Dark Carbon

[rendermandan]

As usually here is my nightly update.

I was able to finally drill the mounting holes for the back panel in the motherboard tray. Here you can see how it will be mounted. I only used 2 bolts to temporarily hold it as I will need to install and remove it a number of times.

This is the underside.

I laid out and marked where the 7 slots will be cut for the bottom of the add-on cards and slot covers.

Taped them off so I can see the lines more easily. When you cut this stuff you get a lot of white powder dust, so its hard to see where your cut line is.

First I drilled some small holes at each end of each slot. then I used a dremel with a small cutting wheel to cut the slot. this was much faster than using a scroll saw!

And here they are cut and filed smooth.

Lastly I laid out the location of the motherboard mounts. Drilled and tapped the holes and installed the brass standoff mounts.

The aluminum parts on the back of the case will be painted with the same red anodizing paint. I don't think I will do this until final assembly. As I noticed the red anodizing scratches and chips really easy so I don't want to ruin the finish while I'm building.

Oh and by the way, I ordered my motherboard from NewEgg, It should be here later this week.
And its a killer MB! Hint: I'm going on a Rampage!

[rendermandan]

Glad you like the red. I like it too. There will be a lot more of it!

-I had to pickup a 10" disk sander so I could continue working tonight.

Here it is. This will be used for beveling the edges of the CF sheets. and fine sanding of some of the parts.

I also picked up a resperator because that CF dust is some nasty ****!

Here you can see me sanding the back panel at a 45 deg. bevel to match the angle of the case.

And for fun, here is a shot of me. I'm smiling, can you tell?

After I got the back panel beveled, I started to test fit one of the sides that goes next to the back panel. Because I'm missing parts, I figured I'd use a different one for now. I discovered an issue that I had not thought of before.
Can you tell what it is?

My plan is to install a hot swappable drive bay in this location. and the back panel extends past into where the drive will go. UGHHHH I'll have to cut out the back panel and part of the aluminum angle bracket. FUN! Oh well, live and learn.

Here is a shot of the drive bay itself. I've got 2 of these, but I can only use one.

I think I'm going to be forced into ordering some more CF too. The 5mm sheet is just way to thick, and honestly too short. Its exactly 24" long and I need 3 8" pieces. -That leaves no room for the kerf of the blade. So each piece would be slightly too small. Plus the thickness would cause some issues with how the outside corners join. So I think I'm going to order some CF from a different company.

So, does anyone want to buy a sheet of 5mm thick Double sided CF? 12"x24" Double sided meaning both sides are finished smooth. -Not sure how much though. I'd entertain a reasonable offer. -Come on Langer!!! You know you want it for your build!

In the mean time, I can start on the front of the case and work my way around with the 4 sides I do have. I just hope the new CF looks the same as my current 2x2 Twill does.

Later.

[rendermandan]

Well guys, not much of an update tonight. -Spend a little time researching some CF suppliers online and on Ebay. I think I found some that might work but I might have to laminate 2 pieces of it together to get the double sided finish.
It might also be a week or two before I get it. So progress may slow down for a little bit.

I am going to start mounting the front panel and the two side front panels where the hard drive goes, so that will keep me busy for a few days.

[rendermandan]

Update time.

I started to mount the front panel to the motherboard tray. I cut some more aluminum angle, filed the edges and painted them with the Anodizing paint.

Then I glued them onto the back side of the panel similar to the back panel.
Then I simply drilled a few holes and added some nuts and bolts.

I taped off the rest of the side pieces that was sent to me.

Here's a mockup of what they should look like.

Then just like the other panels, I made some aluminum brackets.

Glued them on.

and mounted them.

I took the last side and marked it for a large 120mm fan hole.

2 scroll saw blades later. -YES it took 2 to cut it out.

And here it is mocked up in position.

I also got another goody delivered to me. the Motherboard.
Its an Asus Rampage Extreme water cooled Beast!!!

Damn this thing is going to look sexy with the matching red water block and red accents

Thats all I've got right now. -I won the auction for some scraps of CF to replace the missing side pieces that I should have gotten. Hopefully those will come soon so I can continue. I can work on some small stuff but I really need those sides to do much more.

I also made some calls to a local plating company to have some real anodizing done on the back panel and slot covers. I think the paint looks good for the most part, but its really not that durable and scratches very easily. I think having the back panel anodized in red will hold up much better.

Later.

[rendermandan]

wow, that motherboard does look hot! As for the PSU, that is a nice psu, but you won't be able to see it in my case. Its going to be hidden in the front. and from the looks of it, it huge! so It probably wouldn't fit. But thanks anyway!
and thanks for the rep.

[rendermandan]

Alright, here's another weekend update for ya.

I got the side panel with the 120mm fan hole mounted. -no pic. but I think you got the idea.

I did take some pics with the top on just for fun. I couldn't resist.

I did some work on the small 80mm exhaust fan in the rear. Here are the CF pieces that make up the cover.

I used an adustable clamp to hold the pieces while the epoxy cured.

Here it is almost done. I still have one more side to glue on.

I also picked up some 1/2"x3/4" aluminum angle for some more brackets. These are going inside the case to hold the panels that go around that large square hole toward the front. It will contain the PSU, DVD and other goodies..

Here is a shot with them clamped on for drilling the mounting holes.

I anodized them as well, but didn't take a pic.

Here is the DVD burner I bought just so you know.

and here is the 1 Killowatt PSU I orderd too.

Just in case your wondering, here are the specs.

My original idea was to have it fit here. The wires would come out the back and the power cord would be routed around the inside of the case bottom and out the back. But I found that there was not enough room for the power cord to bend. And I couldn't find a 90 deg angled one.

So I decided to turn it 90 deg's and have the wires come out the sides. This setup works much better than before as I have more room for wires that come out of the motherboard. -hard to explain.

You can see that I did my homework (a long time ago!) the wires come out directly under motherboard tray.

However before I had the psu rotated and was not concerned about the power cord. Well, now I am and it sat up too high. So I had to do a little "Trimming".

It fits now.

I will still route the power cord under the motherboard tray and to a psu style power plug in the back.
The fan on the psu will face down and be vented through a hole in the bottom of the case. -This is the reason for the 20mm tall case feet!
Remember these?

Thats it for now.

Later.

[rendermandan]

Good news. The replacement CF sheets I ordered on ebay came today!

Tonight I'm going to head over to my dads shop to do a little rough cutting to get them to size. I'll try and take some pics before I cover them in tape to protect them.

Peace!

[rendermandan]

Pics. Ask any you shall receive!

Last time I made some brackets to hold the interior walls. well, Here they are all painted and bolted together.

Here is one of the panels it holds.

I also finished the fan box.

I cut some modders mesh left over from MM. to fit

But I had to thin down the fan to make room.

I also started working on the aluminum brackets for the top of the case. These will go into the corners to hold everything together, and also give me a place to mount the top panel.

Here is how they will go together.

And here are all 16 of them for the top. I filed all the edges to get them ready for paint.

OK, here are the repacement CF sheets I bought.

Half a roll of blue painters tape later. they are protected. Both sides!

So I headed over to my dads shop to use his table saw.

He's got this nifty jig that makes cutting this stuff really easy.

And here's a shot of me in action. Notice I'm wearing the resperator!

And now we have all the pieces I was missing. 10 Pieces in all. and I still have a large section of 5mm left over.

Thats all I got done last night.

Later.

[rendermandan]

well, just spent some more cash. Here is what I ordered.

Radiator: Black Ice® GTX Gen Two Xtreme 120

CPU Water Block: Swiftech APOGEE GTZ Ultra

Resevoir: EK-Multioption RES 150 Rev 2

Tubing: Feser Tube Active UV Hose - 3/8" ID -Red


Fluid: Fluid XP+ Ultra LT w/ z7 - Non-Conductive 32 oz. Superior Cooling Fluid - Blood Red

Polishing Kit: Novus Polish Kit

I also ordered about 20 clamps and some 90 deg. angle fittings.

As for the pump, I'm going to pull the pump out of Motorized Madness.
Its a Swiftech MCP355


I also did some work last night on the interior panels, but I forgot my memory card at home, so I can't upload them. Maybe tonight.

[rendermandan]

Thanks guys.


Small update tonight.

Here is a shot of the exhaust fan with the painted mesh on it. I think I'll paint the fan housing black before I mount it for good.

I added a few side brackets to the interior of the case as well.

I cut some more aluminum and painted it. I mounted it to tie the sides together.

Inside. that really won't be seen.

Here is a shot from the bottom.
With Flash.

Without Flash.

I also got all the angle brackets painted.

Here they are bolted together.

Now I just have to epoxy them to the back of the side panels. Once I get them done that is.

Later.