Betong - Array R2 mod

Kryll

n00b
Joined
Jun 29, 2012
Messages
15
My first worklog here on HardForum.
Done some scratch builds and mods before but only posted my work in Sweden.
Did a presentation of my earlier work here



Betong
(Swedish for Concrete)

This build will be based on a Array R2 case that Fractal Design was nice to sponsor me with.
The Array R2 case is a relatively small mITX case with room for 6 x 3.5” HDD and one 2.5” HDD/SDD.
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Ass usual I will use wood in this build, and concrete.
The plan is to keep most of the Array case untouched and I will build “around” it. I will also flip it 90° and make it stand and the front down.

I quick concept drawing of the case.
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Start wit a short review and dismantling of the Array R2 case.
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Removed the top. What you see is the large HDD cage, a small 300W SFX PSU and a 140mm fan in the front.
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On the inside of the top it's a piece of damping over the HDD cage.
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The cage takes up most of the space in the case.
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A small SFX form factor PSU. 300W, 80 PLUS rated with 7x SATA connectors, 1x Molex, 1x 4-pin and 1x 20/24pin
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In the front its a single 140mm fan that handles the cooling of the case (well its a 80mm fan in the PSU to).
The specifications for the fan – 600 RPM, 9dBa and a airflow at 39 CFM.
A minor disadvantage is that you must unscrew the bracket for the fan to clean the fan filter
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Although both the top and bottom is gone the framework feels rigid and not rickety.
By the way the whole case is made entirely of aluminum.
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Started to cut up some raw materials and planed and milled it.
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Always fun to make the first cut (or drill holes) in a new case :)
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Time to attach some brackets to the chassis.
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Using a piece of bench top to get the first bracket in the right place.
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Using a strong double-sided tape to hold the brackets in place before I screw them tight.
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Continued with the backbone of the case.
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With the frame all done I’m left whit a gap in the front which I fill up with a piece of styrofoam for extra soundproofing.
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The actual frame of the chassis consists of oak strips and 5mm MDF plus a concrete "filling"
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Made some more cutting in the case. Removed the fan vent on both sides of the case.
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The front and back is done.
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Continued working back the front and back frame.
Did some notches for the ribs infront of the air intake.
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Glued the front and back frame in place and made the bottom part of the frame.
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The back panel will be removable so I can hide cables behind it.

Started to work on the top
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Next step was the vent at the top, and well it didn’t go to good. Had a bad feeling about it before I started and it turned out looking relay ugly. So over to plan B.
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Lots of ribs for the vent.
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Going to look something like this.
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Also made a lot of spacers for the ribs.
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Just to glue it all together. Perfection :)
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Put the top together to.
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Starts to take shape now. All that's missing now it's the “fillings” for the panels.
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Time to start working on the panels.
Will cast thin slabs of concrete and then attacht hem to the panels.

Started do the molds in shuttering plywood. Actual the plywood don't look to bad as panels :)
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Began to cast panels today.
Right now it looks really shiny and smooth, but when its done it will be different and have a "raw" look to it.
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Also did some brackets for the DVD that sits in the bottom of the case.
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I always liked builds with wood incorporated. Concrete is an interesting building material (poured that stuff for years :D), so this should be interesting...
 
Thanks for the feedback :)


My concrete panels have cured during the night. They have a more grainy texture now.
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Worked some more on the DVD front and fitted the power button at the back of the case.
(Case is upside-down)
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How to hide the eject button on the DVD :)

#1 - One piece of thin wood stripe.
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#2 - A groove in the front to fit the thin stripe.
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#3 - A large hole in the front, you never know where the eject button is on other devices if you decide to switch it later on.
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#4 - A extension on the eject button.
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#5 - Glue it all together.
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My last update for a couple of weeks, going on my summer vacation now. I'll be back in the workshop again in 3 weeks to complete this project.


Last picture of some hardware.
“Asus E45M1-I Delux”, enough power for a HTPC and 5 sata ports, perfect for storage.
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“Finally” back to work after my vacation. :(

Well my concrete plates have cured during the past weeks and I took them out of the molds and glued them to my panels.
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Also made a purchase of a SSD that i will use as my system drive.
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For the first time i did a testrun of my system and istalled Windows and some programs.
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Expecting to to be ready with everything in the next week
 
All done with the case.
Tomorrow it's time to take it home and install some hardware and get it running :D


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nice!, i bet the wood and concrete do help with dampening the noise as well ?
Can imagine that it is right, all I can hear now is a low noise from the PSU at the top of the case.



Finaly done with this project :)

Assemble all the parts.
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Right now i have one 3GB drive plus two 1GB drives.
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Allso puting up some final pictures in hi-res at imgur
http://kryll.imgur.com/
 
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