Project NoName

[KiNgPiN83]

Hi all

So this is my very first attempt at a proper project. I've built PC's in the past but everything has been pretty much standard case and parts wise. The most advanced I've got is drilling holes in cases for fans, dangling things with cable ties and created an awesome foamboard shroud that connected my Alpha Pal 8045(?) to the outside of my case. (Sucking that horrible hot air straight out!) I'm also of the age where water cooling was pond pumps, Swiftech Storms and lots and lots of cable ties. Advanced water cooling was getting a PCI relay card to turn the pump on at the same time as your PC! Lol! However, i digress...

With this project i wanted to use my laser cutter to create my own case. I'm still pretty new with the laser cutter and my designs are fairly basic. However if this goes well, i'll definitely design another. At first it was going to be water-cooled using my old water cooling parts. However it soon became apparent that my lasers maximum cut area of A3 sized wood was going to mean that i wouldn't be able to build the case wide enough to fit my required components in. Plus the water cooling parts i priced up to replace aging water cooling parts started to get quite large. Especially for a PC that was to be created around a FX8350/ATi280x etc. (I've recently shelled out on a Ryzen based machine that I'm typing on so can't really afford to replace the core of this machine too. Especially as its a second PC.)

Enough about me and my life, lets get down to it:

Specification:

* AMD FX8350
* Asus Sabretooth 990FX R2.0
* Corsair H100i V2
* 16GB DDR3 (Either 4 x 4 or 2 x 8... Whichever is faster)
* 250GB Intel SSD
* 4 x 2TB spinning disks
* 1 x ATi 280x (Maybe 2 non crossfire due to design/not able to source long cable...)
* Lots of Fans
* Fan controller

Design:

Spoiler: Old design

I know its a terrible drawing and its on a post it note but its probably going to change a bit so its more a starting point. Plus all the best ideas start on the back of fag packets/post it notes.

 

[KiNgPiN83]

So for the TLDR's out there this is the current state of this project:

 

[KiNgPiN83]

Cooler, lots of fans, fan mesh and motherboard standoffs of various sizes.

Mobo, GPU, Fan Controller and RAM:

Last bits removed from case:

 

[KiNgPiN83]

To get a better idea of sizes and where i would like to put things i created a basic box, slightly larger than the end product:

Box panels:

Spoiler: Old Design

Pieces put together for mocking up holes, vents etc.

Spoiler: Old design

Mapping out the mobo tray and where the standoffs need to go:

After sitting the motherboard on the wood and marking the holes i thought to myself, this may not be terribly accurate... I wonder if someone has some exact markings/sizes i could use??? A short google later and i had them and have mocked up the files to be cut out.

 

[KiNgPiN83]

I can't believe my luck! Went to turn the laser on this morning to cut the motherboard tray out and its completley dead. I've emailed the guys i got it from and hopefully its just a dead PSU that they can send me a replacement for so i can get back up and running ASAP.

Hopefully this won't delay things too much.

UPDATE: Turns out that there is a tiny door on the power socket with a fuse in it. I just needed to pull it out, swap the live fuse for the spare fuse and it powered straight up! Full steam ahead for some more updates tonight.

 

[KiNgPiN83]

A little Friday night update:

Cutting action shot - Bottom part of mobo tray

Both pieces of the motherboard tray cut out. They will be glued together with the lower part holding the nuts and the top guiding the screws through. I probably could've made this one piece but the increased strength of two pieces may come in handy:

Picture of the top and bottom pieces lined up to hopefully show you what i mean:

Nylon bolt lined up with my laser cut hole. I was impressed it fit so well! Haha! (The sizes on screen differ to what you end up with due to the kerf of the laser cut itself. I think my kerf or width of laser is 0.1mm so you have to take this into account in your designs.)

Pre gluing together:

And that's it for tonight while i wait for the mobo tray to glue. Once its glued i can then fit the bolts and stand offs and then the mobo. I can then test fit this in the box and mark where i need to cut out holes for the peripheral ports on the mobo and the PCI ports etc. I can then put these in my existing designs and re-cut the box to a shallower size. Well, once i have also figured out the rad, fan, power/reset button locations etc.

My goal is to have the best air cooling i can with optimised hot air removal/cold air introduction. Who knows, if it turns out well it could replace my good old Coolermaster stacker that PC1 resides in.

 

[KiNgPiN83]

So who can spot my deliberate mistake to make sure anyone is actually reading this...

(Currently cutting two new pieces and will glue them together correctly this time... )

 

[KiNgPiN83]

Today's update.

Motherboard mounted:

Access hole lined up correctly:

Annotated the box to show where i want to mount things. I'll take measurements from this and put them into the design for when i re-cut the box to the right size:

Today i also designed and cut the fan holders:

And this was supposed to show how accurate i managed to make the screw holes! (But didn't work too well...)

 

[KiNgPiN83]

Nice and different looking forward to seeing the final product

Me too! I've been working on the design when i can and will hopefully have more to look at this week.

 

[KiNgPiN83]

This is my kind of build! great work so far.
Really like the look of the fan holders.

What laser cutter are you using? Do you have a wood working background?

Thanks, they came out better than i expected and everything lined up too! I'm trying to pick this project back up and get a decent update uploaded for everyone ASAP. Just struggled with time a bit recently since the wife has started working in the evenings and i'm on put the child to sleep who doesn't want to sleep duty. Lol!

Its basically a standard 40w Chinese affair that a company called just add sharks import and then go over fixing any issues. Unfortunately they have just ceased trading so my upgrade will have to come from elsewhere. Skill wise i'd say I'm an enthusiastic amateur. Designing things was a steep learning curve to begin with but I've got the hang of the basics now and there's loads of tutorials and things out there for when you get stuck. I use a mixture of Adobe Illustrator and Inkscape.

 

[KiNgPiN83]

Wow... I can't believe this update has taken a year! Then again i can considering all that's been happening over the last year in the life of Kingpin83. Still, i'm currently sorting the photos and there will be an update incoming.

 

[KiNgPiN83]

So the design has changed completely... After looking at what i had i decided that i was going to take it a different route and re-design the case. Plus i have a year of extra skill using my laser and i'm now able to design and realise a lot more interesting ideas than i used to be. So the new Design is something along these lines:

* Same components as original post
* 4 distinct areas to case - PSU/Controller lever, HDD Level, Mobo level and cooling level.

I don't have a picture as its all in my head and i am kind of winging it. This is a big thing for me as i always used to struggle with being a perfectionist and if things didn't go exactly how i wanted them i'd lose interest/hope/whatever and give up. However i'm slowly moving round to the idea that nothing is perfect as well as working on my procrastination and other issues and this project seems to be good to help that.

Anyway, enough talking. Here are the latest photos of Project No Name Version 2:

Here we have the front of the lowest level of the new case. The window is for the fan controller and the rectangle/circles are where the power/reset/LED's will live. The grills either side are for air to be drawn into the case.

So the grills gave me my first issue. The beauty of plywood is that it is made up of layers with grains going in alternate directions meaning its nice and strong. The bad news with this is that although i can see the knots and things on the outer surface i cant see the ones hiding in the middle layers... (My laser doesn't like knots. Only 40w ) So knowing i had to recut this piece i redesigned the vents to make them a bit more interesting:

I much prefer this version and it seemed to cut first time so i obviously got lucky knot wise too!

Here we have the power button and LED's. The button itself is round and split into two semi circles. So in effect it looks like a single round button but gives you power and reset. Obviously this means you have to be careful when using them but i like to live life on the edge. Haha!

Next we have the housing for the fan controller which will hopefully keep it where i want it. First is the brackets themselves:

And then the brackets connected to the controller in situ:

We also have the plinth for the PSU. Basically a box with a large hole to make way for the fan and lots of small holes for where it will draw air through and out of the PSU exhaust:

(I get through lots of masking tape...)

Next we have the sides. If I'm honest two are just plain so there's not much point putting up pictures of them. However the PSU side is more interesting. I found the screw/hole locations online and made them line up on the side of the case to keep the PSU on its plinth and stop it moving. I've looked at them and they are pretty well lined up. Maybe slightly off but i can adjust the design if sanding doesn't fix it:

(I may have to design this with larger circles around the screws as i can see this falling apart when i attach the screws through to the PSU..)

Here we have an exploded view of the case:

And finally the current progress picture as it stands:

I'm still trying to work through access to various areas for upgrades etc, how each layer will fit together, the cable runs between layers and lastly the location of the GPU's. That is the part that is really going to test me but I'm looking forward to it. Also please excuse the potato photos they were on my iPhone. I'll try to get better ones at various points of the build.

Thanks for looking.

 

[KiNgPiN83]

Images in the last post aren't showing for me mate. Looking forward to seeing the new plans as I love these 'completely different to the norm' builds

Thanks for letting me know, i’ll take a look.

 

[KiNgPiN83]

Images should work now.

 

[KiNgPiN83]

A little update for you...

Tested my power/reset switch idea out. (It will look like the below however more recessed to hopefully give it a cleaner look)

Also prepped both of my 280x's for getting their way into this build. (Removed the mounting bracket) I wanted to crossfire them but can't find a long enough cable due to how the GPU's will be mounted. Which is a shame but no one seems to make extra long bridges/cables:

I then moved on to the storage level of the build:

So this looks a bit odd but its the only way i seemed to be able to do it whilst keeping the drives flat. I had some fancy ideas involving them not being flat but didn't want to cause the drives issues... I guess i could change them in the future? Back to this design, this should be good for the front to back airflow however it isn't going to be straightforward removing/replacing drives as you'll have to remove each hole bank at once... Although personally that doesn't bother me too much.

And here's another view of the above:

Next we have an exploded view of this level with the sides and roof. (I was gluing the base to another sheet of ply to give me some more rigidity at the time the photo was taken.)

The rather technical process of gluing the base...

And this is the whole lot coming together. Glue, masking tape and the jig hopefully keeping it straight and true. This also shows the intake and exhaust fans. You may have also noticed the cut outs round the fans. This is for a grill/attachment that will be added to both ends later.

 

[KiNgPiN83]

Seriously impressive build, can't wait to see the finished article! Personally I'd have mounted the fans inside of the case, but then I'd have been wrong, they're going to look great once the shrouds are in place

Originally that was going to be the case but due to the way I’ve mounted the HDD’s they wouldn’t quite have fit inside. However all is not lost as there is more to be added on.

 

[KiNgPiN83]

So had to take a brief break from the PC to build this: (Although i have designed the motherboard level and have been taking lots of measurements and things to make sure it comes out ok first time. I've also had some ideas that mean I'll have to change the HDD level but I'll go back to that later. From staring at it over the past few days and rebuilding bits in my head i believe I've worked out a way to make it a lot more accessible. Mainly because connecting and disconnecting cables is going to be a nightmare made even worse by the fact that my PSU isn't modular so i can't cable them back as it were. Still, watch this space...)

Its a gate to stop our Pug getting to our cats food and litter tray... (Dirty girl ) Its made of 2 sets of plywood sheets glued together but overlapping so that they create one big firm door. I know i could've just went and bought one but this was more fun and in the spirit of the laser built PC case. Plus this helps me work on my design/measuring skills.

And a door sign so the cats know that they can come in. (Not that anything stops the little buggers going where they want! Haha!)

I know its not strictly the PC project but as it was all made with the laser i thought I'd share it anyway. Hopefully I'll have a proper PC case update tonight.

 

[KiNgPiN83]

Please excuse the late update. It's been a busy couple of weeks with various other stuff stealing my project time.

I'd made a fair few changes to the design, notably the HDD level is basically being completely re-designed. However i'm happy to actually cut those bits at a later date as i'd rather continue with the rest at the moment. My main focus has been redoing the controller level and the motherboard section. The controller section has been designed and cut. (See below) and the motherboard level will be the next part to be cut out.

All the re-designed pieces for the controller level:

Some positive words from my new glue gun:

I then proceeded to glue all the bits above together. Bearing in mind it was between 1 and 2 in the morning...

All looks good right? Wrong...

I glued the panel on the PSU side the wrong way up...

Which meant that i had to use a combination of swearing, finesse, heavy handedness and luck to remove just the glued together side panel as i really didn't want to waste all that wood re-cutting the whole thing.

This left the edges in a bit of a mess but after cleaning them up with a scalpel and sand paper to remove the old glue, we were good to go:

So here it is re-cut: The PSU now lines up, there is no longer a gap at the front of the box at the top of the controller's screen and we have holes for the wires ready in the bottom to feed down to the HDD's.

And lastly i looked at my idea for the door on the side for this level. I already have some hinges kicking about and think they look quite good. I've already got a latch designed for the top of the door to keep it shut too. I also think i will rivet the hinges as the screws seem to make a mess on the other side of the wood as its only 3mm thick.

I'm not putting it all together yet as I'm trying to decide whether to paint it or just varnish/lacquer it. I'll probably decide tomorrow when I'm in the range looking at spray-paints/primers.

Once again, thanks for looking. The next update hopefully won't take as long.

 

[KiNgPiN83]

Another little update for you guys.

Decided that now the control layer/level was together that i would sand an prime it. I was going to leave it bare wood but i haven't painted anything for a while so thought now would be a good time to start back up!

I also varnished the inside. I was hoping that it would aid dust removal and cleaning as there wouldn't be the grain of the wood to grab the dust. It was only two coats that were then sanded slightly so nothing special but a good flat satin finish now which will hopefully help. The other idea i had in my head was to paint it matt black but i think it then would've needed varnishing anyway.

I also came up with a great little plinth/turntable to use while painting it from stuff laying about. Take two chopping boards and some ball bearings:

And stick together! Boom, a turntable!

Once the primer dried i sanded it and then sprayed another layer which i then also sanded. Its now waiting for paint but i think i'll wait until all my levels are ready before i do this so that i get the same finish across all of them. This takes me back to my HDD level. As you saw earlier and may have read i didn't like the design of the HDD level and had made some changes to the design since putting it together. I was annoyed at the prospect of wasting wood but also didn't want to miss out on the changes i made... So i carefully removed the sides to cut the versions with doors in them. (To allow access to the HDD's from either side) Here it is after gently removing the old sides:

It left a bit of a mess and i had to scrape the old glue/broken bits of wood off the best i could but to be fair I'm surprised it turned out so well. I then fitted the new sides and top support:

I then cut out the plates to go on the inside of the sides that are there to stop the door falling inwards. (There will be a latch to stop it going outwards.) Also it creates a better seal around the door itself. Luckily i was able to use the old sides as they were just about big enough. Which was a good saving and minimised the amount of new wood needed for the design change:

I then cut the new supports for the HDD's which will give me a lot more wiggle room when installing and removing drives as well as save a bit of weight. I think this will be a heavy old beast once its finished. So here is what the HDD level now looks like:

Basically i just need to cut the fan shrouds to cover them up and then this can be taped up and primed. I'll then try and get a picture of these two layers together to give a feel of what it looks like so far. (A massive grey box... ) Still, once the motherboard layer gets started that's where the design/my design skills will hopefully start to get tested and pay off. Or at least slightly resemble the drawings in my head.

Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas!

 

[KiNgPiN83]

Great project

Any updates?

Me too, very interesting project. Is the picture in post 2 the very latest state?

Hi guys. Sorry, Christmas has been a bit of a whirlwind and I've had other things pop up and steal my attention away from this project.. However I've picked up some bits that i needed (Paint, tools etc) so i should be ready with an update early next week. I'll also update post 2 shortly as i have a slightly newer phot since priming and test fitting stuff.

Thanks for your interest though!