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03-25-2010, 11:25 AM
Xion X2

Quote:

Originally Posted by voigts

I can empathize with that. Once I get started on a case build, I want to practically spend every waking moment on it. It doesn't take long however at that pace to get worn out. Its so frustrating sometimes when you spend hours in the shop working on stuff only to finally stop and wonder what you actually got accomplished. Some of the smallest details take so much time.

I am telling myself that once I start on this next build, I am going to pace myself a lot better and let it take its time. At least that is what I am telling myself.

That's exactly how I feel. I don't feel so alone anymore. Good to know that there are other modders out there who feel the same.

Quote:

Originally Posted by InCredible

pure sex.

Thanks, man.
03-25-2010, 11:38 AM
Red-5

Great to see you back with updates. Some fantastic shots of all the blocks on your motherboard, especially the GPU's and RAM coolers. :yepp:
03-25-2010, 06:49 PM
Xion X2

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red-5

Great to see you back with updates. Some fantastic shots of all the blocks on your motherboard, especially the GPU's and RAM coolers. :yepp:

Thanks, Red; it's good to be back. :up:

Ok guys, you will soon see refleXion in motion in full HD video. I'm finishing up some film tonight of the full board layout with all the waterblocks as you saw in the pictures and will hopefully have this online for your viewing pleasure either tomorrow or Saturday.
03-25-2010, 07:00 PM
shazza

Glad to see your back at it, Xion X2 !
03-25-2010, 07:15 PM
vistageek92

Whoot! Can't wait!
03-26-2010, 08:41 AM
Bill Owen

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xion X2

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/8199/dsc10520001.jpg

I've thanked Bill about 10 times for these already, but I'll thank him again. MNPCTech was the first to show faith and support in this build while a few other companies I've done business with for years wouldn't even dignify me with a response (even a "no, sorry" would've been fine.) So thanks again to MNPCTech for their faithful support. :up:

In other news, if anyone is a regular at TheBestCaseScenario, then be sure to stop by the Weekly Spotlight as refleXion was recognized for February. :up:

Thanks, guys!

You're welcome dude. Glad to help with a build this amazing :up:
03-26-2010, 08:57 AM
Linuxfan

Love the 5970 WBs! :D
Definitely would like to see the video. :up:

This is such a showpiece! Are you actually going to use it for daily gaming? :rofl:
03-27-2010, 09:22 AM
Xion X2

Quote:

Originally Posted by shazza

Glad to see your back at it, Xion X2 !

Thank you, shazza. It's great to be back. :up:

Quote:

Originally Posted by vistageek92

Whoot! Can't wait!

:)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Owen

You're welcome dude. Glad to help with a build this amazing :up:

Thanks again, Bill. I don't know if you've had a chance to check out the video yet, but those grills will be making an appearance in the next one. I'm still in the process of building radboxes for these.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Linuxfan

Love the 5970 WBs! :D
Definitely would like to see the video. :up:

This is such a showpiece! Are you actually going to use it for daily gaming? :rofl:

Thanks, Linuxfan. Yes, it will be my gaming rig from day to day. Have to put those 5970s to good use. ;)
03-27-2010, 09:24 AM
Xion X2

refleXion makes its film debut!

Video is now online. Stream or download at 720p--

http://vimeo.com/10476537

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/7...video1000x.jpg

Hope you guys enjoy.

-Michael
03-27-2010, 09:35 AM
whuzabi

looks good :)

whats are the next steps ?
03-27-2010, 09:59 AM
Wezly

Step 2:

Step 3: profit
03-27-2010, 12:56 PM
aka_GK

wow, nice idea to make videos :up:
I'd like to see videos of your working process too :wasntme: or just explaining and showing what goes where, what is ready and what will be later.
03-28-2010, 08:01 PM
Xion X2
Quote:

Originally Posted by whuzabi

looks good :)

whats are the next steps ?

Thanks, whuzabi. :)

That's a good question and a nice seguay into my next update. No pictures with this one. I just want to inform everyone of where I currently stand on the project.

What the heck is Xion doing at the moment, they're wondering. This is taking forever. Less pictures, more work. Updates.. progress.. you're showing us all these shop pictures, and it looks like nothing is getting done.

:)

Well, I assure you that stuff is getting done. Here is what I'm working on at the moment and what lies ahead in the immediate future:
- A new concept for shelving Lexan / Plexi without adhesive (I expect to have an update on this within the week)
- Perfecting the fine art of sanding and polishing Lexan to give the transparency to the Zero Gravity Chamber
- Cutting holes in the case frame to route tubing and wires
- Fabricating two radboxes
Those are the remaining items left for fabrication. Then everything will go off to paint, and I'll close things out with the lighting scheme that I'll be using.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wezly

Step 2:

Step 3: profit

LOL. If I'm lucky.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aka_GK

wow, nice idea to make videos :up:
I'd like to see videos of your working process too :wasntme: or just explaining and showing what goes where, what is ready and what will be later.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. :)
03-29-2010, 09:50 AM
vistageek92

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xion X2

Video is now online. Stream or download at 720p--

http://vimeo.com/10476537

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/7...video1000x.jpg

Hope you guys enjoy.

-Michael

No offense Michael, but i think i like your photography better. :yepp: :up:

But still, very good job on it, very dramatic music. My sub loved the opening to that song you used. :cool:
03-29-2010, 10:37 AM
Xion X2

Quote:

Originally Posted by vistageek92

No offense Michael, but i think i like your photography better. :yepp: :up:

But still, very good job on it, very dramatic music. My sub loved the opening to that song you used. :cool:

No offense taken. Some pretty expensive equipment is needed to shoot a good video, and I just don't do enough video to warrant the investment. My DSLR cost 3x as much as my camcorder does--even though it's HD. :)

However, I do love the life that video can add to a project and very much enjoy shooting it.

Yeah.. lot of bass in the beginning so hope it didn't damage your sub. :D
03-30-2010, 05:43 AM
Xion X2

So now I'm going to share with you what I've been working on for the past two weeks.

Often when modding, you feel as if you've encroached on a new idea, but being able to put it into practice isn't as easy as it often seems it will be. So when you're able to make something work as you've imagined it, it brings a special sense of content. ;)

I present to you a new way of shelving Lexan and Plexi, the Dovetail.

This is an ancient practice, actually, but I have never seen it done on plastics or glass before. It's often used as a method of bonding two pieces of wood together and is used in dressers and desks commonly. But could I get it to work on Lexan.. could I get it to look clean and bond securely without adhesive. That was the question and was my goal. I wanted to discover a way of bonding two or more pieces of Lexan together without using adhesive such as Weld-on or epoxy. That's fine for many, but I just don't like using adhesives on glass because it always leaves a residue behind that's visible to the eye.

For those who aren't familiar, this is what is called a "Dado" or half of a sliding dovetail--

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/4595/dsc00380001.jpg

In the most basic terms, it's an angled groove that serves as a keyhole of sorts for an adjacent piece to slide in and bond. Here's how it bonds together--

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/2729/dsc00410001.jpg
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/3849/dsc00490001.jpg

Notice how, when cut accurately, it bonds nice and clean. A perfect fit--like a key into a keyhole. And it's a snug fit.. no adhesive of any sort needed as long as you cut the key or what is technically called the "Tenon" correctly.

To cut the dovetails, I use dovetail bit at 4mm depth--

http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/4248/dsc00320001.jpg

But-- you've seen how it looks on wood already, so let's view it on glass.

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/9193/dsc01440001.jpg

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/301/dsc01590001.jpg

http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/3386/dsc01620001.jpg

You can see how I can hold it, and it hangs firmly in place. In fact, chances are you could not force it apart with your bare hands; it would take a rubber mallet to separate these two pieces.

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/2894/dsc01650001.jpg

http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/9953/dsc01670001.jpg

The edges of this Lexan had not been sanded since these were just used as test pieces. To sand out the saw marks, I use my power sander--

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/3572/dsc01430001.jpg

--and to get the finer imperfections out I sand by hand with 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 grit and then finally aluminum/metal polish to get to perfect transparency like on the flat side of the glass/Lexan.

More to come in the next update on this. I'll show the actual shelves which will be going into the Zero-G Chamber being fit together by this method.

Thanks for checking in. :up:
03-30-2010, 05:59 AM
voigts

That is a very ingenious idea to use a dovetail joint for your shelves. It also can be time consuming to get things lined up correctly, not to mention the sanding involved.
03-30-2010, 06:03 AM
Weevil

Now that's thinking out of the box! Cool.
03-30-2010, 06:17 AM
Kibbler

Brilliant! It makes so much sense. Way to adopt a tried-and-true idea and combine it with precise machining. Is it load bearing?
03-30-2010, 06:30 AM
Xion X2

Quote:

Originally Posted by voigts

That is a very ingenious idea to use a dovetail joint for your shelves. It also can be time consuming to get things lined up correctly, not to mention the sanding involved.

I've found something to help me with the "lining up" bit, but all the sanding is still very tedious.

In the end, though, I think the effect will be worth it. :up:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weevil

Now that's thinking out of the box! Cool.

:up:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kibbler

Brilliant! It makes so much sense. Way to adopt a tried-and-true idea and combine it with precise machining. Is it load bearing?

Thanks! It will be. I'll be cutting 4 intersecting shelves in total. Two will run vertical and two horizontal. The vertical will hold the SSD drives, and the horizontal will hold the pumps. They will all be held together with dovetails.
03-30-2010, 11:09 AM
nigelke

nice one ;)
Love how you work with this stuf :D
03-30-2010, 03:37 PM
dingdong555

Perfection mate :)
03-30-2010, 06:27 PM
Wezly

Mmmmmmmmmmm......

I have some ideas now.....

:up:
03-30-2010, 06:50 PM
Liderc

Love the dovetails, it's very unique for a pc build, but very effective for what you're using it for.
03-30-2010, 08:47 PM
Xion X2

Quote:

Originally Posted by nigelke

nice one ;)
Love how you work with this stuf :D

Thanks, bud. :up:

Quote:

Originally Posted by dingdong555

Perfection mate :)

Thanks, ding. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wezly

Mmmmmmmmmmm......

I have some ideas now.....

:up:

Don't be stealin' all my ideas now, Wezly. Imma have to start keeping this stuff secret. :cool: ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liderc

Love the dovetails, it's very unique for a pc build, but very effective for what you're using it for.

Thanks, Liderc. :)

My sleeving kit came in from Nils. I'll post some photos tomorrow. Here's a preview.

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/6161/dsc01830001.jpg

And that's not all of it... not even close.. I may be sleeving for the next year or so..

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