Well... The title says it all on this one. Richmonds gonna try to mod!!

I am moving this thread over from case modding, into the project weblogs.
I guess I can start off with showing you the case that I have.

This the case with the front and cover on... Nothing special, nice a nice old case.


This pic is blurry, but it shows the frame the cover, and the removable mobo tray


This is the frame from the back. As you can see, there is room for a 120mm fan there, which is what I plan to install..


Again, this is the full view of the frame.. I really love the design of it, and I am hoping I can get a lot done to it.


As you can see, it opens something like this

I got some great ideas from this forum from the case modding section... and I plan to use them all.

Prime Evil posted this [QUOTE=prime-evil
Rather than take something odd and return it to the norm, (modding this thing right back into the average case),
I'm going to suggest utilizing the unual aspect of this item..... For instance, why not mod the case (as long as you are not planning on a side mount fan) so that it pivots on the rear lower corner, and swings back, kind of like a 18 wheeler's cab when you have to access the engine compartment. Then put a MACK logo on it... Or have the case slide up on a motorized track.... Just examples.... but see if there is a way to work with the offbeat design.
You got lemons? Make lemonaid... don't try to turn the lemon into an orange.
Just brainstorming with ya.... not trying to be a wise guy.
Good Luck.[/QUOTE]

Which is a great idea! I am now planning on having the back bottom two corners on some kind of hinge, to where it pivits up. Not sure how yet, but I have some ideas in mind.

Not really sure as to the colors, or the lighting yet, so I need some ideas. So feel free to post, any comments will be useful.

Thanks!
Richmond.

Well, I got out the old dremel today and cut myself a window. Now, I havn't really done this before, but it wasn't too hard at all. And after I clean up the cuts and the corners, this hole should look pretty damn good.

I got some pics of what I did.

Here is my half ass attempt of laying out where I wanted the window to be, by marking where the psu, and the drive racks go. As you can see, they will not oeverlap. (Small cut has been made already)


OoOoOoO action shot!



Here is the hole cut compleatly out... Its squared, but not quite strait yet. Ive still got lots of cleaning up to do.


And another pic without the tape.


For a first try, I think this window is turning out pretty good. Ive still got a lot to do to make it look nicer, but I think you all the the just of what I am trying to do.

Let me know what you guys think
Thanks!
Richmond

nice window i suppose, but we will see who's is better next week when i get my case.

Quote: Originally Posted by The_Schnide nice window i suppose, but we will see who's is better next week when i get my case.

Yes we will see who is better... And for some reason I have a feeling its going to be me... lol just kidding, you can out do me any day. But good luck finding a good case over at that cheap comp place... I got one of the last cheap ATX cases!!!

Can't wait to see you get your project started and posted on here... Thats gonna be fun to watch. What do you have in mind so far?

Yeah... i dont really got an ideas just yet, i want a metallic green and silver color scheme and i might put in some of them fancy white lights. What i do is really gonna depend on the case i get, i hope that guy will cut me a deal like he was gonna do for you.

Quote: Originally Posted by The_Schnide Yeah... i dont really got an ideas just yet, i want a metallic green and silver color scheme and i might put in some of them fancy white lights. What i do is really gonna depend on the case i get, i hope that guy will cut me a deal like he was gonna do for you.

Yeah when I went the the 2nd time it was a different guy working, and he charged me a whole 15 dollars... pretty good deal if you ask me.

Quote: Originally Posted by richmond . As you can see, it opens something like this I got some great ideas from this forum from the case modding section... and I plan to use them all. Prime Evil posted this Which is a great idea! I am now planning on having the back bottom two corners on some kind of hinge, to where it pivits up. Not sure how yet, but I have some ideas in mind. Not really sure as to the colors, or the lighting yet, so I need some ideas. So feel free to post, any comments will be useful. Thanks! Richmond.

Now that you are getting into this thing and I am following your work, I have another comment. I was initially brainstorming that 'pivot" concept I laid on you from the office and when I surf the Web from there I have to be quick. Now that i'm home and checking out your update, IF you are contemplating the pivot idea, perhaps you should also consider tipping the case FORWARD, reasons being you would be able to achieve full tilt on the case without removing wires in the back. All I'm saying is "dry fit" the swing and think about the pro's and con's of each direction...
Nice work do far, Sir!

Sweeet cuts.....keep up the great work!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by prime-evil Now that you are getting into this thing and I am following your work, I have another comment. I was initially brainstorming that 'pivot" concept I laid on you from the office and when I surf the Web from there I have to be quick. Now that i'm home and checking out your update, IF you are contemplating the pivot idea, perhaps you should also consider tipping the case FORWARD, reasons being you would be able to achieve full tilt on the case without removing wires in the back. All I'm saying is "dry fit" the swing and think about the pro's and con's of each direction... Nice work do far, Sir!

I was thinking about having some kind of hing to where I can lift it an inch or so, then tilt it back like you told me. So that the action of the movment would be up, then back.. its hard to explain, but I will draw something up later. I will look into having it tilt forward... thats not a bad idea, and that would be nice to not get in the way of all of the wires. Although if I did have it pivot backward, I can always put some sort of stopper on it so that it will not open far enough to hit the wires as well...

[Edit] I just drew this up to show everyone what we are talking about doing here...
As you see here, the red will be a hinge that allows both side panels and the top to tilt back, exposing the inside of the case. Not sure if I'm gonna want it to tilt forward or backward yet, but this is just to let everyone know whats going on.

I don't know, I'm gonna have to work on that..

Quote: Originally Posted by THRASHER2 Sweeet cuts.....keep up the great work!!!

Thanks bud.

More to come soon...
Richmond

Quote: Originally Posted by richmond I was thinking about having some kind of hing to where I can lift it an inch or so, then tilt it back like you told me. So that the action of the movment would be up, then back.. its hard to explain, but I will draw something up later. I will look into having it tilt forward... thats not a bad idea, and that would be nice to not get in the way of all of the wires. Although if I did have it pivot backward, I can always put some sort of stopper on it so that it will not open far enough to hit the wires as well... [Edit] I just drew this up to show everyone what we are talking about doing here... As you see here, the red will be a hinge that allows both side panels and the top to tilt back, exposing the inside of the case. Not sure if I'm gonna want it to tilt forward or backward yet, but this is just to let everyone know whats going on. I don't know, I'm gonna have to work on that.. Thanks bud. More to come soon... Richmond

You're not looking for a hinge per se.... what you really need is a simple pin with a hole. I can get you what is called a shoulder bolt. Threaded on the very end but most of the body of the bolt is machined and precision smooth and acts as an axle. The threaded portion of the shoulder bolt would go into a nut plate I can get you... you just pop rivet this into the inside of the frame leaving a clearance hole through the frame for the bolt to pass through. The head of the shoulder bolt would be on the outside of the case of course, and although you don't HAVE to, it would be best to pot a hardened steel bushing into the plastic so that repeated openings don't elongate the hole. I could provide you with the hardware, no charge. Just message me with your address and I will also need the thickness of the plastic case.
You will also need to round off, (probably a 1" radius max) of that corner of the case for swing clearance. The lower and deeper into the corner you go, the better it will work. Whether you put the pivot in the front or back is your call....
Finally you need a catch mechanism to keep the lid in the down position when closed. Just because it's a matter of detail. A pair of simple magnets would do, I suppose.

I was contemplating this idea a while bac but as mentioned solving the wiring problemis key to get a fully pivoting cover. I drew u a sketch of what you could do to make it work and make it a bit more stylish instead of a squarish pivoting cover. It would require that you reinforce the edges and curve so it doesnt wobble, assuming ur cover is made thin, but that is easily done with some piece of steel or whatever you want to use. Then you just weld a piece of metal or whatever to the top, which will be permanent since u dont really need to access the top part, unless u want to make some reverse henges on the inside which wont be seen from the top so u can further open up the top plate once ur cover is removed. In my version if i was to ever go ahead with it, it would be a full aluminum silver look to the case so i would put some metal bevelled plating on the top, with a brushed metal cover, and the rest of the case painted silver if it is plastic based. Here is some design pics to give u an idea of what i mean



And this is the kind of metal plating i would put in the top part of the case which will be mixed with a brushed metal effect of the cover. Would look sick i think. If u settle the plating in the frame about a half centimeter down creating a gap between the plating (grey) and the brushed metal cover (red) you could mount some LED's drilled on an angle into the plating and so the light will shoot out of the plating, bounce off the cover, and will spread around the plating creating a nice ambience effect:





So you would want to make a small gap but not too big so u dont notice a large gap. Since the metal is rigid, the sparkly glow effect should interwine around the bumps, and heck even with flat metal ur gonna get a nice flat even glow around the top and if u polish the metal very nice, it will be spectacular. Then if u want to tke it a next step further u do the henge idea however if u dont have a thick frame u might have to sacrafice ur top 5" drive space but it will be hecca worth it. Plus it gives u ample room to put some custom power distribution board and wiring there to hide it if u put a window in, especially cuz u will need more then the 6 LEDS i put in the picture. Plus u can make a manual switch or a switch that will trigger once u open the cover to automatically turn off the LEDS. Can be a potentially crazy mod. I am prolly gonna do a mod like this for my neighbour in the near future once i get his parts in.

Quote: Originally Posted by prime-evil You're not looking for a hinge per se.... what you really need is a simple pin with a hole. I can get you what is called a shoulder bolt. Threaded on the very end but most of the body of the bolt is machined and precision smooth and acts as an axle. The threaded portion of the shoulder bolt would go into a nut plate I can get you... you just pop rivet this into the inside of the frame leaving a clearance hole through the frame for the bolt to pass through. The head of the shoulder bolt would be on the outside of the case of course, and although you don't HAVE to, it would be best to pot a hardened steel bushing into the plastic so that repeated openings don't elongate the hole. I could provide you with the hardware, no charge. Just message me with your address and I will also need the thickness of the plastic case. You will also need to round off, (probably a 1" radius max) of that corner of the case for swing clearance. The lower and deeper into the corner you go, the better it will work. Whether you put the pivot in the front or back is your call.... Finally you need a catch mechanism to keep the lid in the down position when closed. Just because it's a matter of detail. A pair of simple magnets would do, I suppose.

Wow prime-evil your full of great ideas! PM will be sent here shortly. The case however is not plastic, it is steel. Not sure if thats going to make much of a difference, but just thought I would let you know. the cover also connects into the the frame inself by inerlocking metal peices along the bottom of both the frame and cover. I'm not sure if I want to use magnets, just because I have had bad experiances with them and my PC in the past. (long storys)

Quote: Originally Posted by Avalonthas I was contemplating this idea a while bac but as mentioned solving the wiring problemis key to get a fully pivoting cover. I drew u a sketch of what you could do to make it work and make it a bit more stylish instead of a squarish pivoting cover. It would require that you reinforce the edges and curve so it doesnt wobble, assuming ur cover is made thin, but that is easily done with some piece of steel or whatever you want to use. Then you just weld a piece of metal or whatever to the top, which will be permanent since u dont really need to access the top part, unless u want to make some reverse henges on the inside which wont be seen from the top so u can further open up the top plate once ur cover is removed. In my version if i was to ever go ahead with it, it would be a full aluminum silver look to the case so i would put some metal bevelled plating on the top, with a brushed metal cover, and the rest of the case painted silver if it is plastic based. Here is some design pics to give u an idea of what i mean

Cutting the top panel was another thing that I was looking into doing (for clearance of the wiring) The way you discribe it here is awesome, and I love the LED idea. I am going to have to see how I am going to make this thing open before I dicide weather or not to cut the top like that But thank you for the idea, and I may be using it if its alright with you

Thanks for everyone's input so far guys!
Richmond

Yea its cool with me for sure. I got so many modding ideas that float around i will never have the time nor funding to do them all lol, atleast for my own pleasure anyways. So yea any ideas i throw at u feel free to use any of them, royalty free I subscribed to this thread so i will check up on progress.

Thanks for your approval Avalonthas.

I won't be getting any work in tonight, because I have to work... But i ordred some parts from frozencpu...

Some small molding for around my window hole, and around the two fan holes
http://www.frozencpu.com/mol-01.html

A military style toggle switch, which I will either be mounting on the front, or the rear of the case.
http://www.frozencpu.com/ele-136.html

Although I'm not sure if I am going to have a colored window yet, I have dicided that I will be painting the inside of the case black, and the outside will have dark blue, and some black... Still not sure if there will be any metal flake or anything else yet... I'm still brainstorming ideas.

Will post again tomorow night.
Richmond

Quote: Originally Posted by richmond A military style toggle switch, which I will either be mounting on the front, or the rear of the case. http://www.frozencpu.com/ele-136.html Will post again tomorow night. Richmond

Deals on switches..... http://store.yahoo.com/svcompucycle/switches.html

You could always cut off one side so you can open it..(ive done it but...its requiring some enginuity...its the way the case is, not my fault. Not enough to room keep the top down.)

You know, you could head on over the mnpctech.com. They have molding too (btw...he supports PR...it would be better to support someone else who supports PR <_<)

EDIT: may I suggest doing an etching on the window when your finished? Ecthings look really bad ass when they are done nicely(Ive done a couple)

Got any favorite games? Try doing a theme mod or something that has to do with your favorite thing.

Quote: Originally Posted by THRASHER2 Deals on switches..... http://store.yahoo.com/svcompucycle/switches.html

Thanks for the link... I actually saw that page before I ordered from FCPU... I don't know why, but I get a bad feeling about ordering from online companys that I have never delt with before. Its nothing against them, I just feel better knowing that FCPU has my back!

Quote: Originally Posted by Nerdz you could always cut off one side so you can open it..(ive done it but...its requiring some enginuity...its the way the case is, not my fault. Not enough to room keep the top down.) You know, you could head on over the mnpctech.com. They have molding too (btw...he supports PR...it would be better to support someone else who supports PR <_<) EDIT: may I suggest doing an etching on the window when your finished? Ecthings look really bad ass when they are done nicely(Ive done a couple) Got any favorite games? Try doing a theme mod or something that has to do with your favorite thing.

I havn't done any etching before... but I have some extra plexiglass I could practice on... I'm not sure what would look good on the window, since my case doesn't really have an overall "Theme" Its just gonna be pimp. (That could be a theme)

And yes, I support FCPU because they support PimpRig!

Will be working and getting more supplies tomorow.
Richmond.

I'm gonna get my supplies today for painting... Havn't painted a case before, but if its anything like painting a car, I should be OK. Spray cans work don't they? I don't want to have to cover everything in my garage just to paint my case with my paint gun.

I'm gonna be reading all the painting forums, but if you have any good tips or tricks... let me know

If I can find them, I will be using flat black for the inside, and a blue metal flake for the outside. Both will have one or two coats of clear to give it a good shine.

Etching is pretty easy. 2 ways of doing it. One way is taking an image off the net and using photoshop or any other image program and flip it upside down. OR you could draw your own (but make sure its really nice..Ive done it before) but you could have to flip the paper over and trace lightly with the dremel. Once its done lightly you can go in and keep going a little depper.

Metal Flake paint is awsome. Primer>400>Primer>400>Color...

Im going to sand it with...600 and then do another coat of Color. The sanding is to remove any dust, bugs,over spray, and orange peel texture. Oh heres a tip, the flatter your work peice is between painting, the better the ending result. Your work in sanding will pay off with blings and self pride (and a nice case).


Etching #1
http://guides.pcapex.com/modding/kay..._technique.php
Etching #2
http://guides.pcapex.com/modding/lok..._technique.php

Painting how too:
http://guides.pcapex.com/pimprig_pai...the_basics.php

http://www.procooling.com/articles/h...ng_your_ca.php

Remeber, GOOGLE is your friend. Theres more articles around here on PR and in the forums (as youve said)Im learning just like you are .

There was one tut how ever, that showed you how to get a nice glossy, mirror finish.
http://guides.pcapex.com/pimprig_pai...ror_finish.php

Hey all, ive got some (little) progress on my project over the past few days.

Today fedex came with a little bundle of goodies for me. I now have my military toggle switch (Looks VERY Badass), and my window trim. I also got a DA Air Sander, some bondo, and I have the "hinges" I will be using on the way thanks to prime-evil.

Well yesterday between school and work all I had time to do was finish evening out my window (It looks good now). I was trying to decide which way I wanted the cover for the case to pivot, but it can only go back, due to a weird thickness difference in the front, so that problem solved itself.

**QUESTION TO EVERYONE WHO MIGHT KNOW**

Alright, I know youve all seen this, but my case connects to the frame by a series of interlocking metal lips... And if I plan to make the whole pivot opening system work, I need to remove these. But when I do, what will be another way to keep it shut? Someone in a pervious post suggjested magnets... But are the safe around computer parts? I don't want to risk anything... If you know any other way, or have any information about magnetic strips or anything like this, please let me know.

**QUESTION TO EVERYONE WHO MIGHT KNOW**

Sorry I don't have any pics right now, a reletive took the camera on a trip to Washington DC with them...

Thanks
Richmond