**** Phinix AURORA ****

[phinix_mike]

Thanks Bill!

I hope you gonna like the execution too

Here it is

Update time...

After designing that front panel I sent sketchups to Tom from Chilled PC and here is what I got last Friday.




Aluminium bits CNCed nicely. I also bought a blue acrylic sheet for all external work.
It's frosted blue, so will look cool, when lit up from behind.

I went to my shed yesterday (it was already dark after 3:30pm) and drew and cut out main pieces for front panel. Apologies for low quality photos, I used my phone...












Then started to file down and sand all edges. I still need to polish them nicely.
Next will be mounting front panel to the case.

I'm thinking how I'm gonna mount it. I thought I could add 3mm gap between main front panel and those acrylic and aluminium bits and squeeze SMD led strips there.
It would be a lot easier, just to glue those strips to main case panel and then screw down blue acrylic and aluminium layer on top...

What do you guys think?

[Bill Owen]

I like the design Mike, very original and unique!

[phinix_mike]

Cheers Bill! I'm glad you like it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR Everyone !!!

Christmas break is always a good moment to spend some time on modding project
Between holiday feasts I managed to do some work on Aurora, yay!:naughty:

Wires... I bought myself a nice crimping tool while ago (most expensive hand-tool I have:wallbash, so this job wasn't that hard I have to say.
I have made 24pin cable, 2x 8pin gpu cables and 4pin CPU one.

I prepared everything and started to cut 24 even pieces for ATX cable.
Christmas tree obligatory photo




When got all cut up, I pushed them through those holders I made before.
Just to see how it will go on...






Then took out pins and started to crimp them, one after another...






..all 24 wires done, ready to be pushed in the nice blue plug




Done!
I will mount it at the end, when the case will be powder coated. This extension will be mounted permanently, so it won't be bale to come out.
I decided to do this so all cables will be custom made and easy to use with any PSU in the power cage. I won't need to mod the PSU to make it match the whole scheme.




Now, 8-pin GPU cables...




16 even pieces of wire... my little daughter was a great helper in cutting those




Done card plugs side and pushed through the acrylic blue holder (it will be mounted in power cage right below the card's power sockets).





Now other side plugs... pins ready to go...




Crimped...




...and done!






CPU 4-pin power cable was easy, 4 pins done in no time.
This is how it's going to be routed. I need to drill some holes for P shape wire holders on those corners. However I don't have other side plug, will need to look for it later...





This is it. Good time spent on wiring, when watching some movies
Tomorrow - back to work! Festive time is over for me:waah:
Soon, another update, stay tuned:thumb:

[UrbanSmooth]

This is starting to look awesome.

[Chr0n1c]

Love the acrylic work, very creative. The wiring is going to look awesome.

[phinix_mike]

This is starting to look awesome.

Love the acrylic work, very creative. The wiring is going to look awesome.

Thanks guys, happy to see you like it

[phinix_mike]

Update time!

I had some of this stuff done like 4 weeks ago, but wanted to put together some more, that is why update was pushed away few times.

Plus one little accident that happened week ago, I will explain below.

So! A while ago I had those 4 small cubes made for mounting front panel. I had to drill holes in them and push those threaded inserts, then mount them on case frame and screw front panel to it.
I matched and measured front panel and drilled holes in it. Bought some 25mm long M3 screws and here it is:

Cubes mounted, waiting for inserts...




Inserts inserted




..and front panel fits like a glove




Next was to drill 20mm holes in rear of the case for 2 buttons that will control lighting in the case.
Holes drilled, filed, sanded and one of the white buttons tried on...




After I mounted front panel, I noticed that it all looked nice and pretty, but... I had to "adjust" it a little for dvd!
Front panel had too much stuff on the way of slim dvd drive.
These cases have plastic bits on top and bottom of the front panels so both, aluminum and plastic had to be filed down...
Here is plastic bit cleared, dremel action




Then front aluminum bit also cut off, dremel action




Tried the dvd drive and all looked fine!






...then I tried to put on top panel...




Little "lip" strip was on the way! Oh you little...!!!




..now.. that's better...




As you see there is a big hole in drives bay, so I had to cover bigger part of it.
I asked Tom From ChilledPC to cut a wee rectangle to cover it. It had to be precise 149x65mm with perfect 90degree corner, so had to be done on CNC.
Tom cut it out for me and day after I got the piece. I will mount it later using rivets on both sides.




As i did most of the wiring before, I still had to mount 8pin graphics card power cables, so had to measure and cut out hole for it.
Hole cut out and sanded..




...and PCIe cables in the hole, nice...





Now the bad moment...
As you saw in previous updates I used M3 threaded inserts in all acrylic bits.
Next step was to make mounting blocks for reservoir that will hang on two blue rod spine I made for drive cage.
So I made same shape white acrylic blocks and I pushed M3 inserts in them, same as before...



However, when I was mounting it, I screwed them too much and inserts broke through...
Looks like those M3 inserts are fine for small and delicate mountings. So I had to order M4 inserts, same as I used in Phinix Cube.
Those "baaastardos" are huge compared to those M3s. They came last Friday and I could continue my work. I pulled out those M3s, re-drilled holes and pushed M4 inserts.
Look at the difference! Only 1mm bigger screws and how much bigger inserts are! M4 has nice big teeth so it holds in the plastic really strong.




NOTE FOR FUTURE : do not use M3 threaded inserts for installations that needs to be firmly mounted!


So, reservoir holders mounted and look nicely






Last thing I have done last weekend was... top fan exaust hole !!!




I'm telling you guys - this machined billet aluminum fan grill is so sexy, I unpacked it and was touching and admiring it for good 10 minutes
Fantastic piece of aluminum, nicely made Mnpctech!
See, I'm gonna powder coat it satin white to match the whole theme, but inside I feel like I would love to leave it like it is.
If I'm gonna make some future projects with Mnpctech 120mm blow hole, I will definitely leave it unpainted!

So, frosted blue acrylic pieces had to be cut, same theme and shapes as front panel of course.

Action photo (well, with jigsaw turned off Right in the middle of drawn lines, I like to draw 3mm gap - perfect for jig saw cutting...




Here they are, 3 acrylic pieces and blow hole kit:










First, I cut out "round" hole in top panel... well, not really round I say
but it doesn't matter, it will be covered anyway...




..then in acrylic, first time I use jig saw to cut 120mm hole, pretty good for a first time!




..and blow hole kit tried on.. perfect!




That is it for now. I hope you like this wee update.

Next one on Thursday, 13th March!

[Bill Owen]

Great update, really looking forward to seeing more!

[phinix_mike]

Great update, really looking forward to seeing more!

Cheers Bill

UPDATE TIME!

I can't believe I missed these photos!
I've done lots of soldering for drive shelves lighting and never showed it!:wallbash:
So here are few. Again, please note that I'm not a good in soldering, simply get the job done

Here is my soldering station/mess ready to go




Each shelf gets 2 3-led strips, all shelves' lighting soldered together between levels and goes out with one pair of wires straight to the power chamber.




I gotta say, soldering those strips is a pain! I don't know why but solder doesn't hold of it easily! Am I doing something wrong? I almost burnt it through, solder didn't hold on to the small round pads on the strips. I finally get them all soldered but seriously, pain!:wallbash:




...anyway, today I took out radiator and fans to put together.






I love the "whiteness" of those fans




Both screwed down.






This is how it's going to sit in the case, fans sucking air from inside the case to the front of it.




I bought myself few bits and wanted to show here - white ring power switch and fill port.
They both will be mounted on top of the case. Fill port will be sitting next to the 120mm blow hole ring, connected to the top hole in reservoir.
Power button - I haven't decided yet where it's going to go.

Any ideas?






OK, now I have to dress up, it's time for birthday party
See you next time guys:rock:

[UrbanSmooth]

Looking forward to seeing all of the hardware that you stuff into that small space.

[Bill Owen]

Agreed, Mike does really nice work

[phinix_mike]

Thanks guys!

I have a small update for you today.

This is work I done last and previous weekend, so you can see how little time I have for my modding during the week

First dvd measured up and mounted - I had to measure depth of the dvd drive - how deep can it go to touch acrylic front panel.
I drilled two holes in white shelf and screwed it down.




Also mounted whole drive cage/reservoir acrylic spine and mounted this white beautiful reservoir I got from EK.






Then I tried out front panels bits, not finsihed, but wante to see how it will look so far...




That was two weeks ago, now what happened yesterday...
I had to align and mount this sweet little Scythe fan controller.
So first tried it out with just alu front panel bit...






I had to mod this controller metal cage, cause it was getting in a the way of front acrylic panel and needed to install it right behind top alu bit...






That is better, filed down sides and got rid of front bits...




Then I cut out some small L shape alu bit so I could easily screw it down to the acrylic front panel middle bit and to the controllers cage.
You can see here, it will be mounted below the controller cage...




3mm thick acrylic panel will be enough to hold it down. I had to drill and tap those holes





Now I'm waiting for new screws to be delivered for this - I ordered very short 4mm M4 screws for this to be mounted.


In the meantime, have a quick look at front panel - top bit covering dvd will be glued to the acrylic bit behind, so it's only lying there.
Name bit, middle grill and bottom triangle are screwed down. Acrylic bits aren't finished yet, some edges need to be filed down and sanded, will do that later.
So it's just a wee mockup for you
Imagine all black bits being white and white light glowing behind those blue acrylic bits... there! This is how it's going to look like when I finish it

[UrbanSmooth]

I sense much Tron within this build.

[phinix_mike]

I sense much Tron within this build.

Tron you say? Hmmmm.... well, maybe...


Update time.

As I mentioned before, all metal work is done.
I started to dismantle the case and clean it up with high grade sand paper before I send it to powder coat place.

Let's see what has happened in last month.
Here is how it looked last time.




Top panels are ready, only need to screw them down.




Holes drilled in first piece.




Then acrylic piece measured and drilled.




Second piece was straight forward, same steps here...




...and all screwed down. Job done




Top panel ready to go, still need a hole for fillport....




Now here... slight change in mounting of front panel. I really didn't like the way it was done in first place - M3 thin screws going through the front alu, acrylic, then front panel.. too many layers and hard to find a hole in almost 30mm thick front panel.
So I added M4 threaded inserts to those acrylic mounting blocks and decided that front panel will be screwed from the sides! Brilliant!






I tried out dvd to see how it aligns.. looks perfect to me...




...and front covering bit.. will be glued at the end.




Now the controller - here is how it's gonna be mounted.






It sticks out too much, so I trimmed it a bit to make sure it will fit in the radiator cage.




Now these little beauties...
Seriously, those feet are so sweet I'm not gonna powder coat them. I will keep them clear, cause the shine so nicely
Yes... I like feet... :eeek:








Drilled and mounted.






I tell you, fast mounting cutting wheels are bless....




I had to make some small gaps for dvd cables on the top of that plate.




I also had to make these - small acrylic blocks with threaded inserts for mounting top panel.
Case frame drilled and ready for mounting...




That is it for now. Next week it will be all packed and sent to Tom in ChilledPC for powder coating goodness...


Now, I still don't know where I'm going to mount power switch !!!:waah:

Any ideas ???? :worried:

[phinix_mike]

While I'm waiting for the case to be powder coated, I wanted to show you what I have received from Monsoon Cooling company. There is no need to introduce this brand - all watercooling enthusiasts know it very well. Their innovative compression fittings rule on all forums.
They kindly supported my Aurora project with these items:

• 3 kits of white compression fittings
• 2 white 45 degree adapters
• 6 white 90 degree adapters

Here's a full box







Each set has its own key tool and two sets of gromets




..all boxes emptied




water cooling p*rn











All will complete water cooling loop in my Aurora. They will look awesome with blue tubing.

Now we just need to wait for case to come back from coating.
Tom from Chilled PC is also cutting left side panel window. Of course design is matching front panel.

[Bill Owen]

Nice choice, Can't wait to see this loop Mike!

[phinix_mike]

Nice choice, Can't wait to see this loop Mike!

Me too Bill! With blue tubing it's going to look nice and so clean inside white case

Last weekend Tom from ChilledPC emailed me that case is done, nicely powder coated and ready to be sent. I'm going on holidays now for 2 weeks so Tom will send the case to me upon my return. That means I will show the results at the end of this month. I can only imagine how this case is going to look like coated all in white

Next step will be putting the case together with all the custom parts, soldering all the lights for the case (mostly front panel), then mounting hardware in it, building the water cooling loop and that's it! I wanted to finish it in July, but it looks like it's going to be August now

[Bill Owen]

it will be perfect match to the fittings, Mike

[phinix_mike]

it will be perfect match to the fittings, Mike

Yep, now I know it will

Last week I got all the stuff back - look how many pieces it is!




Original front panel




Fan grill/cover ring looking sweet in white:thumb:




Custom front bits that will cover original panel




Here's a side panel with cut out window and mobo wall...




All pieces again




..and front pieces including top dvd slot




Now it is time to put it all together. Tons of screws, nuts, rivets waiting to take part of this sweet little case

Will post the progress soon, I'm really busy all the time, going on a wedding next week.
I will be working evenings building it for final stage. Stay close!

[phinix_mike]

Let the fun begin

I sat with all the bits couple of days ago and started assembling.
Not all done of course, I had to prepare myself for a trip - I'm going on a wedding, will be back next week.

Here are few shots of first part of assembling process.








I bought some nice blue tubing - it really looks nice, so deep blue color, me likey

[phinix_mike]

I spent some more time last night on assembling. Quite fun building this case no when it's all painted and you can see the result straight away

I picked up wires which needed to be routed through all those holes and holders.




Started from the power cage, put up all walls and screwed in prepared before PCIe graphic card power cables.








Power cage looks fine after coating. All walls come together nicely...




Then routed CPU power cable, I screwed in those white cable holders first, then pushed wires through...




Next was big-ass 24 wire mobo cable...






I don't know why after powder coating I can still see some of my "notes" under the paint...
Didn't know that powder coat is so thin... Those won't be seen cause will be covered by cables by still... This is my second time I powder coated something and first time was black color so didn't anything:sigh:




Here's how mobo cable was routed in the back - through those white acrylic holders.




...and final look from last night...

[phinix_mike]

Here is another part of assembling process. This time I mounted drives holder and dvd shelve.
Apologies for a darkish photos, I do this at night and I'm not a specialist in editing photos to make them look perfect

Please have a look.





















..and a little teaser of front panel - I will show it at the final update:thumb:






I still need to mount motherboard and watercooling stuff, graphic card with EK white block, close tubing loop etc. Of course Front panel lighting is first to be done, then top panel and left side window. A little bit of wiring still needs to be done too. So I guess we still have couple of updates to go, but should go pretty fast now. I can't wait to play some games on this baby - I haven't played any good game since Christmas

[felix_w]

Very stylish result, looking forward to see it occupied by HW !!!

[phinix_mike]

Very stylish result, looking forward to see it occupied by HW !!!

Thanks!
Yep, hardware should look nice inside one installed. I still got more assembling to do before that happen, so please stay tuned!

[phinix_mike]

Guys, next part of assembling
Quick one, cause wanted to spend some time with my missus.. watching Game of Thrones

This time it's top panel. I cleaned up and polished edges of acrylic piece..




Lesson learnt - do not powder coat fillports...
I couldn't put the ring back on the thread.. I had to take of the paint off it using my trusty dremel...




...Anyway... here's all the pieces coming together nicely...














Not all pieces screwed in yet, I need to do some other assembling before I mount it down for good...




Screwed in the Enermax 120mm fan. I love those fans, look so nice and clean




..and topped with beautiful Mnpctech Machined Billet Aluminum Fan Grill Blow Hole Kit.




I loved the original look of it, pure aluminium, so much that I didn't want to powder coat it, but now I'm glad I did - it blends so nicely with all the colors of Aurora.
If I were doing black case, I would leave it like it is...




I guess tonight I may start mounting gpu block...
STAY TUNED!:thumb: