Hiya, Been staring at my case for a while wondering what I could do.. Was thinking of changing my pre-mod window for the following: Two thin(?) sheets of plexiglass with water running through it, in a tube, making a pattern. I would dremel out a 'channel' in one side, run a tube through it, and glue the other piece of plexiglass together, sealing it (not that it would need it 100%, with tubing). Connect it to a small pumb, add dye, and you have a water feature. The biggest problem I can see with that idea is dremeling the channel out - a) it would have to be very thin tubing, b) dremeling out exactly the same pattern on both sheets would be a challenge. I seem to remmeber seeing a mod some time ago which had something similar? Alternatively.... I could still have the two pieces, but superglue some pieces of plastic at the bottom to direct all the water into a output tube, like a waterfall, pic: I quite like this idea, and it would be relatively simple, even better if I used some UV acrylic and UV CCFL's etc. Not sure about how to 'spray' the water from the top though, rather than just have it come out, any ideas? Which would be the best in your opinion?
if youre worried about sealing it or messy cuts then one of these may fit the bill http://www.angeleyeusa.com/viewproduct.php?id=12 you could modify it to do whatever as well avail here - http://www.coolercases.co.uk/wc_reservoirs.htm to spray the water, all you need to do is restrict the flow -> builds up more pressure
I was thinking about doing the same thing, with three thin sheets of plexiglass and multiple small arteries running throughout. Cut all the way through in the 2nd layer to make an artery. Dye the water red, and you've got a bloody window.
was going to sugest that. using 3 pieces of plexi glass. cutting the pattern you want in the middle piece.
Here a few links that you might find interesting or useful. http://www.tech-mods.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1268 http://www.cuttingedgecasemods.com/h2o/reservoir/tsunami/tsunami_window_reservoir.htm http://www.xoxide.com/angel-eye-water-window-reservoir-clear.html Just sounded like it went along with your idea.
Another idea: http://www.unclemilton.com/products/AntFarm/content/af_oaf_main.html If you insist on water try raising tadpoles. Some exotic species may thrive in the CPU heated water. You can sell the exotic frog legs to France to finance your modding habits.
Doh!!! Using three pieces, OF COURSE! Why didn't I think of that? @ the antfarm idea, thanks but no thanks Would be interestinh tho A lot of the links talk about using it as a W/C reservoir.. What I was planning on doing was having my standard W/C setup, with a seperate reservoir, with say.. UV Red dye. I would have a *small* pump for the window bit with it dyed say UV Blue. This would give a nice contrast, especially with UV lighting. The biggest problem is getting the water in and out. What I was thinking of doing was glueing a plastic barb through one of the pieces - the problem being the water would immediately have to turn 90degrees, though this would hopefully give a nice splashing effect. For the output.. I'm not sure. Could I just do something similar to the input barb? Another option would be to use a thick sheet of plexiglass in the middle, and the thinnest tubing I could find and put a tube at top and bottom, but the problem with thick plexiglass would be cutting it... I'd also need a very gentle pump, so that the tubing didn't come out and literally hose my computer. I suspect a standard W/C pump would be too strong and anyway, I only want a small pump, its already gonna be crowded in there as it is. Anyone have any recommedations for pumps that would fit the bill, or comments about my input/output?
How about a "peristaltic" pump running the flow to your window, that way the "blood" would have a pulse.
Oooh, sounds fun! Just trying to find a peristaltic pump... anyone? Found http://www.environmentalpumping.co.uk/index2.html but it seems a bit over the top... I still need ideas for getting the water in/out without any leaks/possible explosions... I'm inclining towards though....
Maybe you build some type of resovior at the bottom so you can comtinually recycle it to the top. Can't wait to see how this turns out!
Well, I've made an initial 'test' out of some scrap plexi, just waiting for the glue to dry... Does anyone know anyone/anywhere in the UK that would cut a design out of plexi, and *seal* it between two sheets of plexi for a reasonable price etc? Would Kustom PCs? Ben
Ooh, by the way, I've been researching peristaltic pumps... Found a cheap Watson-Marlow one that does up to 50rpm and 1l/min, but... Its 6kg, and rather big, so it wouldn't fit in case... But...oh it would look so cool, especially if I could make a design with a body, and have blood 'pumping' around it... £25... Found a small dishwasher one, but it only does 34ml/minute @ 30/34rpm with 1.08ml per rev, which might be a bit weak? Plus its £30 Anyone more knowledgeable who can advise?
Here's a possible design (Yes I know my drawings crap...) Whilst playing with some scrap pieces of plastic, I noticed... If I can get the flow rate and volume per rev right, I can fill the first chamber with the pump and let it trickle down, without using the pump. I'd need to work out the volume of the first chamber, but it wouldn't be impossible... (Edit: thinking about this more, it'd involve working out the rate at which water exited the first chamber, and also knowing the volume of the first chamber, and having the rate of fill of the first chamber just enough to fill the first chamber totally before it empties... Any mathemeticians around? ) Problem would be getting a pump that pumps the right amount of water, so what I'm thinking is, find a pump that pumps the right amount (20ml or so) per rev. I've found one that pumps 20ml every 1.2seconds which seems about right. (the one above), but its heavy and is pretty big. So it'd have to be beside the case, but it would look cool, and for the times I didn't want the effect, I could just use a standard pump. Especially given that, the above pump, I might be able to get for £10. Opinions? Worth it? (P.S. any chance anyone could do me a better drawing, or point me to a program that'd let me do one better, probably a vector drawing program? Thanks, Ben
