Project: Secret of the Ooze

[Mithosphere]

speaking of the whole project . . . any updates?

[gvblake22]

Well, I actually did work on it tonight, but I spent nearly the entire time accidentally re-creating a piece that I thought I hadn't made yet but it turned out I did and I just forgot! Once I was done I found it sitting peacefully on the shelf off to the side

But no one likes a picture-less update, so here is a pic of the IDE cable I found for the optical drives:

Will work great because it looks good and doesn't take up as much space. Thanks AC Ryan!!!
<<Product Link>>

[Mithosphere]

sweet!
how much you figure you have left to do?

[gvblake22]

Originally Posted by Mithosphere

how much you figure you have left to do?

Weeelllllll, let's see here:

-Finish mounting optical drives and making the front panel opening for them look presentable

-Mount the front USB/Firewire/Audio connections and fan controller (both 3.5" drive bay products)

-Mount front intake fan filter material and cover.

-Mount the temperature display and power button.

-Finish the internal PSU support pieces (those two acrylic corner cubes).

-Create custom cables for the modular PSU and sleeve them all.

-Sleeve the rest of the cables (fans, front USB, fan controller, etc).

-Paint all unfinished metal pieces (frame, screw heads, fan filter material, motherboard back I/O frame, PSU mounting bracket).

-Reassemble and take pictures of the thing that took me waaayyy too long to finish

[Panda Man]

Originally Posted by gvblake22

-Reassemble and take pictures of the thing that took me waaayyy too long to finish

I agree, no more updates, just finish the damn thing! I'm jacked up on Mountain Dew and I'll be all over you like a spider monkey if you don't finish it this year!

[gvblake22]

Originally Posted by Panda Man

I agree, no more updates, just finish the damn thing! I'm jacked up on Mountain Dew and I'll be all over you like a spider monkey if you don't finish it this year!

If I don't finish it this year, the case is gonna go play in traffic

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

Originally Posted by gvblake22

If I don't finish it this year, the case is gonna go play in traffic

I'd finish it for you!

I'd of course need tools... and paint... and other stuff. Man, I need a project to keep me off the computer...

[Sumgai]

Blake-

Here's an idea I had for the mounting of your front grille fan mesh. If you dig it, cool, and if not I was bored and had some fun with MS Paint anyway (Would have been an easier rendering if had I a copy of Inventor handy, but I can't seem to afford the $1500 license, so Paint it is...) This is the best solution I could think of, since the front panel is transparent and you obviously don't want to be able to see the edge of the mesh, or the adhesive you use to mount it with. You cut out a black acrylic ring, whichever diameter you choose, and then sandwich the mesh between the ring and the backside of the front panel using glue of your choice. I'd suggest Gorilla glue, but I'm not sure how well and evenly it would set up since it expands considerably when it dries. But if you get that to work, it'll be solid as a rock. You could also solder the circumference of the mesh disc so that it won't flex on you as it would with the raw cut edges, since you won't be able to mess with it after it's all assembled and dry. On the front side, make another black ring, equal or greater in size than the backside one so that it covers it from view. The front ring then creates an over-hang over the fan opening so that the mesh has a nice aesthetic recessed look. (As an added touch to tie in with the handle on the top of the case, you could use screws or allen head bolts around the ring too. (Sorry...afterthought, you have so many details to tie into to keep the theme constant throughout :P)).



Well, that's just my two cents on it, and I just want to add, that after only being part of this community for a couple days, your Ooze post was the first mod I read (C'mon, I had to, it's 23 pages long and I knew there would be pics) Needless to say, I'm impressed. You definitely have a passion for modding and I know none us of can wait to see the final result. Keep the pics coming ^^

[gvblake22]

Thanks for the input Sumgai!
That's a great idea, and nearly the same thing I had in mind to do. The problem is, however, that what you referred to as "black" acrylic isn't a completely opaque black, it's actually a dark tinted smoke gray that you can see through if the light is right. So I can't really hide a bunch of glue and rough edges behind the stuff very easily. Therein lies the problem...
So what I'm gonna try and do is fold the edges back on the metal filter and lightly hit glue it to the inside of the fan hole cut in the front panel. Then I will put that fluorescent green acrylic frame on top of that to hopefully help blend it in a little more.

And send me a PM if you are interested in getting a copy AutoDesk AutoCAD 2000

[Fasttazz]

WOW 25 pages!!
Blake, This is one awesome moded case.Well done my friend.
Dont fret over cuts not being perfect-nothing in life is perfect.It only says that it was made by hand.Something to be very proud of.
Your crafting abilities are great!
One suggestion for the grille/mesh is to get some window screen at the local hardware store. A $4.00 roll of screen will do hundreds of projects.
You can get Aluminum or vinyl screen.Also I have used the " Pet Screen"
for mine. It is heavy vinyl and does not distort too much,easier to glue in place.

As for the drive doors/trays you could make a spacer and an oversize plate of acrylic and have them lap the opening when closed,but NOT if you want the flush look here.
Keep at it. I admire your determination/patience.

Jokerswild said
"I made a strip heater for plastic once that was used to make incubators. It was just 2 sheets of 4x8x 3/8 aluminum with a heating element. The sheets were placed edge to edge and the heating element ran the length of the sheets under them, by adjusting the gap between the sheets you controlled the bend radius."

Could you draw me a picture I dont get it

Fasttazz