[Scratch Build] Interior Des(k)ign

[Wejjy]

Project: Interior Des(k)ign

So Ive been planning and workin on this project for some time now, I had to save up a bit to get the big parts but finally got my dream specced Pc to build. Yes, it is older tech but ive wanted this since it was released, and finally ive got my hands on it.

I have been working on this for a couple of weeks now, I waited as I work slowly, free time is not very forthcoming so I waited until I had a but to put here first.

I already made the desk for my previous stop gap PC but with the intention of starting this build eventually, heres the desk before my build....



During the build



Completed in its first incarnation

The plan though was to turn it into something far better. I wanted to incorporate a beast inside the desk, so did a very quick sketchup of the desk and how it could look



So thats the plan....

Heres the progress so far.

I am using a mixture of metals for this build, mostly steel 1.2mm, but also a little aluminium throughout, none of it will be left bare, the finish has already been decided upon inside and out.

I will let the photos do the rest of the explaining



Can you guess what it is yet?

Its a plasma cutter, my favourite tool!!



Thats what it does










Coming together to form the hdd hot swap bay front


Onto the righht hand side...






What for? You'll see...



Onto the center panel now, which will house two 120mm fans and an Aquero controller and various other bits like a hidden USB panel and the Switches



For the Aquacomputer grills, again cut with the plasma cutter





Welded the 3 pieces together to see how we are going so far...ok

I didnt take any in progress pictures of the Drive holder being made...sorry, but it fits!



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I added 2mm adhesive backed neoprene to the fronts of the drives and checked for fitment, they need a little tweaking to line up perfectly bu this was a trial run so theres plenty of time to perfect it. Plus I need to make covers from steel for the drive trays and buttons yet.



On the other side I fitted the hot swap HDD trays to check how they looked, they fit perfectly, it was stolen from a donor 800D and is a great design!

Next was a trial fit of the beast, guess what it is...



Any guesses?

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Too slow guessing....

This is what it is! My uber fave!!!



An EVGA SR-2... Ive got the full water block for it, 24gb Corsair Ram, and two hex core Xeons to go into it. Its going to be a dual loop monster, with everything watercooled that I possibly can! Its all planned out so I cant wait to get it done!

I spent a little time laying things out to see how various designs would look, heres where I got to...





This is where I plan to put the rads, if you reference to the first pictures of the desk you can see where this panel fits.



Some close-ups of the SR-2



Cant emphasise how big this thing is, it puts my current REII to shame, it dwarfs it totally!





x2



I'm fitting the waterblocks soon, but I need some thermal pads first so need to order those asap...





Also received a lovely delivery from Nils haha!





Plus some other hardware ive saved up for



Im back at my workshop on Saturday hopefully, so I'll have more then on the case itself

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Just a brief update as I only spent a couple of hours on the case itself today. I also spent some time planning the cooling for the inside of the case which I cant really take photos of yet, its getting pretty complicated to be honest, especially the electronics!

As for what I got done today, I wanted to carry on making the rear of the case, so I started off by plasma cutting a 170mm x 720mm piece of steel and the folding the ends according to the plans, I bought a metal folder a while back, which I use to start the bend, but I always finish it off with a body hammer and dollies! Old skool!!



The result after hammer and dolly work...



I then mocked up where the internally fitted rads would go, by simpply placing the fans on the steel, looking like it will all fit in nicely



My next job was to take the whole front off the case and modify it to fit the two EK reservoirs which I now want on show, but before I started I dropped the lid on to mark a few thing out on the wood internally for the cooling...



Then I stripped it down and started undoing all of my hard work. I will weld the bottom of the now redundant fan holes up, and then start making the rear part to mount the EK res's into the front panel...

Before...



After...

[Wejjy]

Awesomeness warning!

My delivery from EK (my sponsor) arrived today, to say Im chuffed is an understatement, I'll let the pictures do the talking...







Then the fun part started, unwrapping goodies!



I even got an EK hat, and a cup warmer! How cool! Thanks Gregor!

I also received an ARMY...



ARMY of fittings, these are amazingly good quality, the 90 and 45 degree fittings are really nice, and they have been designed to flow well too, I cant wait to get connecting them all up!



One more gratuitous shot...



And also my delivery for some other bits arrived, these were just for the cooling, and of course the compulsory 2nd SSD!



Now Ive just got some serious amounts of work to do... I am planning to do a bit tomorrow as Ive planned to spend the afternoon at my workshop so hopefully the case will moe along a bit tomorrow, I'll update when I get 5mins free.

Had a couple of hours spare today whilst I was waiting for deliveries so carried on modding peripherals for the final PC, here's what I ended up with after a couple of hours work with my trusty Vidal Sassoon Hairdryer!





And with the mouse I modded in the above video...



Thats all for now folks!!

Thanks to my sponsor EK

[Wejjy]

Update 3/12/2011

Ok, made it up to my workshop this afternoon for a while, the 8mm steel bar section I ordered didnt arrive, so I was limited to what I could do, but I carried on with a few things, heres the progress.

First up I needed to finish off the modification of my fan holes to reservoir holes as explained previously in the thread I changed the plan, so had to weld up the old hole and make the EK bayspin Res fit, well, one side is done, just the other to do, not the best job, but I will tidy the welds etc at a later date so no worries! First ipup I made the side plates, I want these to be invisible when its done, so I made a template first and then cut them out with the plasma... Here they are fitted...





Needed to fill the gap at the bottom, so cut out a piece for that and welded it in too...



All in...





Trial fitting of the reservoir with a couple of old fittings attached...





Like a glove :-)

Then moved on to the ally panels that line the inside of the case to hide cables etc, these were tidied up, and the holes drilled for the standoffs to be fitted, these are also 8mm high so they will coincide with the 8mm steel bar that will be welded to perimiter steelwork of the case.







Then it was time to crack out the plasma again and cut a hole in my hard work, seems to be the thing with this hobby, create it, then cut it up a bit! Fun times!



Didnt have a former for this so had to use an old hammerite can instead, then rely on the trusty file!



This gives you an idea of how it will fit...





Those fans will be sunk into the wood so that they dont stick up too high, the gaps are important for my other plans in the build...



The rad is sitting 8mm too high at that, but it gives you an idea.

Thanks again to my sponsors



Thats all for now folks, maybe more early next week... Thanks!

[Wejjy]

Ok so made some more progress today on the case itself as my 8mm steel arrived. So did my Aquaero but I'll save that for another day... So the 8mm steel is to line the perimeter of the case, to strengthen it considerably.



I had to be careful not to distort the panels of sheet steel, so I clamped it well and worked slowly to save the heat building too much in any one area.



Started on the rear panel as it was the easiest.





Then moved onto the front of the case. I removed the aluminium angle as it looked a little messy and I had always planned to use this but had to wait.









Its so much stronger now and holds its shape when I move it around the workshop.

Next job was to install the rad and fans on the rear panel so I worked to my plans again, slowly drawing things out and then out with the plasma to cut a bit more of my hard work up!





Then cut it!





Result!

So on with the fans and rad for a trial fit...





All fits exactly like it should, I'll do the other side next and then I can focus on the 2nd Reservoir and the Aquaero mounting. Then its onto the motherboard mounting tray and cooling etc etc. im happy so far as I can see it all coming together, and things that look scary at them moment (ie the colour of the steel) I know I can fix easily so I can see past it.

Thanks again to

[Wejjy]

Updated 7/12/2011

Got a fair bit done today, wont say too much as I dont think people read it anyway, so here are the photos from the days progress...



Cut down the motherboard tray and put the 20mm standoffs on it so its now sitting in the case.





Cut the Ally plate for the right hand side and fitted it around the Drive bays, dont worry I tidied the edges a lot befor fitting I just forgot to take a photo...

75% there





I ordered a router today, it should arrive tomorrow so I can carry on with the fan placement as it is holding me up a little now.



Rear right hand panel in progress



In place





Thanks again to my sponsor

[Wejjy]

Minor update 10/12/2011

Received my router yesterday so had a little time tolay with it, Ive never used a router before so it was a little scary, but after a bit of headscratching (obligatory I believe!) I got stuck in. First job was to make something to enable me to route a circle of 120mm. So found a scrap piece of laminate floor and knocked something up. Simples!!





After a little measuring, heres the results...





It helps me appreciate the skills of modders who work with wood, its a really nice material, but its the polar opposite of metal work! Reeee-spect!



Next step was to sink the fans into the desk... I was scared at this point, did it in a few passes so as not to burn anything!





Chuffed with how it turned out, but this took me aaaages!



Underneath... Needs sanding etc but looks ok.



With ally plate in place to give the idea of how it all works...





Thats all for now folks!

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Thanks to my sponsors:

[Wejjy]

Updated 11/12/2011

Ok so had some time free today, but not enough to trek all the way to my workshop, so thought I'd start on the mobo and the multitude of blocks that I have to fit. I must say, EK are awesome, and their new fitting mech for the CPU blocks is great, so much easier than the old type. As for the fittings, theyre awesome, I will never use any others again as these just work... Heres the photos folks, hope you enjoy!



Dinner time! Not!





Cleaned up the blocks with two stage arcti-clean, smells strange but does the job well!





Air cooling is gone! Cleaned chips up and applied pads where required... Took a while as a couple of screws had gone awry! Doh!



Onto the Dominator RAM blocks, one of my favourite EK products, they look amazing lit up...



Getting there.











Shiny shinies! Now for the difficult part, think Ive got it right as I want the tubing to be as low profile as possible because its in the desk, Im happy with how it looks.



Dual loops are so much more difficult to keep tidy!





I love this GPU.

Ready....










Getting there, just need to get the desk finished. Metalwork should be done this week although I have a busy week, hoping to get it in paint asap, then onto the wiring which to put it nicely should be a NIGHTMARE!

Oh well, be worth it in the end, thanks for all the kind words so far folks, keep them coming!

Thanks again to my sponsors:

[Wejjy]

Update 19/12/2011

Havent been able to get a lot done as work has been crazy recently and I currently have family staying with me so its a little busy! But here are some progress shots from the last two visits to the workshop...

I started off modifying the front panel to take the second reservoir as it was still cut for the fans so I welded it up and cut the right size hole out.





I reinforced the edges with 8mm square steel and then set about cutting the slot for the aquaero, it was easy enough and fits really nicely...



Marked up and fixing holes drilled...

Out with the plasma cutter...



Sorted...



Looks good at the back too but I need to make a cover for the aquaero as it will have a LOT of wiring to and from!



Then I moved onto the front again, sanded it all down and started filling it as I want it as straight as possible, so I put a couple of thinnish layers of polyester filler on and sanded it down, the problem is that the temperature is so low thatbit takes forever to dry ready for sanding, so I put a layer on then leave it until next time! Its almost there though, soon I will be painting it! Yippee!





Oh and I routed out a hole for the access to the rear of the motherboard and cut the aluminium cover panel too! Exciting stuff...



Until next time, thanks for following!

Thanks again to my sponsors:

[Wejjy]

Updated 21/12/2011

Limited progress today but steady is the name of this game, especially considering the cold wet weather, its not ideal for filling or spraying in. I will need to use a little more filler but its 80% there I think.



I did a little more on the back panels before spraying them, first up cleaned off the rust, then cut the original idea out so that I can sink the rads through the rear panel slightly.







Next week this will definitely be painted!

[Wejjy]

Tiny update as Ive had a busy week, ive specced up a few bits to send off to the laser cutters for the internals, but ive also managed to do a little more woodwork. It takes sooooo long compared to metalwork, but Im so glad I finally got myself a router!

Heres the progress...



Routed out the sunk in recesses for the other fans



Then I recessed the edge of the motherboard panel so it sits flush with the woodwork, got it right first time which was a relief!







Thats it, but I have worked out a cable routing plan and these will be routed into the wood base too, theres sooooo much wiring in this thing its untrue. Im working on a current following device so that I can use a single channel on the fan controller to control a bank of 3 fans, without overloading anything, these will all be incorporated and hidden underneath too.