When I first joined PR I posted a project thread giving people an idea of what direction my project was headed. At the time I had just received large quantities of laser cut stainless steel which I was going to use for my mod. Unfortunately, the welder whom I hired to finish off the case after it was put in shape really ****ed it up, and the stainless steel idea had to be thrown out the window all together as the laser-cutting and the metal was all a donation from my sponsor.
I will be salvaging the most important and coolest part of that stainless steel case along with the general concept. To begin, here is an annotated sketch of what I'm going to do (did it during literature class... I'm always thinking about modding):




Now, here is a picture of the metal which I will be bringing into this new case:



There in the window of this case is the stainless steel flame piece which I will be using in this project. The picture hardly does it justice, the actual material is a complete mirror finish and is very very pimping. Hence, the window will be the same size and shape in the new case. If at all possible I will try to salvage some of the fan grills too because they're really really cool in my opinion. Okay, on with the plan.

First of all... materials:
- I will be mixing these materials together... painted plexi, regular plexi, varnished wood, painted wood, and metal.

For the painted plexi I will be using a method I picked up on from a UK modder named Macroman. I will be painting the plexi from the back side. When you paint plexi the side which you paint on is sort of a matte finish, but the other side of the see-through plexi shows a very glossy and shiny finish. I will be using a mixture of Black (plexi and wood), Silver (Metal), and Blue (Lighting) for this project... and perhaps a bit of varnished cherry wood (this depends completely on whether or not I can get a nice piece of cherry).

The shape of the case is what I like most about it. I am currently debating the pointy upper-left corner, but everythign else I like... what do you think? I will be installing a DVD-Rom, CD-RW, and an Aerogate II on the front. I have many ideas for stealthing that haven't really been done before and we will get to those when we come to them.

So, I doubt many will really bother reading all of this, but if you have, and even if you haven't, what do you think?

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I really like the flames on the inside of the window. That looks sweet. Also like that you've opted for a different shape than rectangular.

Quote: Originally Posted by Slider I really like the flames on the inside of the window. That looks sweet. Also like that you've opted for a different shape than rectangular.

Thank you. And btw, since I am starting over with wood I will be able to make the edges much more curved rather than angular as the metal version was. I think this will really give it a good look, especially if I can get my hands on some nice wood, otherwise I'll just use oak or pine and paint it whatever color seems fit... probably black with metal accents.

Oh, and the sides will be made entirely out of plexi with the "non-window" part being painted black and masked very carefully. I think I need someone like Luna or another paint master to help me with this. I have some masking material, but I'm not sure if it's good enough, I need a really really clean edge, and I also would like some help picking out a paint.

Also, is it okay to cut plexi with a router? And if I'm making the entire door out of plexi should I use a thicker plexi? the stuff I had bought for the window is 1/8" thick.

sweet. finnaly someone has a hand drawn sketch that isnt ugly that side panel looks great too bad your welder blew it for you. did he let it get to hot and it lost the stainless property around the weld?
zenn reccomends useing a router to cut plexi.

Quote: Originally Posted by carbongraphite sweet. finnaly someone has a hand drawn sketch that isnt ugly that side panel looks great too bad your welder blew it for you. did he let it get to hot and it lost the stainless property around the weld? zenn reccomends useing a router to cut plexi.

Thanks, I did the sketch during Literature class. The welder told me that when he was done with the case it would look exactly the same, only stronger. So I showed him that it was only 20 gauge just to be sure and told him that if he didn't think it would work out then I had other ways of finishing it off without welding. The case is badly warped from the heat (my dad's comment was: "I could have done it better than that") and it looks like he was completely careless with it, a piece of it is all bent out of shape where it shouldn't be, there weren't even any welds around it. It really pissed me off. I spent weeks going back and forth downtown getting those designs into a CAD program and spent hours making sure I didn't put a single scratch on the metal and this guy screws the whole thing up like that! what a bastard. [/rant]

Anyway, I will be cutting the plexi with a router probably and then finishing all the edges. I don't really have a reason to finish the edges on this project, it just seems like a valuable skill.

I am going to try to set up a system where all of my molex connectors are stealthed in conduit/pipes in the case, but I will need to do a serious amount of research on making my own junction box.

unless of course you guys have a link.

*bump* I'd like some opinions and I'm impatient.

I really like it. It's a common theme with a twist. Classic flames like that would look good even if they were applied to a Dell.

Well, depending on what you mean by junction box, it's quite easy.. just lead in all the lines you want, then solder the new wires onto the ends of the other wires.

As for your idea, the side panel loks nice, all but the grills. Personally, I'd cut them out and get some different ones (like GK's tribals, or whatever else suits your taste/theme). Other than that, the idea sounds pretty cool, and a well done wooden case is always great.

As for a finish... considered a stain instead of paint?

Quote: Originally Posted by Cheshiredemon As for your idea, the side panel loks nice, all but the grills. Personally, I'd cut them out and get some different ones (like GK's tribals, or whatever else suits your taste/theme). Other than that, the idea sounds pretty cool, and a well done wooden case is always great. As for a finish... considered a stain instead of paint?

Yes, I will definitely consider staining the wood. My dad is a carpenter by trade and he will be able to help me a lot with the wood and I will be able to learn a lot, that's why I decided on wood as a material. I don't care for the grills all that much myself sometimes. And I probably won't use them at all. The entire concept of this case is to mix together a whole bunch of different materials and there will be just as much plexi as there will be wood as there will be metal. I have really high expectations for the final project, so stay tuned.

And, Big Akita, thanks. I love the classic flames too. What do you all think of the actual shape of the case? I will try to make a model in sketch up... and also, should the fan positioned over the pci/graphics slot be an intake or an exhaust?

Wood seems to be the latest craze. I like the sloped front as well. If it comes out half as good as that Dark Crystal case by PilouX over at BT, it'll be awesome. The one thing I don't really like is the planned slope behind the PSU. It just seems like the "speed" theme will be overdone with that and the flames/angled front/turbine fan. Also, if drawn to scale, the angle of it just doesn't flow very well from the front and it just makes me think "Jaws" for some reason. I don't know...maybe I'm just not imagining it right. It may look alot better in reality than on paper.

Also, from your drawing....side-panel should be intake, and maybe the rear exhaust as well. Might try playing with that.

Looking forward to seeing this one play out. Good luck.

Quote: Originally Posted by lAnonymousl Wood seems to be the latest craze. I like the sloped front as well. If it comes out half as good as that Dark Crystal case by PilouX over at BT, it'll be awesome. The one thing I don't really like is the planned slope behind the PSU. It just seems like the "speed" theme will be overdone with that and the flames/angled front/turbine fan.

Yes, the idea of having a pointy thing behind the PSU was kinda stupid, it doesn't even make sense and will just end up getting broken/scratched during transportation.

And yeah, wood does seem to be the latest craze, and I am gonna try to make mine better . No, I'm j/k, but my dad will be helping me with the wood and he's really good at what he does.

How did i miss this thread? Anyways, Looks awesome mm, i like how the fan grills match are like little replicas of the main window. One thing i noticed/thought of while looking at your sketch is that it seems like not a lot of air is being dirrected towards your cpu. Maybe im overlooking something

Quote: Originally Posted by lAnonymousl Wood seems to be the latest craze.

I guess because it's easier to cut up than metal. However, the thermal properties of wood suck.

Wood is a natural insulator that will require extra fans to exhaust the heat. Metal assists with heat dispersion through radiation.

If you can keep it cool, I say good job. If you were to ask me if it is a good idea, I'd say no.

I get what you mean BA. Wood is not the ideal material for the case. However, I have taken this into account adn the only parts of the case that will be made of wood are the top and front. I already have a good bottom and back made out of stainless steel (yes, i know, it doesn't disperse heat very well either) and the sides will be made out of painted acrylic. I have a ton of quiet aluminum fans that I want to put in it as well as a cool Aerogate II controller.

I'm hoping that my cooling method here will work out well, but I'm not positive if it will.

yes that case design is going to have VERY good airflow, i like ur design... damn ur giving me ideas

what are you planning to use to curve the top of the case ?


C_D

How I do the curve on the top of the case depends greatly on what material I will be using for that portion. Right now it is quite likely that I will use a router to cut the curved section out of wood. However, I have also considered using plexi on the curved part of the case, in which case I would use a heat gun to melt it and make some sort of template to bend it over.

I thought it would have good airflow too. shrug

Well, I have been playing around in this program I just downloaded (trial version) called SketchUP, it's my first time using a 3d modeling program and I'm having some problems. Perhaps somebody around here could clear some of it up for me...



I can't seem to figure out why the curved parts of the case won't fill with color... ? Any suggestions?

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well it looks like you are missing faces in that area, but i dont know what kind of format you are modeling with so i cant say.

Quote: Originally Posted by Strikerz well it looks like you are missing faces in that area, but i dont know what kind of format you are modeling with so i cant say.

Well, yeah, that's what I mean, why aren't the faces showing up? I just open up the program and start working... I don't know what you mean by format.