Scratch Build – In Progress X3 Build Log - x-box/ps3/xim3 custom build

if your soldering then a helping hands + magnifying glass is essential.

 

Sorry it has taken so long to update this thread, but I have not had a lot of time to work on this build over the past few weeks. Between holidays, getting sick and traveling for work, I have been just too dang busy to do anything with it. Sometimes working for the government is a royal pain in the arse.
Anyways, here we go….

First thing I wanted to do was to get the X-Box motherboard mounted and all wired up.


I then got started with all the cutouts on the outside skin, cutting out the optical bays and intake fan holes.


For the fan grills, instead of buying some I found some type wire mesh box. Not sure what it is supposed to be, but the wire mesh when cut out worked great as a fan grill.



Road and his son cutting out the mesh from whatever in the hell it was.


To put the mesh on the top skin, I used some JB Weld and just layered it on the outside edges that were not already pinned in by the frame.


Top skin with all cutouts and grills.



Cut out the optical bays faceplate out of plexiglass. Drilled holes just big enough for the body of the 6x32 screws I was going to use, then using a counter-sink bit, I drilled over the top of the holes so that the heads of the bolts would be flush with the outside edge. This faceplate will eventually get covered with a 3M DiNoc Carbon Fiber film, so I did not want the bolt heads leaving bumps under the film.


Once I mounted the faceplate I marked the optical drive tray for the X-Box and the slot for the PS3 as well as where the bolts touched the frame and drilled out some holes for them to go through so the skin would still sit flush with the frame.




After cutting out the area for the X-Box optical tray and the slot for the PS3. The carbon fiber film will be cut to cover the inside edges of all the cutouts so the rough edges will not show. That is why I didn’t bother trying to get them perfectly smooth. Just smooth enough that it will not leave bumps in the film.



Then the real pain in the rear. I had to mark a piece of plexi then cut and shape it to fit inside the cutout for the X-Box optical faceplate. It took three tries to get it to fit just right. The first two I ended up sanding away too much and left a gap bigger than I wanted between the two pieces. I only needed enough of a gap that two layers of the carbon fiber film would fit between them without being to tight and stopping the optical drive from opening or closing.


After trying out a couple of different layouts, I finally got all the USB cables run and brought to a central location to be tied down. I also used that same area to tie down the X-Box hard drive.



I finally got the backplate all finished up as well.



Test fit all the pieces and switches. Here is an idea of what it will look like once it all starts coming together after paint and carbon fiber.



The red thing you see on the X-Box optical is a double-sided gel tape. It is made by loctite, and is some seriously sticky crap. It will definitely do the job of holding the plexi cover on the tray.
I think I have finally settled on what color I will be painting this sucker. I am going to go with a custom paint mixture. I have a high end paint shop just down the road from me that supplies all the local auto and body shops with their paint and supplies. They also custom mix paint to the customer’s specs.
So I am going with a gloss black with a light blue and light green metal flake added in, as well as a 1-to-5 silver flake for contrast. I am going to probably get them to mix the black and silver flake together as a base and then make me a custom candy layer that is the blue (PS3) and green (xbox) flake.
I know that doing it this way means more work, 6 or 7 layers of painting instead of just 4 or 5, but I think the candy look will add a depth that will really make the blue and green flake stand out a little better as well as add that deep color look.

Anyways, the next steps are to get the area on the top center cut out for the Xim and X-Box controller cables to go through. Start carving out the foam for making the top piece that they both will sit in.
I also need to go ahead and get the carbon fiber on the plexiglass and get the USB port holes cut out of the front.
That is all for now. Hopefully it will not take me as long to work on it again as it did this time. I am not scheduled to go out of town any time real soon unless some emergency comes up. So I may work on it a couple of hours after work this week and some this coming weekend. (fingers crossed)