Project Cunning Plan!

[GoNz0]

/off topic

i drove past my old magic mushroom picking grounds today.. if it was early morning i may have gone for a look...

[scaryjim]

off topic forgiven. The mushrooms were a species generally called "The Deceiver" as they can vary considerably in colour and shape be superficially difficult to identify. Fortunately they have a couple of distinctive features which make them quite easy to identify on closer inspection. They went into tonight's tea, a lovely chilli cooked by my loving wife while I chopped up bits of metal. They had a pleasant texture, but were almost entirely tasteless


Back to the project:

So, I had a later start than planned today (mainly because I'm a lazy get who won't get out of bed when he's on holiday!), then went to ASDA with the missus to get some input on this week's shopping. When I got home, I spent a little time getting the workspace ready:



So, that's a jigsaw, drill and multitool, lots of accessories (not including my set of drill bits!), the all important outdoor four way extension with RCB, and the case, rad and PSU. PSU? You'll see in a minute Of course, with the late start and getting everything ready it was well gone 4pm before I started, so only a few hours of modding time available today...

Firstly, that rad. There's not a lot of room for a 120.3 in a mid-tower case, so for my money it's going to have to go in the top. Let's see how the fit looks...



Hmm, not a lot of spare room there, is there? Will it fit inside the case?





Well, it looks like it just about will! That PSU supporting plate is going to have to go though. Speaking of which: with the rad taking up the whole of the top of the case, I won't be able to fit a PSU there! Do I have a cunning plan for that?



Well, would you believe it! That drive bay is just a few mm too low for the PSU to slip under. Never mind, five minutes with a rotary tool will soon sort that out! The cutting points were marked on in permanent marker, but they're easy enough - I'm going straight across the mounting points for the lower HDD, to minimize the amount of actual cutting I need to do. So, with that sorted I'll be able to move the PSU right to the front of the case, nicely out of the way of all the other components. But will it fit across the case alright?



Well, that looks a little tight, but it should just about fit, with the right angle power lead. There's even just about enough space for an 80mm extract fan to get the hot air from the PSU straight out of the case - anyone got any opinions on whether that's a good idea or not?

Of course, finding a suitable route around the case for the power lead will be another matter, but I'm sure I'll come up with something - on which point, anyone know exactly how problematic having a 240v mains cable inside my case will be? I've seen a few desktop cases use the front PSU set up with an extension cable from the back of the case, so I assume it can't be too bad?



Ah. Well, that looks like a problem, unless I'm going to make a feature of external power cables in this build (and that sounds just a little too much like asking for trouble to me). No, the only option is to mod the PSU. Fortunately, those power leads are *very* close to the join between the main body of the casing and the removable cover, so it looks like I'll easily be able to cut a new hole in the cover (the top as it lies in the picture) which will make routing the cables no problem.

So, with the rad position checked and the PSU location confirmed, I need to cut away some of the top so I can vent through the rad and out the top of the case. My original plan for this - as mentioned in reply to CAT's lovely pic of Kali - was to cut some intricate fretwork fan vents in the top using stylised images of Kali, that could then be subtly lit from below using LED fans to highlight the different sections of the image. But I realised fairly quickly (in fact, within 5 minutes of trying to mod a PCI cover plate a couple of months ago) that wasn't going to be practical. Then the rad turned up from Gonz with that beautiful shiny grille and my mind was made up: just cut away the outline of the grille and let the shiny beauty speak for itself; plus that gives me a fantastic guide for both the screw holes and the cutting section!




So, first I placed the rad, with the grille attached,upside down on the top, measured up some of the spacings, then scratched the corner positions into the paint using a small pointed file. WAIT, WHAT? Scratching the case? Well, yeah - I mean seriously, the case is over 6 years old, and has been moved house 6 times. It's already scratched to goodness. A couple more functional scratches really aren't going to make a difference (besides, I'm about to take a jigsaw to it, dude ). I then fixed the removed grille in position with masking tape and marked up the screw holes and the inner outline.



There, came out rather well, if I say so myself! First job was to drill out the holes: I used a 4mm HSS bit for the screw holes, and made two adjacent holes with a 6.5mm HSS bit for the jigsaw as I don't have a single bit that's large enough for the jigsaw blades I had to nibble out a small amount of metal inbetween the holes with the rotary tool: for this I went for my favoured diamond cutters, choosing a narrow cylindrical one. Then, I went mad with the jigsaw thanks to my nice new metal-cutting blades:



Ignoring the poor quality of the photography (all the photos in this thread are likely to have been taken on my HTC Magic), the finish here is pretty much as rough as it looks. While the jigsaw was great for hacking large amounts of metal out of the case, it was tricky to be too precise with it, and on several occasions I tried taking too tight a corner and the blade got trapped in the metal, working its way out of the shank grip. So in the end I had to go for as close as possible without being too precise. Definitely a learning experience: I'll be planning my cuts more carefully next time, including using several starting points and making sure I cut in several sections: one of the main issues here was that it became impossible to support the section I was removing when I got about 80% of the way round. Still, not a bad result in the end, given it was the first time I'd used the jigsaw for this kind of job.

To neaten and clean the job I went back to the rotary tool, first using a reinforced cutting disk to remove any large excesses of metal, then using the diamond cutters / grinders to file away small excesses and remove any burrs and sharp edges. Running at around 18k these bits can chew through steel like nobody's business. The new addition to today's work was a large (well, ~ 3mm diameter) spherical bit which I could use just like a pen nib to grind away burrs. Top stuff: the only thing that would be better would be the tungsten carbide version - I considered buying some, but they're over £30 for a set of ten. Wonder if anywhere does them individually...?

Anyway, I digress. About half an hour after putting the jigsaw down, I ended up with this:



Not perfect by any means, but the roughness is gone, and the shape is more or less spot on by this point: I did spend a bit longer with the diamond grinders removing the odd mm of excess after doing test fits of the grille, but nothing significant.

On the other hand, the underneath (i.e. the inside of the top of the case) was still pretty ragged: that's not unusual in the wake of drilling (and presumably jigsawing) metal. Once again it was out with the spherical diamond grinder: here's a before and after look...



The difference is particularly noticable in the nearer two drill holes: once I was done I had a lovely smooth finish both inside and out. By this time, though, the light was already fading badly - I had just enough time to take the reinforced cutting disk to the PSU tab at the back of the case (lots and lots of pretty sparks on that one ) before having to call it a night and pack up.

[scaryjim]

So, was the hard work worth it? Can I mount an old spacing PA 120.3 in the top of my cheap-ass mid-tower case?



That'd be a yes, then!

Clearance is pretty decent at the front; a little close at the back (everything is flush inside the case though - I took a side on photo to check but it didn't come out that well.

Front clearance:


Back clearance:


And finally, a gratuitous shot of the top to show off that lovely, shiny, rad grille:


You know, that grille looks so good I just might have to factor in respraying the entire case black at this rate...

[GoNz0]

[Rob_B]

:clap:

emoticon fAiL

Looking forward to seeing what you do with that PSU, cables coming out of the case then back in borg-stylee would be pretty unique!

[scaryjim]

Looking forward to seeing what you do with that PSU, cables coming out of the case then back in borg-stylee would be pretty unique!

It would be quite unique, I'll give you that! I'd be terrified that I'd accidentally kick one of the PCIe cables out while I was hammering Dragon Age or something, though, and I don't want to risk killing either of my 8800GTXes I guess I could use a conduit to enclose the cables... hmm, interesting concept, might have to kick that one around a bit!

But I'm probably going to stick with the boring option of modding the PSU slightly to bring the cables out of a different side of the casing, I'm afraid.

At the minute my biggest issue is what I'm going to do about getting the water from the rad to the pump - lining everything up I'm rather short on clearance. I'm starting to think that a custom res might be in order...

[Pob255]

Nice

I like grill like this, they hide wonky cuts

Any additional info on these diamond bit's you're using?
I recently got some diamond cutting disc's off ebay (an auction on which I was the only bidder so they where very cheap)
I've been both impressed and dissapointed with them.
Impressed that they just don't seem to ware down, dissapointed that they don't cut very well, worked fairly well on acrylic but take forever and more force than I like to go through steel.
And that was on flimsy 0.5mm steel.

common practise for cutting cases with jigsaws, is to use the rotary tool first, just cut stright down with a disc on the line to make a slot you can then put the jigsaw blade into.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpZoE-zj0-k

[razer121]

Nice! good read aswell, keep us updated

[scaryjim]

Any additional info on these diamond bit's you're using?

Mine all came in multi-accessory packs (one with the tool, one I bought this week) but you can also get a set of diamond point grinders on their own. As I said, at 18k they chew through steel slowly but smoothly. What I really want is the Tungsten Carbide version, which I suspect should do the job even better! I think they need to be run at high speed to generate the kind of friction where the metal part grinds and part melts! Definitely recommend them for fine work, nibbling and shaping: once you've got one on the tool it's just like using a pen.

[Pob255]

Try out the pink ginding bits and a sanding drum first

[Hicks12]

Looking good! Im planning on doing something like this but i need to wait for my new draper multi tool to arrive (i hope its ok!). Gunna keep watching this because your giving me ideas with my case .

[macfanuk]

looks good I'm always worried about water cooling systems leaking though

[scaryjim]

Try out the pink ginding bits and a sanding drum first

I tried a pink grinding bit last time I did a case mod (just a small one to fit a rear 120mm fan instead of an 80mm one) and within about 12 seconds I'd worn away half the bit! Maybe it was just the cheapo nature of the bits, or perhaps I'm just too heavy handed? I considered using a sanding drum but thought that the metal edge would just cut straight through the sandpaper...?

My new accessories set has both Aluminium Oxide and Silicon Carbide* grinding bits and disks - any opinions on which of those is likely to be most durable in terms of grinding and cutting? Or am I just going to have to experiment?

macfan: that's why you do comprehensive leak testing *outside* of the case before mixing in your expensive components

*EDIT: Ah, SiC is carborundum. I assume that'll give it an advantage over the Aluminium Oxide disks?

[Biscuit]

for the power supply, why not turn it 90o so the cooling fan is facing the side panel and then chop a hole in the side panel to allow the air to get to it. For the rear of PSU where the air comes out your could create some form of baffling to focus the air back out the other side?

As for the cable i would get an old IEC lead, chop off the plug end and then use a IEC inlet connecter from RS components or something and fix that onto the case in whatever position is appropriate.

[scaryjim]

for the power supply, why not turn it 90o so the cooling fan is facing the side panel and then chop a hole in the side panel to allow the air to get to it.

It's a very deep PSU and I'm going to have a second 8800GTX in the next-to-bottom PCIe slot, so there's not enough room to have it facing any way other than across the case, although had it been possible your suggestion would be significantly easier.

I'll be doing exactly what you suggest with the power lead (that right angled lead has already been de-plugged in anticipation ), but I need to work out the best place for the power inlet. Current favourite is trying to secure it to the rear of the case next to the rad, but I need to source the inlet then measure up to make sure it'll fit...

[scaryjim]

It's Sunday, and it's Manchester out there.

In other words, grey, wet and miserable.

No cutting and filing today then, so time to use my brain for a bit instead!

As I mentioned earlier, once the rad's fitted snug in the top of the case and the pump's lined up in its planned position (strapped against the 2x80mm exhaust fan vents) there's not a lot of room between the outlet barb on the rad and the inlet barb on the pump. Here's let me show you:



The spacing from barb end to barb end (and that's using the shortest barb in my collection for the pump) is almost exactly 5cm. Remove the barb, and it comes out to 7cm - again hardly spacious.

My original plan was to have a res-less setup, filling the system from a fill port that sat next to the rad in the top of the case, ran down to a y-piece, and then into the pump. The rad would connect to the other arm of the Y, so once the system was filled the outlet of the rad would flow straight into the top of the pump, making the loop. Using the wonder of MS Paint and the fact that I have a tablet PC with pen input, I can even show you roughly what I mean:



Hey, I emphasised the roughly for a reason Wow, I even labelled that diagram... must think I'm back at school or something! But that picture does at least highlight the problem: none of that's to scale and I've still struggled to get all the important bits showing. Of course, if you could get Y-piece versions of these I could attach it to the top of the pump with a male-male connector and I'd probably be OK, but I've not found such a thing yet... does it exist?

Anyway, having seem how tight my space was, I wondered whether it would be better to go for a res mounted directly on top of the pump. Something like this:



A simple res: I've drawn it square for convenience but it wouldn't have to be - a 5cm cylinder would also do the trick. Thing is, I don't think I'll be able to buy a res the right size and with the fittings in the right place, so I'm thinking about making one. That way I could cut the holes for the inlets to sit directly under the rad and fillport, and just feed the hose through the holes, aboiding using up limited space on 2cm of barb

So, what do you guys think? Can I find a suitable Y-piece that'll fit in my limited space? Does a universal Y-block exist to me my life easy? Or do I go for the home-made res, and hope that enough hot-melt glue and silicon sealant will keep it watertight?