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Case Mod - In Progress Project F.O.B. T.C. (FINISHED: 18. jan. 2012)

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by Nutman, 21 Sep 2011.

  1. Nutman

    Nutman Never stuck with stock

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    Part 2 - Antenna box and other case peripherals

    Welcome to part 2.

    You might have noticed the antenna in the intro sequence of the video.

    Well, that antenna is not there just for any reason - it's actually going into this mod.

    I had an old, electrical automobile antenna that I would like to use for this project - it just requires 12 volts, so it would fit nicely into a PC.

    Have a look at this video to see how I put to together the antenna box:



    I took the case to my workshop in the basement to start working on it:

    [​IMG]

    These are the wheels to replace the stock case feet:

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    I marked where to put them and started drilling:

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    All case wheels mounted:

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    Here are some of the other peripherals that probably will sit somewhere on the case:

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    I marked and drilled the holes for the carrying straps and the case handle:

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    And then I started to disassemble the case - here's the top:

    [​IMG]

    I will remove that I/O panel from the top and sleeve all cables on it - will also replace the power LED.

    More on that in the next part.

    Stay tuned!
     
    Last edited: 14 Nov 2011
  2. AnG3L

    AnG3L Ultimate Modder

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    An antenna box, now thats interesting!!! I am waiting for more awesomeness my friend!!! Next update please!! ;)
     
  3. Nutman

    Nutman Never stuck with stock

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    #22: Working on it - completed the text for the next 4 (!!!) updates today. Now, I only need to complete a couple of videos to be able to post the next update - so expect it to be posted within this week. ;)
     
  4. mnpctech

    mnpctech bit-tech sponsor

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    look forward to next update Mads, you should ask Mrs for bending brake for xmas :D
     
  5. Nutman

    Nutman Never stuck with stock

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    LOL - good suggestion, but it's actually been on my wishlist since last christmas, as I plan to use it for my coming scratch build.
     
  6. Nutman

    Nutman Never stuck with stock

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    Part 3 - Sleeving and soldering

    Welcome to part 3, where I'll be sleeving and soldering stuff.

    In the video found in part 1 I briefly showed you the PSU for this project and it's now time to sleeve that PSU.

    I took it apart to see how much space there was for sleeved single wires in there:

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    See those modding tools there?

    Well, I made a review of those - you can check it out here:



    I wanted the sleeving of the PSU to fit the exterior army look of the PSU, so I had a look at conventional sleeving, but was also intrigued by something called Paracord.

    Paracord is short for "Parachute cord" and is the wires introduced for lightweight parachutes during World War II (I think - I'm by no means an expert on that subject, hehe).

    Anyway, it's very strong stuff, but I really don't care about that - I want to use it because it's very densely woven, it feels great (almost like fabric, although it's nylon), it comes in many colours and patterns AND it's dirt cheap.
    "So, what are the downsides?", I hear you ask.... well, it's harder to use than conventional sleeving, since it does not expand much - maybe it expands 5 to 10%. That's it... it's good for single wire sleeving, but not to be used as sleeving that has to go over USB connectors, SATA connectors and such, For that job you probably still need vconventional sleeving...

    Aaaaanyway, here's what it looks like:

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    Back to the PSU - it looks like I don't have to expand the hole for the wires, since the Paracord doesn't that much to the diameter of the sleeved wires. Ah, we'll see...

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    As I removed the factory sleeving, I discovered these little buggers:

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    I had no idea what they were being used for, but I knew that the purpose of these capacitators is to store power and give away that power when needed, so I figured that they were there to provide a more stable power flow to the motherboard. Probably only REALLY usable when doing heavy overclocking.

    So I asked people in this worklog and on MNPCTech's Facebook page and quickly learned that they were not really necessary - they only sit their to meet some EU regulations AND in times of very heavy load they might make it possible to deliver 4-5% better power stability.
    So, overall, the PSU would work just fine without these, just like older PSUs used to do - so they had to come off, as it would be impossible to get the Paracord over these:

    [​IMG]

    Speaking of Paracord, let's get back to that, shall we?

    During the process of sleeving the PSU, I made a huuuuuge video (27 minutes+, so make sure you're provided for before you start watching!!) that shares my sleeving-with-paracord experience with all of you. It also gives away many tips concerning sleeving in general that I've picked up during my time as a casemodder. Check it out here:



    Here are some shots of the completed sleeving job:

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    Now, would all the wires fit in the hole in the PSU?

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    Yes!

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    I'm really happy that I didn't have to expand the hole.

    Some shots of it all:

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    Hooked it up to a PSU tester and I'm very, very happy that it seems to work fine without the extra capacitators. Of course this would only reveal itself when put under heavy load, but at least it works and it seems like I connected all wires correctly.
    A little tip: sleeve one wire at a time - it minimizes the risk of making mistakes drastically. AND, buy a PSU tester. Those 50 dollars are well worth it, compared to the price of the equipment you risk end up frying SHOULD you have made a mistake somewhere.

    [​IMG]

    Now, In Win put all blue LEDs into this case and they didn't match the theme very well. I was going for an olive drab paint job with yellow decals and red lighting, so all blue LEDs had to be replaced.

    The first "victim" was the big 230 mm. fan - it has 4 3 mm. LEDs, safely glued in place:

    [​IMG]

    I removed the glue - this was easy, since it's hard glue, so it came off quite easily.

    Then, I quick-soldered all the red LEDs in place, just to check if they would work on the fan:

    [​IMG]

    I cut the new LEDs to the same lenght as the old ones and bent the legs in the same way:

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    And soldered the new LEDs on the fan:

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    Checking that I had soldered them correctly back on:

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    The result:

    [​IMG]

    I went on to sleeving the fan - due to the deadline, I chose to use conventional sleeving for all wires NOT attached to the PSU:

    [​IMG]

    I did the same to the 120 mm. fan that sits behind the CPU socket:

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    Did you notice the flexlight in the previous update?

    Well, I soldered a 5 mm. LED for it and tested it:

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    Test fit of the flexlight in the case:

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    The flexlight could be used for reading maps and such - the red light makes it hard to spot over longer distances. Seen from a casemodders point of view, it's just something I didn't see in a casemod before AND it's a unconventional method for lighting up the inner parts of the PC.
    I'm going to add a switch for the flexlight later...

    Now, I went on to sleeving the cables on the I/O panel sitting on the top of the case. Again, I used conventional sleeving for the sake of speed:

    [​IMG]

    I also wanted to replace the blue power LED found on that I/O panel.

    Before:

    [​IMG]

    After:

    [​IMG]

    The HDD LED has a yellow glow, so I didn't have to replace that, since yellow fits fine with the colour scheme of this project:

    [​IMG]

    In the next update I'll show you the paint job - and I have a small surprise concerning the decoration of the case.
     
    Angel OD likes this.
  7. mnpctech

    mnpctech bit-tech sponsor

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    Ok, youre NOT insane for using paracord... The results look stellar! :thumb:
     
  8. Nutman

    Nutman Never stuck with stock

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    Hey Bill - thanks. I had a feeling that I would not be considered a certified nutcase. ;)
     
  9. Angel OD

    Angel OD Pump Killer

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    THAT is amazing! Must... Give... REP! :jawdrop:

    You really pulled that one off! Haven't watched the video yet, but I will when I get home! :thumb:
     
  10. Nutman

    Nutman Never stuck with stock

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    Heh, thanks - yeah, Paracord is certainly interesting enough. And with so many various patterns and colours, it should be possible to find something that suits everyone's taste.
     
  11. Angel OD

    Angel OD Pump Killer

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    You DID tell the guy that you stole the cord from his parachute, right? :lol:
     
  12. Nutman

    Nutman Never stuck with stock

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    Errrrr.... ooops... no, I forgot. :duh:

    Ah, well! Water under the bridge by now! :thumb:
     
  13. Yariko

    Yariko What's a Dremel?

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    Paracord is pretty good for sleeving, and looks nice too, and not too expensive either. Done some sleeving with it, thou' not computer related. Good job :thumb:
     
  14. Nutman

    Nutman Never stuck with stock

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    Thanks, Yariko - and welcome to my worklog. ;)
     
  15. Nutman

    Nutman Never stuck with stock

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    Part 4 - Painting, painting, painting...

    Welcome to part 4 - the paint job. Or, the not-so-funny part, I call it. Well, ONE part gave me lots of fun, but that didn't really include painting...

    I don't really have the facilities for painting, but I gave it a try anyway. It's not really "my thing", you could say. It's dirty, it takes soooo much time, it's toxic, everyone in a 100 metres radius can smell it, you have to cover everything and the dust STILL settles eeeeverywhere leaving one hell of a clean-up job afterwards.

    But it had to be done, so I took the case apart. This is what it looks like when completely disassembled:

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Now, that surprise I talked about in the last update (which was the funniest part for me in this build), you'll have to see it for yourself in the video here - it's more or less at the end of the video. The video shows more or less the entire painting process, so have a look at it before reading on, OK?



    Ok, continuing where the video stopped, here are some progress shots.

    First, this is what my small basement room looks like when an In Win Dragonrider is drying after being painted:

    [​IMG]
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    The antenna box after primer has been applied:

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    The plastic parts after painting and subsequently applying matte clear coat:

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    Then, I taped on the lettering templates made by CUDS - Custom Design Solutions and masked everything off:

    [​IMG]
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    Painting with yellow - same tone as the one In Win used for the lettering on the PSU:

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    In the next update, I will show you the painted parts, the assembling process and the last few touches - and then, in the veeery last update, I will post the grand finale photos.
    Both updates will be biiiiig, so you have something to look forward to. ;)
     
  16. mnpctech

    mnpctech bit-tech sponsor

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    I like the stencils Mads, and I hope you don't get evicted by yr Landlord for creating those paint fumes :nono:
     
  17. Nutman

    Nutman Never stuck with stock

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    Not yet, and the fumes have finally gone, 2 weeks after finished painting. :eyebrow:
     
  18. Nutman

    Nutman Never stuck with stock

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    Part 5 - Assembling and finishing

    Welcome to part 5 - the putting-it-all-back-together update.

    There's quite a lot to tell and to show you, so let's get started...

    As I ended the previous update with showing you how I painted the lettering on this case, I want to show you what it looked like after the masking tape had been peeled off and all parts had been given the last layer of matte clear coat.
    I also put back the mesh on all parts:

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    Front panel assembled:

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    Started riveting the case back together.

    Wheels on - I think they fit the theme quite well:

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    Back panel on:

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    Top panel on:

    [​IMG]

    I put the antenna into its box and finished the wiring:

    [​IMG]

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    I think it looks really good - the result is very much as I had imagined:

    [​IMG]

    Remember the flexlight from an earlier update?
    Well, I finally got hold of a switch that would fit it, so I soldered all wires in place after having sleeved them. I'm quite happy with the looks:

    [​IMG]

    Installed into the case, it looks like this:

    [​IMG]

    Now, remember the army practicalities that I talked about in the first video?

    Here's one of them, used for the modular cables AND some basic tools:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I've never seen that in an army styled casemod before (not that I claim to know all of them. Nopes, not at all, really...), but I think they all SHOULD have practical compartments like that, for stowing away stuff while transporting, and also just for keeping stuff in its place.

    I put the PSU in place. I think I hit the colour for the case very well - the PSU has a slightly warmer tone to it. It's a bit more red, but as it's very subtle, I can live with that. Hopefully, the owner can, too ;)

    [​IMG]

    I moved on to installing the strap holders - first, the ones sitting on the bottom:

    [​IMG]

    An the ones on the top:

    [​IMG]

    Installed the case handle:

    [​IMG]

    I had this sticker that I would like to see used on the case somewhere:

    [​IMG]

    Not that this PC would have any kind of laser powerful enough for such a sticker to be necessary, but I just think that it looks cool.
    So I stuck it close to where I imagine the only laser that this case would ever see (the optical drive) would sit - the 5.25" rack:

    [​IMG]

    Yeah, it looks just OK. Nothing ground breaking here, but now it sits there, so I'll leave it be...

    The backing light for the In Win logo on the front panel was also blue - and those LEDs had to be replaced be red ones, too.

    I removed the black plastic that prevents the light from those LEDs not going where it should not go:

    [​IMG]

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    I removed the hard glue and popped the 3 LEDs out of their sockets:

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    And the I removed the blue LEDs and soldered the red ones on - here testing if they work as intended:

    [​IMG]

    Now, I had noticed that the blue LEDs had a hazey look to them - probably to distribute the light better.

    As I popped the 3 red LEDs back in the sockets, I thought their light was too concentrated - it didn't spread out as good as I wanted it to:

    [​IMG]

    So I took some wetsanding paper and ran it over the surface of one of the LEDs:

    [​IMG]

    You can clearly see the difference:

    [​IMG]

    So I did the same the the other 2 LEDs and installed all 3 of them back in place:

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    Then I sleeved the cable:

    [​IMG]

    And installed the back light back onto the case:

    [​IMG]

    I popped the front panel on and turned on the back light:

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    I like it! :D

    Now, to protect the paint job when carrying the case on the back AND to add some ruggedness to the case, I had acquired some plastic tiles that I wan only assume is normally being used for floors, somehow, somewhere...
    Here, I fit it to the right side panel:

    [​IMG]

    Then, I cut it to size and "countersunk" some of the holes to be able to screw the protection firmly to the case:

    [​IMG]

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    The very last task of this project was to put the antenna box on the case in a nice way - so, I had purchased this hollow aluminium rod that would hide the threaded rod in a nice way.

    I painted the cut pieces black:

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    ¨
    And then I installed the antenna box:

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    The last shot of the case during the building process - the right side with the carrying strap on:

    [​IMG]

    Now, since this update has reached a massive 54 pictures (!!!), I have chosen to add one additional update, namely the final pictures. As with "Project: Nutman", I went outside again, so those of you who liked that, will have something to look forward to, I guess. ;)
     
  19. bulldogjeff

    bulldogjeff The modding head is firmly back on.

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    Yeahhh!!! Like it Nutman, like it a lot...Ready to go into battle. Got a few holes, looks like it's been there already.. Nice work dude.
     
  20. Nutman

    Nutman Never stuck with stock

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    Thanks! Appreciate it...

    I would have weathered it a LOT more, had time permitted it... sadly, it didn't....
     

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