Scratch Build – In Progress Project BluBawx I by E.E.L. Ambiense - Completed

Feb. 15th - Update!

Alrighty. Things have been weird around these parts but I was finally able to spend a little time on the Bawx. Now for an update.

After the successful PSU test, I went forward with the acrylic. It's all cut and looking fine, and looks like the measurements were pretty close. I probably could have even tightened up the size a little more, but it's fine! I think it'll look great sitting on my component stand by the LCD TV.



First thing's first, I need to tap the holes for the mobo's standoffs. Have to start somewhere, right?



And with my trusty 6-32 tap, I get to work on it...



And after carefully cutting some threads, I installed the first standoff to make sure it's fine. Yup!



Now, let's finish the rest of them as well...













Exciting, eh?

And a quick install of the mobo to make sure it's fine. Looks good!



And I went ahead and tapped all the holes for the PSU to sit as well. Standoffs installed.



And installed the PSU as well...



I also began marking, drilling, and tapping other holes for the structure as well. Here's a quick mockup of the pieces roughly where they'll be...



And a quick shot of the backplate area. Rastering came out great!



I'll update again when a proper update has coalesced.

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Until the next update, I got nuthin'.

 

This is looking very nice!!!

 

yeah really great i subscribe

 

I'm thinking of building a miniITX myself, but then I look at the Mac mini and think about simply buying this.

However... nice cas-con so far

 

YAY!!!! It is becoming an actual computer! Hahaha

Looks amazing so far, I know it will be even better once the covers are taken off!

 

See, I told youse guys to have patience. Jeremy thinks thrice then cuts. The thinking is the hard part.
Well met. This is very good and quite close to the original sketchup. I like the subtle curvers in the base plexi.
Still watching.
john

 

That I/O plate is 'de sexy'! -But now you will have to shave the oversize housings off all your plugs.
-What's this about drawing blood? Did the laser go on a rampage?

 

Thank you!

Thanks, man!

Thanks!

LOL. Thanks, man! I think it's going to look great when I get it done.

Thanks for the backing, John. A lot of thinking goes into a lot of what I do, but this one has been a bit of a pain, but not in a bad way. It's just the way it is.

Thanks about the curvature of the top and bottom plates; I did that to add some personality to it perhaps creating something of a line to follow when observing it...at risk of sounding slightly pretentious, lol.

Thanks, Cheaps! Nah, the housings for everything was taken into consideration when designing it. I won't have any problems.

LOL. The cut edges can be a bit too sharp sometimes , and when a person accidentally runs his or her finger down it too quickly....well, it can hurt.... I'm sure you're familiar with this too!

 

Too Nice!

 

Well, I still like the idea of a rougue cnc laser...

 

Thanks!

LOL. I keep getting a mental image of the movie Runaway with Tom Selleck, except with a laser instead of robot spiders...

 

An update? Really? I did a double-take... Actually, I read through it 3 times. Those pieces look fantastic.

 

OO great work E.E.L. Ambiense, that acrylic looks the sex

 

Gimme a break, I'm movin' as fast as I can!

Thanks, man!

Thanks, mate!

 

Feb. 16th - Update!

Yes, you read that correctly. Another update, but a bit smaller. Right onto that, since I have nothing sarcastic to say; it's been a long day.

I needed to mark out, drill and tap the 'rails' for the optical drive to sit up under the top...



And after a test install, looks like it's correct. Now to finish tapping the other one...



And a quick drop-in with the optical drive with screws installed. Looks fine. There's a subtle gap between the drive's sides and the actual rails, as I planned on putting some foam or something on the sides of the drive to cut down on possible jittering.



Dropping the top onto the case, even though it's not totally assembled. It's been bothering me if the drive was going to line up or not. It's not perfect; looks like I could actually drop the rails down a tad, but looks like the tray itself will open and close unhindered, which is what matters most.



Also, I dropped in the 16mm power switch to make sure everything's fine for clearance. Fit snug and perfect.



And a teaser shot in the midst of a test assemble as well as marking for drilling...Man, I hate the idea of having to strip it all back down just to remove all the protective paper, lol.



I'll update again when I have some more stuff of substance.

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Until the next update, I got nuthin'.

 

Man thats some sexy coloured plexi! awesome work E.E.L. Ambiense cant wait to see whats next definatly gonna sub and keep an eye on it

 

hmmmmmm....I am really liking this! Getting plenty of ideas to steal...I mean borrow...for my mod!

 

Whoa, holy updates Batman!
You've made great progress! It's looking done already. I love the lines and the backplate, and especially all the little labels. Can't wait to see it without the paper and lit up.

Sorry to hear about the problems with your car, etc! Good luck with that, and way to not let it stop you from modding!

 

WOW I missed a bit lol. Comming together really well my friend, the laser cut plexi is really well done, nice work.

 

Wow, this is looking like a stunning little pc

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