Scratch Project: WheelJack *56K WARNING!*

omaryunus · 10-08-2009, 09:05 PM

hello all XS members I have a little treat for you guys today

well I have been working on a scratch project for sometime and it has been posted on various forums but now it is coming to XS. I already have about 18 updates in so this is going to take a while to update so please be patient with me

hope you like what you see here goes:

Hey yall this is my transformers build. This is going to be a scratch build for my HTPC setup dont really want to be a nice case so i thought why not make one :p

Project: WheelJack
The theme is transformers. and I know its been done by ALOT of ppl but im not doing one on one of the main characters like bumblebee or optimus but i will be going with WheelJack.Not only does WheelJack match the colors I had chosen (blue and silver, pics below) he seems to describe me the best :p

Quote:

Wheeljack is described as the mad scientist of the Autobot forces as he is always inventing new weapons and gadgets. These weapons and gadgets, while derived from the desire to benefit the Autobot cause, often bring great danger and introduce unpredictable elements into critical situations.

Hardware:
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3L
CPU: Intel E5200
GPU: HD4670
PSU: Corsair 520W
RAM: G. Skill 2 x 2GB

Table of update:

1st Update: First post
2nd Update: a step forward
3rd Update: 5.25" bay and back 80mm hole
4th Update: front panel totally done and some new toys

5th Update: BIG BOX arrives
6th Update: PCB created!
7th Update: baby steps
8th Update: some major steps
9th Update: getting my paint on
10th Update: some minor details
11th Update: got the Cybertronian glyphs plate done
12th Update: Part 1 - PCB prep | Part 2 - PCB creation and finishing
13th Update: little details you will enjoy
14th Update: back to baby steps
15th Update: left panel done waiting on opinions
16th Update: window prototypes ready for opinions
17th Update: Some Good Stuff
18th Update: Some parts painted
19th Update: some little details
20th Update: finally back

21st Update: Window Finished and some new toys
22nd Update: getting work done
23rd Update: Multiple sleeving pics and video card
24th Update: the CASE is done!
enjoy!

here are a few pics to show you wheeljack

my colors will be silver racing stripes and a river blue body... somewhat like this

(that is silver in the middle...sorry for the blurry pic)

The thing about this case is Ive actually been at it for a while its been a side project ever since i found these:

I only had 8 when i first found these so i couldnt use these pieces in the OSx86 build so i started my custom HTPC case.

now to give you what youve been waiting for here comes the pics:

the square tubing which will be used:

and now the stuff i have done in the past 2 weeks

all the different sized tubing

the false floor on the left (this still needs some work once i finish the front panel I can then have this finished aswell) and a plate which will be going next to the mobo for some sort of drawing

the back panel on the left, the bottom panel on the right and the right panel against the wall

and heres the process i went through to fix it all together:

clamp it down

hole punch

drill the hole

rivet it

great thing about this tubing with the raised edge it hides the rivet really well

the top part of the chassis joined together

here is the case all together

well thanks for reading/watching enjoy!

omaryunus · 10-08-2009, 09:07 PM

Update #2

got quite a bit done today finished part of the front panel, finished the false floor got the HDD holder done and some other tid bits the pics will explain it all:

front panel cut out and the red marks out the area inside the tubing i have

got the 120mm hole and mounting done

fan mounted:

fan level

mock up of the case

last bend on the false floor

false floor

plans for the HDD holder

cut out

first foot bent

second foot

and bent

a little while later

done

put in place

how the hard drive will sit there

how much space there will be between the fan and the first HDD

riveted on

holes drilled in the plate

this is how it is going to be mounted gonna have 1/2" standoffs to raise it up and make it stick out

and this is how i left it

more to come tomm... thank you for reading/watching

omaryunus · 10-08-2009, 09:08 PM

Update #3

got a few little things done and others are ready to be done just gotta go do em hehe anyways it seems this case is getting done faster than it looks

so hopefully will have this at the powder coaters in no time

here comes the pics (sorry since i forgot my camera upstairs and was lazy these pics were taken from my iPhone just letting you know :p)

the 5.25" bluray drive bay is done

i know this seems really close to the mobo but the mobo i will be using is not the same as this one its 24pin is much lower so this drive will not be interfering with anything

minimal amount of space above it

got the front panel marked out

my previous attempts (one on the right was my initial idea before i came up with the false floor it was gonna be the DVD drive up top and then the 3 drives below it, one on the left is my first attempt at this idea and there were some calculation errors and one leg turned out to be a quarter of an inch longer :p)

got my back panel marked out and ready to go with the 80mm fan template (120mm fan was just too big)

and its cut

just enough space for one

the look from inside

well thats all the pics and got a decent amount done today... so far all that is left is the 120mm hole i need do on the top panel (right above where the cooler is going) and the 120mm hole in the front and then the left side panel and im done...i think :p

well thanks for reading/watching

omaryunus · 10-08-2009, 09:09 PM

update #4

well a few things happened today

i got some new tools and got some good stuff done...

here are the pics...

my new spray gun

new Bosch JigSaw

works sooo well

where i left the front panel

second 120mm fan marked out

second 120mm fan done

now onto the next part of the front panel

done

close up

with the top panel on

this looks a bit weird so i gotta make this...

stealther!

tape ready!

and its on

another angle

a LED holder which will be going under the false floor

bent and ready to go... gonna test it out and if it looks good then I will use it

well thanks for reading/watching

omaryunus · 10-08-2009, 09:10 PM

update #5

well this is kinda short just about what i got in my box from the states

here come the pics...

THE box arrives

heres everything... this was the best lighting i could get out of the room

biggest addition in this box are the 4 tools i got.

1) Air belt sander

HF FTW!

closed

open

2) pneumatic nibbler

again HF

pretty solid construction

3) pneumatic 3" cutter

to cut the parts it takes forever to do with a dremel

another solid product

my favourite tool so far

4) Bosch finishing sander (thanks iandh for the telling me to buy this from CPO :thumb

such a nice box

the carrying case

THE sander.. its much heavier than it looks :p

the mobo arrived for this build (so did the CPU(not pictured))

i love the dark blue and silver combo for the mobo

well thanks for reading/watching enjoy

omaryunus · 10-08-2009, 09:12 PM

update #6

well been experimenting with Circuit boards and what not and I cant really seem to find bread boards and what not here so i decided to make my own PCB got some one sided copper boards and marked the board off with a marker (since i do not currently have a laser printer couldn't do the toner transfer method) and i forgot to take pics of the initial process

but here are the end results I have the board tinned up and got the resistors soldered on.

the point of this board is to make the wiring of all the LEDs in parallel much cleaner and easier for me... so i have a +12V breaking out to 10 points and then i have 10 points that go to a resistor and then join up to go to the GND point so its nothing crazy but it was fun to make

enough of the talking here are the pics

tinned and got leads soldered on

test led on

works pretty good (the color is actually blue idk what my camera was doin)

the solder is a bit un even but it will be evened out soon when i get to desoldering the lanes a bit

thanks for reading/watching

enjoy

omaryunus · 10-08-2009, 09:13 PM

update #7

well this update is not so big aswell but i have decided on a color and a paint theme (somewhat) and i got the plate mounted with countersunk screws heres goes the pics:

this is the silver i am going for

taped it off

and heres the blue im going with

and the theme is to go with the racing stripes around the whole comp

and now heres the plate

holes are countersunk

and mounted

i had to use 3 metal washers to get it to sit tight since my material isnt think enough and the standoffs have a small area right at the top of the thread which is blank so without these washers the standoffs wobble all over the place

since the place wasnt thick enough either I had to use a washer for that aswell and it came out pretty well if you ask me

with the top panel on to see the distance between the dvd drive and the plate

thanks for reading/watching

update #8

i did a few things this weekend... got the LED holder ready and good to go done with all the sanding and primered and got the front panel cleaned up and sanded down for powdercoating and i got the HDD holders installed (WoW and TF2 are really taking over my life hehe)

here goes the pics:

The LED holder left a bit of the blemished look for the look of it

the little plate which will be holding the LEDs

The PCB mount

test look

ready to be primered

and done with first coat

with slight wet sanding and second coat on

the plate sanded down and ready for paint

primered (first coat)

the back of the LED holder primered

both pieces with 3 coats of primer with slight wet sanding in between each coat

doesnt look as blemished as the initial pic just that bottom right side

and got one coat of river blue on the plate

and now onto sanding down the front panel:

where i started

after 120 grit

and done up till 2000 grit (battery ran out on camera)

heres a look at the difference between the original and what it is not... its not perfect but it will be after powdercoating

and now the third thing i did this weekend install the hard drive holders:

The method i am going with is what i saw on CyberDruid's Wall Hanger Absolutely brilliant idea to take one of these:

and then chop it down to the size you want THANKS CD :thumb:

removed all of

got to cutting and the end product

drilled the mounting holes

well it was a bit difficult to get the rivet gun in that angle so i decided sand it down the area around the rivet a bit

mounted and good to go

on to some tests

these screws to mount the HDDs

clamped together a mock up to see how it does in the case as i measured it... it should be good

the third hdd seems to hit the false floor

after riveting the false floor it turned out ok the false floor just misses it

and here is how it sits atm

thanks for watching/reading

omaryunus · 10-08-2009, 09:14 PM

update #9

not alot happened this weekend mostly painting and a few little details got figured out :p The HDD rack has been changed to be vertical rather than horizontal like it was before... and got the HDD rack and the base primered and worked on my bondo technique a little :p

here goes the pics they will definitely explain it better than i can...

firstly i got my paint room setup...

got the plastic on the walls and the wires setup

got loads of hooks... made them with the extra bit of wire left over

nice bright light

first try

got a nice silver on there

here is the change in the HDD rack

looks alot better and it wont hav ethat pesky problem of the third HDD hitting the false floor

since they are different mounting holes now had to cover up the previous ones here they are covered

then on the HDD racks reduced as much off the top as possible

and the other side done

quite alot of sanding and washing em and here we are with first coat of primer on

second coat on

the false floor after cleaning up a little

well heres my other little project

that sticker in the middle just kinda ruins the look so i picked up

this and printed out

this :p not the best pic in the world but had to use the crappy camera since my camera was charging

removed the middle sticker

replaced

much better... this will hopefully look ALOT better on an aluminum fan hehe

well thanks for reading/looking

update #10

well i cleaned up the PSU no more stickers gonna custom paint the PSU but i came upon a problem... how do i remove the power plug from a Corsair PSU the pics will explain the situation... then i got one of the aluminum 120mm fans taken apart and the white part primered

here comes the pics

u see the plug in this pic and the power switch are both conencted through the shell and then soldered on to the PCB (i really dont want to desolder them)

this came off pretty easy

taken apart the fan:

4 screws later:

covered all the important parts:

and primered

and a sneak peak of the blue on the HDD rack

thanks for reading/watching

omaryunus · 10-08-2009, 09:16 PM

update #11

well nothing major just finished cutting up the plate and the acrylic to go behind it... basically what i did was put 5 of my favorite cybertronian glyphs on the plate:

got my little hobby knife set

the glyph - which means skids (looked cool :p)

cut out

got the glyph which means Three (seen on side of weapon in Chromia)

cut it out of the tape

and cut out with the scroll saw

here is the procedure:

taped the glyph on the plate (the glyph means Optimus from chromia)

used the hobby knife to cut out the tape

put a hole in the plate

scroll saw ready

cut it out

and then cleaned up

cut out the piece of acrylic to go behind the plate

gonan have some blue leds behind it to give it a little pop

the glyph in the top right means prime and then the glyph in the center means zero

thanks for reading/watching

omaryunus · 10-08-2009, 09:17 PM

Update #12

Today i worked mostly on finishing the glyphs plate... I finally got the HDD rack pieces painted and done... the glyphs plate needed illumination and I wanted to use UV acrylic but i was unable to find any so i have to light this with blue leds which doesn't look that bad to be honest well i couldnt have a bunch of wires mess hanging behind the plate so i decided I would make a custom PCB for this aswell and this time i documented it much better... well here goes the pics

painted and an awesome shine to it

both of em done

got them installed and back to normal

and the back looks pretty nice

heres how the glyph plate was before i started today

sanded down with smooth edges

made this out of paper to design the PCB so i know how much area i have and where i can take my lanes through

the pcb board not big enough so this is what i had to do

used the extra piece from my last pcb creation

drew out the outline for the board

used the scroll saw to cut it

first part cut out

second part cut out

and got the extension piece done

a little drawing i did to figure out where i would move all the lanes through and where all the resistors would go

got the design on the board

Ferric chloride + Water - the etchant solution

putting in a bit more ferric chloride

bubbles!

first the smaller piece

done in under 10 mins cleaned up and here it is not bad its got clean lanes on it

looks pretty good

this piece took some time

but i did it

fits real well

using a pencil eraser you can erase the permanent marker off the copper

a few seconds later

a few mins later

had to tin all of the copper traces and have got some resistors on

not the straightest but definitely will decrease the amount of wire used behind the plate

and with all the resistors on and finished

my back hurts like hell after all that but it was definitely worth it

thanks for reading/watching

omaryunus · 10-08-2009, 09:18 PM

Update #13

i did a few things over this past weekend and week... I had a 5 day weekend but 3 of those days i was crazy busy with family stuff and the other two i was trying to do as much as i can but for other random reasons i was unable to do alot just a few of the minor details

here goes the pics:

To start off i got one of the 120mm fans done:

three coats of clear coat on it

installed and ready to go .... but not quite

hmm this looks better.... but still somethings missing

whats this?!

amazing blue sleeving from mdpc-x

took apart the fan again and got the sleeving and heatshrink cut

stripped and ready to go

SLEEVED!

now it looks finished

moving on to taking apart the PSU

the plug and switch are soldered on so i had to desolder them

only way to get em out was to de solder them

20 mins later

done and...

done

look at the PSU sitting there so shamelessly on that piece of cloth :p

then i got to sanding and one hour later

bare

another view

still need to work on the other half of the PSU

moving on to the power switch I am really happy with this idea i came up with

this is an autobot horn button i was looking at this and thinking could i use this somewhere and then i saw...

this and i knew i was using this as a power switch... makes so much sense it does exactly what a power switch does it only connects the two when the button is pressed

so i had to find a hole saw

found it!

test hole

fits perfectly

did some measurements and decided to make the hole closer to the front and the DVD holder now hides the power switch cables aswell

and installed looks pretty good one more 120mm hole to be placed at the back of this one and then im done with it

now moving on to the main attraction

the Glyphs plate!

drilling the holes in (not all the way but as far as i could without going all the way through

all done this took about an hour since i had to be really careful with each hole

one led wired

test it looks aright

got all the leds wired up for one glyph

in the light doesnt show as much as i wanted but...

shines beautifully in the dark

from a little further away

my pics totally dont do it justice

well thanks for watching/reading everyone hope you enjoy

omaryunus · 10-08-2009, 09:20 PM

Update #14

heres what the list said I needed to get done and how much i got done

120 mm fan hole done in the top panel (done)
make the left side panel (50% done)

well heres the pics of what i did today

sorry didnt take step by step pics but i got the hole done

just showing the test fan attached

other side

gotta check if its level.... AND it is

panel on the case

and heres a little sneak peak to show theres still alot of little details to go for a GOOD look

yea thats a big piece :p

well thats all for today the list of things to do for later on today (my time - GMT +5) is:

finish the left side panel
cut the window for the side panel
finish soldering all the LEDs on the glyphs plate

well thanks for watching

Update #15

well i finished yesterdays list today and maybe today ill finish yesterdays list :p I got the left side panel done and i have a basic design made for the window just need a little input from you guys for the window to make sure im making a good choice

here goes the pics

side panel done and mounted

basic idea of the window

prototyping

this looked a bit bland to me so...

added that curve on the top and that looked out of place aswell so i thought i go back to the drawing board and heres what resulted

now this looks much better to me

to get a feel lof the window

through the front panel

well thats all for today but I need your guys opinions on the window and how it looks and should i go forward with cutting it... I kinda like this design since it is somewhat car window shaped and adds to the transformers effect somewhat

thanks for reading/watching

Update #16

this is a small update but its more asking for your opinion i cut out a few window prototypes take a look and let me know (and i finished another glyph's LEDs

) sorry about not the best pics had to use my iPhone for it cuz my camera was MIA

the original prototype paper

A - this is the two window approach

B - this is my design

C - this is a more of a window shaped design

let me know which one you guys like :thumb:

and here are the pics of the second glyph:

this stands for three

not bad the two of em with all the lights on it will be alot brighter

thanks for watching/reading

omaryunus · 10-08-2009, 09:21 PM

Update #17

well this weekend was a busy one... I didnt a decent amount on this build but at the same time i was working on my first customers side panel

feeling pretty good hehe but anyways i got the glyphs plate done... the new design is here let me know what you guys think and I got some painting done i think you guys will like the color (mixed it myself its silver and black) and the shine is beautiful i love it

here comes the pics:

three pieces done

the HDD holder

love the reflection on the finish

niceness

heres the new design im going with what you guys think?

finished four

night shot

finished all five

bright back there

light shot

in the dark shot

another view

acrylic glowing

mounting it with double sided tape

well thats it for today thanks for reading/watching

Update #18

not a big update but decent finished a teo things. I finished painting some of the parts and finished the mesh grill for the PSU blow hole. thats about it havent ahd alot of time this week but working on it as much as i can...

here goes the pics

everything painted

the false floor

the back of the false floor

the glyphs plate

the backplate for the glyph

PSU holder that holds the inner end of the PSU

the fan grill on the PSU

the DVD drive bay

mesh done and hammered in a bit of a curve into it aswell gives it a nice little lift

well thats all for now thanks for watching and more will be coming soon

LogAn'sRun · 10-09-2009, 12:09 AM

wow. Amazing.

How are you going to (or did you already?) assemble the frame for powder coating?

ggdh · 10-09-2009, 02:15 AM

And this is what i'm calling scratch build! Nice work!

Anemic · 10-09-2009, 02:28 AM

This is what I like to call a CUSTOM project! Keep up the great work, looks awsome!

Malik[A] · 10-09-2009, 02:43 AM

that's really nice worklog, subed and waiting for more

omaryunus · 10-10-2009, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LogAn'sRun

wow. Amazing.

How are you going to (or did you already?) assemble the frame for powder coating?

thanks man... the frame is assembled for powdercaoting my initial plan was to have it done piece by piece but there really arent any advantages to it in such a basic chassis

Quote:

Originally Posted by ggdh

And this is what i'm calling scratch build! Nice work!

thanks alot man i did my best

(still am

)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anemic

This is what I like to call a CUSTOM project! Keep up the great work, looks awsome!

hehe thanks anemic

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malik[A]

that's really nice worklog, subed and waiting for more

well your wait is over atleast for this update hehe here it comes

Update #19

didnt do alot yesterday got sidetracked by tv :p anyways i got a bit done and got some VERY nice pics from masbuskado from New Mod City and well i want to share em both here goes:

since the PSU covers were done w/ paint and everything else i thought why not put it together

the fan hole

the painted grill

at this point i looked at my fan and it looked too plan even though its gonna be hidden i thought i need to do some work on it so I took the fins off and the stickers and went to work on it:

had these sitting around after a bit this happened

under light

under UV

closer look

well thats all the work i got done (yea i told you it wasnt alot hehe) anyways most amazing masbuskado sent me these nice pics of my custom grills and Decals for this build

here they go

the grills made out of blue mirror acrylic

close up

first decal

what truly blew me away was the fact that I had asked for only 4 decals the two long Wheel Jack ones and the two strips of glyphs but mas was nice enough to add a few extra like my name and the transformers logos which are amazing

showing the size

another view

all the products

well thats all for now thanks for reading/watching :thumb:

shazza · 10-10-2009, 07:30 AM

Great project! Thanks for sharing it here as well.

omaryunus · 10-10-2009, 10:46 AM

thanks shazza heres a small video on my build just randomly made it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgOZjpkHhSE

dreamaxx · 10-10-2009, 05:23 PM

Cool!!

That's great mate, really great looking!

LittleKnown · 10-11-2009, 01:55 AM

If this is not inspiring then I don't know what is..amazing stuff there man.
The thinking and execution are all top notch ! am waiting for more.

Neox69 · 10-11-2009, 03:14 AM

Dude, this is an awsome build!!! Great Job...

weston · 10-11-2009, 08:19 AM

Wow, that is nice work man! Keep it up, I want to see it finished!

Mike44 · 10-11-2009, 05:39 PM

Neato! That's a pretty slick setup for being a 'scratch' build! One question, how did you bend the sheet metal to form the 90's? Did you use a press, or just a vice maybe? I'm trying to figure that out for a project I've got on the go without buying all the expensive presses!

Mike