--- r e f l e X i o n ---

[Xion X2]

Ah, there's the crowd.

What did your Dad think of all this? Did you show him the build log here?

Dad thinks it's an ambitious project, but I think he respects the fact that I'm trying to do something different/unique.

We had a good time. He was a huge help. His years and years of workshop experience are an invaluable thing to have around, and I feel extremely fortunate that he's able to pass that down to me.

More kitty pics. Damn dude, your parent's place is really nice.

Metal work looking pretty good too there. Not bad for a test piece.

Thanks, Miller. It's a nice getaway and is a great place to work. That test piece was actually the second cut and the first bend that was made, and I also thought that it turned out well.

There's a lot more work to be done, but we'll get there.

[Weevil]

The piece that you fab'd there, is that to enclose the PSU? have you decided how you'll vent the hot air?

[Xion X2]

The piece that you fab'd there, is that to enclose the PSU? have you decided how you'll vent the hot air?

Not to enclose the PSU. Just a test fitting. The length and width are true to scale of the final bay cover which will be one piece and will run the full height of the inner frame. I was just making sure that it fit into the case length/width-wise as I thought it would.

I received my estimate back for the waterjet job on the side panel. Sorry that part's taking a little longer than expected. I have to order the perspex that will fit behind the cut and then the shop will cut it for me probably some time next week.

[kgtiger]

Looking good there mate.

One thing I could/should of let you know was. Steel/Ali will stretch in lenght by the thickness of the sheet being pressed. E.G A 2mm sheet will gain 2mm in each direction of a bend on the opposite side/outside of the bend.

If you would like a C channel shape that is 100mm x 100mm x 100mm measuring the outside.
You will need to cut and bend like this 98mm x 96mm x 98mm.

You will have probably worked this out by now.
Sorry for the late info.

Keep up the good work.

[Xion X2]

The piece that you fab'd there, is that to enclose the PSU? have you decided how you'll vent the hot air?

Sorry, Weevil. I forgot to answer the last part of your question.

I've decided at this point to drill venting holes into the bottom of the front panel to vent the PSU. However, the front panel design is still in progress, so I'm not entirely sure how that's going to look just yet.

Looking good there mate.

One thing I could/should of let you know was. Steel/Ali will stretch in lenght by the thickness of the sheet being pressed. E.G A 2mm sheet will gain 2mm in each direction of a bend on the opposite side/outside of the bend.

If you would like a C channel shape that is 100mm x 100mm x 100mm measuring the outside.
You will need to cut and bend like this 98mm x 96mm x 98mm.

You will have probably worked this out by now.
Sorry for the late info.

Keep up the good work.

Thanks, kg! I definitely appreciate the advice. It did prove to be a little tricky when trying to get the measurements right for the bending.

That seems to work the opposite way that I thought it would. My initial impression was that you would actually lose distance in bending due to the curve, but you're saying that you actually gain distance at that rate? That's very interesting and great to know for future applications.

Luckily, I don't think that slight impact will affect the finished cover because I won't be drilling the mounts until after it's cut and bent, but I'll certainly keep it under consideration.

On a side note, anyone see the new downtown structure that just went up?

[millertime359]

[Armitage]

The real work looks great

And cute cat !

[aka_GK]

Fluffy! ^__^

[Weevil]

Ahh, the Ole Empire Reflexion Build.......ing ; )

[kgtiger]

No worries champ, its handy to know.
By the way, hows the view from your new penthouse?

[Xion X2]

The real work looks great

And cute cat !

Thanks, Armitage! Plenty more to come. [Edit: real work, that is, not cats.]

Fluffy! ^__^

Very fluffy. Sheds often, bathes regularly, and occasionally pukes on expensive design rugs as a result.

Ahh, the Ole Empire Reflexion Build.......ing ; )

Heeyyyyyy, I like the sound of that. If you look closely, you can see a guy up there on his scaffold cleaning the pump window.

No worries champ, its handy to know.
By the way, hows the view from your new penthouse?

View's great, but I'm screaming down at the builder just like the rest of you to hurry up!

[Weevil]

gonna be over at pops again this weekend?

[Armitage]

Awww.

I kinda want more cat too

[Xion X2]

gonna be over at pops again this weekend?

Yep! Leaving after work on Friday so I'll have a full weekend to work on this thing.

Awww.

I kinda want more cat too

Ok, well she'll be there again this weekend, so maybe I'll have her make another quick cameo.

[millertime359]

Ok, well she'll be there again this weekend, so maybe I'll have her make another quick cameo.

[Xion X2]

I've finished the concepts for the drives. I've termed them "zero gravity." The idea is for them to appear as suspended in mid-air to fit with my space theme.

[Antioch]

Interesting idea for the SSD mounts. Just make sure they're not so heavy as to make the acrylic flex/bend/sag.

[Xion X2]

Interesting idea for the SSD mounts. Just make sure they're not so heavy as to make the acrylic flex/bend/sag.

Thanks. Yeah, I've thought about that. And to address it I've thought of a few different options.

1) You could mount the L-bracket to the other side to help counter-balance the force
2) Increase the thickness of the acrylic.
3) Add counter-balancing weights to the back of the acrylic brace and then screw those in through the existing screwholes.
4) Mount an additional acrylic brace to the opposite side, giving a windowed effect.

SSDs are very light, so I think this is doable.

[Vinas]

You should make an L shaped plexi bracket to rest under each SSD drive. I'm concerned that the weight of the drive will put some undue stress if only hanging on by one side. I know my SSD is not that heavy so maybe it will be okay as is, maybe not?

This is a really ambitious project! You should be proud of yourself for even making it past the concept stages! Really great work and excellent ideas on the whole design.

PS: make sure to let us know how the zip works out. I've done a lot of cutting with them in the past and can say they are pretty nice to work with. Still though... hand cutting anything is more of an art than a science! Time and patience FTW.

[Xion X2]

You should make an L shaped plexi bracket to rest under each SSD drive. I'm concerned that the weight of the drive will put some undue stress if only hanging on by one side. I know my SSD is not that heavy so maybe it will be okay as is, maybe not?

This is a really ambitious project! You should be proud of yourself for even making it past the concept stages! Really great work and excellent ideas on the whole design.

PS: make sure to let us know how the zip works out. I've done a lot of cutting with them in the past and can say they are pretty nice to work with. Still though... hand cutting anything is more of an art than a science! Time and patience FTW.

Thanks, Vinas. I truly appreciate the kind words.

The L-bracket would probably take care of the extra force, but I'm afraid if I place an L bracket under the drive on the viewable side that it'll take away from the ghosting effect. Perhaps if I shortened it to just an inch or so it wouldn't be as bad, though.

The good thing is that there are a few viable options that could counter-balance the weight plus keep the existing ghosting effect. I won't know for sure until I build it, but I'm pretty certain that I can get this to work.

I'm definitely looking forward to more cutting this weekend and will be sure to take some shots of the Zipper in action.

[The Viking]

Your renders are amazing, and i love your new idea about levitating ssd's :O

Cant wait to see more of this

[millertime359]

I would think that as long as you braced that bracket properly and used some high grade screws, you should be ok. You might want to looking bracing that piece of plexi a little more. extend the base out and able a could of 90 degree angle pieces to the base to help strengthen it.

[kgtiger]

My best advice is this "KIS” Keep it simple; it’s a must in fabrication.

Just increase the thickness of the Perspex to 10-12mm - 3/8-1/2".
Only drill the holes as big as you need them for the bolts. This will give you a tight fit and leaves no room for flexing.
Use large washers (not that big that you can see them) this will reinforce the Perspex and help stop the Perspex from cracking ( Don't over tighten your bolts or you will crack the Perspex).
I feel you should be right as the SSD are lightweight. Providing the case does not get dropped and there are no heavy vibrations in the case (Hopefully not).

I suggest you also position the SSD so that they are mounted hard up against the windows, being that they have a square edge. This will help to stop them from flexing downwards and keep the SSD square and more firmly positioned.

One other thing I feel that would help you create the appearance that the SSD are floating, would be to increase the length of the Perspex that holds the SSDs. So you cant see the edges through the windows.



Looking forward to see what you create over the weekend.

Good luck and bring home all your fingers.

[Xion X2]

Your renders are amazing, and i love your new idea about levitating ssd's :O

Cant wait to see more of this

Thanks, Viking!

I would think that as long as you braced that bracket properly and used some high grade screws, you should be ok. You might want to looking bracing that piece of plexi a little more. extend the base out and able a could of 90 degree angle pieces to the base to help strengthen it.

Thanks, Miller.

My best advice is this "KIS” Keep it simple; it’s a must in fabrication.

Just increase the thickness of the Perspex to 10-12mm - 3/8-1/2".
Only drill the holes as big as you need them for the bolts. This will give you a tight fit and leaves no room for flexing.
Use large washers (not that big that you can see them) this will reinforce the Perspex and help stop the Perspex from cracking ( Don't over tighten your bolts or you will crack the Perspex).
I feel you should be right as the SSD are lightweight. Providing the case does not get dropped and there are no heavy vibrations in the case (Hopefully not).

I suggest you also position the SSD so that they are mounted hard up against the windows, being that they have a square edge. This will help to stop them from flexing downwards and keep the SSD square and more firmly positioned.

One other thing I feel that would help you create the appearance that the SSD are floating, would be to increase the length of the Perspex that holds the SSDs. So you cant see the edges through the windows.

Looking forward to see what you create over the weekend.

Good luck and bring home all your fingers.

Excellent idea about the washers, kg!

And yeah, I was also thinking about using a wider piece of perplex because right now you can see the edges at an angle.

There shouldn't be a lot of vibration. I'm using small pumps (MCP350s) and putting foam padding beneath them to dampen vibration.

Great insights into the fabrication. I appreciate it.


Conception > Fabrication > Realization



P.S. - I'm changing the name of the SSD theme from "Levitation" to "Zero Gravity." I think it fits the space theme well.

[kgtiger]

If your going to call your SSD theme "Zero Gravity".

Then the Perspex that holds them would be the "Gravity Stabilizer", right