Project Capella (Lian Li PC-P50R)

[Kibbler]

Holy Cr@p! By Lord that turned out gorgeous, Kibbs!!!

Thanks a bunch Capt, I always appreciate your inputs. Hey hey there's more on the way...NOW.

This build is awesome. I love your attention to detail. Nice work Kibbs

Thanks a lot man!

kibbler give us more

Yup, just scroll down man.

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Text ahead, skip ahead for juicy photos if you wish.

A few days (a week?) ago I mentioned the 2nd round of laser cutting will happen this week. In a way, I consider the 1st batch a trial, kinda: A test run of laser cutting precision (and the programmer's skill), a test run of my measurements & mounting setups, and a mock-up for the aesthetics.

Since then, and with the TREMENDOUS help and suggestions from all of you (), I tweaked my designs, fixed measurements that were (sLightly) off, changed mounting setups that didn't work, and of course doodled with the visual elements. Today I went back to the laser.

How long did everything take? About 2 hours. I had lunch, walked around a mall, and when I went back at 2pm it was done. I'm very impressed and will definitely go back for future projects. Singapore XSers: Sinya Industries, ask for Watson. I do regret not sandblasting, though. He showed me some of their other contract work and the sandblasted surfaces were excellent.

I'm extremely excited to show you the results. There's enough work ahead for the next 3~4 updates (Aquaero, LCD, drains, etc.), and today I want to start with my favorite part. I thought to myself earlier, today's progress has been the most encouraging and invigorating since the start of the project! I hope you like it.

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The METAL updates, round 2
Subtitle: Part 2, Kibbler's s-sLight twist ('s' for small), test fitting

This is the latest autocad.


And the laser-cut results (with cameos from two pieces from the 1st batch). Very precise. And there you go that's the new front panel.


I took a (ghetto, poorly photocopied, translated by illiterate monks) page out of callen's book to clean up the surface and re-do the brushed surface. Mountainmods' original surface is rough and grainy, Lian Li's is smoother and I tried to replicate that with 800+ grit.


Now the work begins (nice little butane pen-torch I picked up recently).


Soldered pins to #17 & #18 (power and ground). This is one of those thinner units that can take +5V as opposed to +3.5V, so I can power it with native PC voltages without messing with resistors. Sorry about the focus/lack therof on that.


Now, direct your attention to the 8 bent metal tab thingys...


Straighten them out with pliers and out comes the LCD glass and rubbery zebra connectors. We're left with the backlight: A thin acrylic rectangle, diffusion paper, and 4 tiny LEDs: Just like a miniature sLight panel, only 3mm deep. Thinner than anything I can DIY.


One of the laser-cut pieces joins the fray.


It is a backplate/mounting plate for the s-sLight. Nylon washers are required to avoid shorting out the back of the PCB (I used 2x 2mm washers).


There is a rectangular cutout on the back for the connector.


I dug up some spare screws for the test-mount....


The s-sLight assembly fits perfectly, that's the beauty of CAD work.


This profile shows how the washers work to separate the layers. Actually there's a small gap between the backlight and the front panel, so I could probably make do with 1 less washer at the corners. Conserve precious space.


Nothing happening...yet.


At this point I hooked up my spare power supply and crossed fingers. I was a nervous wreck...one mistake could easily burn out the backlight, a waste of time and money. I flipped the switch...


And not gonna lie, I did a fist pump.


More on the way. Thanks guys!