My first case mod attempt IN PROGRESS

**Sparky** · 08-05-2006, 07:34 PM

DUE TO SCHOOL STARTING AND ME MOVING OUT THIS PROJECT IS OFFICIALLY ON HOLD

All updates are posted in the thread, the date of the latest update will be right here. For some reason when I change the title it doesn't change it in the list of threads

o well.
LAST UPDATED: 8/19

For awhile I've wanted to mod a case but haven't had the money or the tools to do so. Well I got my hands on an old case that I thought would be a good n00b case mod project

A friend of mine is helping me out since he has a few more tools than I do and he wants to mod a case as well. Eventually he wants to design and build his own case from scratch.

I expect progress to be slow but I'll update this every so often.

Pic of the case as it stands originally:

STEP ONE
Well first off the case had this tiny little 60mm fan hole in the back

what good is that? Heh 120mm sounds better to me

and a couple close-ups:

We used a 120mm fan grill to draw the circle and then used a jigsaw to cut it out. The first part near the top came pretty clean but as we got near the end it was jumping around quite a bit and got a little sloppy

well OK that is what molding is for

The screw holes line up perfectly though which is what I was afraid would not happen.

Future ideas is to cut a window on the side - below the latch and probably not completely rectangular - paint the case (black probably), and put a 120mm fan in the front. Right now there is only an 80mm fan slot there. I'm thinking of opening up the plastic in the front and making the fan visible, like a jet turbine. Not sure on that though. Also I'm going to redo all the LEDs and the reset switch to make it look better, the current LED setup looks rather.... well, "blah" for lack of a better term.

I'll keep updating this as we make progress.

Cheers

**wa77ss** · 08-06-2006, 07:23 AM

Pretty clean cut

Your off to a good start

**Silver Bullet** · 08-06-2006, 07:57 PM

Not looking to bad .. you might wanna buy yourself a 120mm hole saw if you plan on making more 120mm holes . saves time and perfect everytime

**Sparky** · 08-07-2006, 09:39 AM

Originally Posted by Silver Bullet

Not looking to bad .. you might wanna buy yourself a 120mm hole saw if you plan on making more 120mm holes . saves time and perfect everytime

That is on my shopping list, only problem is I'm broke due to college and lack of a job so I was having to make do with what I had. But as soon as I get some mad cash I'm going to buy one

**Sparky** · 08-09-2006, 07:02 PM

UPDATE 8/9
Well the theme of the case has been decided - but I'm not gonna tell

We'll see if you can guess the theme as work progresses

Here is a shot of the side panel with some marks I made for the window - can anyone guess the theme from this?

I made a similar mark on the front bezel as well.

by the way that dirty old bucket lid on the left side of the pic is what I used to trace around

**Sparky** · 08-12-2006, 12:41 PM

UPDATE 8/12
Hmm so no one tried to guess the theme huh? Shame on you guys

Now I gotta give it away

Some "action shots" of the modding

Side panel cut (panel needs a lot of cleanup, filing, and final shaping)

Side panel on the case - test fit

Front on the case

The HD rack is going to be removed so it doesn't show in the side of the window, and a rack will be mounted on the bottom of the case (in front of the intake fan most likely) out of the way.

Comments are welcome

**OV3RCLOCK3R** · 08-12-2006, 12:52 PM

Nice and clean cuts there. Nice work

**Sparky** · 08-14-2006, 03:07 PM

Thanks, my friend is the one in the pics who was using the dremel.

Right now I'm waiting until I can get a hold of a small grinding wheel to put on the drill - there is a good amount of steel that needs to be filed away and using a hand file on a panel of the thickness gets tiring quickly without much progress. With the grinding wheel put on the drill it'll go much faster.

I'm going to be in need of some 120mm orange LED fans, unfortunately they are very hard to come by. I have found a few UV orange fans, how bright does a UV fan glow?

**phelan1777** · 08-14-2006, 03:13 PM

Originally Posted by SparkyJJO

UPDATE 8/12
Hmm so no one tried to guess the theme huh? Shame on you guys

Now I gotta give it away

My guess for the theme" Ummmm A spinning blade?, like helicopter rotors, when viewed from teh top down?

**Sparky** · 08-14-2006, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by phelan1777

My guess for the theme" Ummmm A spinning blade?, like helicopter rotors, when viewed from teh top down?

hehe good guess but nope not it

Keep guessing tho!

**nealh** · 08-14-2006, 04:34 PM

isnt that design the symbol for radiation warning....

**Sparky** · 08-14-2006, 04:53 PM

Originally Posted by nealh

isnt that design the symbol for radiation warning....

bingo

**sephiroth8748** · 08-14-2006, 05:03 PM

Originally Posted by SparkyJJO

I'm going to be in need of some 120mm orange LED fans, unfortunately they are very hard to come by. I have found a few UV orange fans, how bright does a UV fan glow?

There's some here. http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...oducts_id=1364

However they are pricey and the db/cfm ratio seems too good to be true

**Mr. Manka** · 08-14-2006, 05:06 PM

Originally Posted by SparkyJJO

Thanks, my friend is the one in the pics who was using the dremel.

shame on him!, You ALWAYS wear glasses when using a dremel.
Take it from me saftey glasses save eyes.

**Sparky** · 08-14-2006, 05:13 PM

Originally Posted by sephiroth8748

There's some here. http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...oducts_id=1364

However they are pricey and the db/cfm ratio seems too good to be true

I saw those, they are actually UV orange fans with UV LEDs in them, I was wondering about how bright they glow. I'm not sure about the noise/cfm ratio either. *EDIT* I found This review and apparently the UV LEDs can be plugged in separately from the fan motor so if they are a bit noisy slowing them down won't have any effect on the lighting. Nice, wish more fans were like that! Bad thing is, that guy had trouble with colors not matching up and the fans failing. I'll poke around but I think I'll steer clear of those. Maybe these cooler master UV orange fans would be a better idea.

I also found this fan but there isn't any info as to noise, airflow, or RPM so that looks to be a rather risky buy. Not as deep an orange as some others either, more yellow than anything. Too bad this cooler master fan is 80mm, that is the shade of orange I was looking for.

I might end up buying some other LED fans and then modding them to the color I want

Originally Posted by Mr. Manka

shame on him!, You ALWAYS wear glasses when using a dremel.
Take it from me saftey glasses save eyes.

Yeah I wondered about that, but I wasn't going to push. I asked a few times about it and he didn't want them. Nothing went awry though, good thing.

**smids** · 08-14-2006, 05:42 PM

Originally Posted by Mr. Manka

shame on him!, You ALWAYS wear glasses when using a dremel.
Take it from me saftey glasses save eyes.

*Correction, when using a dremel for cutting and it isn't a diamond blade, you use goggles for the eyes, gloves for the hands, a long sleeve shirt for the forearms and a dust filter for the mouth and part of the cheeks.

This protects you against the inevitable - and doesn't involve any Matrix style dodging. 'He moves like they do' -> 'not fast enough'. Even with all that, that thing will still rip a chunk out of you

**drtitanium0** · 08-14-2006, 06:07 PM

Looks nice, although for it to look at its best you are going to have to paint it.

**Sparky** · 08-14-2006, 06:12 PM

Originally Posted by drtitanium0

Looks nice, although for it to look at its best you are going to have to paint it.

yeah that is the plan. The exterior will be painted black, maybe the interior as well.

**Vice** · 08-14-2006, 06:47 PM

Nice.

I have the same dremel ^^

**[cTx]Philosophy** · 08-14-2006, 07:27 PM

keep da pix coming..

**phelan1777** · 08-14-2006, 07:39 PM

Originally Posted by smids

*Correction, when using a dremel for cutting and it isn't a diamond blade, you use goggles for the eyes, gloves for the hands, a long sleeve shirt for the forearms and a dust filter for the mouth and part of the cheeks.

This protects you against the inevitable - and doesn't involve any Matrix style dodging. 'He moves like they do' -> 'not fast enough'. Even with all that, that thing will still rip a chunk out of you

Yeah after my recent dremel on steel experience, and still pulling metal slivers out of every where, you might as well wear a complete suit :-P

**norse** · 08-14-2006, 10:11 PM

Good job so far, that dremel can get messy.

**Sparky** · 08-19-2006, 10:02 AM

SMALL UPDATE 8/19
I got the grinding wheel and am working on the side panel. I'm typing this during a break in work to let the wheel and panel cool down some, those things get hot after awhile. Also taking the time to get the little metal shavings off my arms and out of my shirt

Pics of the side panel will follow once I'm done grinding and smoothing it. Hopefully it'll come out well, this is only my second time using a grinding wheel like this

**panda_boy** · 08-19-2006, 02:44 PM

Originally Posted by SparkyJJO

SMALL UPDATE 8/19
I got the grinding wheel and am working on the side panel. I'm typing this during a break in work to let the wheel and panel cool down some, those things get hot after awhile. Also taking the time to get the little metal shavings off my arms and out of my shirt

Pics of the side panel will follow once I'm done grinding and smoothing it. Hopefully it'll come out well, this is only my second time using a grinding wheel like this

lookin good so far mate

**richnewman** · 08-19-2006, 04:02 PM

I have that same E-Machine! XD

Just thought I'd point that out.. Now I'll actually read what you posted

Thread: My first case mod attempt IN PROGRESS

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