Making Own Case

M

Morphious

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Jan 19, 2004
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I'm not sure if anybody here has any experience with the type of case that I'd like to make, however I'll ask it anyways and hope that some of you guru's out there can help me out:

I'm currently looking at making my own cased based on a design that me and a friend of mine came up with. I can't describe it very well, but it's basically a circle with three cool-looking spikes coming out of it, kind of like a ninja star but the center is a sphere. :p

Anyways, what could I use to make the sphere part out of? I think I'll use aluminum or steel for the spike parts, as it'll most likely be easiest and look the best, but how could I make the sphere? I've been told to use fiberglass, but I don't have a clue how to hold fiberglass like that. Is there any other material that I could use, or any large fiberglass ball that I could buy at the store? :p

If you guys have any ideas let me know.

Thanks
 
Making anyhting round is a big pain.

You can make fiberglas, using a large wooden object to be carved into the mold.

Or you cna get a large sheet of metal and hammer it into a round shape, then use filler to smooth it out.
 
How are you planning on mounting cd drives, motherboard, or and pci/agp cards with it being round?
 
Carefully.

Nah, I've pretty much scrapped this idea due to the difficulties and lack of proper equipment.

However I'm looking for more cool ideas; if you guys have some that don't require a big deal of heavy-duty machinery, suggest some. :)
 
a few threads back, something called "the radio .. thingy?" can't remember
but anyway.....

that dude found an alluminum lamp shade at a 2nd hand shop
j00 could do the same except get 2 and stick them together
maybe stick a hinge on it or even turn it into a UFO

good luck with whatever you try :)
 
fiber glass is easy, use mat not cloth as it will curve better, and mix your resin as directed on the container. do your self a favor and only use new resin and catylist, as if it's even six months old it will react slowly and splotchy, and cause a lot more work. I have built a couple of race cars from scratch, with fiberglass bodies, and found that out the hard way. buy it in quarts not the gallon size, check with any plastics houses or chemical companies that sell suplies, to see if they carry the materials as you can save up to 70% from retail at auto supply stores. and check boat shops as they use it alot.

take a rubber or plastic ball, cut your strips in two to three inch widths, using a paint brush apply the resin to the ball and then apply the mat. apply more resin and allow to dry. If you use very little resin so the out side surface is still rough you can do it in small pieces and still get good bonding at the seams. when every part is covered, mix more resin and " paint the whole thing," that also can be done in steps.

Do small amounts and work slowly and you can get it looking like a factory built piece. to attach any thing onto the outide you can drill and bolt, or resin in the pieces. you can cut any openings or cut it in two with a jig saw, or any other kind of saw. Small pieces of cardboard work excellent as stiffeners, just laminate them in with resin and a single layer of mat.

Don't give up because you have a good idea , dive in and make what you want. No one else will have anything like it.

Show us the pictures.:cool:
 
It's more work than you thinking building something from the ground up especially if you make it up to ATX spec or any spec for that matter.

Best way to do it is find a ball the size you are looking for (the bouncy kind you play with in a pool) and then fiberglass over it. :D The back side has to have an opening for your hardware to get in and out so you'd make a door. The spikes can be made from almost anything (acrylic, metal, wood). Just find some basic shapes and you could fiberglass over them even.

Its all about how creative you can be with the stuff yer given.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I guess I'll rethink my decision of dropping it.

The main reason I had decided not to make this case is because it's a pretty complex thing to do when I've never worked with fiberglass before. You guys are all using words that I have no clue what they mean. :p

Also what I was planning on doing for the opening was this: Make two hemispheres that can be perfectly closed...yes this will be hard, but maybe if I somehow make the fiberglass a complete sphere to start off and then cut it down the center it'd work. Then I just use a hinge to hinge together the two hemispheres, so it'd open like a door; plop a lock with a key on it so it stays closed and I'd be all set. Figure it's easier than screwing it together :p

Any other ideas of how I could do this? Any tutorials you guys know of?
 
I've seen that done before with a mini ITX board, I think, but I can't remember who did it as well as the site for it - sorry.
 
well take a look at this

if you get a small board you can mount it damn hear anyware, but if you want a full atx board and cards, then your going to need a bunch of room and ventalation (a drawing of your design would help) you can use your spikes for airflow, put your board on one 1/2 of the sphear and HD and psu on the other side...


you can make a mold out of plywood or something (cut the wood in cercles progesivly getting smaller, and then sand down to a sphear... or use wood filler and then sand and you have a molde, or if you do it well with good wood you can just use that as the structure to your case..

good luck
 
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