Project Stealthlow

[waynio]

Thought I updated here with how the design of the dual rig has been coming along but missed a few updates so prepare for a big change to what I shown last .

Updated the design on the log elsewhere so thought I shouldn't leave anyone else out .

Was going to leave concept updates until I start with a new thread but since I was doing some replies here is what should be the final concept before I start .

The joining piece makes this project a modular one or transformers rig so I'll do both a test bench style gaming rig because it requires hardly any materials but also the upright enclosed regular system type, I've evolved the design a bit by first adding some detailed panels rather than plain, my eyes like a bit of detail .

Then rearranged the PSU to be at the bottom of the gaming rig, panels plug in/out & all components slide in/out so both rigs will be incredibly easy for maintenance & has a strong internal structure which will all be bolted together unseen so should be no visible bolts anywhere but what I like about this is being able to simply take the enclosed gaming rig off & put the test bench on & both will be secure on the platform, it isn't clear how all this will work from the concepts but when I make it it will be I'm less than 2 weeks away from having enough money to order materials & will be about a week after that before I open a new thread with some progress so still on track to start in January .

Colours & finish are still undecided & still not worked out a name for it, brushed & anodised would be by far the nicest but finding a good place which I'd trust to not muck things up especially if I do the brushing myself I need to research more on but if I can't find a place then might go back with paint for some nice colours with polished alu accents I quite like paint because I can do it myself easily not waiting on others & not too expensive & if you muck up any bits you can just fill them & make the error disappear easily .

It's 810mm high & will be another 20mm to 40mm higher with feet .

 

[waynio]

I have 100% officially dedicated to going forward with this crazy project now by ordering all the needed aluminium for it including enough to do the test bench part.

Stealthlow was perfect but used too much power for 24/7 so was imperfect for my needs & wanted to be able to switch to a super low power pc from the same rig when I don't need a performance pc but didn't want to mod it which is why this will be made, so the only reason I'll have for a new personal rig after this is if form factors really change & I'm due to upgrade.

Been straining my brain to think up an ok name for it & might have it, I'm thinking Perfunction for perfect function & funky looks so I'm calling dibs on the silly name of Perfuntion for this .

Materials 0.5mm 1mm, 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 8mm & 10mm alu sheet/plate & some square bars, angle bars, round bars & tubes, 10mm wood, 3mm & 5mm acrylic sheet & sure looking forward to starting this but will be nice to get through the 10mm stuff first, then the fans, basically all the bits I'm unsure about first & if I'm super careful on doing all the cutting it shouldn't need any filing or too much sanding or if there is it will be just to remove any slight jaggy bits.

Final concept I'll make.

This picture shows how I worked out what materials I needed for this & the aluminium shop I bought this from now do fabrication & all sorts of cool stuff including anodising so might let them do the anodising for me when it's all ready, depends on what it will cost but at least it's a place I'd be happy to let do it for me.

So yeah got the alu ordered, just need to order the acrylic now but might make a start on the 10mm alu as soon as I get the alu & maybe give it an extra 0.5mm to easily cover any irregularity's with the acrylic thickness, this could be a pretty quick project but not certain about that I just have a hunch because of that scroll saw I think it's a game changer for me .

 

[waynio]

That is one amazing build and really enjoyed your log.
Wish i had a 100th of your talent

Thanks mate I think everyone has a lot of potential but might just not know it, if I was shown some of the things I make now 5 years ago I'd be like yeah right lol it's just the result of jumping in at the deep end with sheet aluminium without any skills & inadequate tools back in 2008 but getting stuck into it anyway with trial & fail lol & just kept running back into it until I ended up ok at it so thought I am getting better at it so bought new tools as I've gone on so can do things even better so I'd say anyone who wanted to get good at making things from scratch could but it's not an overnight process unless you have things fabricated for you like some do cutting corners but paying high for it but you lose the skill development with that way but suppose if your loaded that wouldn't be a problem , it sucks at first but if you get through the frustration & disappointment you will probably grow to like it & start getting good but with the wealth of good info & great project logs about it's possible to study how others do things now so is even easier to get into now , when I was starting people didn't make it clear on how things go together so had to do a lot of guessing .

o....my...I cant believe you are going to grace us with another mod soo soon Waynio! Dont you know you must let the nostalgia and mythologies build a little first? LOL cant wait to see this!

Lol your probably right about that mate it was an article not long ago on bit-tech about the cost of running your rig & figured I don't need high power all the time & didn't want to mod the current one so I like to keep busy so why not make a new one but with low & high power rigs both together .

Is that wood I see in the new build?

Be sure to start a new thread for this one, looks interesting

Cheers Judge will do, It does include some wood want to find some nice stuff, not so easy to find exotic solid wood online where they deliver throughout the country can easily find real wood veneer of all types but want solid wood so might have to go searching local lumber yards, want some naturally awesome looking wood in this, must be with me being used to bit-tech rules why I do a preview at the end of my log before actual progress has started lol .

New build looks awesome. You got my vote for MOTY btw

I like that the new build will have wood in it! Does lean and green give a hint to the colour? Or just the environmental impact?

Out of interest, how do you manufacture your motherboard backplate to be recessed and stuff? Do you do it in your own garage?

kd

Thanks KD appreciated & nice to know some went & voted for me from here without me mentioning moty cheers, green because of being better energy use, but I won't rule out any colours the htpc should use less than 50w with an ssd & 8TB storage it will be used a lot more than the power rig but like the idea of having a dual system so can still flip over to a power rig whenever.

I seen people doing CNC & milling & wanted a way to do different levels on surfaces & seen some using layers of materials to make interesting forms usually with spacers in-between so it doesn't cost too much so I took on the idea & instead of having spacers I join them flatly together to make a solid piece & either stick them together with incredibly strong acrylic adhesive or bolt them together, it works like CNC milling for those who haven't got awesome machines like that & very few modders have their own CNC but have good steady hands to cut things spot on, the back piece is made up of 2 1mm aluminium sheet pieces, 2 5mm acrylic sheet pieces & 1 3mm acrylic piece which allows for a nice multi coloured piece & I will be going with acrylic this time as I meant to on Stealthlow but couldn't cut it well enough but now I have the fretsaw to do better cutting & yes I do all of it in the garage in a cramped space either in the freezing cold or too warm .

I'm not entirely clear about when to expect the aluminium, 2 types of round bar were out of stock & they offered alternatives, I replied to them to say that's ok but they never got back to me so don't know if I should expect it on Monday or not, feel they might have missed my reply.

 

[waynio]

Another waynio build, it's going to be a good 2012.

Cheers randal.

Hmm, ok, I'll have a ponder then. I'm currently spending a lot of time planning a mod where I will have to manufacture my own Mobo Tray and Backplate as such. It'll be an interesting challenge to say the least xD

Also got to try and work out how I'm going to stick it all together, as I don't particularly want to use nuts and bolts, and don't have access to a welder. Thinking some kind of ePoxy adhesive or the such like, but not sure how well it would hold :S

Massively looking forward to this build though

Also, your work space doesn't sound as bad as mine xD Whilst I'm allowed to cut outside, due to noise, and living with students, rather than being able to sand etc, outside the patio doors, I've been told to do it in my bathroom where there's good ventilation, so it's not as antisocial, pushing people out of the living room..... Going to make cleaning up a hell of a lot of fun...

kd

There are some great adhesives good enough to hold things together, some swear by JB weld as being awesomely strong, not tried it myself yet but I trust the word of those who have .

You can buy motherboard trays with the back IO piece, many scratch builders go this way & I used to also, I just got tired of having to try sourcing 1, usually out of stock when I need 1 .

I done it with a jigsaw first time around & I botched the acrylic pieces so used all aluminium which required a ton of filing & sanding, bit too much work for it really but a powered fretsaw can make quick clean work of it .

 

[waynio]

Absolutely EPIC. Truly great story - beginning, middle and a fantastic ending - it is stunning.
Was supposed to be in bed by 10pm tonight but got carried away in this thread

Your attention to detail is mind blowing - the counter sunk drill holes are a classy touch.

Looking forward to your new project!

Hope you didn't wake up late because of this thanks Mammoth123.

bloody hell

my mouse wheel is worn out from scrolling through this, amazing work

That's what middle click is for so you can just move the mouse thanks Will .

Final upcoming build ramble & new concept picture dump before I get busy & create the first post for the new thread .

Took in the first delivery of sheet alu today, 1 of the sheets is 1650x1000 & came on a pallet which wasn't included in the postage cost woo hoo usually £50 on top of the standard £15 :eeek: so they were kept in perfect condition, this is the first time I've ordered alu sheet since my first scratch build where the sheets are in 100% perfect condition & has the nice plastic backing on both sides of all of them, the alu plate & bars should be here tomorrow so I have an ultra cluttered cellar to sort out so I can use the scroll saw there, that big sheet of alu is going to be fun to cut up & theres virtually no room for error I'll need to sort out a make shift cutting platform to do this.

The place I bought the alu from now offer anodising & fabrication so have asked them for a price list on that & what the process is for letting them do the anodising so might use them once it's all ready for it.

Anyway with all the excess waiting I put more time into the design, made the gaming rig side panels flow in line better & done some new design for the wood panels they aren't final, I'm considering using a mix of 3 gorgeous different woods, Cocobolo, Ebony & Maple or Oak, I'll have to get these woods in turning blanks & slither the needed thickness off & make sure they are absolutely flat & then join them together to create bigger sheets, so this is a project where I include some jolly nice wood work mostly for nice accents been rather inspired by the awesome wood workers of modding & had sooo much spare time I even downloaded textures to represent the mod a little bit better.

The wood part of the project will be 1 of the last things to do on this though so I'll probably be able to raise the cash to get a plunge saw or table saw by then to get it done much better than struggling with the scroll saw & hefty sanding sessions, the frames around the gaming case sides & top will either be Oak as shown or polished alu semi circle mould bars as shown, both will be nice I expect but think wooden ones will make the build more like a well merged dual rig & this is why I'm choosing brown tint acrylic for the windows otherwise the only thing the 2 rigs will have in common will be the wavy lines, I would have opted for real wood veneer but it would be hell to do it well on the inside edges lol so solid real woods is my best option which will allow me to curve edges also without the need for potentially expensive vacuum veneering but might make a chest of draws which I'll veneer for this to stand on in the center of my room so I can admire it properly .

Last picture dump before the new thread & sorry to anyone who is bugged by me doing it this way :blush: I just don't want to start a new thread without any actual work done but wanted to show what's next but the more projects I do the more you will know I'm not one for showing a promising project only to not do it I am 100% dedicated now & have been since ordering the materials last week .

I'm undecided on the wood panels & like both but think the right side has more style.

I'll be doing this in a pretty random order & still not ordered the acrylic yet with having a change of mind for the colours but think I'm good with this colour theme so can get it ordered now been thinking of what to tackle first on the alu work & would have been the 10mm alu plate but won't have that until tomorrow so think I'll first just get things cut to rough size from the big sheets & then do the new thread.

Still think I'm well on track to make the new thread with some actual progress this weekend .

I still have no idea for a good name for this so it's either LAG or even MAG for mean & green or Perfuntion I just don't know but whatever I choose I'll stick with, MAG seems ok I guess, better than LAG, yeah I suck at making names for projects .

 

[waynio]

Here is all the alu waiting to be worked on .

Just hope I can manage the 10mm plate .

 

[waynio]

Jesus, what you cutting with 10mm o.O


kd

Nice powered fretsaw & the right blades for what thickness your working 10mm should be ok to do but will probably take a while but if the fretsaw isn't up to it then my jigsaw will .

Not sure about the overhang design tbh, though the decorative design looks lovely(if painfully time-consuming!)

You were utterly robbed in Moty btw - I thought Lepdesk would win but I thought you swerved top 3. Silly voting system this year as well. Keep up the fantastic work Wayne!

Should be fine MP, after holding the 10mm alu in my hands it should be overkill solid & when the gaming rig is plugged in place it should be just as grounded or more so than any retail tower case out there except big cube cases .

MOTY ugh don't remind me lol I licked my wounds & now steaming ahead with a new one, just glad I had another one brewing for 2012 before I seen the results .

Still need to sort the cellar out before I can go marking the sheets up for cutting to rough size.

 

[waynio]

Ahh I remember that thread now, I thought I had subscribed

It's not a long way off from complete but I don't think I'll have it complete in time for mod of the year friendly competition celebration of the best mods on bit-tech for 2012, been knackering me out too much so needed plenty of breaks, it's possible but I would have to grind myself hard to get it gone in less than 2 months.

All i see is sketchups! where is the actual unit?!

Ah, that is a habit I am going to drop doing, posting development of design preview of next project on the end of a log might not even show the design on next project & just get on with it leaving 100% room for surprise from start to finish.

But holy moly I bit an epic amount to chew through on my latest.

And it has changed a good bit since that concept update lol.

 

[waynio]

This is so beautiful, that I'm lost for words (your finished project)

Beautiful, absolutely lovely, truly am jealous!

Thank you Totally Dubbed It is a nice one, took me quite a while to get to really like it but I think that was due to it exhausting me.