The Design Design Notes I forgot to include the dimensions and whatnot, but Oracle will be a 16 inch cube constructed out of 1/16th inch aluminum (its actually slightly thicker, but I cant remember the exact dimensions). The finish will either be a very nice automotive gloss black paint, or powder coated something nice and shiny. The water tank will be constructed out of 3/16 tinted acrylic (possible 1/4 inch, but who knows), and will be lit by white LED's embedded in the plexi. I've got an air pump that will pump bubbles into the tank and hopefully create a very pleasing effect. Check out my inspiration over at Metku Mods I dont have the side panels designed because that depends a lot on the internal layout which seems to be changing constantly, but it will involve lots of mesh At this moment I'm planning on having most of the fans pushing air in, and let the heat float out of the mesh top. However, should that not work I will build a bracket of some sort holding 2+ 120mm fans to pull air out. Cooling -CPU: Cuplex Pro -GPU: Twinplex -Chipset: Twinplex -Pump: Aquaxtreme AQX-50Z-DC12 -RAD: Airplex Evo240 (If anyone wants to sponsor me with a Cuplex XT, an Aquatube, and a couple Twinplex Pros I would love them forever ) -----Stage Zero: Prep----- The work area: (yes, I cleaned up after I took these) The Tools: My home made brake: My dad picked this up off lease for $120. It looked brand new when we leased it, so we figured it was better than spending $250 for a new one. Cuts aluminum like butter. -----Stage One: The Exterior----- I started out getting all the pieces I'd need for the exterior of the cube sheared down to size by Karlson Steel in Bellingham. Anyone needing some metalwork done in Whatcom County should look them up, they're a good group of guys. The base: The back on: The top strapped in place: The front riveted in: The cube from the back: That last picture shows quite a few things: the Lian Li motherboard tray I'll be using, the sheet of tinted acrylic, and the door to the paintbooth where the parts will get painted The top cut (the mesh is just sitting there at this point): The front and back cut: Next Step Starting on the internal structure, more specifically getting the PSU mounting in place and the slide for the motherboard tray. I also need to order the fans and the components for the LED throbbers and fan controller. I also need to design some feet for this bugger, but that's relativly low on the list.
Dude you have one hell of a work place. So large. I like the design. I hope everything works well for you.
And that's not even all of it There's a paint booth that can fit an F350 with room to spare and two bays for miscellaneous vehicles. My dad is a very handy guy, so he built this place two decades ago to accommodate that. He also ran a business repairing equipment for local golf courses for quite a few years. So yes, I get my corner, but that seems to be growing Thanks for the kudos on the design, it took me a long time to arrive at it. It sucks having two conflicting design ideas and only one case You can see where I was a while ago HERE
Well, its been a while since I last updated this, and I haven't gotten too terribly much done. I've been doing a lot of experimenting with mounting the motherboard slide and the internal layout. The current internal layout, with the finished PSU mount in place. Note that the hard drive rack is just sitting there, I haven't decided how I want to mount it yet. How I built the first piece of the bracket. Next I added a piece of aluminum bent to 90* that runs parallel to the bottom of the bracket. Note that the bracket pictured below was a prototype, the two I have in my case are more squared and dont have the slope on the top and bottom. Once the whole thing gets painted you wont see any of those scratches or the pen marks, so all in all much cleaner. I still need to drill and tap the mounting holes to secure the bracket to the case, but that's for another day. I've made some other progress, but I dont have current photos. I've been running up the ol' credit card picking up some parts. From performance-pcs: I will never buy from these guys again if I can help it, everything that's showed up from them has either been in terrible shape or missing pieces. Nothing major enough to warrant a return, but still annoying as all get out. They do, however, have a lot of parts that no one else carries, so sometimes you just have to grin and bear it. Another thing, I ordered the racks out of a PC-7 HERE, but they called and said they didn't have those, but instead the racks out of a PC-65. Considering the design is identical, I figured what the hey and had them ship my order out. This was not what I expected, however, due to the time constraints I'm working under, these will have to work. All the fans and the fan grills came from SVC, which I still think is the greatest web shop ever for this sorta thing. More toys, again from performance pcs: ------------------------------------------------------- DESIGN NOTES ------------------------------------------------------- I have decided to drop the optical drive in favor of a more developed fan control system. This makes the most sense for me since I've only used my optical drive maybe 3 times on my main rig since I installed windows and I can just pick up an external enclosure anyway. Next up on the to do list is to get the motherboard tray cleaned up and mounted, as well as finally build the water tank and get it tied into the case. After that comes the fan controller, the fan mounts, and then I'm just about done, save making the mount for the hard drive rack.
Got a little work done over the last couple of days, but with midterms coming up (i.e. tommorrow ) I wont have anything new for a couple days. I've also found that I'm not big on "in progress" pictures since I have trouble stopping to take them. However, when I break the whole thing down for paint you'll get to see how it all went together. Started with this hunk of metal, it was actually meant for the optical drive rack, but since I sacked that plan I figured I'd put it to use. Bent it, drilled it, mounted a piece of aluminum to the side and came up with this: That being one half of the motherboard rack, I obviously needed another. This one I decided to connect to the front of the case for two reasons: chassis rigidity, and additional support for the board. I made a mock up of my tank just to make sure I can get the desired effect and whatnot. Its very rough and I got adhesive all over the thing, the next model will be cut with a router (vs a tablesaw) and have sanded edges and whatnot. This was also my first experience with plexi glue, so that was interesting to say the least. However, all in all it turned out how I wanted it, and when I lit it up and added bubbles it was worthy. I had to set it in the case just to see what it's going to look like, and I must say I'm rather pleased. Once I build the new one and get the case painted its going to look just like I wanted. I rough cut the pieces I would need and got the templates sized, only to find that my router had busted a bolt so I sicked my dad on the problem, he wont have time till this weekend to check it out. ------------------------------------------------ Design Notes ------------------------------------------------ Not too much, had to change my motherboard rails from channel to this current design. I still need to add some round stock in the middle of each bracket to add some support. In other news, I got myself a mini fridge and stocked it nicely: And my youngest dogs father made it into the top four at westminster, so I was pretty excited. Has he done that a couple years earlier we could have strapped a 0 onto the end of how much we sold the puppies for, but meh, what can you do? He's afraid of cameras, and garbage cans, and my dad...he's a bit on the odd side.
Nice dog And project looks great. Good work with the aluminium and so on. That just looks a bit too large for me / my desk.
What a beautiful dog! And the work is great, too. I'm looking forward to the progression on this one!
He's a wonderful dog, greatest modding partner ever! I'm hoping that it progresses the way I'm hoping, since that means it'll be gorgeous Well its a good thing I didn't build the 18inch cube I have planned . Its third on my list after Oracle, and a 14inch cube based on the same design principles. Should have time to build the tank today, so I should have an update in the next 12 hours. E
Got a bit done today. Mounted the radiator, though I seem to be missing the shots I took of it all tied into the case, so I'll have to snap some when I get out to the shop later. I dont really like how this turned out, so I think I'm going to spring for a quality 117mm hole saw ($30 ) and redo the mount. I cut the panels for the new tank and started to sand them down, but didn't have the time start gluing them together. Tomorrow I should get the tank built and mounted, and reinforce some of the brackets with some round stock I picked up.
Got the plexi cut for the new tank. The process wasn't that difficult, but it was messy. Basically I rip the sheet down with a table saw, making sure that they end up being slightly larger than intended. Then I clamp it down on a particle board form and run the router around it. Little filing and some sanding later, and I end up with some very nicely cut plexi pieces. I got the first part of the tank built. I'm waiting on building the rest until I can drill and tap all the holes that need to be drilled and tapped. This is everything that's going to be attached to the tank. That's two fittings for the water intake and out take into the watercooling loop, and two fittings for the air pump. Three things I love about having a former mechanic (and generally very handy guy). The first is the air lines plumbed in all over the shop and connected to a very nice air compressor, the second, I say "hey dad, you happen to have a tap set?" and he pulls this out: and then says "I have the rest at work," so I'm all set in that regard. Then the other day when I was cutting the rad mount out, he pulled this out: The diamond bit works wonders. I used it in cunjunction with files and sandpaper to get the finish I wanted and the general shape. My smaller workbench is a mess at the moment My next project may be cleaning it up. This modders occasional drink of choice: And for anyone who forgot what I'm cooling this with: Not much will be happening tomorrow, since I'm spending the day in seattle with a couple female friends that apperantly want my opinion on their outfits If they weren't so damn cute I'd be at home working on Oracle, but meh, they're more fun. I'll finish the tank up wednesday, and then I need to start on the hard drive rack.
Good to see another Seattle modder (I think you said in your last update that you're around Seattle.) I've got to say, you've got one hell of a work space. (I've got nothin except a dremel, an assortment of files, and then basic tools. Savin up for a workbench and tools or more computer parts... whichever comes first, lol) Nice mod you got going there. Make sure you don't say anything too bad to your lady friends about their outfits.
I'm a little north of you, I'm just outside of Bellingham. My shop is very nice, I enjoy it a ton. Its got enough room that me and my dad can have more than one project going at a time and still not bump into each other. They might hurt me if I say anything bad, so if I suddenly stop posting you'll know I said the wrong thing...
Well, its been a while folks, and I haven't gotten much done. The tank is giving me problems, and what you see below is the third build, this time in 1/4inch clear plexi. It still isn't turning out as clean as I want, but I need to get this thing wrapped up in the next two weeks, so it'll have to do. The Plexi cutting process: Rough rip, clamp, route, file, sand. Building the tank: The result of the cutting process: The finish is decent, but occasionally the router bucks, resulting in those wonderful white imperfections. The tanks upside down, the end with the two fittings are near the bottom of the tank. Once I glued the top on, I realized I forgot to drill and tap the fill port, so I haven't glued the bottom on yet. I'm letting the whole thing dry before I drill the top to keep any plastic chips from sticking to tacky glue. Dropped the tank into the case, just to see how it would look, I'm debating painting the outside back of the tank black to help it blend into the rest of the case. Tomorrows to-do: Drill and tap the top of the tank Glue bottom piece on Leak test Light the tank Paint the tank (maybe?) Install the tank into the case Drop me a note in Oracles discussion thread: HERE
So, question for you bit-tech, paint the back of the tank black, or leave it the way it is? The tank will be lit with about a dozen white 5mm LED's angled in from the left and right, if that makes a differance. My thoughts about painting it: it would blend into the black finish of the case, so it would be a bit more dramatic when it lights up. It'll also set off the lights more. Any thoughts?
