Coolermaster 340 Mod - Rock on!

[razer121]

Finaly i got my hands on a Coolermaster elite 340, Thanks madduck!


Anyway today this comes along to my front door,



New toys!?



Yes I've been searching about 2 weeks for the damned case but thanks to madduck for popping into my thread i now own the beaut, and it is in better condition than i orginally had thought! nice one

I also orded some acryan black mesh, this is being used to redo the front of the case. A new switch to relocate the on/off button and a 120mm blowhole tube, not as large as i had wanted but workable. I also ordered some plexi for the side window...this is somthing that will get finsihed closer to the end of the front being done.

So i'm going to start work on this today! looking forward to getting it done asap, choice of colours have not been made yet, but pearl white may well be choice of colour for the inside Gun metal grey is going onto the front.

I also intend on puting some handles on the top of this, new feet and maybe relocated the psu to the bottom, but that all depends on room!

Thanks for reading and exspect an update later on with my findings after i finish ripping this baby down XD

[Pob255]

Woot!

[razer121]

I started to tear the case apart, damn....already i've came up agasint my first problem! the case came apart really easy



Take note of the mesh,



it has a shape to it but has been "pressed" into this shape. I dont have a press though! so lets take a closer look at this,







You can see from the images that it has been pressed, also note the notchs used to hold it in, i'm now debating how i will replicate the front and bend the sides down without it looking rubbish, anyone have suggestions on this?

[Pob255]

Depends on the mesh and how easy it is to bend. you can bend edges like that in modders mesh with just a vice a pair of gloves (mesh is sharp when cut)

If not tabs then how are you planning to attach it?
You can fit mesh in the same way as a window in a flat panel, use bolts and washers or "tape of the gods" to fit it.

As you've not told us what your going to do to the front it's rather hard to come up with any other mounting sugestions.

[razer121]

Okay the idea is to replace the mesh on the front of the case with the new ACryan mesh its got to have a blowhole in it but the main reason i want to replace it is to remove the obsolete 3.5inch drive bays from the mesh.

Does that make more sense

[MadduckUK]

ill do the feedback thing tonight, but watching this

[Biscuit]

is there no space for you to glue on some small bits to latch on?

[razer121]

Thats not the problem, the problem i've got is really hard to explain, im going to work on it tomoz though and will get some pictures up to explain it abit better but...

the silver front bezel, it has plastic that bends round and down over the mesh, meaning i cannot just glue some mesh to this, so the dremel is going to come back into play and we are going to murder this front and mesh to work....i hope

[Pob255]

Cut up a serial packet or frozen pizza box use the cardboard to make a template.
Trying to fold a curved edge is not going to be easy, so instead use multiple straight edges.
Have a look at how Bill made this mesh grill
http://www.themodbrothers.com/viewto...2310&start=170
and the next page

[razer121]

Update time! i would have updated earlyer but a power cut for the past damn 2 hours means i couldnt...and lost all the bloody write up i did! very ticked off but i shall still bring you an update

Thanks for the link Pob255, has bestowed me with some wisdom In cuttin the mesh! Although i cannot bend mine how bill did i can still use the skills i've learnt from reading his thread.

Anyway onto that front bezel ive been muttering about! this is the lip,





That second picture shows where the orginal front mesh would bend down and round, i've got to cut the silver bezel plastics back to allow my mesh to go behind it, thats if there is room! so lets have a look.



Trim trim!



Oh yes! There is about 1-2mm worth of space under it! So lets move on,



A little template drawn up on cardboard (thanks pob255)



Before i cut that mesh me needs some food!



This mesh fron ACryan is soooooooooooo sexy right? To get a more complex template for the front i used some photo paper, why? well its slightly thicker than paper and you can "rub" it to make a decent imprint...





And using a pencil helps with holds! Banging XD moving on,



One piece of mesh cut out, now its time to get it into shape. Using the paper cutout i marked the mesh with a file (worked a treat) i then got a basic cut out and moved the mesh over to my make shift bending machine....yes bending machine lol take a look,







Nice bend shame about the ACryan mesh and it's quility...not up to the job as much as it should be if you ask me! still this only happens when the mesh is bent, still the paintjob shouldn't come off the mesh but heck what can you do? anyway moving on...again..

Did i point out safety?



Use em! they have been a eye saver for me (if i didn't have some on i would have damaged my right eye) long story that XD



If i had a hammer



Id hammer in the morning XD Worked a treat with doing some basic curves!



one finished mesh XD or is it?

[razer121]

Carrying on from my long post,





Test fit? seems to work fine time to cut that front silver bezel!





Nice, and a test fit,



Hey it fits! acutally it doesnt....it wont fit to the second part of the front panel there isnt enough space so i had to trim the mesh each side, a good 5mm had to come of the right and left side of it, but after doing so....



It's perfect! it is a nice tight decent fit, not gapping anywhere

4.5 hours work that there! i've got to add a 120mm blowhole to the front but that will come tomoz,



Along with removing this ugly thing...

Thanks for reading!

[Pob255]

Nice

It seems the trend I started posting pictures of food in work logs is spreading

[razer121]

Thanks Pob i didn't even think about that when i took a picture of my food! Oh well

Update! (what already?) Decided to get this blowhole sorted out, Started with brainstorming how i'm going to get the mesh marked up. I didn't want to use the file again so out came a pencil fingers crossed! I also had the dilemma with the fact the blowhole i got was slightly oblong...damit well lucky for me i have a lamp, a cheap one from argos which just so happens....





To be perfect for what i need! Moving onto the stencil i have,



Hm....lets get this marked up!





Perfect! i do take pride in getting things perfect, i suppose there is a plus to having OCD! XD



Weapon of choice is Hardened cutting disk for my dremel. Two sizes



Test fits!



Nice one!





Cut and sanded down it starts to take shape....after a quick wash i put it all together and here is the final result!



Righty, Thats smart got to get the metal cut out however there is holes everywhere, possibly consider a new plate to sort that out!

I'm off to have a romantic "meal" with the ms. I may get an update in tonight it depends

Thanks for reading

[razer121]

Update time! I've been switching between two projects atm so it has been kind of hetic! Anyway, enough of my talking, onto the modding XD

First up, Kovu decides to inspect the case





Inspection over, I needed to get a piece of metal, only a small piece to make the new front....then i remembered something! My old generic psu! I normally use it for test fitting, what with it not having any cable's, so let's take a look.





I didn't work.....so i had to resort to my dremel to cut the hole out, but instead i cut out a square, and also test fitted the new front piece of metal XD





Now that is perfect! Onto getting it attached!





Great now half way through this my rivet gun broke, it got a rivet end stuck in it, I couldn't pull it out so had to take it apart, be when i put the rivet gun back together it wouldn't have none of it so i had to get anouther but oh well! On with the mod,





Hello sexy XD I'm pretty impressed with the fit, it looks perfect and does the job beautifully. Now it's onto the side panel, before i start i would just like to give a little advice to anyone who use's a dremel to cut a side panel, when you are cutting a corner if you tilt the dremel like this,



It makes it so much easier to get around the corner! Also this is what you use your small dremel bits for, works a treat!, after i cut the panel out it was abit of a mess,



But after half hour of my little blue file,



Now that's what i'm talking about! Now it's time to get the finishing touch done to the front, time to break out the fibreglass!

Thanks for reading!

[razer121]

Ah it's been a while since updating this...alot has happened in regards to personal family matters but now that is slightly over i've started on my mods again, more so it's been hours of sanding and filling...







4 bludy times i had to refill and sand this bad boy! because of all the work i've been doing (whoo big pay check! ) it took me a full week to finish this process...

Anyhow moving on i had a fag break (damit i started smoking again after 4.5 years) i had a "coughe-fee" (american women doing english accent XD) i carried on with the sanding and got down to the spraying

Glossy glory!



After doing the almighty sanding again, i decided to do something different this time, instead o sanding the colour coat with 800 grit i moved on upto 1500 grit, now some people might think this is a bad idea but it worked a treat and left no lines! plus my finish was smooth each time, if a little "matt" looking,





Colour choice just came to me when i matched these two together, the case is going to be the gun metal grey, the inside is going to be pearl white! cannot wait to move onto getting the case done, i now have the shower room as my new "spray den" what with its built in extractor fan it works a treat best of all....no bugs!

Thoughts? suggestions? i take critisim aswell...just hope i dont find out where you live

Thanks for reading!

[Pob255]

Love the colour

If you want smooth and shiney my advice is not to sand the colour coat (unless you got lumps or build ups on it) put one a couple of coats of clear, leave for a good 2 days to dry, then sand that with fine grit, then another couple of coats of clear.
leave for at least a full week before a final fine sand and polish.