Scratch Build – Complete ⭐ WOPR Casecon by RandomDesign

it's bigger than I thought, and the result is absolutely stunning, who would believe it's basically made out of paper and carboard

 

Again a small update on the work on the outer shell.
Some detail work is still needed. But you can already see the final structure.

 

Looks killer mang 8)

 

Time for the next update.
While I am still working on some spots on the outer shell, I started with the base.

The hardware and case should be mounted on a mdf plate. So I just drew the pattern and cut it out.





I also marked the inside lines to see how much space I have to place the holes for the screws lateron.



The edge should be also beveled to give a nice transition between the outer shell and the bottom base. Unfortunately I dont have a router here
yet... So back to sanding my hand.





The entire case will be standing on aluminum feet to give the PSU enough air.

 

Finally I got some time to work on the WOPR project again.

This time, I worked on the parts that shoould hold the hardware.
So I got myself a case and started to dismntle it.





Cause only a little section is needed, I placed the motherboard inside and
marked the area.





Then the final cuts were made. Sometimes suprising what is onyl left from the case.





To get some of the stability back, I build a wooden frame that fits into the mod and hold the
mounting.



And I got just enough space to hold the hardware.

 

Some times decisions have to be made.
Although I made quite some progress on the WOPR so far, I was not satisfied with the result.
The paper base, and glas fiber and body filler technique is nice, but maybe not the right choice here.
It takes so much time to really get each surface smooth and all the angles right.

So, the concept was redone, and I have choosen a different material to work with.
This time I will print the body in ABS. Lets just call it version 2.0 for now.

I went back into the 3D model and made quite some changes to prepare it for printing.
The model was seperated in individual parts that will fit my printers heat bed.



Then my printer started with the first parts.



Looking good so far. Now going for the rest of the parts.
Printing will may be take one or two weeks to finish.

 

While the 3D printer is doing it thing, I started working on the light effects of the WOPR.

The original WOPR has a bunch of lights. If I am not mistaken there are rougly 666 bulbs on the front and back.
I tried to get the basic outline of the arrangement, but scaled it down to fit my size.

The paneles were machined for me in the specific layout I wanted. Before applying the paint, I sanded the
surface to make the primer stick a bit better.





While the silver paint was drying. I worked on the LED part.
I ordered a bunch of LEDs and transistors. For this project, I will use 533!!! LEDs.
Each individual LED was pre-tested to ensure its working correctly.

So far, I only got 6 LEDs that had some malefunction.





Then it was time to solder a 0,1 uF capacitor to each LED.



And hours later.



After it was done, the LEDs were glued in place.



And of course more soldering. Now I connected the Data IN and Data Out of each LED.





Done yet? Close but not so fast my friends.
Also the plus and minus needed to be connected. I also made a quick test if each row is working.







First panel done 3 more to go.




Next up will be the test of some animatons. I will controll all effects with an arduino.
At the moment, I have not much knowledge about coding for an arduino, so if anyone has some good tips?
I am thinking about controlling each panel with a different pin. But as I said tips are welcome.

 

Finally LED panels are done.

 

4 wire LEDs... Ack! It's worse than I thought. I am certain there was dancing involved when you finished.
Are the capacitors so you get a fade- out effect?

 

the capacitors are some kind of protection for the LEDs, so when you switch on the power the first high peak will be eliminated.

 

Time for another small update

Now after some hours of printing, all parts are done.



Already started to sand every piece and smooth out the surface as best as possible.



Bevor gluing all parts together, I am now making a test fit of all the parts to see
if everything is right.

 

I am unsure what you mean with the

As far as I know for 4 pin LEDS there's a ground and a pin for each color (RGB)

Wiring it up to an Arduino shouldn't be too hard, the biggest thing to note is that you will likely need a power supply to power the LEDs.

Let's say every LED draws 10mA (per color) and you have ~500 on

Based on having all LEDs on and showing a pure white color:
(10 * 3) * 666 = ~20A

That requires quite a beefy power supply.

Also make sure the LEDs will have power going straight to it instead of through the Arduino, since pins shouldn't be drawing more then 1A (might be less?) from it.

EDIT:

Oh so there's actually addressable LEDs now with the IC integrated, that works

Connect the power supply to - and + of the LEDs, these can just be chained together. DIN and DOUT can be wired directly to the Arduino as this shouldn't draw much current.

I would separate the DIN and DOUT per panels indeed, though technically it shouldn't matter. Basically what you tell the Arduino is: Turn on the 'n'th LED.

Programming questions I could probably answer, but there's lots of guides as well

 

20 amps! WTFBBQ SHIZ at least your PC psu is good for that!

Still loving the attention to detail with the bondo and shaping work

 

Yes, the LEDs are addressable with an integrated IC. I am planning to use one pin on the arduino for each individual pannel. So i have 186 LEDs at max on one pin (2x 186, large pannel/ 1x 102 LEDs and 1x 59 LEDs)
Havent got into the programming yet, but will definitly post my code.

I will install a second PSU only for the LEDs and arduino, so the light effect can also run while the "normal" PC is shut down.
Therefore, I have a 5V 40A PSU should be more thenn enough. The LEDs will only be at 50% luminance so they will need even less power.

 

New Wopr looks really tidy. I totally understand why you went with a print.

 

Finally again a small update on the WOPR

After the test fit, I started to glue each part permanently
into place.







I used a flat MDF sheet as a gluing surface, to make sure
all the parts are 100% straight.

After some time and a bit of adjustments the basic construction
is now finally done.







Now, I just need to fill in all the gaps and work slightly
on some more areas to make it ready for the paint job.

Here is also a picture compared to the fiber glass/bondo
version. Hope the difference is as clearly visible for
you as it is for me

 

Super!

 

Dude....






But i like this

Subed...

 

The soldering was quite a ride

 

After a while, finally another update on the Wopr.

To make the entire construction more ridged, I clued aluminium profiles to the bottom of the case.
Now it will be easier to mount the Wopr to a base plate. I also don run into any issues with the PLA breaks
under the preasure of the bolts I will use to mount it to the base.







Next, I used a material called EpoxAcoat.



It is an epoxy that can be applied with a brush and after 16h of curing time
becomes rock solid. This is a great way to strengthen up 3D prints from the inside.







While the epoxy dried, I printed the doors.







To make the doors fully functional and not only decorative, also printed some handles.
Just need to minstall a small mechanism on the back side now.