Case Mod - In Progress Project: Rogue (NZXT Rogue SFF) It lives! Aug 13, '08

Omg! U are amazing!!!

But i don't understand how did you get from this:

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/5259/rogue134pg6.jpg

to that:

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/9929/rogue135cy6.jpg

Is you're bender that small, or?

I've been thinking but i don't see how you can bend something that complex

 

Simple, really. He's a Jedi Master.

 

I'll second the clunky... Just to make the outer holes, you need 2 D-holes, and a curved slot... While it's workable, the milling machine will have a lot of wasted movement by being forced to go over areas that are already cut out. This wastes time and money on both ends. It would be so much simpler to just draw the pattern you want, and designate where to cut. If you send them an email, I'll do the same.

I'm moving quickly? It seems like it's taking forever. I should consider myself lucky that I get as much done as I do. I'm a single dad with 2 daughters, and my time is at a premium. There are a lot of nights when I'm modding when I should be sleeping. Oh well, I do enjoy doing the work, but I've got a self imposed deadline... I was hoping to be done in 3 weeks. There's a pretty large LAN in Omaha, at which I was hoping to debut the case. I don't think I'll have it completed though. I should have it running, but not finished. I've got pretty much all the hardware I need, with the exception of a QX9650 which I'm hoping to have next week.

 

Thanks! I've said it before, but it still rings true. I'm just a guy with a Dremel... and a dream. There are other modders much better than myself. These forums are proof of that!

Listen well young padawan... Bends that small aren't easy to pull of in the brake. Especially when you're dealing with bends so close together, and in the opposite direction. So, I've got a different approach that I take... I simply take the piece to be bent and clamp it between two bars of metal, and bend by hand. Aluminum is easy to work with, and my bends always turn out nice and clean. Well, I may be over simplifying it. I'll tell you what, next time I have to make similar bends, I'll take step by step pictures of the process.

 

I'll be very interested to see that also craigbru.

 

talk abount wonder dad! finds time to mod and take care of a family/house. you must have a great job to fuel this project and two daughters! lol!

top project!!

 

Alright then. I'll try and get an example up sometime this next week.

Let me tell ya, it's a challenge sometimes. Like anyone, I do the best that I can, and try to give my time to everyone that needs it. Most of the time it works, sometimes it doesn't... Hey, you live and learn! I do have a pretty decent job, but I'm always trying to help others when I get a chance as well. I grew up with a dad who was a farmer and carpenter, and still find time to help him when I can. Sometimes I just need to slow down and take a little time for myself. That's part of what I enjoy about modding. When I can just sit down and be creative... it's one of my greatest joys in life. Family always has to come first though. Luckily my daughters are both great kids. They like to help dad when they can, and I never turn it down!

 

The Oracle was right...

HE'S THE ONE !!!!

 

nuff said, your a legend.

what job can pay for this! and give you such free time (well little free time) lol!

 

Heck, you guys are gonna make me blush... I consider myself a pretty normal guy. As far as my job goes, I'm a production scheduler for a manufacturing plant. I sit in a cube all day long, and try and keep everyone on the floor busy, and ship on time to make sales happy. Between this job, my other odd jobs and computer repair, and a little sponsorship from NZXT, I'm able to do cool stuff. BTW, I really don't know what true free time means (it's such a rarity)... Most of my modding time comes at the expense of sleep. But hey, I can catch up on that when I die...

 

dam it your a boaring office cube legend, lol!

come on where the update, stop sleeping! lol!

 

I'm awake... I'm awake!



Update time!

Well, I survived the Easter holiday with the family. Of course that meant no time for modding over the weekend. I was finally able to get back on it last night. It seems that there are a hundred different things that need to be done, and half of them require something else to be finished first. Hopefully you will see some big progress over the next two weeks, and get some idea of where I'm actually headed with this. This case is like a giant puzzle. Every piece has it's place, and there is indeed a method to my madness. Spare room is measured in millimeters. Even so, I've tried to keep compromises to a minimum. You've seen me work on quite a few things up to this point, and most of those things are still a step or two away from being finished. I assure you, that will be changing shortly! I'm my harshest critic, and tend to be a bit of a perfectionist. My work is by no means perfect, but I want it to be. Sometimes I can fabricate a piece that is just slightly off. Sometimes by less than a mm. I constantly weigh the pros an cons of making a new piece. Sometimes I move on simply because the difference is invisible to the naked eye, but I never forget it's there... It drives me crazy sometimes... So, is there a point to this rambling? Of course! For all of you following this log, your patience will be rewarded. I can see the end in sight! So, let's get on with it!

Here is an example of what I mentioned above. Even though I've got other things not quite finished, those things are waiting on the following piece. I've got to mount the hard drives somewhere, don't I? Well, in order to get some idea of placement, I had to drop a few components in to the case. Here you will get a pretty good idea of how tight things are going to be. This is where my planning, and a little good luck have payed off!











So, here is the piece I've marked out. This will hold all the hard drives, as well as be a mounting point for the Via Epia system.



After the cut...



Holes? Yes, lots of holes... This was something I needed to do in order to bend the aluminum cleanly. This piece is 2 mm aluminum, and really hates being bent in the brake. Especially wide pieces. I suppose I may have been able to get it bent correctly, but this was a much easier way to ensure that it happened. By drilling a hole every millimeter, I was able to make the aluminum much more receptive to bending in the brake. It really didn't have a significant impact on the materials strength, so the trade-off was worth it.



Finally, here is the piece with the final bends done.



It isn't completed yet though, and finishing this piece is where I'll pick up tonight.

As a side note, I have something pretty cool arriving today. Expect more pics tonight!

 

More info on that block please!!

Looks sweet too!

 

The block is Wintsch Labs Arctic Web. It's designed specifically for T.E.C. cooling. It's a monster of a block...

http://www.arcticspider.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=4

 

Well, I came home to a long awaited package on my doorstep. Might as well get right in to it!















Wow, the panels look great. Kudos to Front Panel Express. I'm more anxious than ever to get this thing put together and get it lit up. A little red CCFL lighting is really going to make these things stand out!

I've also ordered the fan grills... expect to see those in about 10 days. Woohoo!

 

From here on out, it's my goal to have an update almost every day. I'm under a deadline I'm probably not going to meet, but I need to have a running rig in less than two weeks just the same! The pressure!

Work continued last night on the hard drive tray assembly. Here you can see the tray sitting in it's approximate position. I need to get some holes cut in it for ventilation and hose routing, and that will be finished tonight.





So, that's all well and good you say... but how am I going to mount the hard drives? Well, I'm actually going to modify the Rogue's original mounts. Here I've got one taped out, and ready to cut.



After the cuts and filing...



Here is where the drives will sit in the tray.





I've started to mark out some holes for ventilation, and that's where I'll pick up tonight...



More to come!

 

the panels are beautiful , I love them..........

it is really going to be stuffed full and I hope that you'll have
enough airflow through the case...........I'm anxious to here
about the temps you achieve when finished.............


Alan

 

Thank you! I really can't wait to get the grills now. Going with red anodized aluminum is pretty bold for me. Most everything I've ever done has been pretty conservative as far as colors go...

Airflow is one of my biggest concerns as well. I know there will be some restriction, but I'm taking every possible measure to get as much flow as I can. I know that things were pretty tight in LOSIAS as well, but temps were very good. I'm really hoping for similar results here.

 

Nah, I think you're going to be fine, Craigbru. It'll work out great. You've planned really well for this, and the build itself is perfect, so it's not going to be a problem. You gotta have a brass pair to throw water in a SFF, let alone a TEC, and you've pulled it off beautifully.

 

And to think... the TEC wasn't in the original plan. What would I have done with all that extra room?