Nick Falzone Design - Ikigai

[Nicholas Falzone]

I wanted to simplify the look of the motherboard a bit to match the clean design of the case.  For this I used a combination of Wenge and brushed black aluminum.

 

First up is the ram:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I then drew up the motherboard pieces in cad and cut out samples to make sure my measurements were correct:

 

 

Then I cut out the real thing is 2mm aluminum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I sanded the edges and attached them to the aluminum pieces.

 

[Nicholas Falzone]

I hate wiring so I wanted to make as easy as possible in this case and try to think ahead.  I made many models of the wiring and mocked it up as much as I could before embarking on the real thing.  The cables that came with the Cooler Master SFX PSU were also really nice so this made it easier although I made most of the cables myself.

 

One of the big cables is the 24pin which turned out to be exactly the right length:

 

 

This design eventually would change but it started like this.  I also wanted to make custom cable combs out of wenge.  This also went through many iterations to find the best solution.  I decided to not use sleeving to keep the cables as small as possible.

 

Started with this:

 

then went to this:

 

 

Finally this where I got rid of the single holes and made it one big one:

 

More mockup shots. I made about 6 versions of this main panel.  The first versions had the wiring access from the motherboard side but I switched that around to make it make more sense:

 

 

 

 

 

One of the later mockups, checking for clearance issues:

 

Looking at where the 16 cables for the GPU would need to go:

 

Gotta figure out the pump wiring too.  Two cables will go to the PSU for power, two will go to the motherboard for PWM control.

 

 

Its show time. Making the GPU cables first.  First step is to cut a bunch of wires and put atx pins on the ends:

[Nicholas Falzone]

Lots of pins:

 

 

 

 

I made some double cable combs to keep things tidy:

 

 

Trying to get the length right:

 

 

 

 

A while later everything looks good.  Fingers crossed that I put things in the right holes:

 

Next I routed the CPU power cable and made some more cable combs for it:

 

 

I then put more pins and attached it to the power supply.

 

Next is time to work on the front panel wiring caddy thing.  First thing is to install it:

 

And hope that the motherboard 24 pin still works well in it.  Its a bit tight but thats ok:

 

 

 

 

 

[Nicholas Falzone]

Routing wires through the front plat and trying to keep them flat is fun:

 

Wiring through the acrylic panel is fun too:

 

 

I needed to do both wires on the pump so that was next.  I was nervous abut screwing this up but it turned out ok:

 

 

 

Sleeved:

 

More wiring:

 

All buttoned up!

 

Now I started routing the GPU power cable.  There is actually an LED strip right under this too:

 

Clean floor connection:

 

 

Lastly I wanted to clean up the front of the riser cable.  I made a little plate that would cover the PCB:

 

 

[Nicholas Falzone]

I wanted to make something to hide the PSU a bit and tie this section of the case in with the rest.  I decided on some more Kumiko reminiscent of the design on the fan grill.

 

It will go here:

 

I played with some scraps to get a design I liked.  This will also cover the wires entering the PSU:

 

 

I got to cutting, making the pieces slightly thinner than the fan grille pieces so they would fit:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Testing fitment:

 

Gluing it together:

 

With the main frames done I could start on the Hemp pattern.  I made the pieces thinner still to lighten their weight visually:

 

 

 

 

Thats where we are so far.  More to come soon.

 

 

[Nicholas Falzone]

Its been a long time coming but its finally time to assemble the loop for the final time.  Starting with making the final O-rings for the distro plate:

 

 

Cut with a razer and glued together:

 

 

Before attaching the pump, I decided to make some Wenge spacers since the bolts were a little too long:

 

 

 

Then I attached the inside fan grill to the radiator:

 

The clearance was super close on the fittings to the radiator:

 

 

Installed:

 

Installed for the final time. I took the cover off to avoid any wet mishaps:

 

Close is a theme on this case:

 

And installed the rest of the loop just like it was before but making it tight this time

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Explore Modding]

I love this SOOOO MUCH!

[Nicholas Falzone]

I wanted to finish up the Kumiko on the PSU side.  I did this the same way as the fan grille.  Only the outside frame has glue, the rest is simply friction fitted in place.

 

Angle guide blocks:

 

 

Getting pieces cut and fit:

 

Main pieces all done:

 

Now for a small Spruce panel to cover the wires:

 

It was late so I mostly used hand tools:

 

Fitted:

 

A few shots of the progress so far.  The loop is filled but has quite a few bubbles so I'm working on getting those out:

 

 

[Nicholas Falzone]

I present to you the final photos for Project Ikigai:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nicholas Falzone]