I'm finally back with a new update. The work is slowing down a lot, above all because I cluttered everything up with junk in every corner, here's how my desks looked up until two days ago:



Working is impossible.
I'm clearing the laboratory as well, which is equally unusable, but, for now, I managed to put together the front panel and make it work.



I added a switch under the potentiometer, as it should theoretically have no resistance while fully turned, but it practically still had some, which prevented the LEDs to be optimally bright.

I'll fly over the whole procedure and I'll get straight to the point: very wires, such solder, many hot glue. Wow.





If I manage to recover the electrical scheme I made, I'll add it, as I move the avalanche of junk under which it probably sits.

(The amount of hot glue increased after the shots!)





Here's the demonstrational video:



It is powered with a Molex connector, to test it, I made this, since I had no wish to trouble myself over a PC PSU:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Molex ... py-external-power-supply/

A particular worth of notice is the addition of a 12V relais, to allow an LED to work with 5V and the other with 12V, as they both sit on the same wire. It could easily be done with some electronics, but I'm an electrotechnicia, relais win over transistors to me!



To mount the panel, I had to make a hole in the front door, as the switches were too tall.









I still have to think about how to modify the door, it's too simple as it is now.

I was experimenting a bit, and I made this little cover with some mesh, simply bent and stuck in place.







It doesn't look bad at all, I might add more inserts in the door, so that the aluminium under it can be seen, maybe highlighted with some LEDs!

See you next update, in which I hope I'll have completed all the cuts!

Awesome job man, you put alot of work into it, and I really like your idea !

Can't wait to see the final result, you need some elite paint job on that full custom case .

However don't get distracted with that yet seems like you have alot of work to do still, oh and some parts might be hard to paint once you modded/put the switchs etc, remember.

Good luck with the rest !

Quote:


Thank you, a lot of work indeed, I've never done anything like this, so, most of the times, I have to try out different options to find the one which fits the best.

I already have the paint, an astonishing green, shiny and metallic looking. The interior will be mostly black, with some green, and I have no idea on how to paint the outside, green, green + black, or with some design.

I will put it all together and make sure it works, then I will dismantle it and paint it.

I still have too much work to do, I'm really afraid I won't make it on time, and I've just run into some problems with the HDDs placement. The case is huge, but it is narrow and not very long, so that I will have to make a fully custom HDD rack.

Let's hope whatever I can come up with will win me a prize, a cooler is all I miss, and i hope the fact that this is a super low cost mod with recycled materials will be appreciated!

Here I am after a long time with a new update, I finally restarted working, above all because of Enermax's contest, which has some nice prizes.

Too bad I won't make it in time for the voting.

As I was suggested, I opened a big hole in the roof with the jigsaw to let hot air out, and I will cover it with a grille.











Here's the grille I recovered from an old radiator cover, I love those.



Cut and size test:









The cut in the main frame was hard to do, as its shape didn't allow me to clamp it to the bench (it looks bent, but it is straight!).





Now I have to make the fan hole bigger, an 80mms fan gets lost up there!

The idea is to make a multiple support for 80, 92, and 120mms fans.





Thanks to the new tool, everything gets easier.







Here it is complete, with a 120mms fan.



I also cut the HDDs support to fit the card reader only, the other drives will be held by a custom fram I am currently working on.







And some holes for the PSU:



I also crafted a couple of SSD/2.5" HDD adaptors from floppy drive covers:









Paint test on the adaptor:







Astonishing result!

It's all for now, I'm working on the HDDs support, but the handsaw broke down and my arms hurt, I still hope to complete the prototype soon and start mass-producing it!

A little update regarding the job.

These days, I tried to build a HDD rack, with many unsuccesful results.
So I opted for a simpler solution, which was in front of me the whole time: I'll mount the HDDs in the 5.25" bays, with some adaptors.
The choice is also supported by the fact that the case is short, about 40 centimeters, so there isn't much room available at the bottom floor, and it is good to leave it for the motherboard and a discrete card reader.

To mount connect the devices on top, I had to get these 1 metre long SATA cables, as the case is very tall.



I'll leave you with some pictures of the frame, onto which I'm thinking to add a front fan 120mm support, as the HDD won't reside there.







I tested the multiple fan support with a working fan, and it does not produce any unconvenient sound

Now that I chose to place the HDDs in the upper half, there's room for another fan!





To mount the hard drives in the 5.25" bays, I have some adaptors laying around, enough to hold all the drives.
But where's the fun in grabbing some pieces and putting them together? So I made my own adaptor from an old CD reader.



The superior part is nice and flat.



After measuring everything, here's the position of the holes to house either a 3.5" or two 2.5"s.





The lid can be put back on, onto which I could make more holes for more drives, but I don't really like it that much.



The CD reader is long and pops out in the front, and I need it to be wholly inside, so I cut it with my old good handsaw, which handle broke and has been replaced by a nut.





Since using one adapter for only one disc is a waste, here's the idea to be soon created.



I'll use the piece I cut from the original support as an expansion to the adaptor! I'll have to cut the lower part, so that it fits in 3 5.25" slots.

As the support itself is overturned, the topmost housing is inadequate for a standard 3.5" HDD, but it is perfect for the SSD adaptor I made some time ago (the green thingy on top of the HDDs )!





I'll leave you with a little bonus, the lamp and the support my mother and I made for the workbench, using an Ikea wardrobe coathanger, some curtain hooks, and S hooks.



The chain is used for... uhh... not for tortures and hangings... no, not for those...

The lamp is made with a lamp holder, a piece of a blender, another from a hanging light, and a cable. Simple and effective!

I'm participating in Ocaholic contest, I don't really have any chance to win anything with my metal sheet pile (pun intended), but, if you wish, you can drop a like on this pic! And enjoy the other beauties as well!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=899353260081647

Thanks

I'm really curious what your build will look like when it's done keep pushing Susso

Quote:

I'm as curious as you!
I think I'm done with the main frame, maybe I'll make some holes here and there for when I'll need to wire LEDs and secure cables, and I can move on continuing the front cover

A small update about the work of this afternoon.

The 5.25" bays have these supports to hold optical drives, since they are useless once screwed in place and they don't allow me to fit my adaptor, I removed them.



Smooth as something smooth!



Preparing the last fan hole.
While working on it, I kept shadowing the area with the frame, so I had to improvise to move the lamp towards me:
A wooden plank from a bed, and a wrench thing.







A tip on cleaning and preventing spread of metal waste: hard disk magnets!



A quick swipe on the workbench and everything comes up, fast and easy!

Tomorrow, or next week, I'll file it and make the holes for the fan. I'll also make some openings to let SATA cables and other cables through.