Project Stealthlow

[Menthis]

This looks very impressive, those designs look very tasty

 

[waynio]

What about a vented piece of aluminium in the front instead of the acrylic, would be much easier and easy clean

Definitely an option .

Waynio, could you remake the front curved aluminium bars so that the acrylic sits behind them? Reckon it would be much easier. You could screw them in at the top, then heat and bend the acrylic as you go, screwing the bars in when ready.

Also, if there are any bits that aren't quite perfect, you can either glue it from the inside, or use small screws etc to hold it flush.

I think you're really going to struggle just having it fit in the middle.

EDIT - if this is likely to work, you could even do a similar recess like on the side panels so that it still sits flush with the front.

EDIT 2 - if you don't have the material to remake the bars, then how about thinner material on top of them?

I could remake the curve bars but I 'd need to remake the mobo tray & side panels also lol, I could opt for thinner acrylic though, wouldn't even need to heat it up neither, right now I'm thinking of a 1mm acrylic window, a 1mm mesh panel & 1mm pattern panel with mounting tabs so it does stay 100% flush for an unplanned silly awesome look .

This looks very impressive, those designs look very tasty

Thanks Menthis .

Here I go again I felt quite optimistic starting off lol.

Here is a few of the 0.7mm alu sheet I had spare & the metal shears I used to trim the mounting holes away & then cut what I need to size.

Clamping the cut to size alu sheets to the case to do the top curve.

Top curve done.

Start of the main curve with added alu sheets to the rest of the length which is where it all goes wrong.

A vision of how it could be with alu sheet.

Gotta laugh & forget but not to forget trying to do this diy again, 1 curve doable, maybe even 2 curves or more but not if they are to be flush to an existing curve & they all curve the opposite ways .

Ok I know when I can't win lol, I knew this was going to be the most challenging part of the build & a good learn by doing part of it , after 10 attempts I'm calling it quits on the double curve window, what I learnt on trying to do this bit was never try doing double curve in different directions by diy lol, best way to get this done is like others said a big oven & jig or get it thermo formed to perfection by a plastics place well at least for 3mm & above acrylic.

I was either able to do the top curve or the big curve very well but not both on the same piece lol so it's back to the drawing board with what to do, could do a big sprawling alu grill or simple bars or both as bars will introduce even more strength, it could loose a bit of the nice look but sometimes that isn't a bad thing if it improves the structure & if I put enough creative effort into the bars then they could make a nice feature.

Up next? well I have to come up with a nice design that compliments what's already done, I'll get there .

Actually ideas are in place for a 1mm acrylic sheet for the window with tinting film added + a 1mm full mesh panel + a 1mm pattern panel + nicely shaped tabs to keep everything flush, Just need to draw the fitting design .

 

[EniGmA1981]

Could you use one of the top curves that worked well and one of the big curves that went well, then join them together with some sort of 'artistic joint'? maybe put in a couple of lines accross the acrylic to mask the fact that one 'line' is a joint?

As always, just throwing an idea up in the air... Let's see how hard it hits the floor shall we?

 

[dandos23]

I have an idea of how you could get it to work, up to you if you try it or not though, im guessing that you have had enough of trying to bend acrylic.

1. Get a sheet of acrylic that is about 20mm too wide and about 3mm too thick

2. Use a router to remove the thickness if the Aluminium from 10mm off of each side.

should look something like this (not to scale)


3. Do what you have been doing (heating it up and pushing it in to place), but do it from the inside so the thinner tabs at the sides hold the acrylic in place and dont let it sit anywhere other than flush with the case front/top.

4. If you want you can then remove the thinner tabs at the sides so that it just sits there between the metal (I would leave them in place so I could glue the acrylic to the case for more strength).

Hope this helps in some way mate, great build so far.

 

[waynio]

Could you use one of the top curves that worked well and one of the big curves that went well, then join them together with some sort of 'artistic joint'? maybe put in a couple of lines accross the acrylic to mask the fact that one 'line' is a joint?

As always, just throwing an idea up in the air... Let's see how hard it hits the floor shall we?

Could do but I'm not thanks though I had a final attempt with the last piece today though with better results but still a muckup lol.

I have an idea of how you could get it to work, up to you if you try it or not though, im guessing that you have had enough of trying to bend acrylic.

1. Get a sheet of acrylic that is about 20mm too wide and about 3mm too thick

2. Use a router to remove the thickness if the Aluminium from 10mm off of each side.

should look something like this (not to scale)


3. Do what you have been doing (heating it up and pushing it in to place), but do it from the inside so the thinner tabs at the sides hold the acrylic in place and dont let it sit anywhere other than flush with the case front/top.

4. If you want you can then remove the thinner tabs at the sides so that it just sits there between the metal (I would leave them in place so I could glue the acrylic to the case for more strength).

Hope this helps in some way mate, great build so far.

Thanks dandos23 it's a good solution but the motherboard tray sits flush with the edge of the right curve bar so nowhere for it to go on that side (although this could still be done if I did it in notches & filed out the corresponding areas on the mobo tray) & I'm out of acrylic lol & no intentions of burning more money on acrylic unless it's for flat pieces or basic bending, bit of a shame to be honest as I got it quite close to what I was aiming for but hiccups happen especially with brittle acrylic lol .
Thermo forming is possibly an option though if I still want a plain flush window but have no idea what it would cost & I'd have to make a curve line example for them with precise instructions as to where the mounting holes & vents go.

Took me many hours today to get all the alu sheets in place & got an extra set of hands from my dad else I wouldn't have been able to clamp it all up right (alu sheets on both sides sandwiching the acrylic to make a hot plate effect with the heat gun), the top left mount snapped though lol but carried on to see if it this method works since it's all clamped up, I'll never know for sure since the mount broke but I think if done with long continuous alu sheets it very well could work & nicely but wowzers it really is a true pita to set up lol, maybe if I'd have thought about this method earlier I'd have got it done to a good standard, anyway the alternative is a go go now so I'll get the 1mm polycarbonate sheet ordered & get to work on finalising the designs for the 1mm alu panels .

No warpage, couple of slight high/low points but if done with full length alu panels I think it is doable but not putting out more money for acrylic, like said I just wish I'd have thought about this method before when I had a good bit spare, oh well on with plan b .

Here is a couple of shots of the sata holes on the mobo panel in good lighting to get this log back on a bright note, so much effort & no progress, but knowledge gained lol .

 

[waynio]

I sent a quote request to a plastics shop that has cnc & thermo forming capabilities for prices for the size of piece I need forming & that I want a little cnc doing on it & just worked up a design for the vents & a little extra stealthlow text worked in there & a silly doodle I did in sketchup which isn't a cut out but a 1mm sunken bit for painting that I worked in there last minute , the vents are of the side panel pattern mirrored, this is easily the best of the 4 I designed so won't show the others, I totally doubt the grin will be put in if this happens lol but the rest will if the price is reasonable & they are able to do the design exactly to my spec .

This design may have more added to it as it's fresh out of the mind .

 

[EniGmA1981]

That looks awesome! glad you didn't completely abandon the acrylic idea

 

[waynio]

That looks awesome! glad you didn't completely abandon the acrylic idea

Ahh it's a big part of the mod so it's hard to not go for it .

Just got the price quote from the plastics shop.

Price for moulding tool £67.20 vat included
Price for each piece £43.20 vat included
Delivery £14.40 vat included

So for 1 piece say will be £124.80 & I think this is without vents being put in & to have a spare window it would be £168.

Soooo, 4 more clamps £24 -- a new sheet of acrylic for 3 more attempts £15 = £39 diy leaving more than enough change for a diy powder coating setup.

Or

2440mm x 1220mm x 25mm mdf sheet £25 which I'm unsure of how I'd get it here unless I can get b&q to cut it into smaller pieces for easy transport, cutout the shape of curve 7 times, jam them together, put the sheet of acrylic on a flat surface, use a secondary heat gun (dual wielding ) to get the whole sheet easily formable, then some how move the really softened acrylic to the shaped jig & use the trimmed away jigs as a pressing tool & this should do a perfect thermo form diy for a little more than the clamping method.

Either way DIY window is definitely back in the house .

 

[Diggsy]

Waynio, I think you just might be able to pull off the DIY method. I would suggest getting the MDF as you say above, and when cutting it, allow say 40mm extra at either the top or the bottom of your template.

Try to cut it as clean as possible, so you can use both portions (the template and offcut) to squeeze the acrylic into the correct form.

Then when cutting your acrylic, again, cut it 40mm longer than needed and attach it to the extra bit of your template, either by clamping or screwing.

Once its held in place, heat it up and allow it to drop into position. When you are happy that it is completely pliable, put the offcut portion on top and clamp it all up.

The only issue I can see is keeping it hot enough to stay pliable. You might need to make the top portion of the template (offcut portion) out of 2 pieces of MDF with a sheet of aluminium on top, and brace it in several places with your dowels.

Once it's set on top of the acrylic, you should be able to continue to heat the aluminium, which should in turn keep the heat in the acrylic.

I hope you can make out what I mean, I will try to maybe draw it later

 

[waynio]

Waynio, I think you just might be able to pull off the DIY method. I would suggest getting the MDF as you say above, and when cutting it, allow say 40mm extra at either the top or the bottom of your template.

Try to cut it as clean as possible, so you can use both portions (the template and offcut) to squeeze the acrylic into the correct form.

Then when cutting your acrylic, again, cut it 40mm longer than needed and attach it to the extra bit of your template, either by clamping or screwing.

Once its held in place, heat it up and allow it to drop into position. When you are happy that it is completely pliable, put the offcut portion on top and clamp it all up.

The only issue I can see is keeping it hot enough to stay pliable. You might need to make the top portion of the template (offcut portion) out of 2 pieces of MDF with a sheet of aluminium on top, and brace it in several places with your dowels.

Once it's set on top of the acrylic, you should be able to continue to heat the aluminium, which should in turn keep the heat in the acrylic.

I hope you can make out what I mean, I will try to maybe draw it later

Sounds like the right way to do this to perfection .

Revised clamping jig with excess length on both ends & for a precautionary backup plan if needed I'm getting some polycarbonate too which is tougher & more formable, when I go at it next time I'm getting it done at last .

So just ordered more tinted acrylic & a sheet of polycarbonate, no idea when I'll receive it with all the bank holiday madness at the moment.

The plan is to heat the sheet up on a flat surface so it's droopy, then place it on the bending jig & clamp it down & let it cool, I'll put guide lines so I put it on straight, I'll have to put something on the edges of the mdf so it doesn't mark the acrylic, tips on what to put on the edge of the mdf anyone?.

Still though I'm not 100% sure an mdf jig is necessary, if I bought 4 more clamps & used full length sheets of aluminium I think I could get a perfect result, it came very close when I did my last try & it also had no warping, I do think I'd benefit from using 2 heat guns also.

 

[hyperst]

Grease proof paper might work, suggest you try a scrap piece first though, yeah I think more heat guns would help a lot, you may want heat up the jig a bit as well, or another method that might work is if you have the aluminium or some sort of material you can get to the perfect shape from inside the case and use that as the jig with heat and let the acrylic mould to it?<< if that makes any sense

 

[waynio]

Grease proof paper might work, suggest you try a scrap piece first though, yeah I think more heat guns would help a lot, you may want heat up the jig a bit as well, or another method that might work is if you have the aluminium or some sort of material you can get to the perfect shape from inside the case and use that as the jig with heat and let the acrylic mould to it?<< if that makes any sense

Yes it's another option, main thing that has me worried is if I do the curving out of the case I may have trouble drilling the curved acrylic, it can break easy enough when it's flat but when curved it cracks a whole lot easier when drilling which is why I've been getting it mounted to the case before bending, not only that but it needs a bevelled edge for it to go flush to the back panel but yeah clamping sheet alu to the inside & outside works & if I end up doing this again I'll use full length pieces & 4 more clamps so it's held down properly on every curve but I'll attempt the mdf jig first which I'll go shopping for tomorrow if possible & get the jig made up ready & even have a practice with the failed pieces to see what kind of results I can get from it as with most things practice makes perfect .

 

[Turambar]

If all else fails there's always clear cast GRP. Will take a lot of polishing for proper transparency though.

 

[Diggsy]

Sounds like the right way to do this to perfection .

Revised clamping jig with excess length on both ends & for a precautionary backup plan if needed I'm getting some polycarbonate too which is tougher & more formable, when I go at it next time I'm getting it done at last .

TEMPLATE PIC

So just ordered more tinted acrylic & a sheet of polycarbonate, no idea when I'll receive it with all the bank holiday madness at the moment.

The plan is to heat the sheet up on a flat surface so it's droopy, then place it on the bending jig & clamp it down & let it cool, I'll put guide lines so I put it on straight, I'll have to put something on the edges of the mdf so it doesn't mark the acrylic, tips on what to put on the edge of the mdf anyone?.

Still though I'm not 100% sure an mdf jig is necessary, if I bought 4 more clamps & used full length sheets of aluminium I think I could get a perfect result, it came very close when I did my last try & it also had no warping, I do think I'd benefit from using 2 heat guns also.

This is pretty much what I meant (although I maybe wouldn't leave the extra at the top, as it might be very difficult to cut afterwards). For heating the acrylic, I would think you could lay the template on it's side (as if the PCI Slots are flat on the floor) and screw or clamp the acrylic onto the extra 40mm. Once it's held properly and you're sure it's square, apply the heat and allow it to bend naturally onto the template.

When it's all pliable get the top on pronto and clamp it well. Although I think you may be better to make the top section hollow with an aluminium surface so you can continue to heat the acrylic through the aluminium even when it's clamped.

EDIT - thinking of the aluminium, as you said yourself, you could very well get it to work with 2 sheets of it and lots of clamps. At least that way you can apply loads of heat while it's clamped exactly in place. Might be worth trying this method first actually.

 

[qbazdz]

The jig idea is good... only flaw is really the finish of the 'molding' surfaces as mdf is a bummer to sand. Any imperfections will show on your acrylic if you're not careful.

Good luck!

 

[Menthis]

This looks very promising, i am excited to see the end product, keep us updated mate

 

[waynio]

If all else fails there's always clear cast GRP. Will take a lot of polishing for proper transparency though.

Sounds like quite a mission also .

This is pretty much what I meant (although I maybe wouldn't leave the extra at the top, as it might be very difficult to cut afterwards). For heating the acrylic, I would think you could lay the template on it's side (as if the PCI Slots are flat on the floor) and screw or clamp the acrylic onto the extra 40mm. Once it's held properly and you're sure it's square, apply the heat and allow it to bend naturally onto the template.

When it's all pliable get the top on pronto and clamp it well. Although I think you may be better to make the top section hollow with an aluminium surface so you can continue to heat the acrylic through the aluminium even when it's clamped.

EDIT - thinking of the aluminium, as you said yourself, you could very well get it to work with 2 sheets of it and lots of clamps. At least that way you can apply loads of heat while it's clamped exactly in place. Might be worth trying this method first actually.

Ahh it's been a sucky few days of doing nothing, didn't start on the right method until my last attempt out of 10 or 12 lol, I'll probably get this piece nailed though on the first attempt when I have a go on Tuesday .

The jig idea is good... only flaw is really the finish of the 'molding' surfaces as mdf is a bummer to sand. Any imperfections will show on your acrylic if you're not careful.

Good luck!

This was something that was putting me off using mdf & even thought about adding a layer of sheet alu so it would be a nice finish but this could make the form slightly off so I'm gonna persist with doing it on the case .

This looks very promising, i am excited to see the end product, keep us updated mate

Thanks Menthis & will do once this main window is complete I think it's a little more cable work & adding fan cable gaps in the bottom hdd area bars for hiding the fan power cables neatly, then I can think properly about finishing.

I do the top curve by clamping sheet alu to the outside while the acrylic is mounted in place & with the case on it's front so gravity lets it fall into place when it gets hot enough, then when it gets to the straighter line coming towards the big curve I remove the acrylic piece & get the internal alu sheet clamped in & then put the acrylic back in place gradually letting heat & gravity do the rest while clamping the sheet alu as it gets further down, it definitely works but only started this approach on my last attempt & didn't quite have enough clamps & was using small pieces of sheet alu so didn't clamp perfectly.

Sorry for not commenting much lately but just got nothing to do but wait for the acrylic & eventually get around to B&Q to either get more clamps or mdf.

Been a bit split between going for the mdf sheet or more clamps but I'm gonna have another bash at clamping sheet alu to the case, but full pieces, naturally I'll get the top curve done first as before but I looked closely at the pics of the last piece I done & it really was pretty close to what I was aiming for, I think I just need more clamps & maybe a few bars for extra force to keep the alu sheet from flexing out in the middle, might get away with 4 more but I think 6 more clamps would be perfect, it would be £10 more than the sheet of mdf I was going to get but if I manage to do my own forming & get it figured it would only cost me like £4 for each window & a little dedication if I ever needed to remake 1 .

Thing about this way it has the oven effect but is better as it's in place already so once it's been given a good cooking it should do the trick in keeping a perfect form, I've been approaching this a bit too timidly really so I feel I should kick a bit of overkill into it to make sure I get the right result, still though it won't be until Tuesday until I do the main finished piece but once I get the clamps I'll get some practice on the scrap ones so by the time I get the new acrylic I should have it done quite fast :thumb:.

I let it droop naturally rather than pushing it but clamp down as it droops & the surface of the acrylic stays in perfect optical clarity as I'm not heating the acrylic directly, gets a nice natural curve.

Once I have this curving perfected I'll have to add vents too lol but I know it would be best done when it's flat if I want to do something nice, I could just cut basic gaps like in the original concept but after playing with something nicer on the recent concept for if I'd have gone CNC I'd like to do this, damn I must be a glutten for punishment lol but it is a big part of the functionality & look so has to be done right or not at all.

 

[dirtychinchilla]

wow, this is a great log! it's really inspirational to me that you've managed to do this stuff...hopefully I'll feel confident enough now to mod my own case, even if I don't build one from scratch like you!

well done man!

 

[lolwithtim]

Looking brilliant already from the pictures on the last 1 or 2 pages. Will be interesting to see what the cooling is like, hopefully good.

Hope everything goes to plan, by the end of it you can say you have a unique PC .

 

[waynio]

wow, this is a great log! it's really inspirational to me that you've managed to do this stuff...hopefully I'll feel confident enough now to mod my own case, even if I don't build one from scratch like you!

well done man!

Thank you dirtychinchilla & welcome to ocuk practice is key mate so it's good to find some scrap to practice on before hacking a new case up with .

Looking brilliant already from the pictures on the last 1 or 2 pages. Will be interesting to see what the cooling is like, hopefully good.

Hope everything goes to plan, by the end of it you can say you have a unique PC .

Thanks lolwithtim appreciated, I doubt it'll be as good cooling as the air cube but should still be good & easily good enough to keep a decent overclock .

Been a while since a real update but the project hasn't died yet lol .

There are many ways to fill the middle void but for the time being I want to focus on doing what I originally intended.

Here we go again sort of.

First I cut the 1mm sheet alu into an inner piece & outer piece, the scrap left over from the 2 cuts I clamped to the curve & put the motherboard tray in place so I could see exactly where the bottom end should be & to mark where the vents should be, I left about 10mm over for the bottom end of the acrylic.

Then I got side tracked with cleaning off all the red marker on the right side panels inside edges, started off using wet&dry strips but was taking forever so painted the edges with wd40 & it came off nice & easy .

I got the top mount block cut outs done with the internal alu sheet & had to unbolt 1 side of the curve bar so I could get this 1 piece alu sheet in place, if only this was the design lol would be an absolute breeze to just cut a grill pattern into this, oh well I chose the difficult route & I'm sticking with it .

Anyway I got the clamping pieces ready for tomorrow so might have a solid update of good progress then & if not tomorrow then day after .