Alex Ftoulis Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Scratch build : Project : Sors Salutis (http://angel-mods.webs.com/) Intro: Hello there my friends again, I am back for our fourth journey through the magic world of modding! I named this project inspired by Carl's Orff famous song Carmina Burana. Sors Salutis means fade is against me. The project will be as you already realised a scratch build mainly composed by acrylic and wood. The colours will be white, black (wood) and red. 2 different compartments will host: no 1 - motherboard, psu, hdd, dvd-rom, reservoir and no 2 - radiators, pump These 2 compartments will be removable for easier transfer. After countless hand drawings and different concepts I came up with this final design which you will see unfolding through my updates day after day as I will work as fast as I can to finish this project as soon as possible. I tried to stay out of the normal "box" style case and hopefully you will all like it at the end! Enough with this little intro, let the journey begin!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Ftoulis Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 mod components Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Ftoulis Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 So to give you a clue how the build will look like here is the front (many things will be added though etc) And here is the back side: These are some of the acrylic main pieces I am going to use: More of them! The clear acrylic will be used for illuminating by red leds. So lets begin with the modding! I will use different kind of wood as you will see. For the clear acrylic covers I am going to use a 3 mm marine plywood. Here I draw the covers on the wood to be cut later on. For my previous experience this particular piece of wood cannot be cut with a jigsaw as its very thin and it chips off very easily but I am going to use it to make the big cuts and then find a way to do the details. First I used this blade which it was a fails so I changed it with a blade I use for metal. First piece removed! Second phase! The only way for me to cut the wood with damaging it, it was the dremmel! Time wasting process and a lot of burning wood smell lol !! By using a bit for carving wood I did the round parts which I first drilled. Then it was time for the sanding drum to come in action. For the final touch I attached the acrylic part with the wood to file it and make them fit together perfectly. Here are the (almost) final shots for the covers. So thats all for now guys, I will try to work as fast and give you updates as soon as I can. For the moment it rains so I will stay inside but soon as the weather is shiny again I will be back! Thanks for reading guys and wish me good luck for this 4th journey!! Peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Ftoulis Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 Here is the update as I promised! Not much done due to bad weather but I worked in between the rain "sections" lol !! I will be quick so lets go! First I did some work inside (my room is my workshop for the people they dont know me!) with the clear acrylic which I am going to use along with the red leds. I didnt like the edges of the acrylic after the laser cut cause they had a "wavy" texture so I choose to dull them and also the surface of them, to help the light "travel" lol I went from 180 grit, to 300 and finally with 600 grit. The finish is almost perfect I took some super macro shots but you can barely see any lines from the sandpaper. I did 2 pieces, 2 more left for tomorrow! Here is the original "after laser" wavy edge: And after my work: I also glued the radiator and motherboard holders by using acrylic cement glue. So now lets talk about the side panels. First off all they wont be removable but they will open upwards and the left compartment will open downwards. I will mainly use wood like plywood, cylinder 1.2cm pieces and 1mm flexible one. You will see more in the progress so be patient and stay tuned. So I will use plywood to create 2 support pieces for each panel, that they will hold the cylinder pieces together and also they will be used as hinges. First some drawings on the wood by using the main acrylic pieces. And some pictures from the cutting progress step by step: Attached the piece on the acrylic to "fine" it with the file and some sandpaper. Then I used the almost finished piece to draw the design on the plywood. Here I am about to start filing both pieces together but more in an upcoming update hopefully soon ! Thanks for reading my update guys, unfortunately I couldnt work more due to the bad weather but I prefer to do a lot of things and then update again next time so please be patient!! Peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Ftoulis Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 Here we go with the third update. My attempt on the side panel failed completely as the flexible wood part proven to be not so durable even I was going to add a second layer on it. And because of that I am changing my plans to acrylic pieces plus the wood cylinders. Here you will see the progress. First I finished sanding the main 2 side panel holders. Then I reinforced them with some isopon which was also used to cover some minor imperfections. Sanding again! Here I mark the pieces of flexible 1mm pine wood. Preparing some epoxy glue. I attached the piece with some "temporary screws". It might seems nice but my experience says that its better to build something durable instead of nice looking and very fragile. Here I dulled the 2 remaining clear acrylic pieces. 2 and a half hours to get that perfect look on the edges!!! To open the side panels I am going to use an aluminium tube 1cm which is going to be held in place with 2 solid acrylic tubes of 0.9cm. I had to file down the 2 parts so they wont be tight, to be able to insert and remove the aluminium tube in order to remove the side panel. Here you can see them attached on the case parts and also on the removable parts too. So as you have seen I aint a guitar maker lol to be able to bend wood like a pro but that wont stop me from searching alternative ways to achieve perfection in what I do. Thanks for reading my worklog guys, till next time, peace!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Ftoulis Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 After my failed "wood" experiments I told my self is the acrylic way now! So I draw the designs in Corel Draw and send them over to my friend Chris to cut them with the laser. While I was waiting I had to do some more work which proved fail again OMG!! First I drilled some holes to attach the screws later, on the tube holders. So far so good! Then I start sanding the pieces. I was just sanding that piece, I was using any force then that happened!!! And its 5mm acrylic! Also one of the tube holders broke in half too, but I tried to be calm and move on with some more work! I drilled the holes for the leds on the bezel and the clear acrylic. The next day my pieces were ready even though I didnt expected them so soon as the laser machine had some serious problems but thanks God they managed to fix it and here is the "acrylic way"!!! I first filed and sanded each piece to get ready for the cement glue. Then I used some clamps to hold the pieces together and carefully I glued them. Here is the first piece finished and you might get an idea how is going to work as a side panel support. All the pieces glued together. You might think "why the :) he didnt just cut 1 cm acrylic from the first place". The price of the 1 cm was 5 times more than the 5mm one so that way I saved my self 100 Euro. If I had the money though I wouldnt get in that trouble... I dulled the pieces too for further gluing and painting. Here I glued the 1mm acrylic on the supporter. As you will see in the photos there is a 5 mm space left to cover the sides of the front and back bezels. First 2 side panel supporters finished. More to follow guys, crazy designs, air ventilation in some original new ways etc! Thanks for reading my worklog guys, till next time, peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Ftoulis Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 Time for one more small update and I say small cause I faced some difficulties again not something to be ashamed off but some experiments tend to fail sometimes! First I finished bending and gluing the acrylic on the second side panel's supporters/hinges. Then I marked them where I had to cut the excess piece. Sanding time. In order to build the first compartment of this mod I had to sand the pieces first as I will paint some parts red later and also super gloss varnish them. Here is a super macro shot of the first sanding process. I made some mock ups of the windows out of white carton in order to mark the side panel afterward to be cut. I marked the supporters first for the first and last window piece. Cutting and finishing stages. I used a diamond disk which is the best for acrylic. Some sanding and filing and here are the supporters finished! (for now! lol ) Thanks for taking the time to read my worklog guys, next update might be late due to Xmas etc. Till next time, peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Ftoulis Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 Time for the last update of this year guys! I did some work on the first compartment of this mod as you will see. I had to find a way to use acrylic in order to attach the bezel and back on the bottom part. I didnt want to use plain angles for "art" reasons and also for extra durability. So I created my own -more sturdy- angle by bending and somehow sculpting a piece of white acrylic. It took me 2 hours to create this piece! Here is how it looked like first. And after bending - sculpting (with various dremel bits) By using some epoxy glue I attached this piece on the bezel. While I was waiting for the glue to dry I decided to fix the window mocks so they will give an extra 5mm space to hide and attach behind the panel. Then I bended some acrylic to angles and also did the second piece which is going to hold the back piece of the case. Some cutting, sanding, filing! By using epoxy again I glued-attached the bezel on the bottom part! And also attached the second piece the same way. Screws will be used for extra stability/durability. Drilled some holes for the screws to pass through . Attached the back part too! Time to slowly start building the side panel. First test fit the side panel's supporter. Here is the wood pieces I am going to use! These are only the half of them! Cut to exact size and also smaller. Attaching the first pieces with some universal glue. This is a very slow process as I have to wait around 5 minutes or more for each piece! Turned the panel upside down and also start working on the top part as it will be not filled with wood. I will add later 1mm acrylic more designs etc. Half way through the first panel. More to follow around 5 January. I also noticed after more than one month that the motherboard i/o part of the motherboard is reversed due to my mistake on the original design! Now I have to disassemble the whole thing and order a new one!!! OMG! Thanks for reading my worklog guys, I wish you all the best for the year to come but above all health, love and consciousness in your lives! Till next time, peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Ftoulis Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 Time for one more update folks! Happy and Healthy New Year to Everyone! The endless journey on the side panel continues! The designs change all the time as my improvisation "angel" is messing with my mind! At first I glued the round wooden pieces as you saw in my previous update. The weight of the side panel exceeded my expectations so I had to remove as much wood as I could and replace it with 1mm acrylic which is very light. Many people ask me for 3d designs etc, as you might have realize I enjoy improvise a lot as I did with my first 2 mods. So lets begin our random little "photo" journey! Here is the addition of the rest "wood". I cut a lot of pieces after I draw in my mind the upcoming design and I also left some "strategically" placed pieces for durability. And here is the main side panel chassis. I added 1mm acrylic on the back side for aesthetic and durability reasons. While I was waiting for the glue to dry, I attached the connectors of the second compartment. As I told you before the second compartment it will be removable so I decided to use screws for that instead of "slide in" mechanism which was my original idea. I used a plastic welder glue which so far is working great (crossing fingers)! Next day after the glue dried completely it was time to cut off the excess 1mm acrylic pieces. Lets see what we have here! A lot of goodies!!! Mostly watercooling gear! Back to work now. 3 main 1mm acrylic pieces will be added, this is the first and main one. Cutting a piece off for some extra design which you will see later on! More wooden pieces ! This is our last picture for today, as you have seen theres a lot of work going on with this side panel. It will take some time cause the designs aint easy so be patient! Thanks for watching my update guys, till next time, peace!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night_Flyer Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Respect man I wonder what I am doing here between all you pro's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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