Project: mk.V (a UV circuitry theme) -=[FINISHED]=-

Yay! Tomorrow is my last "normal" day of class for this semester so now I should be able to concentrate on more modding.
While watching TV I managed to make an extremely short P4 ATX12V cord. The one that came with the PSU was kind of clogging up the top of the case.

I may have found a good supplier of scrap very near by so hopefull I can get the faceplates made this weekend. I also want to remake the upper motherboard cover and some other accent pieces out of acrylic. And in my pile of plastic that I keep in my basement I found another sheet of smoked polycarbonate so I'll be playing with that as well.

Another change. Now that I've chosen a video card that does NOT have Video-Input I will need to customize the TV Capture card I will be using instead. I'll probably paint it and add a backing plate to it. I don't want to see any ugly green PCBs inside this case if I can help it.

 

Hey dude, i just checked out your CPU duct concept looks good, make sure you do some benchmarking with that, i'm curious to see how it affects your system, mod is looking great, keep going.

 

there is a point at which a person can become too minimal. So, earlier today while not paying attention in class I managed to doodle some conceptual ideas of how to make the CPU intake duct more interesting, and I worked out how to construct and style the HDD mounting brackets.

The CPU intake duct will get some cosmetic additions and a custom filter to prevent prying cables and fingers from causing any problems. Also an added spotlight LED will be added and powered from the rheobus so I can dim it or turn it off if I feel like doing so.

The hard drive bracket is 90% for looks since I could simply use other not-as-cool options like long bolts and spacers or a stock bracket. I'll use a scrap 2-by-4 as a heat-warping mould to bend some smoked acrylic sheets into the shape I need.


Weeeeeeee

 

Overclockers.com has an article (this one) about different ducting methods you can use to optimize air cooling performance. Their results are very dramatic, but I was unable to adapt their specific method to my case because of clearance and airflow issues. My case is in the wrong configuration for me to use the kind of ducting they did.
Instead I opted for direct intakes on the most important areas of the case.

 

Darn, dude! The original ideas just keep coming! This project owns!

 

Ownage.

Ownage
Keep up the good work
Love it.

 

really coool!!!!

but also big $ lost

 

This project (so far) has only tallied up to $300. All of the plastic was purchased as scrap so it cost next to nothing. Many of the the other items (such as the security camera and 5.4" LCD) were leftover items from previous projects.


The duct is coming along nicely.

All that's left for me to do is wire in the LEDs and make the safety label which will be placed on the accent piece you see added on the outside of the duct. The label will be printed on sticker paper and should glow nicely under the UV Cold Cathode.

The primary feature that I added was a set of acrylic hollow rod channels to allow easy access to the fan screws.

I had to quit for today as a combination of allergies and acrylic fumes are making me incapable of functioning. Something I realized as I manage to ruin several pieces of acrylic square rod that I was trying to drill and tap to make the Hard Drive mounting brackets.
More to come over the weekend.

 

Nice looking thingy... Keep updating.

EDIT: My 100th post.

 

Went to radioshack to find UV LEDs, but was struck with inspiration and bought 4 of these instead.

Which, once I removed the rubber plugs they became lovely pass-through receptacles that also help to hold the split-loom in place.

Once the 120x38mm fan I order arrives I can get the red spotlight LED wired.

 

the duct is really nice
i just gotta say your fronts look like ****, they need repainting

 

I'm refacing the front in a custom cover made out of bare aluminum.

 

Feeling like crap today and I need to study for finals and work on an art commission. More updates next week.

Planned for next week
+ Finish CPU intake duct = done
+ Make CPU intake duct filter
+ Recut upper motherboard cover = done
+ Cut accent pieces out of plastic = done
+ Start work on the faceplates and 5.4" LCD mounting bracket
+ Start work on the HDD brackets (have to find a hard drive and a 2-by-4 first)

Other things that need to be done but I don't know when they're going to happen
- Customize Video Card
- Customize TV Capture card
- Customize Combo drive
- Make power supply exhaust flume
- Mount custom faceplates
- Machine cable seperators (will probably be the last part of the project)

 

I was tired of studying and decided to finish the CPU duct.
As you can see in this image (corner furthest away from the camera) I added another piece internally to help channel the airflow in the duct. This got rid of the extra turbulence noise the duct was creating. I also made a retention bracket that vices the duct in place against the support arm in the center of the case. The duct is now firmly seated onto the heatsink and the case itself. And as a finishing touch I added the safety sign decals for "Moving Parts" and "Intake".

And then I wired the LED and the fan together to keep the cabling orderly and uniform.

Since the fan is on a rheobus the LED changes brightness along with the fan speed adjustment.

from the back

case frame rail removed to show whole unit


The fan is attached to the duct and not the heatsink, which allows quick removal if I need to move anything underneath the heatsink. I machined the unit so precisely that there's no gap between the fan and the heatsink grippy pads. Once installed the unit is very rigid and since I'm using a high quality fan there is no recognizable vibration.

 

Made a new upper motherboard cover and accent pieces.

Once those were done I rewired the mode switch connection inside the double dual inverter box so that it uses a headphone jack like the power switch connectors. Much easier to disconnect and reconnect than the previous plug type I was using.

 

Thats awesome!! I like it.

 

looking great man love the mobo cover idea keep up the gooooood work

 

that's some really sharp work man

 

Thank you all. I'm hoping to make more noticable progress this weekend. Which will of course depend on me getting rid of this cold, and finding a nearby source for aluminum sheets.

 

Very nice... I love the whole idea of a mother board cover... I mean, we've all seen motherboards before, why not put art over them?