Project Stealthlow

How about just using a very thin but even line all the way around the outside edge of each piece?

Chances are when it's finished it would appear to just be a shadow cast from the alu. Might look better than spots of adhesive.

That sounds a good idea mate thanks :) I'll include that idea in my next test but need to get the syringes for applying it properly first which will hopefully be tomorrow :cool: the idea sounds like it'll need a practice run or 2 before I get a cosistant thin line across the whole window but yeah it definitely sounds worth giving a go, only other potential problem then is the fact it can make a wobbly looking window so you could be looking at a straight line through it but it appears wobbly lol in which case tiny blobs would still be best, I'll be sure to choose carefully anyway ;).

Thanks for chucking in suggestions mates :).
 
Oh & mast3r whatever it is contact me today as I'm not busy at the mo.

I'm guessing there is a huge potential for spam & other bad things doing PM's like this & already having thoughts of changing my email but hopefully your not a goon :D no offense but hey you could be for all I know lol :p.
 
Cheers waynio, will keep thinking of possible solutions mate, enjoying your build, and being able to contribute with some things is great :)

Thanks Diggsy :), hmmm I wonder if you can think up something before I do on this :eek::D.

Yeah I didn't do the thin line, was too difficult in the practice runs to get a consistent line so reverted back to the blobs :o.

I went & cut the dark tint to go with original plan of alternating the tints I also had to mount the 2mm clear acrylic pieces to the other side before I could stick the windows to it & had to bolt it down in quite a few spots so the tinted windows would stay flush.

Yeah so the function part is spot on but cosmetically if viewed from some perspectives & with the right lighting it looks bad but found under the good lighting in my room it looks pretty sweet.

Enjoy the pics for now though :).
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This shot really shows how bad looking the blobs are.
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One panel partially done but requires some good thinking to hide the adhesive messes :D.

And up next the right panel.
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Suggestions welcome, not sure if I should re attempt doing these windows with a different fixing technique, I have thought about adding trim but wow I'll need to ponder on designs that will compliment the original design which will be hard but doable I think, could even prompt me to try something a little arty but it would have to be quite subtle to look right :D.
 
I love it when a plan comes together! :) that looks great!!

Going back to my idea of sticky tape type stuff, is it possible to get hold of a fairly massive roll of double sided clear adhesive tape stuff and cover the whole sheet in the one piece of it, then stick the shaped parts in the slots to stick to the sheet underneath? Should have enough strength to hold them in and it'd be in one piece - so no lines :) (in theory - I've not researched this... just floating an idea :))
:D That would be possible but it wouldn't look completely clear, that tape of the gawds 3m clear mounting tape is extremely strong especially when using longer strips, would be very difficult to remove actually :D but Monkey Puzzle came up with a great idea for keeping the design as intended :cool:.

The alternating tinting looks great!
Thanks ch3333z, I like it a lot but yeah I'll be re doing it to get it done as intended, those adhesive blobs are pretty awful & I'm not very keen on all the extra mounting holes really so a re attempt is ahead :D.

Waynio, what about 3M Spray mount or something similar? Spray the whole sheet in a thin even layer and then simply apply the tinted pieces to it. Worth a go, as it's only a few quid for a tin.

Just make sure you get the permanent stuff, as there are several types.

Gotta say, the windows look awesome, but for me, the blobs are spoiling it, and if you're like me, you will change them as it will annoy the hell out of you knowing the blobs are there!
I looked that stuff up but I'm not sure about it, from what I looked up it mostly looks like people been using it for putting large posters up & nothing heavyish, but yeah I was about to dedicate to making 4 panels to make a clamping type thing so the windows are naturally held in place but MP came up with a great idea.

Stewed on it for a while & listened to other peoples suggestions & Monkey Puzzle on bit-tech & here came up with a great solution that allows to keep with the original design, basically it's using thicker acrylic at 5mm thick & make each window about 10 to 20mm longer on both ends, then file the face of the extended ends down by 3mm & slot in place using simple clear strong mounting tape on the tabs, this way I can keep it all perfectly clean looking :cool:.

Ordered the new acrylic & new alu sheet & in the meantime I'll get the sleeving completed & with being busy doing this project I've not been gaming & not been buying new games so the spare cash went on this.
 
:o ive said it before and ill say it again, youve got skill!
Lol cheers REALiTY :).

That idea from MP is great, and should work perfectly. Look forward to the next installment :)
Yeah it's a good solution, I'm thankful of his suggestion but my wallet aint lol :D.

One last look at the case before I do the new panel & windows, the new alu sheet came today.
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Got the ATX, CPU, PCI-X, Sata power cables complete & my index finger is partially numb with grasping the pliers soooo hard lol, hopefully feeling will return & it's only temporary :eek::D.
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And tested all cables ;).
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Still got Molex cables & fan cables to sleeve but they should be far far far easier going on my hands lol :D.

I sent corsair the email to jackflash & ramguy on the 24-Mar about me knackering the main ATX cable when trying to sleeve it, even mentioning I'm willing to pay for it since it was me who screwed up the cable lol then I joined their forum after googling about corsair support & seeing quite a few people waiting forever, made a new thread just to get in the picture of how it works, a moderator said they don't reply but instead just send out the replacement cables as soon as they are available, anyway I got an email on the 28th saying they don't have any at the moment but as soon as they have they'll get 1 sent out :), the next day I got another email saying thanks for contacting corsair customer support please allow 1-2 business days for process :).

Today it arrived in the post :D awesome, thats good going since it had to ship from America :) but an awesome chap on another forum made diagrams of where the wires go before starting doing his so I had it fixed well before the replacement cable came lol but nontheless corsair came though :).

So I guess people who have been waiting a really long time either didn't communicate too well with them or contacted the wrong email or it got lost in post, for me they were very good & I wouldn't need to think twice about buying more corsair stuff, good service & I'd expect even better if your in the US :) so I give corsair 2 thumbs up :).

Here is the new cable not that it's needed now though.
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Ah you will all just have to take my word for it that I've completed the alu work on the new side panel & for the first time ever I modded out in the garden & wow it was a really nice change, had a bit to clean up but was worth it, so much nicer modding out in the open with the sun out, hopefully it will be nice the next day or 2 so I can carry on modding outside :).

Got the sheet marked, cut, all the windows cut out, mounting holes added, filed & sanded all the inside & outside edges & brushed both sides, you have all seen this process before lol, this time I didn't even clamp the panel down while cutting so was able to complete the cutting a lot faster than usual & was just as accurate.

Tomorrow if I can find the time I'll start on cutting the 5mm acrylic windows

Ah who am I kidding I just had to go & take a picture even though you've all seen this many times, not got my tripod at hand though, making this case has been a little like playing braid lol :D.
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And here is the window pieces from my last effort, taken this morning so had the tripod at hand.
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With each update my jaw hits the floor a little harder... Man that looks simply amazing!!

What colour did you say it's going to be when finished? Can't remember off-hand and simply can't be bothered looking back through the thread lol

Can't wait to see it complete!

Lol thanks EniGmA1981 :), for the colour or finish I decided not long ago that I'll leave the deciding on that for when the case is complete ;) been looking into DIY powder coating though & I didn't know you could get transparent colours or even just clear :cool:.

Would have got all the 5mm windows cut to size today but something came up so had to pack up, anyway got back onto it in the evening & with my new love of modding under a nice blue sky :D I carried on until it got dark, the spotlight on the jigsaw is so awesome :cool: all of the windows for the left panel are cut to size, I'm doing it so I can decide which would be best for the tint so could go all light tint or all dark tint or do it all any combination, still need to add the steps on the ends but that shouldn't take long as long as I can come up with a speedy & accurate way to do it.
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I'll try to get the right panel windows all cut to size in the morning :).
 
Ok so I got all the windows cut to size, had a few experimental hiccups on trying to add the 3mm steps so decided to try using the 10mm milling bit in the drill press again, I clamped a 2mm thick straight piece of acrylic in the right spot & just run them accross to take 3mm off for the steps, got them done nice & quick, it's a bit edgy doing this so need extremely firm grip to do it right, there is 1 piece that was a total fail on the left panel & 1 or 2 other windows that could do with a re-make but all in all not bad :).

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I'll get the failed window re made & if I have enough spare I'll re-make the 2 that could be better :).
 
Very nice man! :D looking good
Thank you belial8321 :).

Been away for a while :(
But this is coming along nicely, How much you got left to do now?
Cheers Greavesy, still have the sata data cable holes to add, power button, the curved acrylic piece to make & an angle bar at the front for it to attach to & mounting holes at the top, then I think all work is done & I can start pondering the finish which also includes leaving raw as an option, some other bits that aren't coming to mind but not a lot anyway :).

Not sure if i said this before but great use of conventional tools....................5 stars from me without a shadow of a doubt :cool:
:cool: Cheers I think you have already said this but thanks again mate & it's cool to see you around here miester :D.

Here are a few of the windows with the drill press milled stepped edges lol :D.
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In this shot you might be able to see the 2 imperfect windows, from top to bottom or right to left, the 2nd & 3rd upper windows I milled about 2mm off where I should have so these 2 will be replaced before I call this case complete :).
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The rest of these pics I did outside as a little sunshine was peeking through the clouds, it was windy though & where I originally placed them they both got slammed on the ground so I planted them in the soil up against the fence :D, no damage was done, just a little dirt that'll blow off :).
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And this pic shows the internal side.
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The surface of the alu could use a re brushing again lol :).
 
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Sheer awesomeness dude, you really should be proud of what you've achieved. Bravo. :)

:D Thank you randal24 I'm definitely happy I managed to do the curve bars & the flush fit windows & the first time sleeving I just hope I manage to do the curved acrylic piece ok :) come to think of it I still haven't touched the front low alu panel which still needs a grill & optical stealthing & a mounting method, gonna have to make a little button for the eject & a stealth cover for the tray, not totally sure if I'll do a mesh for the grill like the back, I've come to like where some people have made thin cut lines stretching accross a panel that curves back around so it's flexible enough to be used as an eject button but I really doubt I'd manage doing it with the fretsaw I have so I'll go & make a simple button instead & stick it on :D.

I could have corrected the pci/io piece from 96% spot on to 100% but that would have meant I'd had to have re-made the 4mm mobo panel too & possibly even need for the back panel being re-made so I'll settle for a 96% spot on pci part otherwise I'd have to re-make other parts so it would keep lined up right :D so the 4% out is just the pci fillers don't go fully up to the slots, I think they are 1 to 2mm gap but works fine & mobo's & expansion cards go in good so nothing much to worry about :).

Got the B3 revision motherboard coming today on advanced replacement from MSI :cool:.

So hopefully I'll get to B&Q soon to buy a load of clamps & some rods so I can have a go at doing the acrylic curve piece :).
 
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Finally got to the diy store to get dowel rods & a bunch of clamps yaaay :D.

So now the 2 I have already added to this bunch makes 10 clamps so can go & make the curved acrylic piece when I'm ready now :).

The B3 rev motherboard came today too :).
 
Wow, this is some nice work! :)
Thanks Curunen :).

That's some serious dedication if you buy stuff from B&Q.
:D lol been meaning to go & get these clamps for a while now :D.

This is what the rods are for, something solid to bend the acrylic against :).
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Made a start, mounted, drilled & tapped an angle bar for the acrylic to attach to for the bottom end, if I get chance tomorrow I'll finish off placing the cut down rods, cut a long thin strip of acrylic, bend it against it to find out precisely how long it needs to be & to see how good a curve I can do, then cut the acrylic piece & get it fixed on :D.

Now I'd better switch over the motherboards :).
 
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will the acrylic bend that much without shattering? or will you be heating it to get the shape you want?
Heat gun :D could be bent without but it would spring back in shape & if bent too much would snap/shatter.

Stunning effort and attention to detail, waynio - kudos!
Thank you Plec :).

Laying the case down was the easiest way to place the rods but needed a bit of weight to stop it falling off the work top.

Took hours to get it so I could use the clamps.
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First time I some how introduced a couple of cracks to the sheet while cutting so used it as a practice piece to see what I've gotten myself into lol.

Second time all was going ok but was just another learning bit lol.

Third & last time as I don't have any more of this length acrylic to try again went well kind of lol so I'm going to try & use the majority of the window & I think I'll have to come up with a different solution, maybe a mix of window & little part of my backup plan, if I didn't add the extra lip curve I'd have done it easily but man that extra curve lip made it really really difficult lol.
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To be continued :D.

To be honest I'm kinda happy I went wrong lol allows me to come up with an addition to make it better than just a window :D, now I need to brew up a nice addition, already got an idea storm whirling together in my head hehe :).
 
Came to the conclusion I can still do the window but to keep it in place all along the curve I'll have to use 1mm sheet alu overlapping the seams & vent areas I'll do my mesh thing on 3mm pieces of alu & an internal piece that lets the outside 1mm sheet fix so the acrylic & meshes are fixed in place nicely, this allows for some nice features that are hard to do to a high standard so the low standard will be hidden :D.

Here is a seriously rough idea of what I'll do :).
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I might think up something better, we'll see.
 
OK so while waiting for the new materials & me having 2 msi p67a-gd65's at hand because of the switcharoo I was able to mark up precisely where the sata holes should be, also to my horror the 24 pin was way further down than my other mobo lol so had to extend the hole, I will definitely need to make the 24 pin pass through hole tidiers now lol.
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Used a 7mm drill bit to poke holes through all the sata passthroughs & got busy filing, took ages as I had to use tiny files which take ages to get through normal thickness, the mobo panel is 4mm thick lol, the file jumped out now & again & I heavily scratched the surface, I then sanded all the inside edges, then used satinising mops :D was able to get rid of the scratches & re brush both sides of the panel & this time I put masking tape on both sides since this panel is complete now to preserve the nice finish for when it all gets put back together ;).
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Actually I might need to put an extra hole in this panel for the power button cable & might decide to add an extra power cable pass hole so it isn't too cramped to get wires through :).
 
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Coming on nicely, did you apply any heat to the acrylic to get it to bend?
edit, have spotted you did use heat, would have thought you could have got that top lip with enough heat
Thanks hyperst, think I know what to do to make the perfect multi curve window now, start off at the top while it's mounted to the top without the support rods in place & do the first curve freehand, then take the partially done window off, put the support rods in place & put the window back on, heat up & let gravity do the rest for a perfect fit :).

Ooh, I likey!

Just an offer - I have recently bought a laser cutter which has a working area of A4. It is only suitable for cutting and engraving plastics and wood, and can engrave glass and slate (apparently anyway!) so if there are any custom things you need doing, or want to think of doing, give me a shout!
Thanks PhillyDee :) & big thanks for the offer but no need for this project, thanks though mate :cool:.

Lol... so you did forget that different mobos have different arrangements for cables :D
Why not make the case to fit any mobo with extra hole here and there? when do you plan to upgrade next?

Anyway, looking impressive all the way!
Lol sort of :D:p well it will now other than a possible variable of the sata cable holes but I mod so could easily tweak things if or when the time comes ;) thanks qbazdz :).

Anxiously awaiting the new materials so I can get started back up :D.
 
**** off! All your SATA cables have their own individual holes!?!?!?! That's just ****ing awesome!!!!

Are you going to be fitting the routing grommets in those holes? If you are, let us know where you got em :)
LMAO :D thanks EniGmA1981, no grommets I just filed to a nice finish I then went up to 600 grit wet/dry paper so no roughness ;).
 
Waynioe baby, where did you find that antec PSU tester? i have a dozen of the none digital ones that do a poor job, would you be so kind as to borrow it to me, i have braided all my PSU for the new RIG, rather than testing each cable individually that would do the trick i think.

Ill collect it from you and return it :)

Sorry mate would do if I knew you even a little but don't so just google "antec psu tester" without the quotes :) cost me £28.08 with free delivery, wasn't speedy delivery but had it within a week so wasn't too bad.
£28 is expensive for a tester but it does give out the readings nice & easy saving a bit of messing.
 
Seven attempts at doing the double curve piece & this was the best out of the lot but is not to the standard I wanted I have enough acrylic for 2 more attempts but struggling to see the point in trying again so I'm taking a break from the project to see if I can think up a good alterative, best way to get this double curve piece done would be to have it thermo formed but I don't know how to get the precise curve line accross to a place that does this & even then I'd need to add the mounting holes & knowing my luck I'd shatter it lol.
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So it's time out while I come up with a good alternative, could be overnight, could be a week or more.
 
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