Project: LAVA Thing (Linux Server) UPDATE: 4-30 More Crap no one cares about

By looking at that cut out picture, it looks like when yo slide the drives in it might accidently scatch the cd rom drives. Do you think this will be an issue?

 

hmm??
im not following you
the cage that i did was for the HDD and floppy. Are you worried about the edges scrathing the paint off of them?
Tommorow i will smooth down the edges file files and dremel-age

 

Well aren't you doing the same thing for the cd cage? Because would think that even on the hard drives and floppy i still wouldn't scratch them by accident if you are gonna paint them.

 

You have a good ways to go buddy. I have to admit those cuts are in pretty rough shape. Time to break out the files/dremel sanding drum. The design though is a good idea, you just need to clean those cuts up. Good luck with the rest.

 

Im not to woried about the drives scratching, i plan on putting some clear coats on it to make it shiny, and protect it. If it becomes a problem, i might have to find another solution. (c-strip mabye)
And i got a bit more nibbling done, and made a new freind, Wutang; the magnet head. He is very good at cleaing up nibbles of steel

 

I am also subscribed, i just tend not to use space on a topic for saying that i subscribed(l2wis no offense). I tend to subscribe to every forum topic i read, even the ones i don't post on.


Good wrk so far and keep it moving along.

 

Thanks for all the subscriptions. Greatness.
I finished most of the nibbling, and filed down all the sharp edges.

And this next 3D high tech rendering shows the plans. The 2 blue circled areas havent been cut yet. the top one will be cut. And the left one i was hesitant to cut, but nce i put the drives in it, then i realized that i should cut it off.

If you want any pics of a certain area, please ask, i can get pics of nearly anything (sadly not sasquatch)

 

I started paining tonight, and obviously, something went wrong. The paint doesnt seem to like sticking to the metal... butm this was a practice to see what would happen. Ill have to wait till morning to see how it dries.

And got that pesky corner nibbled away

 

You to use some like 320 grit sand paper to sand off the crap then use some 400 grit sandpaper to smooth it out. Then wash it with some dishwashing soap. That way you get all the metal crap off and have a nice clean slate to paint on.

 

Aha, painting. I know this one. kinda anyway.

Prepare the entire area with a low grit sand paper, something like 240-800 maximum.

You will probably find that you would do better with some acid etch/self etching primer. This "eats" into the metal to provide a better base to work from.

Now I shouldn't say this as I use cheap paints but using a good quality expensive paint £10 or more a can will usually improve the results of painting on to bare metal more significantly than cheaper paints anyway. Of course I don't know exactly what paint you are using.

 

I found a can of black gloss in the garage so i used it. Then it ran out, so i grabbed a can of flat black and used it. I will obtain some primer later. And do all the sanding stuff also.

 

Another suggestion when painting, Put the can of paint into a bowl of hot water (not boiling!!) something that is hot enough but you can stand to put your hand into. Leave it for about 10-15 minutes and then dry the can and shake for a furthur 2-5 minutes before spraying.

This increases the pressure inside the can and will give a better spray as the paint itself is warmer and comes out better (best way I can think to explain it)

EXCERCISE CAUTION when doing this, as using some methods to heat the can up when taken to far can lead to very nasty consequences.

 

UPDATE

ogami: thanks, i will try that

Today, i worked on the case a bit with some files. Then i pulled out the stuff i bought wed. at home depot:

I am making a power distribution block, so i can lengthen, reroute wires, sleeve, etc. without messing with the PSU anymore. I am hoping that i can hide the wires a bit better now.
I wanted to be able to remove the PSU fom the case without taking the block off also, so i searched for a female molex and here it is:

So i took off the male end, and am going to telleveryone how to do it alos.
1) you need a molex tool that removes the pins, they are easy to find from radio shack, or nearly any online computer store. The metal ones will probaly run you around 10$ while plastic ones might be 3-4$. Get a metal one.
So first, insert the correct end of the molex tol onto a pin, then push the tool into the molex socket, and pull the wire. Depending on the molex this might be near impossible, or very easy. The molex on my PSU ar hard as crap to get off, while these pins here just slipped out.
2) Heres the pin out of the molex
3) all the pins out of the molex
4) those pesky pins cut off


So once i got all that done, i worked on the Distribution block. The block will have space for 5 components, mabye more if i need it. So that will be covered.

And my unofficial officail sponsor of today

What, i ran out of dew. And this stuff is good to.

If you want pics, ask. If you want answers, ask.

Woo woooooooooooo

 

So your going to distribute all the power to cd roms hds fans etc using that one connection. EEEE i dont know about that you might want to use 2 molexs from teh power supply to do that. Im not sure how many drives and etc. your going to be running so im not sure about that.

I say you mihgt want to use 2 as alot of voltage running throuhg 1 thin line might not be so great. AHHHHHH FIRE

 

If i feel the lines getting hot, then il will put in a lower gauge wire. I dont think it will matter, as the floppy and cd wont be used much (if ever) the HDDs are the only things that wil rin always, and seeing as molex wires normally have 2 plugs (or more) on each "tree" and most people prolly use a "tree?" fro the cd drives, then another for the HDDs. I will test it when everythign is finished.

[EDIT] I just looked at the wire, and it says 300v HA, like theres ever been, or going to be 300v on ths lines. what matters is the amperage. And i might replace the wires from the psu, as they are tin or something silver colored. The wires i got at home depot is copper, copper = less resistance = less heat

 

More updatedness

I took some pics of the painted (crappily i might add) drive cage. For now i call it Mooo

 

You might want to file some ore on those cuts because they still look little shabby.

 

the wires wont feel too hot, even if you are over-drawing current or getting too little, just because the ratio of the cross section of the wire to the surface area is too small. You should double up the number of leads from the power supply if you use more than 3 drives on that block.

 

Q: since the ground of the PSU attaches to the case, then when i extend the PLug, i can just attach the ground on the etended plug to the case? right?

 

Updatedness

I have been spending a bit of time working on the PSU (among other things) recently, and have got a bit accomplished.
I re-routed all the wires to exit the top of the PSU (instead of the side):

But then i realied that i was hampering the airflow in the PSU, so i needed to add another cooling fan, which has a connector to be removable:

I took an old fan splitter and butchered it. i soldered the male end to the PSU, and then i heat shrunk everything, with the alimighty heat gun

Then for no reason, i started to make some more vent holes, and dint have time to finish them tonight: