WWII Online theme case

[saxxon]

Building this case with WWII online theme. Frame is grade 6062 aluminum, to be covered with dark blue acrylic.

I plan on putting my widescreen Viewsonic onto this case when it is done, and having everything internally wired. Like this drawing:

Case will also be cooled using a honeycomb airflow straightener on the intake I got from from saxonpc.com

I just finished the keyboard tray that will keep the keyboard in the case when not in use. It slides out 6.5 inches and hits the table, so I will not have to use the keyboard feet.

 

[mitcity22]

cool stuff......I'll be checking back.

 

[ballpoint]

Yeah looks like a neat concept. Keep us apprised!

 

[ganstafm]

this looks cool

 

[DumpsterDiver727]

looks awesome.. will be watching this one. and by the way.. ms paint is the BEST photo editor...

 

[Viperlover]

I absolutely LOVE this idea. Everything all in one package.

 

[saxxon]

Thanks, it will be a challenge to internally wire everything once Windows is running. And split AC power for monitor, PSU and speakers. I will try to include more pics from my worklog at http://www.saxxon.net/WWIIOnline2.html when I can post them.

 

[saxxon]

The case idea is from a case pic I caught a glimpse of online, I thought it was a monitor in a ATX case, but it was just lighting. but I wanted an ATX case with everything in it and internally wired.

Here is another concept pic with a few flight gauges pasted onto the case.

 

[WarMace]

Wow, thats my kind of case, I will look forward to following this build.

The keyboard tray is super hot!

 

[Black-Tom]

This looks like its going to be a sweet mod, I'm loving the keyboard tray. Remember, take it slow!!

 

[boomheadshot45]

subscirbed!

 

[Adidas4275]

looks good man....

 

[Viperlover]

I WANNA UPDATE! NOW!

 

[tylerdustin2008]

I WANNA UPDATE! NOW!

^^^^ What he said. Now this looks [H]awt!

 

[saxxon]

Great to hear someone is waiting on this. People told me "take your time" And that does not mean slacking either. It is in the details and I spent some time with that.
Here are the brackets I have been spending my time making. Bracket for the CD, HDD, fan bus, lifting pulls and speaker grills out of aluminum.

These mount up the drives to 1/4 inch acrylic. I put them on there, turn away and look again and BAM! wow that looks great. Hope the photo does it justice.

The clock may seem out of place. But I built a clock into the PC I made for my sister. And I really liked that it kept time when the pc was off.
Here is the pic of the clock I built before, a copy of these Gucci watches.

More pics of that PC are at http://www.saxxon.net/pink.html?1150901747418

Here is one side done, with speaker hole, vent opening and chrome pull installed.

I may use this ladder material to route the wires, it looks like the train bride triangles from WWII Online, where I spend alot of time. Depending on how it looks as the wiring goes in.

This piece had a crack in it so it got scrapped. But you can see how dark it is and how good it looks against the framing.

Here is a close up of the speaker grill.

Here is the rear fan based on this 15,000 HP fan at NASA

The fan control looks like this when powered on, should help to make the front panel look like a cockpit.

Blem cockpit WWII

I could post more pics of the acrylic, but with the tack paper on there it is not too impressive. Next steps are more holes in the other side. Then make the front bezel, it will have a dozen precisiton cuts so there it a ton of measuring to get it right.
Sorry to make you wait so long between posts.

 

[saxxon]

^^^^ What he said. Now this looks [H]awt!

Don't blame you for wanting an update. I try to make progress every day, I will try to take more pics.

 

[arentol]

Where can I get one of those fan controls?

 

[Burning_Monk]

very cool, what's the final color going to be, military grey?

 

[Willsonman]

So many fun options on this mod. Looking forward to it. Might be fun to get one of those back lit keyboards... just like instruments in a cockpit. I used to know every model of aircraft in the european air war but that was years ago. I've thought about a submarine mod but the only cool thing I could come up for that was that USB missle launcer that I could incorporate as a torpedo or ICBM. I may one day have a fun trick to do for that. Still working on it. Please inspire me!

 

[saxxon]

I did purchase a G-11 keyboard for this case. But it was too wide. I have a Eclipse at home, but it is odd shaped to make work. I would realy like the lighted keypad but most are cheesy or too wide or tall. WWII Online gets night time so a lighted keyboard is a must. It will light from inside the bunker. The trade-offs of modding I suppose.
The sub gauge panel sounds like a great idea. I am still working on how I inspire myself.

 

[saxxon]

Where can I get one of those fan controls?

I love this product. I spend hours looking for the right control to fit this theme. Itis not expensive and looks great. Many options including sound control. Here is a link: http://www.arcticmod.com/computer-m...-inch-bay-multi-function-panel-controller.htm

 

[Skott]

I like your mod concept. Very nice. That controller is sweet looking too.

 

[BIGJ]

I was thinking of doing something like this, I hope it turns out good, subsribed!

 

[saxxon]

The MB standoffs are on, I still need to add standoffs for the little circuit board that runs to the volume control. This usually routes outside the case between PCI slots.

Here is a close up of the HDD mount. This pink HD is scrap becasue it is noisy. I need to get a HD still. I drilled out some holes for ventilation. And I really like the sound of aluminum once it has been lightened like this. Hitting the table or other pieces sounds so much different. And it looks great with the framing.

Here is a close up of the switches. I got covers for them for a more finished look. And the other buttons are from an alarm clock. They will be for the CD and clock/temp C/F button.

I want to put this compass between the CD and the fan controller, it will make a 4th circle gauge. But only if I can make it look good like this Ritchie aircraft instrument which is $75
.

Here is a close up of the framing. The screw holes are in inches, then drilled out both directions in alternating mm and countersunk so as to not scratch the acrylic. And it makes the holes look bigger. I will use all button head allens on the case and parts. No phillips screws.

 

[saxxon]

Here I'll show more work. Cutting the 120mm opening and speaker hole with scroll saw. Drilling out all the holes.

That should be all the holes I need on the left side. I am still unsure what fan guard style I am going with. There may not be any guards on here.

The speakers are Altec Lansing. The LCD screen has it's own speakers, and they go plenty loud, but are poor quality. I will replace them with these Lansing ones and I won't have to figure out how to mount and use the stock amp buttons from the "front", or have an additional AC split.

If I need more than 2.0 sound I can add some smaller speakers later. 5.1 was out, and I want to keep the entire build less weight than my HP 19 inch CRT.


After playing WWII Online last night I figured I had to make the compass work on here. It will just look too cool with the game running.
Here I cut and drilled out a small square. Then filed the edges smooth.

Then polished it up. Looks good with button head allens and regular allens, not sure which one I will use. May be hard to find button heads as long as I need.

Here is another pic of the left side. With the 120mm fan and Altec Lansing speaker.
And the CD player I painted with Metalcast paint. That stuff it so great. Paints on chrome, aluminum or paint and looks great. I polished off what must be the cheapest primer made before painting.

The only wired connections to the outside world will be 1 AC and USB once Windows is running.
And port in the "rear". I did an overkill on screws for military look.

I picked up this 1/8 inch aluminum bar for the keyboard door. I didn't want the door to be acrylic.
I will put about 20 screws in here that do nothing but look good. The pink HD is DOA, just used for spacing.

 

[PoTTeR83]

I'm liking this, where did you get the framing?

 

[saxxon]

I got the metal from Metal Superstore. I don't know if they are just in Oregon. It is grade 6062 1/4 inch aluminum squares. I bought like two 9 foot rods and cut them down to sizes.

Then spent about 5 hours drilling out pilot holes, screw holes, lightening holes, and then countersink each hole so it was not sharp. And it makes the lightening holes look bigger.

Then I had 18 pieces to weld together.

Here is a closeup of the CD player, you'll never be able to tell it is blue behind the acrylic, but it was worth painting.

It is starting to look like a PC.

The volume PCB is also on standoffs.

Here is another shot of the side.

The diffuser and honeycomb sure make a different look. Aimed directly at the components you can see the exit fan on the other side. Along with the PSU fan there should be plenty of air going into this opening.

 

[filthysanchez]

shouldn't the airflow straightener be on the exhaust side of the fan, where the air blows into the case?

 

[saxxon]

shouldn't the airflow straightener be on the exhaust side of the fan, where the air blows into the case?

There is no input fan planned for this case. A flow straightener attached to a fan is running on the PC I am using. But for this new case a straightener will be used to ensure the intake airflow is uniform past the components. Works well for my chipset temps on my current acrylic case.

In this pic your seeing the exhaust fan looking through the input side.

About another 2 weeks and I will start taking the tack paper off the acrylic.

 

[saxxon]

This thing needs an update, been a while since I did much work, but it is back on track for completion. I got the windowed HD from Western Digital, this unit is so nice

And I really like the OCZ memory

The passthrough to the keyboard/cd will be through this desk type button. This will allow for a good air seal

I still had to shorten the wires of this high end PSU. Would be nice if they made some 4-6 inch lenghts for you too. Not eveyone has a HD in the next room

Nothing more fun than taking apart a brand new part. I had to add a mount to this 8800 because it will not have the slot of a normal case.

I drilled this mount to match the case frame.
I have the entire table full of parts to assemble this thing. I have only a few more brackets and one very detailed plexi piece to get it running.
I will run Windows this week and start on the LCD mounts.
The specs are:
Saxon Computers Hemmed LCD Case with Keyboard Slide
GIGABYTE GA-965QM-DS2 LGA Q965 Express Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
eVGA GeForce 8800GTS 320MB Superclocked PCI Express Video Card
Western Digital Raptor X WD150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
HIPER HPU-4B580 12V v2.2 580W Power Supply
OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 (loaner chip employee benefit)
ViewSonic's 20.1" VX2025wm widescreen LCD
HIPER HCK-1S18- Silver Slim Clavier Keyboard
Sony NEC Optiarc 18X DVDSATA Model AWG170S-B2
AeroCool TURBINE 1000 120mm Fan
LINKSYS WRT54GL Wireless-G Broadband Router
HAWKING HWUG1 USB 2.0 Wireless-G Adapter with Removable Antenna
ALTEC LANSING Speakers
Logitech 931379-0403 Cordless Notebook Mouse
Fieon Digital HYN104-BLU 4-Port Hub
this is getting much closer, no more milking getting this done

 

[Viperlover]

Looking siiiiick.

 

[saxxon]

I made some real progress this week. I wanted to get away from the IDE CD drive so I got a SATA Sony drive. Then I had to give it the paint job I did the IDE drive, no such luck the 2 CD drives housings match.

This was sanded down to metal and painted with metalcast blue. It will be hard to see through the dark blue plexi, but looks nice

Here is the stack o' software that had to be run to get windows running. I also bought this case because it was chaper then buying the few buttons I needed and I could get Windows & WWII Online running while I do other things. This USB port will be internal to run the keyboard and mouse.

The part that was causing me to really drag me feet on this project was the front bezel. It took a few hours to mock up and measure everything out. Then a few hours to cut and clean up. By far the most complicated piece in the project. I still have to cut a door into it but so far one try is less then I thought I would have to make.

The scroll saw does not seem to track perfectly straight, so there is alot of clean up with files and sandpaper.

The CD drive door will be this 1/8 inch aluminum. Matches the thickness of the plexi so should mount flush. I will drive the screws right into the CD plate. these CD drives seem to be very forgiving.

The clock is working out well. I bought two of them so I will now drill out and tap the clock case to mount onto the acrylic. And replace the whole display with a new one with no scratches. And put in fresh batteries.

Here is the hardware running WWII Online for the first time, with no adjustments it got 122 FPS off the bat.

The compass looks good and fits snug. I also decided to go with dual drawer slides. This will allow the keyboard to go 8 inches from the monitor, the average distance of the 3 PC's I measured. So more drilling drawer slides. I though measuring and mouting one set of slides was tough.
I want a 1/8 inch piece of aluminum for the keyboard door, this piece is 1 1-/4 inch wide, giving plently of clearance above and below for keyboard and CD mounting.

The hinges are for a jewlery box I think, It was tough to find small enough hinges. And I had to grind a bunch of screws for the door and hinges.
Now the door works perfect. Swings open very easy like I wanted. Then the keyboard slides out 8 inches.

Then I drilled in 24 additional holes for looks, these won't do anything but look good Really gives it a military look and matches the CD drive.

Not much left for big projects. A few more holes in the plexi and it will be ready to start with the monitor mounts.

 

[wikidlad]

Just discovered this thread. Looking good dude, keep the updates coming.

Nice job

 

[saxxon]

Ok, Now comes the fun part. Tearing apart the Viewsonic 21 inch widescreen.
It was not as simple as 4 screws like I thought and the cheap ones I was eyeballing at work. This thing snaps together tight. And I lost the rear mounting plate I thought I would have so the mount will be in the silver framing. This will work out better for airflow.
Here is the screen disected a bit:

The LCD power button is the only one I use, I may just bring this one only through the plexi, sealed with an industrial nipple. No one takes me serious when I say I need an industrial nipple.

With the silver framing it sure fills out the entire case frame.

Won't be much left of this piece when the LCD hole is cut.

I am not crazy about leaving this LCD sitting around. I wanted to mount it like this, but it will be better supported with the silver bump ring.

!7 screws ought to look good and support the monitor well. It will have to be cap screws thought because so far I cannot find button heads that long.

The door was quite a long process to cut into the plexi- file to fit, cut hinge slots, and make the whole thing work well and smooth. I do not want to have to mess with this stuff later.

Then I had to rig the door with magnets and a piece of steel so it will stay shut. This took some work on paper.

And then hours later it works for real. Cutting a magnet is not something any of my tools will do. Band saw didn't even score it.

Here is the door with a piece of the blue plexi.

From the conception of this project I knew that if I did not put a protective panel over the LCD for transporting it. I would wish I had the first time I transport it. So I cut a 18 x 13 inch clear piece that hinges off. To protect it and if it is optically the same I may just leave it on.
I should of took more photos of the whole panel. Here is the hinge pieces cemented to the clear panel. With no tack paper, No peeking eh!

The magnets keep the door shut great.

Besides what is a functional PC in the start up case. All this stuff is going into the box, boy is it going to be tight.
My dream of a 1-foot DVI cable died when I opened the UPS shipment. 1 foot is measured from end to end, just short of what I needed. I will have to use a 3 foot DVI cable. Anyone got a line on a 2 foot DVI cable? I got a 1 foot if anyone wants...? It is only good for rack mount..?
Here is all what will be going in:

 

[saxxon]

Here is the panel with all 17 screws that will hold it in place, and the clear plexi protective cover that hinges on. Looks sick eh? I am glad I left the silver bump ring.

the HDD is the only warm running part in this build, and that is with WWII Online running. And because I added a second 120mm fan instead of a 90 it will be looking for more places to draw air than what I have provided. So here underneath the HDD without adding a fan or weight for cooling. I will add a few strips of plastic honeycomb to draw onto the HDD.

Here I also removed the 2 fans from the PSU. A 120mm will draw air trhough the PSU and the honeycomb will force it to travel onto all the components. I cannot get a good photo of this but with smoke it certainly is impressive.
Also I used the rubber part from a switch for the seal of the monitor button.

Here are the roller locks that will keep the keyboard from sliding out when not wanted.

Here is the PSU with the fan removed.
And the front bezel, this piece has 50 holes in it, and I am glad I am done with it and can remove the paper.

And here is the front bezel witha few of the parts installed onto it.

I am pretty sure there will be only one way to assemble this thing. And that I am learning as I go. Everything fit by itself fine, but all together it takes a little more patients to get nuts and bolts into small spaces.

 

[saxxon]

This is taking more time than I thought to assemble these parts. Of course I am making sure I don't have to take it apart to fix something later. the keyboard slide took a great deal of time to make everything clear. The wiring is gonna get worse before it gets better.

And on paper the thought of a bank of switches was gonna be pimp. Now wiring all these things, mostly for lighting, is proving to be not as fun as playing with banks of switches as a kid.

I got the PSU ready to mount in and internally wired.

You can see the honeycomb which has replaced the input fan also. To show a better example of what this will be accomplishing I made a better ghetto box to take photos with.
Here you can see the natural flow of a box with a 92mm output fan @ 9v
You can see dead spots, and the smoke taking the easiest path possible to get out through to the fan.

Now with the honeycomb here is a photo of the start of a flow, and a pic of the flow pattern going all the way to the bottom the the box.

 

[RX3]

very nice. cant wait until it is all up and running

 

[saxxon]

This is complete and pics are at: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1233116