Project Cunning Plan!

[GoNz0]

you should update your pic each week so we can see how much more hair loss there is

[Terbinator]

Oh dear, he's lost it.

Nurse! Nurse! He's escaped!

This picture gives me the lolz.

[nibbler]

picspicspicspicspics

[scaryjim]

You unruly lot! Last time I leave this thread alone for a day

So, I haven't decided what to do with my acrylic yet, but I have still got work to do. Remember the planned PSU setup from earlier?



Last time I got the power tools out, the evening drew in before I'd cut the 3.5" drive bay and I didn't have enough light to finish off. So, with a spare hour this evening, I figured I might as well get the rotary tool out and start hacking



And there it is, fitting beautifully right at the front of the case. There really wasn't a lot of point doing intermediate pictures for this one: I just used a reinforced cutting disk up to about 1.5cm from the front of the case, then out with the diamond point cutters (as usual!) to finish off. Quick, relatively neat job, all good!

So, the next task is to sort those cables out - can't have them sticking out of the side of the case. First, void the warranty (which I couldn't use anyway since the PSU is second hand ) by opening up the casing:



The new exit will be right next to the existing one, round to the left hand side in that picture. As you can see, the side that needs cutting is part of the outer casing (the section with a fan stuck on it) and should be relatively safe to start hacking at with a rotary tool!

The wires are currently protected by a grommet (is that the right word?), which gives me a perfect template for marking up the new hole:



The hole's an awkward size, being too big to just drill, and too small to take a jigsaw to: I could invest in an appropriate hole saw but that's not exactly a cheap option, so I'm going to use a somewhat cruder method. First, drill some holes around the perimeter of the hole (in this case using a 3.5mm HSS drill bit in my trusty Black & Decker drill):



Next, use those trusty diamond point cutters again to nibble away the metal between the holes:



It took about 5 minutes to get to the stage above: about the same to finish the other half. Using a sharp-pointed diamond bit at 18k, the rotary tool essentially turns into a craft knife that'll cut through steel - using a gentle sawing action proved to be the best method. After I'd roughly cut out the circle I used an Aluminium Oxide drum bit to smooth the edge, and my favourite spherical diamond bit to nibble out one large chunk (you can see it on the left of the cut in that picture) that needed to go. The end result was a lovely,smoothly finished and almost perfectly circular hole. Very happy with that

Then I found out that I'd made a schoolboy error, by measuring up to the inside of the grommet, instead of the outside. The result being, I have to widen the hole by amount 2mm. Frustrating, but not the end of the world be any means. However, by this point time was getting on, so I called it a night, popping the cover back on the PSU before packing away:



See, if I hadn't told you, you wouldn't know it'd been modded

[Pob255]

Yep grommit is the right word

[razer121]

Yep grommit is the right word

grommet

[Pob255]

Hey I never said I could spell

[nibbler]

How are the wires going to get through the other hole? Just pull them back through and stick them through the next holw (if that's in any way clear)?

[scaryjim]

Ah, nibbler, you're prempting this evening's update

But first, I'm going to do a quick post about bits, then I'm going to have some tea! However, Pob asked about my multitool bits earlier, and it has occurred to me that I tend to describe the bits I've been using without actually letting you have a look at them. So here's the multitool bits that will feature in tonight's update



Apologies, as usual, for the poor quality of the picture - this was taken after I'd finished for the night and it's very difficult to get enough light for good photos! This is pretty much the extent of my multitool usage throughout this mod, to be honest. From left to right:

1) The remains of my first reinforced cutting disk (still attached to shank) - I'll probably retire this one now, but I think I've done all the metal cutting I'll need to, anyway. I've been very impressed with this - it's only a cheap disk but it's cut through everything I've thrown it at and has lasted pretty well, too. I use this for larger cutting jobs where I can't get the jigsaw in, and smaller jobs where I just need a simple straight cut.

2) The much-vaunted spherical diamond point bit. I use this for nibbling metal where I need to go through several mm of material to finish off shaping - it grinds metal quicker than any other tool I've used.

3) The narrow point diamond point bit. Used, as in the last update, to act as a craft knife: using a gentle sawing motion it cuts through thick metal relatively quickly, but is more accurate than a cutting disk, and can be used even in hard to reach places.

4) Aluminium Oxide drum. Although it's hard to tell in the picture, this is actually an orange version rather than the usual pink. After an uninspiring start with cheap pink AlO bits, I'm pleased to say this drum works beautifully, leaving a smooth clean finish on metal edges after I've finished cutting and nibbling with the disk and diamond point cutters.

5) Aluminium Oxide point. Again, an orange one from my new set, I've used this today to work in places that the drum is just too big for. I'm pleased to say it's as effective as its big brother, which has meant I've been able to play with the PSU cables without worrying about snagging them on sharp edges

And that's about it for now, although so far I've only done the metal work. As I'll be playing with acrylic before too long I suspect I'll be trying out one or two other tools, like thinner standard cutting disks and the sanding drums.

Anyway, food is calling - I'll be back later with another update on the PSU

[Rob_B]

I've got a set of cheapies that burn out (on wood) in seconds. Do you reckon 'proper' Dremmel ones meant for metal would be ok on wood or just wreck them (somehow?)

[GoNz0]

its a bit like using a hacksaw to cut a plank of wood, its going to take ages and get bloody hot/burn. you need something with big teeth to cut wood

[Rob_B]

It's not so much cut, more round of edges or widen drill holes.

[GoNz0]

you need tungsten carbide bits then m8

[scaryjim]

HSS bits should do the job on wood, and are a lot cheaper than tungsten carbide Alternatively, you could try using a sanding drum, which should be OK for wood. Generally when I'm working wood I'll use the jigsaw with a wood blade for the rough cutting, and then a combination of a small detail sander, a surform shaver, and hand files, depending and the shape I'm cutting and forming.

[scaryjim]

Anyway, on with the updates! Spent most of the day in town with the kids, so I was left with about an hour and a half of light when I got home. The aim for tonight was to finish off the PSU and get it mounted in the case. Did I manage it? Well, you'll find out soon!

We left it with a hole in the PSU that was too small for the grommet (and therefore for the big bundle of wires), so the first job was to fit up the spherical diamond grinder and nibble away 2mm of metal all round the circumference of the hole.



No problem - hole widened and grommet sitting snugly. Actually, when I got to a later bit I realised I needed just an extra half-mm here: the grommet was a bit too tight a fit. So I widened it later on with an Aluminium Oxide drum bit.

Now, nibbler's already asked a very pertinent question: how do you get the wires out of one hole and into the other? I don't really fancy unpinning all the plugs, and I definitely don't want to go cutting or de-soldering the wires from the PSU! Is there an easier way? Well, look carefully at this picture of the existing hole:



Presumably, when the PSU was made they had the same issue - how do you get a huge bundle of wires into a smallish hole once they've been soldered onto the PCBs? Well, they did it by cutting out the edge of the hole to the edge of the casing! And anything they can do, so can I!

Here's a measure-up of where I need to cut:



and the same shot after I quickly nipped off the marked section with a cutting disk:



So I have two joined holes! At this point I used a couple of Aluminium Oxide bits to smooth off the inside of the hole and also to grind the edges of the cutout rounded so they wouldn't snag the wires and damage the insulation (the last thing I want is the PSU shorting on the casing). And now all I need to do is carefully move the cables from one hole to the other, round the corner. This also means that should I want to use the PSU in a conventional case again in the future, I should be able to move the cables back just as easily. Here's a shot partway through the process to give you a taster:



It took a bit of fiddling, and a short pause to grind away a little extra space as mentioned earlier, but I eventually got all the cables round to the new hole *and* managed to fit the grommet back in! It's not a perfect fit (hardly surprising given the rather haphazard approach I took to cutting the hole ) but it's close enough for government work!

But, that only means that the cables will fit inside the case - it doesn't actually mount the PSU in the case. Fortunately, the design of the TX750W gives me an easy mounting option: the fan grill is held on my standard fan screws that can easily cope with a little extra thickness of metal, so we'll just mount it to the front of the case like a fan! First, I took the grill off the PSU and drew some screw holes and the outline of the grill in permanent marker:



Then I drilled out the screw holes with a 4.5mm HSS drill bit, and cut the fan hole out with my jigsaw. I learned from my previous experience with the jigsaw, working more slowly and carefully, and the result was *much* better than I managed on the top - so much so that I only needed to use the Aluminium Oxide bits to tidy up the hole before it ended up looking like this:



As you might be able to tell from the bluing of the photograph there, the light was starting to give out by this point, and while I took a couple of finishing off pictures, they came out pretty poorly, so I moved inside to admire my handiwork:



That should do pretty nicely - although neat cabling might be a bit of an ask I also have one other minor issue with the mounting of the PSU:



Apparently I miscalculated the position of my mounting holes slightly: I'd planned for the PSU to be tight against the left hand side leaving just enough room for the right-angled power lead on the right hand side. But as you can see, the plug sticks out around 1cm from the edge of the case: there's no way the side panel will go on I'm either going to have to buy or make a slimline right-angled plug for it.

Still, I'm not going to let it get me down. I reckon I've made some really good progress now, and the vast majority of the modding has been done now - I don't forsee much more cutting of the case. So, let's have a look with the PSU *and* the rad in position

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I hope you never have to return your PSU.