09/10 Project

[Kibbler]

Lynnfield. I really hate what Intel is doing with the 32nm transition of Nehalem.

Umm Lynnfield is still 45nm. Gulftown (Westmere) is the next process shrink to 32nm.

[Antioch]

Yes I know. He was talking about Lynnfield - and then I said I hate what Intel is doing with their 32nm parts. They're all terrible. The new i5's are all going to be dual-cores (some with HT some not), but no true quads. No i7 (Bloomfield) replacements, only 6-core i9's that go for $1500. So that means the only true quad-core option is the "old" 45nm Bloomfield i7. (The Arrandale i7's are whatever, though - just marketing to overcharge for laptop chips)

[callen_1]

awesome work so far...
and then, what's gona have the priviledge of working inside?? core i7 I guess???

Lynnfield. I really hate what Intel is doing with the 32nm transition of Nehalem.

So, I guess you'll put 2 radiators in the basement? (I only saw one in the picture) What will be going in the front behind the faceplate? Judging from the hole you cut in the front end of the midplate it looks as if you can fit a 120.2 radiator in there as well...

Unfortunately the case just isn't long enough for a 120.2 with fans fitted so I'm going to have to use a slim style rad from black ice or something similar. I based the cuts i made around a radiator with a maximum depth of 30mm which is obviously quite small but all i had left to play with after i fit a 120.3 down the bottom. The smaller rad is mainly there to remove most of the heat from the gpu's which will be either part of a single loop or isolated in a duel loop, depend on what fits/looks better when the time comes.


Oh and kibbler is that case your working on stock? or have you anodized it yourself? It's a great looking case you have there, i'd love a finished product like that once i'm done. And thanks to your fastener express pic i have a couple o'hundred anodized screws coming so (i was wondering where i could find stuff like that)

[Antioch]

Callen, what CAD software did you use to make the designs for the water-jet machine with?

[callen_1]

Ok so i finally rounded up some more pics, so I guess I'll just jump straight into it.

While i was waiting for the metal putty I made a little progress on some of the smaller things such as mounting
fan controller and making a support for the back of the mobo tray -




Test Fit -




Now i need to make the brackets to hold everything together -










That's the front done, now the back -

I cut out another 2 pieces of aluminum and taped the original mounting brackets on top to align the holes (this will
become clearer in the following pics) -














One more cut -




There we go -










What you can't see in the pic above is that the pcb of the fan controller is actually flexing when it's installed. So
There goes all my hard work lol. Turns out there was an easier solution from the start -

I just took the original face plate from the controller and trimmed of some of the length -






Just need to drill the LED holes a little larger because the LED's now sit inside the holes as opposed to just behind
them -






No more flexing -




Now to mount it properly -








Sorry if that was a little drawn out, I have to make sure i look like I've done something since my last update!


Now the mobo tray bracket -

Cut a piece of angle aluminum to size -




Rout it down to size -






And a light sand to get rid of sharp edges -



That's better.

The rivet holes in the mobo tray need to be counter sunk -






It's a wood countersink bit but it will do for now -


















You may not be able to tell but it just fits in nicely -




Had to remove a corner which shows through the back plate -












I thought I'd try out some lighting solutions -


















Next pics are with both sides of the acrylic sanded -






I'm pretty happy with the results, it should be quite useful.

The metal putty, some WC gear and a few PC components came in too so i should have more pics up tomorrow, maybe
even tonight?

Cheers for looking and i'm open to any advice, so fire away ,

Callen

[mariop]

really nice project! love the straight cuts, really well done!

waiting for more progress!

Oh, and wich sandpaper you used to get that smooth finish on the acrylic?

cheers,

Mario.

[callen_1]

Oh, and wich sandpaper you used to get that smooth finish on the acrylic?

cheers,

Mario.

The sand paper i used was really course, about 80 grit. i just whipped it up quickly to see if it would work. i need to do some more testing with different grades but, from what i can tell, the finer the grade used the further light will travel through the acrylic. That's why i believe the light is so concentrated around the edge with the LED's, and, had i used a finer grade, the light would have illuminated more of the sheet. but i dunno yet..

[SaNxU]

Oh! Very nice and very worked design of the front plate! Also the other custom parts are amazing

good job!

[RCG_Bex]

Stunning work - will be keeping an aye on this 1!

~Bex

[dro]

I have never notice this thread around
Again, great metal work~!
So much custom work has been put into this build, really looking forward to see the end results

[callen_1]

Oh! Very nice and very worked design of the front plate! Also the other custom parts are amazing

good job!

Thanks a lot mate but there's still plenty of work to do before it starts to resemble something nice.

Stunning work - will be keeping an aye on this 1!

~Bex

thank you, i appreciate it

I have never notice this thread around
Again, great metal work~!
So much custom work has been put into this build, really looking forward to see the end results

thanks for the kind words, I'm looking forward to the results too, hopefully it won't take too long.

[aka_GK]

wow, amazing metal work you got here, looking forward to updates

[martensch]

very nice work!! i am looking forward to see some updateS!

[GregSG]

great effort with the metal works....lighting too

Can't wait to see the end product!

[callen_1]

wow, amazing metal work you got here, looking forward to updates

very nice work!! i am looking forward to see some updateS!

great effort with the metal works....lighting too

Can't wait to see the end product!

Thanks a lot, I'll update soon

[callen_1]

Right, back to destroying my case. You'll probably think I'm nuts but everything turns out well in the end -

Metal putty -



This stuff is only rated to 140 degrees C, however i've been reassured that it will withstand the heat of powder coating
for 1 bake cycle. Any more than 1 and the 140C limit starts to take effect and I'll have problems. So fingers crossed
this stuff will hold up in the 200C oven, and hopefully the powder coat boys get it right first time!


Step 1: Cut keys (grooves) in the places you want putty and give it a sand with course paper (I won't show every piece
because there's too many) -












This is all of them + The case -




Step 2: Clean -








Step 3: Mix putty and hardening agent in the correct proportions -








Step 4: Glob it on -








Step 5: Sand (Don't grind, I did that and it's too risky. I ended up putting more scratches and holes in the case) -

New toy -






Lots of pics coming up and as you go down you will notice some are very similar; these are photos taken
after re-coats of putty and more sanding -






More coats needed -






For the corners -














































Getting better -












In case you can't tell, the plan is to make all the edges in the case sharper so they sit as flush with the other
parts as possible, and while some bits still look rough a few more coats of putty should fix that.


Thanks for stopping by again, I should have another update soon.

Callen

[CptDreadFlint]

Truly enjoy watching your progression, Callen! Love the metal works and acrylic craftmanship, mate.

Looking forward to more of your amazing updates

[callen_1]

Truly enjoy watching your progression, Callen! Love the metal works and acrylic craftmanship, mate.

Looking forward to more of your amazing updates

Cheers mate, but i'm still awaiting those D5's your sending me in the mail

[nlancaster]

Callen could you PM me the exact filler product you have used? I look forward to seeing how it turns out after powder coating. I have been told there is no filler that could be used. But maybe you have found it.

[callen_1]

Callen could you PM me the exact filler product you have used? I look forward to seeing how it turns out after powder coating. I have been told there is no filler that could be used. But maybe you have found it.

Ill post it here for anyone else interested.

The brand is Devcon and the product is called Aluminum Putty. It is a 2 part putty as it requires a hardening agent, however it is all sold in a pack together which is convenient.

There are also several other products under the same brand, such as Steel Putty and Titanium Putty. These 2 products are much harder to work with (apparently) as they cure much harder. I believe if either were used you would end up sanding back your case faster than the putty itself, completely defeating the purpose.

But, as i mentioned in an earlier post, these products are not rated to withstand the temperature of powdercoating. However, I was told by the manufacturer that they will withstand 1 bake cycle, beyond this the putty will loose its properties. So they can still be used but only once.

What i would recommend anyone living in America is to try is a product by a company called Alvin. They make a Hi-Temp Lab Metal (which is basically just putty) and designed it specifically for powder coating. It can also withstand multiple bakes if needed as it is rated to 1000F! Unlike the Devcon stuff though it will have to be baked to cure. More info can be found in the link i gave you. I'm only recommending it to Americans because that's where it's manufactured and because of it's flammable nature it was gonna cost me over $300 in shipping alone to get it here! Caswell's Australia (and America) sell it but everything the Aus store had in stock had gone bad and i don't think there are any plans to get any more soon, but you can always try?

Happy shopping

[callen_1]

I'm on a bit of a roll so I guess I might as well keep going.


I love the little photo booths a few people have been showing so i decided to whip 1 up myself. Cost less
than $50 including the lights but i did use some leftover wood i found lying around my parents garage -





Don't mind the electrical cable hanging out of the walls in the pic above. It's a new extension to the shed and
they're not live.



Here's the lights sitting above the white sheet/ghetto light diffuser. 1000w straight onto cloth lol, yeah it's
stupid but the cloth sits about 1 and a half feet from the lights and i constantly check the heat. Even after
an hour the sheet was only warm to the touch so don't worry too much. But if i don't respond for a while you
know what's happened





I'll also need a large sheet of laminate and more lights for the final pics of the pc but it'll do for now. And by the time
that point comes around i'll probably buckle and buy a SLR instead of using my little point and shoot (that never
seems to want to focus i might add)



Anyway, to the pictures -


















Everything I currently have installed -








These should be handy -












And a bit of lighting; 200 white and 100 uv. These are also flat top LEDs which should help diffuse the light better
and reduce hot spots.... I hope.








I also bought 500' of 16ga stranded cable for the LEDs and any PSU mods -





For a dirt cheap studio set-up i think it works ok.



Off topic but I wanted more room to work because my bench was a little messy -




just a little messy lol, aah i crack myself up


Anyway I cleaned it -





It's definitely better but i still want more space. A 3.5 x 1m bench (11.5 x 3.3') should do it -








Halfway through i got a delivery, sweet -






Back to it -





That ought'a hold me for a while



Back to the package -









This is Tygon B-44-4X. Apparently it doesn't contain any plasticizers and therefore should not cloud up, or at least
not as quickly. Now if anyone has had any bad experience with this stuff please speak now or forever hold your
peace (and that's peace, not piece. Everyone can put away their guns and pull up their pants now), ahem -

















If your wondering what's in the other little flat package, it's 3mm copper plate -





I plan to dabble in the fine art of water block creation, but only for a RAM block. Before you freak out and tell me
how useless they are, i already know. It will be purely for aesthetics as it will help form the loop i'm planning and
as there will be little airflow through the case it can only help.


I'll also need these -










Also received some sleeve and rivets. Sorry everyone, it's another black and blue build. Just my personal favourite
ATM. So cheers nils and charles -





Wouldn't be a real work log if i didn't add these -





I'm a fisherman by trade so the shark pic was cool, and nobody can get upset when a sexy (and presumably
promiscuous) cartoon woman says she loves you whilst giving you gifts, so overall i'm pleased



Lastly I did a little testing of the hardware -





GPU's and PSU aren't here yet but an old 8800gt and thermaltake 430w will do for now -






Booted first shot which was a huge relief, bumped the ram to stock 1600, 8, 8, 8, 24 and enabled XMP and all
was still sweet, overclocking will come when the build is complete -





And, just to be sure, i installed windows -






Well, that's it. Thanks for checking in.

I don't think there will be another update for a while, not until the rest of the case has been laser/water cut.
What you've seen so far is basically just the skeleton, and although I've finished the CAD files for the rest of
the parts, i haven't even been quoted on the cutting yet. So, don't hold your breath.

The next update should contain the finished case, finished res, water block and if I'm lucky I should have the
rest of the PC components. beyond that it's just lighting, powder coat and any trouble shooting left. Lots of
work, but i really enjoy it (well, i do when everything comes together right) and i aim to finish sometime next
month.

Hope you had a great X-mas, or whatever else you choose to celebrate, and have an awesome new years.

Later people,
Callen

[anubis_is_evil]

nice work there callen...top notch..

btw nice DIY photo studio as well....

looking forward for the next updates

[callen_1]

nice work there callen...top notch..

btw nice DIY photo studio as well....

looking forward for the next updates

Thanks a bunch mate, i just hope this project doesn't drag on too long.

[callen_1]

I just walked into my storage room/bottle shop to put my stuff away and couldn't help but laugh, i figured some
of you might enjoy this pic so i'll post it -





My sister's having a 21st at the beginning of next year. Bring on 2010 i say.

I just noticed after going through all my pics that nearly every shot has junk lying around everywhere, even this one!
Maybe cleaning up this hole should be my New Years resolution, after some of that booze is gone of course

[aka_GK]

callen_1, I really love your approach to building workspace photo studio is good as well, just tweak color balance and brightness a bit
Things go well here, looking forward to your next update!

Edit: oh, please clean that rad, don't leave it laying on the floor