The Mineral Oil PC

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+
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hmmm .... smells like teen spirit in here.


Good work so far. can't wait to see how this turns out.
 
An update of work thus far this weekend:

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Busting out the table saw to rip a few more side panels to size.

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Fit looks good...

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...But no so much here. But don't worry, it's a lot easier to file a panel to the correct size than it is to make a new one because it was too small.

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Mounting the rad grill and radiator.

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Using the provided template to cut out the hole.

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And after much cursing, yelling, tears and then filing... lots of filing. Jig saw = fail. I couldn't find a way to securely hold the panel down while trying to cut out the middle. Jig saws do not like cutting objects that can vibrate freely. I ended up finishing the cuts with the Dremel; I hate Dremels.

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I cut 4 pieces of 1/2" angle to length.

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2 of them mounted.

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I countersunk some screws to allow the side panels to fit snugly over the corners.

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Got the hole nice and filed with the rad and grill mounted.

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The other side.

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I cut another piece of sheet to fit the back of the case.

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And then filed it to size, drilled, tapped and screwed it on. The screw on the middle left is in too far. And once again the camera is focusing on who knows what.

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Poor USB hub never knew what hit it.

And that's where I stopped today. I'm sick and feeling all around miserable. Probably won't go to work tomorrow. In which case I'll probably work on the remaining side panels. Another sponsor may also be in the works. They offered some of their next gen SSDs, which have not been released yet. They might not be released in time for this project, but maybe for a future mod...

Thoughts?
 
Was bored tonight, so I decided to do a little soldering...

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4 LEDs in series with a 22ohm resistor for about 2.07v drop across each diode. I have the positive lead connected to the 12v line and the negative lead is connected to the 3.3v rail. Do the math -> 8.7v. Each is held in place with a generous glob of hot glue.

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Not overly bright so they won't get annoying like blue LEDs. Looks pretty decent.
 
Just a suggestion for future... if you're trying to cut out sections of the aluminum plate, bolt it to the frame first, using flat head screws, if you can. Then you can clamp down the frame and it won't vibrate all over when you're using the jigsaw. Or even screw it to something else, like a couple pieces of 2x4" wood.
 
Just a suggestion for future... if you're trying to cut out sections of the aluminum plate, bolt it to the frame first, using flat head screws, if you can. Then you can clamp down the frame and it won't vibrate all over when you're using the jigsaw. Or even screw it to something else, like a couple pieces of 2x4" wood.

Thanks for the advice. I attempted to do that, but it wasn't always possible. The sheet I was cutting was often too small to place the clamp in a position such that it wouldn't be in the way of the jig saw.

Those feet are sweet!

Thanks!
 
Nice done with the feets! :D

Thanks.

I stayed home from work today because I'm sick. I did what any self respecting modder should do.... work anyway!

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I used the table saw to cut another side panel.

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Then repeated the same marking, drilling and tapping process. I think I've developed a twitch when I hear the word "tap." I have tapped 154 holes so far. ARGGGGGG.

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And then using one of my least favorite tools, the Dremel...

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...I cut the hole out for the 2nd radiator on my fresh side panel.

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4 cutting wheels, 45 minutes later, and then 15 minutes of filing, the hole was acceptable.

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I do not like AC Ryan Rad Grillz either. They are designed to fit on any brand radiator, which means they inevitably fit on no brands of radiators. The holes do not line up for HWLabs radiators nor for XSPC radiators. The amount of time I have to spend fudging around with the damn things is ridiculous. Radiator hole spacing really needs to be standardized so problems like this do not occur.

Grrr.
 
Nice work man....You have inspired me to possibly do some oil cooling myself. Iv been reading up on it for over a year, but like your direction with it.
 
I have had problems with those grills as well. If you shop at performance pcs then you might find yourself some better grills, especially name brands that actually fit and look really nice.
 
This looks like a very nice home built case, this will probably be beautiful when it is finished. oh, and keep up the good work :D
 
Nice work man....You have inspired me to possibly do some oil cooling myself. Iv been reading up on it for over a year, but like your direction with it.

Thanks and good luck! I hope all the effort is worth it in the end.

Thanks man, been looking around for one of these. progress looks sweeet :]

No problem, they are a little pricey though and their shipping is ridiculous.

I have had problems with those grills as well. If you shop at performance pcs then you might find yourself some better grills, especially name brands that actually fit and look really nice.

I actually bought those 2 grills from performance pcs. Maybe I should've bought a different brand after my bad experience with them the first time around on my previous mod, but I like the simplistic style of the 2 that I bought.

This looks like a very nice home built case, this will probably be beautiful when it is finished. oh, and keep up the good work :D

That's my intent ;) Thanks.

No updates until Friday, will be out of town until then. I'm supposed to pick up my oil on my way back. We'll see....
 
So I'm back in town and back to work.

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On my way home, I picked up the 10 gallons of oil that I got from work.

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It's fairly colorless. The greenish tint in this pic kind of overstates how it appears in real life.

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Remember that USB hub I destroyed? Here it is! Filing these holes took damn near forever.

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The 3 ports on the right are outputs. The plug on the left is for power and the mini usb is the input.

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Which leaves me 4 ports on the inside. I mounted the PCB by using double sided tape to attach it to a piece of cardboard, which has another piece of double sided tape holding it to the piece of square aluminum stock below it.

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My sheets of acrylic. Together, these weight about 15lbs.

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Looks like good stuff!

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Hmmmmm, I wonder what has been cut recently....

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I precisely measured and cut the bottom piece.

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And then the 4 sides.

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And then chopped them all to the same height. I haven't done any more work on them besides this. I still need to glue them together and drill the holes for the radiator inlet/outlet.

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Making sure everything fits. The top most USB port is not usable. Shouldn't be a problem though. I may end up only needing 1 port down here.

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Checking the placement of the Crystalfontz LCD.

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Then I printed out the template and taped it on the front panel.

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I scored all the lines with a razor blade and cut the main window out with the dremel. Then I drilled the pilot holes for the buttons.

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After about 3 hours with some intense needle file action...

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...Looks like it fits. I'm thinking about putting a piece of copper over top of this to hide the knife marks. I was half asleep when I put the template on the front side of the panel and not the back. We'll see.

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I cut and sliced some sound proofing material for the bottom of the case.

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Then I drilled 4 holes to mount the SCAB.

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And stuck the screws through.

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And then bolted the SCAB down.

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And then I made sure it still worked.

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If you remember this sketch, the two elbows will have temperature sensors in them. One will measure the oil intake temperature and the other will measure the outlet temperature.

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I cut most of a barb off a T and stuck a sensor in. Then I sealed it with silicone.

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You can see the sensor poking through the silicone goop. Why is this stuff red? Apparently it's high temperature silicone. It came with a wood burning stove for sealing the chimney. When I seal the corners of the tank, I certainly won't use this stuff. I think I have a syringe of clear silicone somewhere....

Until tomorrow....
 
Awesome work so far, very pleased with how this is coming along.

Do you have any plans for handles maybe at the back and front of the bottom portion to lift this thing? It is going to weight quite a bit so be careful.
 
Ah yes, classical 'template markings on visible side' error. Been there, done that. If the grooves aren't too deep, you could perhaps use fine sandpaper to make it less visible. In my experience you'll keep getting scratches on aluminium no matter how hard you try to avoid it, so it may not be that terrible.

No idea how it looks IRL, though. Good luck at any rate :)
 
Awesome work so far, very pleased with how this is coming along.

Do you have any plans for handles maybe at the back and front of the bottom portion to lift this thing? It is going to weight quite a bit so be careful.

Thanks and nope! I estimate the final weight to be somewhere around 130lbs. I won't be able to lift it with the tank filled. There will be a drain however.

Mooooaaaarrrr!

I'm tired!

Ah yes, classical 'template markings on visible side' error. Been there, done that. If the grooves aren't too deep, you could perhaps use fine sandpaper to make it less visible. In my experience you'll keep getting scratches on aluminium no matter how hard you try to avoid it, so it may not be that terrible.

No idea how it looks IRL, though. Good luck at any rate :)

Lol yea, I had a bit of a face/palm moment when I realized it. I still haven't decided on the final finish for the aluminum, so it may be a non issue.

You're right about the scratches too. My previous case has a few scratches here and there from handling it during the year after it was completed.
 
what can you do about the scratches after completing?

Do you mean the scratches on my previous case that happened after it was done?

I can sand them away if they're not very deep. If I really wanted to, I could rebrush the panels. Or I can just ignore them :p which is what I'm doing. There's a few on the middle of the left side panel from where my jacket zipper was when I carried the case up a flight of stairs.
 
yes, the previous case. I wanted to build a case using aluminum but if it is going to show scratches everywhere, or if the scratches are going to be as annoying as the dust for an aircooled pc...then..
 
yes, the previous case. I wanted to build a case using aluminum but if it is going to show scratches everywhere, or if the scratches are going to be as annoying as the dust for an aircooled pc...then..

It shouldn't be a problem unless you move your PC around a lot. I've had my previous build up and running for about a year. The only 2 big scratches I know of are the one I mentioned previously and another one from when I couldn't get one of the screws out to remove a side panel. I ended up prying the thing out with a screwdriver and some pliers. The threading in the aluminum hollow stock had become stripped.

That was one of the major factors in deciding to use solid aluminum stock on this mod. There are ~10 screw holes on one of the side panels that are no longer functional because the threading is only 1/8" and aluminum isn't particularly hard. This causes the side to be loose and vibrate. I now keep one of the side panels off 24/7 (I also got tired of removing ~16 screws every time I wanted to get inside my PC.
 
Working hard at work, or am I hardly working? Anyway, here's an idea I came up with for the front of the case:

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The two circles on the top section are the power and reset bulgin switches. The slit is a slim slot loading dvd burner. The black square is a 8" LCD screen I just got hooked up. The detail is all copper. And of course, the LCD at the bottom is the Crystalfontz screen.

I'm not 100% set on any of this, but I particularly don't like the curvy thing I drew in between the two screens.

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Here's a crappy pic of the 8" LCD panel I have. Nifty little thing is 640x480, has VGA, composite and s-video input.

EDIT:
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Or maybe this better. Power button on the bottom, reset on top. The power button I bought has a black housing which will match the color of the grills and screws. The reset switch still isn't decided yet.
 
maybe the facade should be a rectangle with rounded corners? maybe with polished aluminum? or brushed? or a design cut out of it? Coming along nicely, can't wait to see how it ends up!
 
This is an aggregate of the work I've done in the past few days. I don't get home early enough to get any serious modding done during the week.

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Specs of the MicroATX PSU that I'm considering using to power the lower compartment. It's left over from another mod (peltier drink cooler).

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It won't fit with the casing on, so off it goes.

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Barely has any clearance. I don't think I'll use it. I already have to run a few cables from the upper compartment to the lower compartment; USB, 2 temp sensors, and Reset. The PSU eliminates the need for 3.3v, 5v, 12v, and GND. But it also adds the complication of 1 more point of failure and the need for another relay.

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So I cooked this up real quick as a solution. I'll place a few of these down the back of the case to guide the wires nice and straight. 1 on the bottom aluminum section made out of alu, 2 on the plexi section made out of plexi, and 1 more on the top section.

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All nice and done. The wires will all be sleeved the same color so they look uniform and neat.

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I cut some of the remaining aluminum sheet metal to 18.5" width so I can rip the pieces for the upper section from it.

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The two long sides.

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And the rest.

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The top section will be removable. It's still up in the air whether it'll be hinged or not though. I want to hinge it, but I can't think of an obvious place to attach the hinges on the lower section. I'll take a look at the different kinds of hinges the next time I go to the hardware store.

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The top section will simply sit on top of these pieces of 1/2" angle aluminum. The pencil mark is how far down the aluminum goes. The ~1/4" of overlap is intentional.

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And here it is all together. The top section is simply taped for now.

What do you think?
 
Wow man...just wow....you are the definition of mad scientist.

This is truly amazing and inspiring.
 
Wow man...just wow....you are the definition of mad scientist.

This is truly amazing and inspiring.

Lol, thanks. I'm not a pioneer though; this has been done by plenty of other people before me.

looks great so far! Cant wait to see more


Thanks guys!

maybe the facade should be a rectangle with rounded corners? maybe with polished aluminum? or brushed? or a design cut out of it? Coming along nicely, can't wait to see how it ends up!

I'm not sure I understand what you envision, could you maybe draw up a quick sketch? Doesn't have to be anything elaborate, MS Paint would be fine. Thanks for the comment :cool:
 
seriously nice PC there!

This build is inspiring.

I like it :D

Thanks, got a long way to go!

Been working on the upper frame all day.

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Did this Thursday. It allows me to plug 3 fans into 1 fan header on the SCAB and still pull the RPM data from one of the fans (the one with the shortest lead).

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With the 3 fans attached.

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And then tucked away, in position and plugged in. Works well.

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I cut the 12 L brackets needed to construct the upper frame.

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I spent the entire day on this silly thing. This will have no weight on it, so it's entirely over designed.

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The frame completed and in place.

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Drilling the holes for the panels.

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All of the panels attached. There's a lot of work in between these pictures that goes undocumented simply because it's so tedious.

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And then in position on the rest of the frame.

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Quick pic with the acrylic in place.

That's where I stopped today. Tomorrow I want to work more on the upper section. Hopefully I'll think of a way to hinge it. As is, I can simply just lift it off the top of the case.
 
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