Alex Ftoulis Posted March 9, 2011 Author Share Posted March 9, 2011 Brothers I am back for one more update on this mod! So lets get started. First of all, I will show you some pictures of the AX850 Power Supply from Corsair I am going to use. Installation of the main compartment's side panels. First I marked where the connectors are for me to cut them later and also where the tubing will pass and the extra cables. These are the pieces that they will hold the side panels with 3mm screws. I "weld" them on the chassis! And here you see the side panels "screwed" on the chassis! There is extra space around the connectors for easier access and installation. That space will be covered later on with some acrylic which I am going to cut on the cnc. Also I am going to use different screws, I just wait for them to come in my mailbox! You also see in the right upper side a little cut, this is for me to pull the side panel out. I painted the psu backplate and the motherboard i/o thingy! It took me 3 days for each one due to the techniques I used. For finishing touch I used an acrylic clear coat by applying 3 layers. For this part I used also the "texture" technique as you might notice. Next I aligned the motherboard on the tray in order to mark the holes for the motherboard standoffs. After that I realized that I dont have enough standoffs and now I am in search of some!! OMG!!!! Next I decided to install the cpu waterblock. For that I am going to combine 2 different mounting sets, one from Alphacool and one from Phobya. The backplate is from Watercool as you can see. Some cleaning!! And yes, this baby is lapped! And here it is installed! Next step: Installation of the PSU. The psu backplate wasnt enough durable to hold the psu in place so extra support was needed. The stands I had from before were too small and "simple" so I improvised again and created a stand which is going to work as a fan grill too. It took m3 3 hours to finish it cause I wanted to create something artistic and... crazy! Thats all for now guys, I hope you enjoyed reading my worklog! Thanks for your comments and support, till next time, peace!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Ftoulis Posted March 9, 2011 Author Share Posted March 9, 2011 Update no 21 and we move on!! It takes me several days to post an update due to the complexity of my painting techniques and the amount of time needed for the paint to dry. So lets begin our update in a random order. First I had to cut off a piece from the motherboard tray as it was conflicting with the top support bar. I removed the tops from the waterblocks as I decided to paint them too as they were not contrasting right with the already painted cpu block. Isopon to remove the letters. Sanding complete and also thread protection added. I used some round stickers in a random way to create a design as you are going to see later on this update and also to protect the screw threads. After the 5 first steps of the technique. This process takes one working day. Next day I add the textured lines. As I told you in the previous update I couldnt find any spare motherboard stand offs so I decided to make some custom ones out of ...... a pen!!! I ve found a pen in the perfect size and also sturdy enough for the job! I ve cut equal size pieces, filled, sanded and then I embedded them on the motherboard tray by melting them with cement glue. Here is my custom cover for the fan controller. I installed a 1mm acrylic window so you can see the pcb of the controller! After I ve found some money I went to my friend Chris and cut on the cnc some designs which among them its this custom fan frame. Its designed in a way that will fit with the ventilation design (fan grill). I had to cut a circle though to cover the fan. In order to file the circle perfectly I had to redo the circle design by using a compass set along with a red pen. I glued the circle on the frame and attached the fan with some double sided tape. And here it is attached on the chassis. I ve found that using springs looks nice so I might leave it that way. Also here is the motherboard tray installed. I attached it on the support bar too, by gluing a 10mm acrylic corner so that way I created some kind of design. Some of the parts I cut on the cnc were those Î shaped covers to hide the gap around the attachment holes. I ve glued them on the panels with some cement glue. What is this?????? Yeah 2 boxes with various stuff arrived in my mail! And after 3 days when the paint was dry enough, I applied 3 layers of acrylic clear glossy coat on the blocks! And here they are all installed!! I think they match perfectly!! Thats all for now guys! I hope you enjoyed reading my worklog, till next time, Peace!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurycio Gyovanni Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 WAU!!! I also am following your project and is simply a breathtaking. Good luck to us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Ftoulis Posted March 11, 2011 Author Share Posted March 11, 2011 Thank you my friend good luck!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Ftoulis Posted March 12, 2011 Author Share Posted March 12, 2011 Time for one more update my friends! I had to paint each component on the motherboard that didnt fit right, so the two components were the GPU and the Corsair airflow. First I disassembled the airflow for the ram and got that ready for painting. Secondly I created a simple top for the GTX 295, using 1 mm clear acrylic. I also cut an old HDD cage from Lian Li to create a smaller one for this mod. I made a simple design on the GPU top so it will be left clear so you can see the pcb underneath. Airflow painted and assembled. Top finished too! A test fit to see how it looks. As you might noticed I reversed the colors on that painting technique to give a different touch on the overall look. Some test shots. Thanks for reading my update guys, see you soon with a new update! Peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Ftoulis Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share Posted March 14, 2011 Yeah I update like a madman cause I gotta finish this project asap! I usually finish many parts before I update but my rhythm doesnt all me that. Lets begin ! I had to cut the wires from the radiator fans in size, cause they were a lot bigger. No more soldering this time as I purchased some fan crimp connectors. Measured each fans exact wire length and cut them in size. Crimping tool + connectors + experience = perfect job! Wires sleeved in red and white sleeving. White sleeving isnt perfect as its stated in MDPC site too but I didnt have any white tape to use with the cables so it does the job for me as it is too. All 4 fans ready! Marking for the cable management clips on the mobo tray. Threads for the screws. Clips installed!! Next I had to do a support bracket for the motheboard tray for many reasons. The weight of the motherboard along with the graphic card exceeded the 3 kgs and also the weight pressure point its not horizontal or vertical as in most cases but something like 45 degrees so I had to find ways to share the weight pressure along the case so it wouldnt bend anything and cause further problems. 5mm white acrylic again with a lot of fantasy and planning. I draw the main design on the acrylic, cut it with dremel and filed it afterwards. Bending process. Finished the design by cutting and filing any excess pieces and also added 2 cable management clips to use with nearby cables! I also soldered and sleeved the vandal switches! Some shots with the motherboard support bracket attached (welder + screws) and the vandal switches installed. Thanks for reading my update guys, till next time peace!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Ftoulis Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 Well after a long time and a looooot of work I am here for an update guys! The strange weather (one day rain one sunshine) was a big problem for me as I had to paint and not only paint a few layers but I also had to apply different art painting techniques! But first lets see what I did before painting. I drilled some holes on the acrylic parts which I am going to use along with the leds and I also countersunk them. I decided to use screws in order to attach those parts on the chassis instead of glyu as it will be cleaner that way. Second, I installed the HDD cage on the main compartment. Here you will see the creation of the part which is going to illuminate the Sors Salutis logo. I used 5mm clear acrylic which I cut in the proper shape and also drilled holes on the side for the leds. I glued 1mm acrylic on the edge of the acrylic to hide the leds for aesthetic reasons mostly and also not to deflect the light inside the case. I painted the piece with the usual design pattern I am using in this mod and I also shortened the cables and sleeved them. I sanded and painted the PCI covers too but I forgot to take pictures lol, sorry guys these days were a real mess! Some more sleeving. I also cut some more leds in size, soldered them and sleeved them. I couldnt find any pins nearby to buy so I had to go that way I used a black matte decal to cover the PSU after I removed the stickers of it. So now the nightmare of this mod lolz!! Due to the weather conditions I had to move the parts around all the time and each layer of paint took 24 hours even to be touch-dry!!! OMG!! After I ve sanded all the parts, I hanged them to dry. No lol I am kidding! The paints I am going to use. Well not all of them just the 1/3 !! I went and bought some UVPC primer but the stupid guy on the DIY shop gave me the one which needs to be applied by brush and its not dilutable so to use it with my spray gun!!! Anyway, I went with the best primer which I use for aluminum and its suitable for acrylic BUT that primer after it dries it needs sanding!! So more sanding again lolz!! Safety comes first! Primed White paint applied the next day. 2 layers so 2 days more! I also prepared some paint for the wooden covers. Forgot to take shots of them finished but you will see them later. I applied 3 layers of black and 2 layers of glossy varnish. Due to the rush as I told you before I forgot to take pictures so I also forgot the technique's process but here are some shots. I used black and white glossy from Hammerite as they are very durable. I applied them with different sizes brushes. In order to create the desired effect of my technique I had to "scratch" the paint thats why I had to apply more layers so the scratches will be deeper. A loooot of masking tape for more techniques to be applied and effects! Some parts finished and some in the process. After 3 weeks of painting and modding here are some shots of the parts partially dried as they need to cure but at least I can work with them as long as they are touch-dry. Some parts are not going to visible but I did them eitherway! I bought those feet to use them with my mod as I found them really nice and .... white!!! I also attached the led acrylics and glued the wooden tops on them! Thanks guys for reading my update hopefully those 3 weeks did something nice after all these efforts and I hope my artistic touches would not be rejected by the factory look like enthusiasts lolz!!! Till next time, Peace!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArgOs Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I follow your work in TBCS is excellent and is one of the most outstanding work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Ftoulis Posted March 25, 2011 Author Share Posted March 25, 2011 Thank you my friend, I really appreciate that!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudieman Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Your paintwork is very original and I have not seen it done before, it does however require a very distinguished taste. I really like how you take it to the next level, those blocks are awesome. It's all in the details Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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