Casemod using laser - I need help!

[Wihln]

Hi, i've been watching these forums a lot the past weeks and since there seems to be alot of people here that basicly know alot i decided to sign up and post my question.

Im thinking about modding my case a little... Tools?

A lasercutter.
It looks something like that.. but its alot bigger and the one on the picture looks a bit old.
Anyway, I would like to "cut out" (yeah yeah my english sucks ;P) a dragon / engrave it.. i've only found one picture that i like so far and its this one

But i don't know how to do it really.. The main problem is the eye.. i can do a "Hole inside the hole" if you know what i mean.. :S Anyone got some ideas/images that i could use? (and again, English isn't my native language.. so please don't flame me for my bad lexicology)
Am I breaking any rules with all these pictures? Please tell me if i do.. i don't want to get banned or something

 

[Dr3wStx]

Just don't cut the eye out, it will still give you the look you want.

 

[[H]Rabbit]

There are a lot of places that will take a custom design and cut it out for you. A local University with a good engineering program probably has the tools to do it. I'd suggest checking out the web and/or local machine shops.

What part of the world are you in? Your english is, I'm sure, far better than my ability to speak your language - and you write better than most of the US too - so don't worry about it.

 

[wayne]

HAHAHAHAHAAA
WOW!!!!!
WOWOWOWOWOWWWW

that dragon...wow

i found the exact same picture and i used it as a window applique

i printed it out, used a sharpie to make it really dark and black

then i xeroxed it onto a tranparency using toner to make it stick

then i put it in my case window



wow... amazing, i cant believe some found the same pic i used, heheh

use it, its really a nice pic

 

[Wihln]

haha wayne do you have a picture of the applique that you made, i would like to see it

[H] Rabbit - I already have a lasercutter to do the job.. (they do custom designs too) It's the biggest lasercutter in Sweden (+Europe? im not sure). The best thing is - It's free

Dr3wStx - I'm not sure about that =S

One way to do it is to spare just that dragon... something like this.. but i don't not know if it's will look good or not.
http://upl.silentwhisper.net/uplfolders/upload6/thingy.jpg
What about engraving? (What is the best CAD program to use for this kind of thing? )

wayne - show me ze case
EDIT: OH MY F****** GOD! I'm going insane.. this damn radio commercial that just goes on and on and on.. "Nice underwear for everyone" blablabla.. oh.. here comes the news.. Seems like they shoot a american soldier again >.< idiots.
// I have no idea why i made this edit oh well, i have to get back to work.. its 8:34 am atm. And here comes the commercial again.. "U Wear - Nice ANdeRver faer evryonse"...

 

[wayne]

there yeh go

the left is one of the xerox copies i made for practice to see if it turns out right.. the right is the transparency(sry for the glare, cant make light shine elsewhere)...

its not in my case right now because when i made that applique, i also did another one of a dragon sitting on a rock and thats the current one i have in it but that one has thin lines and hard to see so tomorow, i will change out the old one and take the one you see in the picture and put it back into the case window again... i ll show you another pic of it ON the window after i put it on tomorow

ive been switching it back and forth

 

[Wihln]

ok, sounds nice =)

 

[wayne]

wow, that was a pretty fast reply... like a min right after i post

well, its 4AM over here in NYC... i cant do anythin like opening up my case to swap appliques right now because it'll make noises and if my parents catch me up so late for nothing, might as well make me the applique for my window

 

[Wihln]

haha =) I'm at work atm so i check from time to time ;P (10:20 am). There is no need to rush it =) Hm.. i want to get home again... fast... I downloaded like 1,5 gb tattoo images from Direct-Connect earlier this week.. i want to check them out =S

Swedish:
Om det finns någon här som är svensk så kan ni ju kolla in tråden borta på nordichardwares forum... Skrev en liknande tråd där så ni kan skriva där också om ni vill =) Verkar iofs vara 99% amerikaner här så chansesn att någon ser det här meddelandet är väl inte direkt stor.. /me fortsätter plågas av radion.. ingen annan som hört den här jäkla ShellSelect reklamen? Blir helt galen.. "Rapers in da house - Magen vill bli mätt" >.< Får hoppas att min hjärna klarar av det här tills det att jag kommer hem..

aaand back to english =)
Are like 99% of the people on this forum american? Because i have some trouble understanding some of the posts... if anyone could translate this i would be really happy =)

i printed it out, used a sharpie to make it really dark and black - then i xeroxed it onto a tranparency using toner to make it stick

or if you, wayne, could explain in detail =)

 

[wayne]

haha =) I'm at work atm so i check from time to time ;P (10:20 am). There is no need to rush it =) Hm.. i want to get home again... fast... I downloaded like 1,5 gb tattoo images from Direct-Connect earlier this week.. i want to check them out =S

Swedish:
Om det finns någon här som är svensk så kan ni ju kolla in tråden borta på nordichardwares forum... Skrev en liknande tråd där så ni kan skriva där också om ni vill =) Verkar iofs vara 99% amerikaner här så chansesn att någon ser det här meddelandet är väl inte direkt stor.. /me fortsätter plågas av radion.. ingen annan som hört den här jäkla ShellSelect reklamen? Blir helt galen.. "Rapers in da house - Magen vill bli mätt" >.< Får hoppas att min hjärna klarar av det här tills det att jag kommer hem..

aaand back to english =)
Are like 99% of the people on this forum american? Because i have some trouble understanding some of the posts... if anyone could translate this i would be really happy =)
or if you, wayne, could explain in detail =)

ok, what i did was i took the picture, saved it on my computer, and printed it... now, at that time, my printer was dying and didnt print well but even if i did have a full cartridge, the black part wouldnt be dark enough... so i printed it out on printer paper, then i brought it to some copy machine place and xeroxed it onto regular paper and made it darker... then after a couple times of darkening it, it was really dark then i copied it onto a transparency.. then, voila, its done

 

[[H]Rabbit]

[H] Rabbit - I already have a lasercutter to do the job.. (they do custom designs too) It's the biggest lasercutter in Sweden (+Europe? im not sure). The best thing is - It's free

One way to do it is to spare just that dragon... something like this.. but i don't not know if it's will look good or not.
http://upl.silentwhisper.net/uplfolders/upload6/thingy.jpg
What about engraving? (What is the best CAD program to use for this kind of thing? )

Heh - my misunderstanding, not a bad place to have friends.

Your design layout is pretty standard as far as I can see. and it will look just fine. As for the CAD program to put it in - find out what format(s) the lasercutter takes and do it in a program that outputs to that.

What material do you want to engrave? (and don't forget etching)

 

[Wihln]

Hm... what's etching? I'll have to look that word up later Anyway.. This whole "project" is scheduled to start in 1-1,5 month and end... the next day? nah, this project will probably take forever. Since im not that good with modding and so on i'll have to learn all this stuff first.. (The computer that i have at home is shared by all the family members so wasn't allowed to do anything..) I need like 10 19 db fans

Why?

Well ... if i don't use the fan the cpu gets "kind of" hot.. 74 'C

That's my fan atm ;D i removed the comp case and now it just stands there.. i can't remove it because if i do, my comp reboots =)
While i was playing Ground Control 2 yesterday i though "Damn its so hot in here" and changed the direction on fan (you understand what i mean ;P) and like 40 seconds later my computer rebooted =P

oh and [H]Rabbit - Aluminium (but i can do it in any material i want). Is aluminium a bad choice? i'll tell my father to take one of the things they've done home. I'll take a picture of it and show it to you guys. And i love to have friends over there =)

wayne - ok, i'll try that later. Now, show me ze case =D

 

[wayne]

Hm... what's etching? I'll have to look that word up later Anyway.. This whole "project" is scheduled to start in 1-1,5 month and end... the next day? nah, this project will probably take forever. Since im not that good with modding and so on i'll have to learn all this stuff first.. (The computer that i have at home is shared by all the family members so wasn't allowed to do anything..) I need like 10 19 db fans

Why?

Well ... if i don't use the fan the cpu gets "kind of" hot.. 74 'C

That's my fan atm ;D i removed the comp case and now it just stands there.. i can't remove it because if i do, my comp reboots =)
While i was playing Ground Control 2 yesterday i though "Damn its so hot in here" and changed the direction on fan (you understand what i mean ;P) and like 40 seconds later my computer rebooted =P

oh and [H]Rabbit - Aluminium (but i can do it in any material i want). Is aluminium a bad choice? i'll tell my father to take one of the things they've done home. I'll take a picture of it and show it to you guys. And i love to have friends over there =)

etching is pretty much scratching the top surface to create a design
maybe you should clean out the dust in your computer, if you have any... or get a better heatsink or something... and definitely more fans

wayne - ok, i'll try that later. Now, show me ze case =D

bahh!!, its 4AM right now over here in NYC... my moms screamin bout how could there possibly be anyone online rite now.... strange lady

 

[Wihln]

Yeah im buying a new computer next week so thats why im not buying more fans and stuff atm.
I'm always online! well.. atleast while im at work =) its so damn boring over here >.< (Library)

Hm.. things seem like they are much more fun on the other side of the atlantic.. I live in a medium-size town (well, 60,000 people live here ;P It's big if you compare it to other Swedish cities ;P The biggest one is Stockholm.. 1 million) and there aren't alot of things to do over here... There is like 1 street with stores =P I would like to study in the US.. mainly because i want to learn alot more english and stuff.. Does anyone know where i could check prices and such? (Is there a hardforum irc channel? =S )

 

[wayne]

Yeah im buying a new computer next week so thats why im not buying more fans and stuff atm.
I'm always online! well.. atleast while im at work =) its so damn boring over here >.< (Library)

Hm.. things seem like they are much more fun on the other side of the atlantic.. I live in a medium-size town (well, 60,000 people live here ;P It's big if you compare it to other Swedish cities ;P The biggest one is Stockholm.. 1 million) and there aren't alot of things to do over here... There is like 1 street with stores =P I would like to study in the US.. mainly because i want to learn alot more english and stuff.. Does anyone know where i could check prices and such? (Is there a hardforum irc channel? =S )

ehh, for a computer FUN future, you do not want NYC... lan parties are VERY rare there, ive only seen like one or two every couple months... and its still far from where i live

i dont know what you mean by prices... you mean prices of teaching english and stuff?... ive seen ads on the train that are like, learn english and stuff... also the yellow book (aka fone book) also provides services and you may wanna check that out

 

[M4d-K10wN]

Etching would be kind of like this:

 

[Wihln]

ehh, for a computer FUN future, you do not want NYC... lan parties are VERY rare there, ive only seen like one or two every couple months... and its still far from where i live

i dont know what you mean by prices... you mean prices of teaching english and stuff?... ive seen ads on the train that are like, learn english and stuff... also the yellow book (aka fone book) also provides services and you may wanna check that out

Um... we have 1-2 lanparties a year... Well, i can go to Dreamhack (5000+).. its one of the biggest lans.. but its like 700 km from my place.. If you want lanpartys you have to live in the south, im far north. >.<
And with prices i mean how much it costs to study over there... how much it costs to live there and so on.. (Do you need a greencard to work in the US, if so.. is it hard to get one? )
Um.. i made a little map ;P

And how south do you have to go to find some heat? it's like -25 C over here during the winter (This is turning into a strange thread isn't it? ;P)

 

[[H]Rabbit]

Etching is basically taking the top layer of a material off, leaving behind a design with a different color/texture than the surroundings. Etched Glass looks "frosty", and is done with an acid wash (pretty easy to do yourself). (The picture above is an excellent example)
Aluminum is a good material if you want it light, steel if you want it super strong. Lexan or Plexiglass will let you see into your case, and combining the two (aluminum on top of lexan, or the reverse) with or without etching would be an interesting design.

US Universities range in price a lot. Financial aid and scholarships really change the equation. Expect a top notch technical university to list at 30K-50K a year (With Room and Board). You'll need a student Visa to study here, apply early as the process takes a few months now.

 

[Wihln]

[H]Rabbit - oh ok, thats alot of money Oh well, i'll make it.. somehow
Oh and about the etching.. looks pretty good. I'll check some guide (a swedish one ;D) later.

English entry word
etching

Swedish translation
etsning (substantiv)
det att med syror fräta bilder i metall mm

Had to check a dictionary =) But isn't etching the same thing as engraving? etching = with chemicals | engraving = pretty much the same thing but with tools? i mean the results.

 

[wayne]

Um... we have 1-2 lanparties a year... Well, i can go to Dreamhack (5000+).. its one of the biggest lans.. but its like 700 km from my place.. If you want lanpartys you have to live in the south, im far north. >.<
And with prices i mean how much it costs to study over there... how much it costs to live there and so on.. (Do you need a greencard to work in the US, if so.. is it hard to get one? )
Um.. i made a little map ;P

And how south do you have to go to find some heat? it's like -25 C over here during the winter (This is turning into a strange thread isn't it? ;P)

ive never been to a lanparty before...

Had to check a dictionary =) But isn't etching the same thing as engraving? etching = with chemicals | engraving = pretty much the same thing but with tools? i mean the results.

i tend to think of etching for plastic as if your scratching it and engraving for metal or hard materials because you "eNgRaVe" something into it... i dont know why i think that way tho, its an impression that i get

 

[Wihln]

yeah i guess you are right about that. Btw, are you done with the case yet?

 

[Wihln]

damn this rocky terrain.. Bump Bump BUMP BUMP BUMP

 

[wayne]

ahh, forgot... i ll do it after i finish replying to my threads... gimme like 5 min and i ll swap the appliques

 

[wayne]

here u go .....sorry, crappy webcam pics.. i m still trying to get used to using my new digi cam

these three are the pic on the window before i put it on the case... they have a yellow folder behind it to make the dragon design more visible

these next three pics are of the dragon applique on the window on the case... these are blurry because i used a crappy webcam and also because of the CCFL behind it that kinda screws up the image... i cant turn off the CCFL because then the window reflects the light behind it... so yea, there it is

 

[Wihln]

looks nice, i wonder how it would look on my case.. ;S oh well, time will tell. I need a new case though.. is Antec Sonata good? (my budget is really limited)

 

[wayne]

looks nice, i wonder how it would look on my case.. ;S oh well, time will tell. I need a new case though.. is Antec Sonata good? (my budget is really limited)

do what i did

buy cheapo case for like 30 bucks

mod it to your liking so that in the end, it doesnt look like what it used to look like

 

[Gunpowderboy]

Swedish---> Var tänker du skära ut mönstret någon stans? Hur mycket kommer det att kosta?

 

[sacvig]

I really want to learn swedish, trying to find a college that teaches it, not exactly for a major just to get a decent understanding of the language. It'd help me understand what the hell bands like bob hund and LOK are talking about.