The murderMod Workshop

[charles_h]

Hi All.

Nils and I thought it would be a good idea to create a thread where we showcased new designs we'll be offering. In some cases, we'll document how things are designed and fabricated. In an upcoming installment, I'll showcase how the parts are cut on the Water-Jet. It's an amazing process - cutting with a very fine aggregate and... you guessed it, water!

Please feel free to ask questions and leave comments. We'll respond as best I can, when time permits.

Our first installment features our latest faceplate design; the Universal TJ07 Faceplate. It will be offered in two flavors - one with the illuminated murderMod logo (Luminous), and the other with a highly reflective red strip behind the logo (Reflected). This concept was first introduced on BlueAqua's murderMod midplate and worked out very nicely. As the name implies, the Universal Faceplate is designed to work with pretty much any optical drive - unlike the Stealth which only works with Pioneer models (they're the only drives with a flat door that we can adhere the aluminum cover piece to). This faceplate design was a creative collaboration of Nils, Monika, and myself.

Anyway, on to the pics!



Universal Faceplate - Reflected











































Universal Faceplate - Luminous

[philbrown23]

wow thats sexy!

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

Question charles, I have just been using the waterjet cutter at my university and I find that the design I just cut has small in-cut marks like these:


How do you avoid these incuts in your path drawings on the murdermod parts?

[Logos]

funny, I visited your web sites yesterday, both MurderBox and MurderMod: absolutely brilliant job

[jdmR]

you guys just cant stop with awesomeness huh

[evil-98]

thats looks very nice Charles , for a second i you were posting pics of your shop

[WhiteFireDragon]

what's the pricing on these faceplates? not like i'll be able to afford one anytime soon, but good to keep in mind for the future.

and what's the advantage of waterjet cutter over the traditional rotary tools?

[Kaldor]

and what's the advantage of waterjet cutter over the traditional rotary tools?

Faster and cheaper with the same amount of accuracy if I remember correctly.

Nice looking parts btw Charles!

[zlojack]

Very nice work!

[Dangals]

Great shots Charles - the new faceplates look awesome!

I am really looking forward to the behind the scenes shots that are going to show what goes into making the MurderMod pieces

Keep up the good Work!

[theToX]

wow. i wish i could stop spending money on guns so that i could buy some of this awesomeness lol.

[MomijiTMO]

Oh yeah these are definitely going to sell. Great concept and I hope it works out for you.

[twwen2]

Breath-taking photography as usual Charles.

This thread is gonna be something else!

[skinnee]

Awesome idea Charles and Nils, I always enjoy getting a glimpse behind the scenes!

[Langer]

what's the advantage of waterjet cutter over the traditional rotary tools?

Waterjet cutting is faster, cheaper, you don't need to worry about breaking expensive tools (endmills, fly cutters, center drills for example), MUCH less setup allowing rapid production of volume, and more effective in an application like this because rotary tooling will leave tool marks and burrs - water leaves a pretty clean edge. Also, depending on the water cutter being used, you can get super thin cuts - <1/10" - which is incredibly hard to achieve with rotary tooling.

Also aluminum can't be cut on most lasers.

That said.. Wonderfully done Charles! as you know I'm a big fan.

[dualbrain]

How shall I introduce myself?

Name: Nils

I just start with some pictures of my murderMod workshop here in Munich | Germany where I am currently creating a full case for Jacinto (aka Alien) in Portugal:


Before Topgrill installation:




New backplate riveted to the mainboard-tray:




Powdercoated Pioneer Drive and Stealth Faceplate alignment (no stealth cover yet):




I thought it was a good idea to check the ceiling^^:




Making sure the sidepanel fits perfect into the unibody before window installation:



Monday it will go to Portugal and I am happy to have met a guy like you Jacinto! I will do my best to show more photos before it gets shipped and thank all you guys for your support.

I hope you liked to see get an insight about how things look in Bavaria

[emoners]

love your house Nils

[twwen2]

love your house Nils

Amen to that, that panelling is amazing! I've never seen anything like it before...

[N3it1]

Water aint that fast compared to laser and good lasers make nice cut also.Nice stuff anyways,shame they are craftmanship at its best and the price also goes hand in hand with that craft.
I have noticed i catch my eye on every "murderous" thread here in XS and this surely didnt make an exception.

[LogAn'sRun]

I thought it was a good idea to check the ceiling^^:



I hope you liked to see get an insight about how things look in Bavaria

Haha, this view reminds me of Oktoberfest Munich 2006. . . .

*hicccup* exxcuusshh me neece laddyy, d' you know wheresh I is????


on a more serious note: I really wish you guiys would stop posting because I have murdermodenvyitious, a rare disease that is only cured by a) a quick run to the bank and b) divorce papers when wife see's yet one more *proj* waiting in the basement.

[BlueAqua]

It's about time you made a thread Charles about the new items coming out. I love the pictures you take and the extreme effort you put into everything you do. The face plates are the highest quality and I will definitely pick another one up for my other TJ07. Seeing these in person is jaw dropping. I'm sure as more people receive your items they will come to the realization of what you're all about.

[emoners]

@Nil: do you have detailed shots of the top acrylic panel & its mounting?

[AlucardCasull]

Those are some nice looking pieces, and awesome house, looks like a fancy sauna or something

[charles_h]

A sincere Thanks for the comments and support Guys!

Question charles, I have just been using the waterjet cutter at my university and I find that the design I just cut has small in-cut marks like these:

How do you avoid these incuts in your path drawings on the murdermod parts?

It all comes down to programming. This will be demonstrated in a future installment when we feature the water-jet cutting of the faceplates - in vibrant, full color video of course!

thats looks very nice Charles , for a second i you were posting pics of your shop

Cheers evil - to get an idea of what the shop is like, imagine the underground lair in The Dark Knight - only cleaner.

what's the pricing on these faceplates? not like i'll be able to afford one anytime soon, but good to keep in mind for the future.

and what's the advantage of waterjet cutter over the traditional rotary tools?

You'll find pricing on the website.

Kaldor and Langer sum up the pros of water-jet cutting nicely.

Water aint that fast compared to laser and good lasers make nice cut also.Nice stuff anyways,shame they are craftmanship at its best and the price also goes hand in hand with that craft.
I have noticed i catch my eye on every "murderous" thread here in XS and this surely didnt make an exception.

Cheers N3it1. I find that laser cutting is great but for what we're doing, we get superior results with the water-jet. While laser is much faster and great for general high volume work, it can also require a lot more deburring. For low volume, intricate work, IMHO, water-jet is the way to go. The big problem I found with the laser is that on detail work like cutting out the murderMod logo, a lot of slag is left behind that requires manual deburring. Essentially, when the aluminum is heated to molten by the laser, the edge you're cutting should fall away. When you're cutting in a tight area, the molten Aluminum can get stuck in place and when the part cools, the slag remains - looking like crap and having to be removed manually with a small file. In-line finishing (brushing) sometimes helps, sometimes hurts; it'll debur the top edge but frequently pushes the slag further into the cutout shape making it even harder to remove.

Golly, can I ever go on and on!

@Nil: do you have detailed shots of the top acrylic panel & its mounting?

Hi emoners. There are detailed shots on the website. You can PM Nils or myself if you'd like to see more

[Henry8601]

I love your workshop Nils!

And it is great to see you guys churning out yet more great stuff!