Project: ATX Cube Case

[DeanMF]

Hey everyone. I started a mod about two weeks ago and its going real well.

Done on 22 July:



Hi all!

I eventually stopped planning and started doing some real work on my new case today.

Firstly, here is some Sketchup pics of my new case I am gonna build:

Front:



Front Angled:



Back Angled:



So, I started off today by cutting and grinding a 6 meter Angle Iron into smaller pieces (37cm each) to make the structure of the case.

Here they are, all ready to be welded together: (This took me several hours to do!)



As I know absolutely nothing about welding, my dad will weld the pieces together for me tomorrow.

So, I also need 2 drive cages and a mobo plate - luckily for me I found 2 cases willing to take one for the team and donate their inners

Donor 1:



As you can see, Its already stripped for some reason I cant even remember, but oh well - the insides are still fine.

Donor 2:



Yup, This is my current Superman case. I have a small problem now as I have to take out all my stuff, put it in some other old case laying around so I can get the insides out - but that will also only happen tomorrow. :sigh:

[DeanMF]

Also done on 22 July:

Okay, so I got the drive bay out and test-fitted my new Thermaltake iCage.







As you can see, the top part of the drive bay cage must be removed as I only need 3 slots for my case - it will have to be done on both drive bay cages.

The pink part must be removed:

[DeanMF]

Done on 23 July:

Hey guys!

Just a small update - a lot of work though.

Firstly, I had to shorten the uprights and grind the angle iron a bit more:



Here's what it looks like before welding. As you can see, my corners isnt that great at all, but when I am done, you wont be able to see the gaps :cooldude:





Oh, trust me, the sides are all straight, for some reason the bottom side always looks a bit wavy on the pics

So, here's my dad starting the welding process:



And here the bottom side is almost done:



Almost done: (Dont look at the light for too long, you might get arc-eyes!



So the main frame is now welded together and as you can see, I have a LOT of filling and sanding to be done on those welded corners.

Here's some pics of the case with my test mobo in, it fits very nicely!







For tomorrow I am going to remove all the parts from donor number 2 so I can take out the internals I need, even though I doubt very much there will be an update, I promise that I will be doing work on the case :thumb:

Okay, thats it for today! So far I am very happy with what I am seeing. Any questions and / or comments?

[DeanMF]

Done on 25 July:

Another small update.

Okay, so now I get it why modders take so long to buld their cases. You know, I had all the things planned I wanted to do today, but I only managed to do one actual thing. My friend came over to look for a speaker and killed about 40 minutes of my mod-time, and seeing that its winter here, it gets dark very very quickly!

Here's some pics:

Firstly, I managed to disect donor nr. 2 and remove the internal parts I needed. So now I have 2 drive cages.



And, here is where all the parts from the superman case went: (Also, what i am using at the moment to do this)



So, today I managed to cut off the "pink" parts from the cages and now the HDD cage fits perfectly as well as the top DVD drive.







I am also going to be using the mobo tray from Donor 2 instead of the one from donor 1. The things is, the tray is not connected to the back plate, so I will try and get the two attached to each other tomorrow afternoon.





Here is the front panel from donor 2. I want to use the power / reset buttons for my case, including the entire middle section where the hdd and power leds are. The bottom part for the front USB and headphone / microphone will also be used in my new case.



Oh, one other thing I managed to conclude today - my measurements on sketchup was in fact correct!! I dont have to build two seperate frames for the psu and cages, I only have to give them both some slight support underneath!

Hopefully I will have another update tomorrow.

Comments?

[DeanMF]

Done on 26 July:

So, I got a few more things done today.

Firstly, I had to grind away corners of the angle iron to make the centre frame inside the case.





Sorry about the bad quality pics, but the model just did not wanna stand still!

Okay, the centre frame is now complete. Here I test fitted some parts. (Check my fake psu! :hehe:)









I also gutted the front panel from the superman case to take out the front USB and start / reset buttons:







Thats it for today. I know it looks like very little, but trust me, I worked about 2 hours just on the centre frame, and because it gets pitch black anytime from 17:30 onwards, I was forced to stop as I couldnt see anymore :waah:


Questions or comments?

[DeanMF]

Hey guys.

Good news!! I just ordered myself 2 of these:



A BIG thanks to MNPCTECH for the excellent service I just received from them! Trust me, have a look at their casemod store here: http://www.mnpctech.com/casemodstore.html

Oh, I ordered myself one of these too:



Sweet hey!!

[DeanMF]

Done on 28 July:

Oh yeah! Update time!!

Got a little more done today. Mostly sanding untill my hands are raw! Also, I spray painted the mobo plate, and the bottom cover.

Here's the pics:

Firstly, I cut the wood to the correct size:



Then I grinded the welded corner a little bit smoother:



I then smeared it with some automotive body filler:



All corners done:



While the body filler was drying I wetsanded the mobo plate and back cover:



Then, the most difficlut part of today:



I had to sand down the body filler to make the corners nice and smooth. This took me a couple of hours to do and my hands are stuffed!

Here's the painted mobo cover:



Painted back mobo cover:





I also drilled holes into the wood where the holes are in the mobo plate. Hopefully this will release some of the heat the mobo creates, then I painted the bugger:





Okay, this is what the frame looks like now. Almost ready for painting.



I will try and get the frame completely smooth tomorrow so that I can paint it and fit the mobo plates.

Thats it for today.

Comments?

[DeanMF]

Done on 30 July:

Another small update - lots of work

First, I found a nice big piece of old flat-bar laying around. Then I cut it to the correct lenght.



It is full of surface rust from laying out in the rain for so long, but nothing a little sanding paper wont fix :naughty:

I also painted the other side of the mobo tray:



So, I wanted to pop rivet the flat bar to the case, so I drilled the holes and when marking the spots on the frame I realised that I would not get a drill in there :duh: So, I had to call my dad to come and weld it to the frame for me





As you can see, I now have some holes to fill :sigh: Oh well, that will be done tomorrow then.

Here some test fits of the two drive cages:





Perfect!!

As you can see I also cut off the front "flaps" that was attached to the previous chassis they came from.

So, thats it for today. My plan for tomorrow is to fill the holes with body filler and also paint the drive cages.

My celebrity friend, Dae Ja Voo, is sending my perspex tomorrow as well, so I should have that by the weekend! i cant wait!!

[DeanMF]

Done on 31 July 2007:

Hey guys. Another mini update!

First, I wet-sanded the mobo plate with 2000 grit sanding paper to make it super smooth. (Sorry about the water still on the plate!)



I then painted it another 2 coats - so its completely done now.

Then I sanded down the drive cages and got them ready for their paint jobs:

First on done:



Both done!:



First one painted:



Both painted:





The cages are painted on the outside only so far. I will paint the insides tomorrow.

My body-filler (bondo) hardner is finished so I couldnt fill the holes today. Hopefully I can get some tomorrow and then fill those holes too.

Thats it for today, although it seems like a little, but I really did work alot on it today. The sanding of the drive cages was very time consuming!

What do you think?

[DeanMF]

Done on 1 August 2007:

Hey guys. Not much done today. Only had chance to spray paint the interior of the drive cages. Still have not filled those darn holes! I am planning on painting the frame by this weekend and attach those drive cages to it as well.

Sorry about the small update. Here's some pics:

[DeanMF]

Done on 2 August 2007:

Okay, so I found out today you cant buy hardner seperate, so I had to improvise. I used spot putty to fill the holes





The only problem with spot putty is that it takes a seriously long time to get hard, so I can only sand it tomorrow then.

Stay tuned, more to come!

[DeanMF]

Okay sweet. Now I will update the log as i go on.

Questions / Comments??

[RobThePyro]

Nice, looks good. hope you dont want to take that thing anywhere when its done, gonna be pretty heavy!

[DeanMF]

So far it weighs only 4.7 kg's. Will weigh it again once I have the bottom and drive cages installed over the weekend.

Also, I am strong

[DeanMF]

Okay, Since I am at work and cant mod now, I decided to update my sketchup design to include the new vandal resistant buttons and also made the plexi covering a bit darker.

This is more along the line of what I want this case to look like when done:





I am also getting a Zalman fan controller and a Vizo control Panel II to put in the front with the DVD writer.

[WAJeff]

Awesome stuff dude! This mod is gonna be looking sweet pretty soon if the updates keep coming! Keep up the good work and give a :bigups: to your Dad for a good welding job

[DeanMF]

Thanx Silv3r! Will tell my dad

[psYChowIt]

Also tell your dad he scares me!
Lol Good job!

[DeanMF]

Thanx man!!

[DarkRanger]

Looks good, brilliant idea there!!

That case is probably heavy? Didn't you think about using smaller angle irons, and maybe aluminium too??

Just wondered, but it looks great though!!

[DeanMF]

Smaller angle iron would not have worked out for me, and aluminium, well, you cant weld that now can you I really didnt want to rivet my together.

Thanx for the great comment DarkRanger , it is really appreciated mate

[RobThePyro]

* quickly goes and hides mig welder for welding aluminium *

[DeanMF]

Edit: You cant weld aluminium with a normal stick welder, and thats all we have

[RobThePyro]

yea i know. but i have a mig welder

[DeanMF]

yea i know. but i have a mig welder

And youre reason for not building a scratch case is?

Oh man, you are SOOO lucky!!