst of wiring The alarm circuits are really simple, each sensor just connects the buzzer to power. The wiring was laid out on the stripboard below the sensor connectors. The above also shows the start of the fan wiring, this was simply soldered to the ribbon cable to the front panel. Once completed the box could then be screwed back down to the drive cage Completed control box.
The connectors for the sensors could then be sorted out. These are crimp contact connectors, as I don't have the crimping tool, I just soldered the wires to the contacts. A test with the test PSU ensured the circuit worked with the sensors plugged in. With the system dry both sounded off as they should. Sensors hooked up... ...and with the CF reader Next, I wanted to finish off the USB hardware, namely the USB sockets on the front panel. These are two sockets taken from one of those PCI bracket affairs. Sockets screwed to a sheet of aluminium taken from the scrap bin... ...and rivetted to the front panel The cable from these loops back around and into the 2nd USB header on the control box. Next on the list was fan wiring, or at least the internal portion. First was to connect the external radiator fan connector to the control box. I'm going to be using CAT5 for the wiring to the rad fans, so thought I'd use it on the internal connection too. CAT5 soldered to the external connector... ...and plugged into the control box. The second socket is for the case fan on the top panel. I used two runs of regular molex wire for this. This was going to be run inside the auxiliary PSU braiding, so the wiring for that was the next on the list. The aux PSU connects to the control box, providing power for the alarms, and to the front panel to power lighting. So, I led two sets of wire off from a molex which plugs into the PSU. Wiring to the top fan Aux PSU wiring The left connector is to the control box. This has been braided using a GremFix kit, which is a nifty pack of braiding with heatshrink moulded to the end. Makes a tidy job. The fan wiring incorporated in the Aux PSU brading. This bunch of wires then runs up to the top of the case, with some zip-ties along the way. The fan wiring is broken out the side of the braiding at the top and hooks up to the fan. Fan wiring broken out... ...and soldered to the fan The front panel cables then run across the top of the case and plug in. The APU could then be plugged into the mains to check it all worked. I had alarms buzzing as they should and lights on the front panel so I'm happy. Next on the list is the temperature sensor wiring, then the radiator fan mounts can be made and the complete system leak tested.
The wiring for the temperature sensors involves mounting the sensors removed from the temperature LCD units, then extending the wires back to the header on the front panel. The sensor on the hard drive cooler was done first. The sensor was taped to the top plate, roughly in the middle, hopefully that will give a rough indication of drive temp. Sensor taped in place The wire to the left is terminated with a 2-pin connector which plugs in to the front panel. The last 2 sensors (CPU and GPU) are on the motherboard. A length of 4-way ribbon leads from the front panel to an IDC connector on the motherboard tray. This is a similar setup to the 40-way used to connect to the control box. The grey wire above is the sensor wiring to the motherboard. The modular wiring from the main PSU has been plugged in, the large molex will pug into the Raptor once it has been installed. I was expecting to have to make up some extensions for this, but luckily the modular cables were long enough. Other end of the sensor wire The header on the motherboard tray is a 10 way unit, bigger than I need but the smallest you can get. There is some more IDE ribbon hooked to the connector, which runs under the motherboard, turns through 90degrees and pops out at the top of the tray. Once the actual hardare is installed I can see where the sensors end up, then trim and route the wire properly. Thats the case wiring complete. As I haven't done one for a while, heres a shot of the case as it is. Next, the radiator needed sorting. What I need is a shroud to mount the fans to, and some feet or legs to keep the rad the right way up. Two 120mm fans are being used, the first job was to screw these together. The two 120's with connecting brackets The screws are the same M5 ones that hold the case together. I found they self-tap quite nicely into the fan's plastic. Next I cut out and cleaned up the sides of the shroud Fans with shroud sides. The right side in the above pic has had holes drilled, so the next step was to rivet the sides together. Shroud sides completed The next shot should explain where the bits go and how it'll all look... Just need to screw the sides to the rad and the fans. Then I can cut two more alu sheets to cover the last two sides. The brackets in the middle of the fans will be bent down and rivetted to these panels, in case you wondered why I made them so big!
Construction has continued on the radiator shroud during the week. First was to cut the remaining parts to size and clean them up All shroud parts cut to size The short lengths of angle connect the rectangular sides to the end pieces. They were first rivetted to the rectangular sides. Sides with angle rivetted on They were then rivetted to the ends. Major construction complete. Holes to attach the fans were then drilled in the upper angle. The experienced reader will spot its damn tricky to fit a screwdriver between the angle to actually get at the screw, so I extended the holes right through both parts. Screw You! That picture also shows I'll have to trim away some of the angle otherwise its going to mess up my airflow. You'll also note the fans are on upside down at this point... ...reason being those pesky middle brackets get in the way otherwise. They'll be sorted in due course. Next was to attach the shroud to the radiator. Shroud on the radiator Holes were drilled through both parts and M5 screws with yet more captive nuts used to tie everything together. Next was to sort out those middle brackets. They were bent into shape using a couple of scrap lengths of angle clamped together. Get Bent! Each bracket was then rivetted to the side panels Just need to trim away the parts obstructing the fans and sort out the power connection, then its on with the final leak testing.
As well as leaving work today (back to student life!) I also completed the radiator shroud and leak tested the system. Its now ready for the actual hardware to be transfered over and it should (fingers crossed) be functional. After thats its just cosmetic stuff to do. Anyhow, heres the pictures from todays work. Radiator shroud completed. Sections of the angle were cut away to remove the obstruction they present to airflow. Another of the same 4-pin screw lock connectors used elsewhere for fan wiring was hooked in on the side of the shroud. Some solder and a dab of hot-glue to keep the wires tidy was all that was needed. This is what its looking like on the other side. Fan guards added It was then screwed back to the rad and the fans tested with the fan control circuits on the front panel. At 12V they really shift some air! The PWM cuts it down to a nice low noise breeze at it lowest setting, plus the fans don't growl and will fire up from rest. Really chuffed with my choice there. The internal fan is a different model and does growl at low PWM settings; I did play with capacitor values when building the controller but couldn't find the right one to suit this fan. I'm going to see how it works out in practice before fiddling with it more. Leak testing came next. A temporary set-up was put together first, with the CPU and GPU blocks being fed from the external outlet on the case, then feeding into the rad and the rad discharging into a bucket. This was to get an idea of the flow-rate (which turned out to be ok) and to flush any crap out of the rad. The blocks were then moved to their proper places and the whole system filled. This is the first time the water system has been together as a complete unit; thankfuly there were no leaks. The only problem was with the air bleed on the res. The CDROM bay is too close and kinks the pipe coming out, so it was blanked off temporaily. I'm ordering an elbow fitting which should fix this. The system under test. Next is the big move of the hardware and seeing how well all this performs!
