Cosmos Cruizer - Finally Complete!

[Boddaker]

Maybe I missed it, but why did you change the motherboard?

 

EVGA had major issues with their X79 boards.  Problems with BIOS, USB power detection, PCI-e slots not working correctly.  They totally reworked the platform and released the X79 Dark.  It was the same size as the FTW board, so it fits into my case, and EVGA agreed that it would be better to feature the Dark rather than the older problematic board. 

[knud]

Ah that makes good sense yes. 

I missed the part that their first gen x79 boards were crappy. (I know they had some issues before with releasing products due to various reasons)

 

Anyways, I'll keep following this interesting mod.

[TekLord]

I can't wait to see this in person.

[Boddaker]

Hey guys, got some updates for you.  Yes, plural, as in more than one!     I just got back from my vacation in Hawaii, and I'm refreshed and ready to make the final push to finish this project by PDXLAN 24 in July.  I returned home to a bunch of acrylic pieces waiting and ready to assemble, thanks to Brian at Primochill/ModSmart.  This update will cover one of the parts I got... actually two:  Fan shrouds for both sides of the 240mm radiator.

I designed a shroud that would cover both fans, and incorporate a cool flame grill for them as well.  Here are the pieces for both shrouds, straight from the laser.


I took the pieces for one of the shrouds and taped them all together.  As you can see, it's just a simple box.


After some aligning, I clamped them down and glued them together.


A few minutes later and I could take the tape off.


It fits snugly around both fans.  Only thing I had to do was cut some notches in the bottom to clear the alu mounting posts underneath.


Now here's the coolness factor... Flame grills!  Cut out of UV orange, these will be glued into the circle cutouts of the shroud.  I elongated the flames so the tips extend over the edge.  That way I can glue them down and they won't be prone to breaking off.


I should be able to finish these tomorrow, as well as a few more part assemblies.  So I'll have another update for you then.

[Boddaker]

Fan shrouds part 2:  Flame grill bending

I wanted to push the flame grill concept a bit further and see if I couldn't get a more realistic 3D look by adding some heat.  I grabbed a bunch of dowels, some craft sticks, and my heat gun and went to work.


A lower angle shows the curves better.


It doesn't take much to get the thin licks soft.  I used the craft sticks to shield the other parts I just bent from getting soft again.


After finishing all the bends, I stuck it on the shroud to see how it looked.  I made sure there was enough clearance between the fan and the flames.  


Looks great but I'm not done yet!  Time to add a second layer...

I had a bunch more extra flames cut so I could intertwine them with the first layer.  I took individual licks and bent them according to where I wanted them placed.


Here's two pieces temporarily clamped together.


This took some time, as there was a lot of trial fits and re-bending.  I ended up using three separate licks (a double, and two singles) to fill in the gaps, giving it a nice random feel.


A top view shows the depth well.


I'm loving this look!


And now I get to repeat it for the other three fans on this rad, plus the 140mm fan on the rear panel. 

[Mike-L]

WOW. Where to begin?

 

First thought is about welding aluminum. Brave man! And good job!

 

That case is going to be awesome.

 

Don't get me wrong about this next observation, but it occurred to me as I read through it all that you will have a one-off custom case with about $5K (very rough WAG) of effort/materials into it to hold less than half of that in computer parts. I love it!

 

And here I was being value conscious about getting the Cosmos SE over the Cosmos II. 

 

You make me feel cheap.

[Boddaker]

WOW. Where to begin?

 

First thought is about welding aluminum. Brave man! And good job!

 

That case is going to be awesome.

 

Don't get me wrong about this next observation, but it occurred to me as I read through it all that you will have a one-off custom case with about $5K (very rough WAG) of effort/materials into it to hold less than half of that in computer parts. I love it!

 

And here I was being value conscious about getting the Cosmos SE over the Cosmos II. 

 

You make me feel cheap.

 

I try not to apply dollar amounts to my personal builds, because I know I'm putting way more into them than I would ever get out monetarily, and it would be too depressing lol. 

[Boddaker]

While I continue on the flame grill bending spree, here are a few other pieces I made up.

The EK reservoir comes with an acrylic insert with their logo, but it seemed kind of piddly inside this long tube res.


So I designed a custom insert more appropriate to this case and size of the res...


Installed...




Also made a cover for the PSU.  Another simple 4-piece box with some holes in the top for cabling.


Glued, sanded, and in place...


No fasteners required!  Some double-stick tape should be enough to hold it in place, along with the cables going through the holes up top.


The large holes are for the 24pin and 6pin PCI cables, while the smaller holes are positioned over the 12v power and molex cables.  I'll explain my cabling scheme in more detail a bit later when I have more to show.
 

[Deblow]

if it looks anything like the design you posted at the top, it will be AWESOME 

[Boddaker]

Thanks Deblow. 

 

Finished heat-bending all the flame grills over the weekend.

Here's one of the shrouds with the grills in place.  Haven't glued them in yet.


Placed both shrouds on the 240mm rad for a look-see...


Other side...




I also made a flame grill for the back panel..


The idea is to have these grills integrated into the shrouds/panel so there will be no seams.  Should look pretty cool after everything's painted.