Nuclear Blast Project - Custom Acrylic Case

Bart_Hunt · 10 Sep 2014 at 16:55

You mean the MSI X99S?
It was shipped free, by DPD, but that's because of the forum posts etc.

All cubes have rounded edges, maybe that's why they look different thickness, but it looks like between 0.5 and 1 mm.
The exact size advertised was 25.4mm each edge so I guess it's because of the manufacturing process (cast).
I will have to polish the wall which are going to be attached permanently with the walls anyway, so it won't matter. I will be have to be very careful and precise with the drilling and triple check everything.

Edit: Here is a photo of few cubes. I used one to test the drills I had and it was nice and easy. But it's also the one which is different size.

Edit2: I checked rest of the cubes and apparently more than one is slightly different size.
This pose a problem, so I had to modify the project a little. Cubes and round rods will still be used for minor skeleton parts, like to strengthen some construction i.e. PSU cover, however main skeleton will be made with square rod. I ordered 6 meters of 10x10 mm square rod and should receive it next week, at same time as acrylic glue and drill bits, so you can expect an update soon :-)

colinmcr · 13 Sep 2014 at 08:16

Is it possible to get it as square rod that you could then cut equally? I would hope it would be more uniform in that form.

I do like the rounded edges of the cubes

shadowscotland · 13 Sep 2014 at 11:20

Or even as a wild and crazy idea use dice
The tollerances on dice are very tight due to pertential 'weighted' dice disputes.

I went with pre drilled and pluged cubes from the states
That aren't actual square - to minimise cracking they are 1m longer in one direction

And yes a build log is coming in a few weeks when I've some time (training for a new job atm)

Bart_Hunt · 21 Sep 2014 at 02:24

Thanks for the comment.
I had second thoughts about some parts of construction and joining components, but your post gave me an idea.
I was afraid that acrylic glue alone wouldn't be strong enough to make construction solid enough.
I will be buying some M3 threaded inserts and M3 short screws (12mm).

Next update will come sometime in October.
I've made some design changes and I am re-drawing some parts to make them more clear.
I will need to give that to my acrylic supplier when I order all case panels, around first week of October.

Dimensions changed a bit, I decided to move rads to different places to balance the weight around the case.
In old design, majority of the weight would be in right part and it would put to much stress on the construction. I was also worried about the airflow.
With new design, this no longer will be a problem.
I will post the updated drawings soon - I have them on paper at the moment, so it will take me a day or two to draw them in 'Sketchup Layout'.

After I have all the components for the case in place, this project will move forward at last :-)