The Left Handed Build

[piggin]

Loving this build, will be keeping an eye on it

All that braiding, you have the patience of a saint! I really want to do something similar to this myself one day, custom case and all!

Thanks Zefan, I don't know if I could be classed as a saint (Mrs Piggin would say I am part of the other lot) but I find I can switch off & unwind when doing it.

 

[piggin]

That explains the dust too I guess.

As dead human skin makes up a large portion of household dust, I held my breath when I blew this out

 

[piggin]

Is that why Mrs P is so keen on dusting then?

Mrs P likes everything neat & tidy.
Everything has its place & thats were it lives.

She does not like being banned from cleaning around the computer desk when I am not around.

I am still sure she will touch something & blow herself up

 

[piggin]

Getting everything in a case would solve that ;p

kd

Work is ongoing, hopefully a ground breaking update this weekend

Are you sure you're not more worried she'll blow something of yours up?

Yes, can always get another Mrs Piggin

 

[piggin]

Ouch! You are in trouble now m8.

lol, she will get her revenge

Been following your progress mate. Keep it up. This build will be sickkk (In a good way)!

Is she hot? If so you might struggle finding a replacement. Too many munters around these days

Mrs Piggin is very hot, she will be even hotter if she grabs hold of a live power supply.

As for the munters, I am not allowed to look any more.
Mrs Piggin does not allow it. Thank god for sun glasses in the summer

 

[piggin]

This is the update that you all thought would never happen (including myself)

To hold the panels onto the sides of the case I decided to use rivet nuts.

Rivet nuts have pre formed threads inside them & are fitted like pop rivets

To fit them properly, you have to have the proper rivet gun

The frame was drilled, counter sunk & rivet nuts fitted

After lots of drilling, we have

























































































Front view

Side with window

Front & side

Back

Back & side

 

[piggin]

Thanks John
All the panels were laser cut

 

[piggin]

Wow - stunning looking build so far, looks like a professional concept case.

Thanks Rhodri, I was going with a Mountain Mods style case.

I would be interested in hearing the mechanics of laser cutting. Do you need some CAD software that you give to the laser cutter firm? How long does it take? Approx cost etc?

Anything you can share without getting in trouble with "you-know-who" would be much appreciated.

All the panels came through (can't put the name up as they are competitors but they do water cooling for Pc's & come from Bridgend, south wales)
You can supply them with drawings (CAD or paper) & they will do the rest. As for time & cost, that depends on what you want & how deep your pockets are.

very nice

not keen on the fan grills but they are certainly different.

the quality of the work so far is superb.

nice one piggin

Thank you rjkoneil for your praise
I understand that this design will not be to everyone's taste but I like it & its different.
Maybe I can start my own trend for individual case design

 

[piggin]

Personally I really like the look of the fan grills, but I do wonder if their asymmetry might cause turbulence and perhaps unwanted noise.... Perhaps not if the fans are really slow. I guess piggin will soon find out!

John, all the fans will be run through zalman fan controllers, so noise will not be a problem (fingers crossed)
As you said, I will soon find out.

 

[piggin]

Just went through all 8 pages and this has to be the best thread I've read here on overclockers forums. Love the dedication and motivation you have mate, can't wait to see the final build

Subbed!

P.S. EK Rings are the way to go!

Thanks nayan, I am very happy that you have enjoyed my thread.
Hopefully you have enjoyed it for its technical merit
It was always my intention to make this 'light hearted' & enjoyable for others.

As for the EK ring, its the only way to go

It's finally here! No more desk computer

Looks good though!

kd

Thanks KD, 'The Shelf' will be a thing of the past soon & Mrs Piggin can't wait.

 

[piggin]

As I have been asked by a few people about the nut rivets I used. I thought I would give you all a more in-depth run down of what I have done to date:-

Firstly I placed the panel on top of the frame in the correct place

I then drilled a 4mm hole in the frame

To stop the panel from moving, I pop riveted the panel in place. (I did this in a few places)

I then drilled all the 4mm holes into the frame & drilled the heads of the pop rivets out.
The nut rivets that I used were 4mm thread with a counter sunk head (to give a flush finish on the frame)
I measured the outer diameter of the rivet to give me the correct size drill

I then drilled all the holes on the frame with a 5.93mm drill

To ensure the panels sit flush, a counter sinking tool was used

All the holes were then counter sunk.

If the counter sink is not deep enough, then the rivet sits high & not flush to the frame.

More material has to be removed

Now the rivet will sit flush

Screw the rivet nut onto the end of the 4mm insert for the rivet nut gun.

Put the rivet in the counter sunk hole & squeeze the handles together.

The nut is deformed underneath & the thread is in perfect condition.

 

[piggin]

Yes, I have a 15/64th drill
(I have a full set of drills from 1/64th up to 1/4" in 1/64th increments)
I don't think you have to be that accurate, as a 6mm drill will do.

As for the effort, I did not want to drill & tap 80 holes in the frame.
Also, I can always drill out the rivet if the thread is ever damaged.

As for the panels, they will all be removable (the rear will be a little more difficult as the PSU will be attached)

"Well thought out" lol, Mrs Piggin would argue that nothing is well thought out but thanks M8 for the complement

 

[piggin]

Simply an epic thread! I am hanging off the edge of my seat waiting for new pictures of this truly amazing and frankly awe inspiring build!

Stoner81.

Thanks Stoner81, I am very happy you are enjoying my build.
Hopefully more pictures very soon

80!!! That does sound like a bit of overkill. I know it's too late now but I wonder if you only needed one per corner and one in the middle of each side (as opposed to the 2 you have). That would have saved 24 holes wouldn't it? And made it easier to remove a panel with only 8 screws to undo.

I assume that sliding panels would have been harder to manufacture, which is why you went for the totally screwed* in approach?

** By that I mean just using screws... or even bolts.

John, I looked at using only 8 bolts per side as you suggested but decided to go with 12 as it looked better. Also the panels are very large & require a lot of holding on.
I also agree that it would have cut down on some of the labor time but the nut rivets are very easy to use & take very little time.

As for the sliding panels, they are not easy to make.

Can't be too much left to do now surely?

Guessing painting and stuff?

Secretly hoping there's quite a bit left because this has been a really good build log to watch so far!

kd

kd, I would not worry if I was you. lol
There is a lot of work still to do (motherboard tray, internal shelf, brackets, drive holders, wiring, fans, mounting equipment, piping up, fan grills, window & painting)
And that's what I can think of off the top of my head.
I think this build log will be around for some time to come.

 

[piggin]

I have just stumbled across this thread, almost by accident, and than just had to sit back and read all 8 pages of it!

It has to be one of the most interesting and entertaining 'stories' I have found for a long time, and I will make sure I 'bookmark' it now, so as to receive regular updates, as I have a feeling it will be one of those projects which will never be 100% completed, but will, like Topsy, just continue to grow and grow!

Hopefully both Mr and Mrs P. are now restored to full health again, and are not annoying each other too much!

I only wish I had the money, time and patience (and skills) to undertake such a project, but I know I never will... still, I do enjoy my own modest (by this standard anyway!) builds though.

Keep up the good work... and the regular updates!

Thanks Montala, nice to know that you have enjoyed my 'story'. I always intended to make this as lighthearted as possible and not take myself too seriously when carrying out this build log.
I agree, I don't think that this build will ever be 100% finished as it has developed through numerous stages since the initial concept was envisaged.
As for money I am quickly running out and for patience Mrs P has now come to the end of her tether. The shelf is still in one piece (almost) but does have a layer of barbed wire placed strategically around it.
As for health Mrs P is on the mend but is still on crutches and my pinched nerve is worse than ever and I am going to have to have an MRI scan.

Great stuff! As for Mrs P's revenge may I suggest installing a second power supply wired direct to the chassis? Although it may not be deadly it should warn her off going back for a second attempt!

Piggin: next time the Mrs tries to annoy you, grab your pump, turn it on, pull one of the tubes out of your wcooling system, and then spray her with water!

Might break your pump though...

Gundog/Centurion. Don't think I can get away with wiring out the chassis with a second PSU as the likelihood is that Mrs P will get away unscathed and I will kill a £250 unit!!!
Or I am likely to run the system dry or soak everything with stray coolant.
Mrs P has been very helpful recently by cutting up sections of heat shrink into standardised lengths (She has done a cracking job) when I have been doing my braiding.

 

[piggin]

Good to know that she's been helpful mate. I can't wait for your project to reach fruition

Yes Mrs P is very helpful and we all want to see this project come to fruition.

I offered my wife the chance to help with braiding only today, but she sounded less than enthusiastic. You are lucky with Mrs P!

can't say Mrs P was that enthusiastic when she agreed to help out.
Don't think she realised I wanted her to cut up 4 metres of braid into 20mm sections.
Had to get around this problem by paying her the minimum wage lol. She thought that she would get double pay as most of the work was carried out at the weekend!

Hope you feel better!

However on a similar note, my gf absolutely loves cleaning my fans of dust... so very very useful xD

kd

Thanks kd, I do hope I will feel better soon as this shoulder situation is really getting me down.
As for getting Mrs P to clean the fans it sounds like a good idea but I will have to remove some barbed wire first

 

[piggin]

I have been playing around with the 'ribbon' braid again

I do think this stuff does look very sexy.

 

[piggin]

Wow that looks great! How long did that one lead take to braid?

I don't know to be honest.
This cable is build from 'scratch' i.e it started life as just plugs, pins, cable, braid & heat shrink. (not pre manufactured)

I have found it easier to do this sort of work as a production line.

1. cut the cables
2. strip the ends
3. fit the pins
4. fit the single piece heat shrink
5. joint two cables together & thread through the braid. etc, etc

I found, I cut all the cables, then stripped the ends. Then called it a night.
The following night, I fitted pins etc.

Also had some help from Mrs P with cutting the heat shrink to length.

So, basically the answer is, I don't know.

 

[piggin]

Lol,your missus isn't related to mine is she?
I have heard very similar statements spoken to me in a soft welsh accent numerous times (more nag/sarcastic than spoken).
As for necessary tools a proper ATX Crimp tool will set you back in the region of £250. I used a very small pair of pliers from the pound shop and then held the pin in place with a small blob of solder.
For the hear shrink I used Mrs Piggin's hairdryer to get the desired result.
As for a large outlay on tools and equipment no not really.

 

[piggin]

There is only 12 cables in the photo shown. (there are two cables per section of braid)
I thought it looked so good, I had to take a photo.
The 24 pin atx extension, now has all its cables in place.

 

[piggin]

At the risk of stereotyping half the planet, I am pretty sure that these are universal reactions by wives... They just don't understand

I agree, it is an inbuilt reaction to such matters. Just like I don't understand shoes & handbags.

Ouch! £250. I certainly won't be splashing out on one of those crimping tools any time soon.

I agree, £250 was way to much to pay.

That's a lot of soldering to do.... Do you do that before or after the braiding?

I crimped the pins onto the wire & then soldered each end.
I then placed heat shrink over each cable, put two cables down one piece of braid & attached the plug.
Finally, another piece of heat shrink was put over the braid to seal the ends.

Me too. Well not Mrs P's hairdryer, but you get the idea.

I have tried a paint stripper heat gun for the shrink. It works very well but can melt the braid if not careful.
I also have to remember to put it away before MrsP washes her hair.
Wigs are very expensive