Everything i need to know about Aluminum?

okay so now i got all the WC parts for my rig, i am motivated again to get my case project going again, cause now i know where i can put the WC parts and such.

So , with that, the ideas i had involved some custom work, making some walls and vents in the case and mounts for harddrives and such..

so i needed to ask from the pro's and experienced people out there.. things i need to know about aluminum..

What type of aluminum would be good to work with inside a case? are there diff gauges, i assume, and thickness et cetera?
is all aluminum equal when it comes to painting? they all need to same prep work done before hand?
What tools work best for cutting, bending , attaching aluminum? (i may be able to get a welder from my landlord but am thinking more rivet style, or are there other options?

All input is appreciated, i plan to take my case apart this week once my other new mobo arrives.

anyone :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Guvernment

okay so now i got all the WC parts for my rig, i am motivated again to get my case project going again, cause now i know where i can put the WC parts and such.

So , with that, the ideas i had involved some custom work, making some walls and vents in the case and mounts for harddrives and such..

so i needed to ask from the pro's and experienced people out there.. things i need to know about aluminum..

What type of aluminum would be good to work with inside a case? are there diff gauges, i assume, and thickness et cetera?
is all aluminum equal when it comes to painting? they all need to same prep work done before hand?
What tools work best for cutting, bending , attaching aluminum? (i may be able to get a welder from my landlord but am thinking more rivet style, or are there other options?

All input is appreciated, i plan to take my case apart this week once my other new mobo arrives.

1.
what type of aluminium huh? is there any other types?
if you're talking bout rigidness .. theorically the thicker the aluminium the better .. but 3mm thick alu is very heavy ..
well .. there's a trick or two have the same rigidness vs the lightness

http://www.signboards.com/products/alumalite.asp
http://www.alucobond.com/a2-start.html

http://www.8020panelfab.com/images/alumalite%20copy.gif

http://www.signboards.com/images/product_alumalite1.jpg

2.
prep... hrm ... sand it till it roughtens? a simple light sanding should work .. after that paint with primer, color coat, and the clear coat
if you're going for annodize ... make sure you got smooth surface, if you want a mirror finish .. you should work it out before annodizing .. i recall
some ppl like powder coat, i don't like it due to its uneven, wavy reflections

http://www.paintscratch.com/images/tri.jpg

mid coat could be your pearl coat ... pearl coats can have a significant effect on a plain casing itself

also .. with spray painting .. you could have effects like this ..

http://www.alsacorp.com/killercans.htm

http://www.alsacorp.com/products/kil...P1080499_s.jpg

http://www.alsacorp.com/products/kil..._emerald_s.jpg

http://www.alsacorp.com/products/pri...edshape1_L.jpg

http://www.alsacorp.com/products/pri...DSC00696_L.jpg

honestly i think spray painting is very flexible .. and have a wide variety of posibilities .. annodize and powder coating seems to be limited ..

3.
for cutting ... a jigsaw should do the trick, dremel works too .. but only for tight corners .. for riveting .. just get a rivet gun and some alu rivets

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/...saw-large.jpeg

http://www.casemodgod.com/ModGuides/.../toolbox02.jpg

bending is hard for rigid aluminium ... you'll have to use machineries for smooth, accurate bends

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolmiester

http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/...ion/tft/16.jpg
http://www.xtremesystems.org/Forums/....php?p=3519660

if you don't mind .. you can get those L-bends joints purchasable in hardware shops to do the trick .. in fact try checking out those office partition shops .. those office partitions uses aluminium joints .. with enough creativity .. you can utilize them ... it's cheaper that way

http://www.deko.com/library/pictures...filsamling.jpg

http://www.deko.com/library/pictures...bensamling.jpg

keep in mind if you're using joints .. there are bound to have gaps, you might need to have fillers to smoothen the surface before painting
annodize is nice, but you need lotsa and years experience to produce artistic designs ... spray paint is easier to work on .. after a few cans almost everyone can work out something

hope this answers your questions

Well if it didn't answer it answer mine thank you ever so much :)

Ninja