my new rig

[toby]

well im going to be building a new rig with my winnings from custom pc and its all going to be housed in a chieftec matrix case (similar to a dragon but im not sure what the difference is apart from the grill at the front) and just thought i would come here to get ideas im going to mesh the front like pug did with his chieftec although mine wont be as good. Im also looking to do some filters with the mesh and maybe a few other bits and pieces with it but im really looking for inspiration so if anyone has got any ideas on what i could do to this case i would appreciate it!

[toby]

well my stuff arrived today from ebuyer.com but they sent me the wrong side panel, a purple/blue one when my case is black, ah well nevermind it was only a tenner i will try and return it although ebuyer arent good on the customer service department. Also my cdrw/dvd combo drive has a turbo function! which is quite surprising, apparently it increases the write speed from 40x to 52x when you hold it in for 5 seconds:unsure:.

I figured i would add a 120mm blow hole to the top of the case adn get rid of all the stuff in the was thats been marked in red( please excuse my poor paint skills)http://t.waters1.users.btopenworld.com/newcase/case.jpg

and for the front panels i think i will probably just take out the entire middle sections of each bit and replace it with mesh because this case is a lot harder to do a mesh mod on than the dragon because the dragon has nice slatts across it that you can stop at(dont know if im making any sense)
http://t.waters1.users.btopenworld.com/newcase/front-panels.jpg

[mrplow]

What case was yours in custom pc?

And seems to me meshing the front of that case would be basically the same job as dragon not harder or easier. The cases are pretty much the same, just a different design on the bezel inlays.

[mnpctech]

Yea, no real big difference. Just cut in the outter groove. I took a different approach than Pug. I folded the mesh behind the bezel versus molding over face w/ filler. I'll try and dig up pics by this weekend

Dragon (http://prudhoe.codeword.com/mnpctech/HD100/120mod/) case I've been working on.

Modified w/ 2 front 120mm fans & 92mm exhausts

[toby]

If you look at Pugs he has been able to do the bottom half easier because of the design of the dragon the last slot has been left on and he has made his own bridge at the top.
http://www.wizarddesigns.co.uk/images/meshTop.jpg
whereas because of the design on the matrix and the fact that they arent just holes at the front, each hole has a large plastic hood to helpstop dust getting in it means that i cant retain any of the middle portion of the front piece. This is the same for the top piece it means that it will just take a bit more time and mesh because with pugs top part he was able to not cut the whole thing out and have something to bond the mesh onto.
I should be able to hack up the middle bits to create bridges but it means i will have more mesh and the front pieces wont be that stable.

how do you recomend getting out the fan grills because my dremel is rubbish and wont cut through any metal of a resonable thickness could i get away with a good pair of snips/pliers?

and i won the current issue of custom pc with the voltmeter

[mnpctech]

How about cutting along the outter edge of slotted holes so you retain a frame around the inlet? Imagine Yellow line is tape used as your cutting guide. Cut along inside edge of tape see photo (http://prudhoe.codeword.com/mnpctech/aWIZB/TobyMods/Matrixbezels.jpg) A photo of the back of the bezels wouldn't hurt ^_^

how do you recomend getting out the fan grills because my dremel is rubbish and wont cut through any metal of a resonable thickness could i get away with a good pair of snips/pliers? Your Dremel isn't rubbish. You must be using the red carbide style cutting discs? Use Dremel's 1.5" fiberglass reinforced (black) discs.

Pug and I should talk about getting him the Aluminum Oxide discs (http://www.mnpctech.com/Discs.html)that I resell here

Never use tin snips/pliers to cut chassis or panels. You'll just bend the metal as you cut.

[toby]

well by calling it a dremel its not actually a dremel its a cheap dremel a like that cost £20 and its not good at all, i know i should have brought a decent dremel ages ago but they are very expensive and i cant afford it right now.
http://t.waters1.users.btopenworld.com/newcase/notdremel.jpg
and you can see i dont exactly have a wide range of different parts to choose from.

I was originally intending to do your idea with the panels but then i noticed the back pieces but as you can see there is very little margin for error there
http://t.waters1.users.btopenworld.com/newcase/back.jpg
the way they have made the rear piece is kind of silly in my opinion but i suppose it does help keep dust out

[Darv]

The cheap £20 dremel clone I got from B&Q hasn't let me down yet. (apart from the madel breaking on the first day :wacko: ) I've had it a year or two and used it for all sorts of things.

The re-inforced discs do make a big difference though although I've used the red ones without too much trouble.

[mnpctech]

and you can see i dont exactly have a wide range of different parts to choose fromYes. Those red cutting discs are shite. Darv, I only say that cause I'm talking about cutting the chassis. Toby could probally get away with using them on plastic, but even then Ive had them break.

I say its still worth a try using that Generic Dremel if you can find Dremel brand 1.5" reinforced discs or smaller version.

While youre at store, get yourself a good hand file set (http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00931321000) (if you havent got one already) You'll want to use a file to finish off edges on bezels and chassis. Especially the bezels. Your cuts won't be precise, but you can at least refine them

you can see there is very little margin for error there
Right, and that why I suggest taping off your cut line. Use as much tape as needed to mask off bezel. Heck, 3 or 4 layers of tape. This way if your cutting disc slips or jumps you don't have to worry about knicking the bezel. Like I said, align the cutting discs with inside edge of tape. Make a guide for yourself :)

Off to work now -_-

[toby]

i have already got a nice file set for smothing things off. i will gets some reinforced disks to use on the main chassis i was thinknig i could use my jigsaw to do the front bexels as i can get a really nice straight line with that most of the time. I have used the red discs on plastic before and it was dire couldnt cut through a small project box or my friends xbox so its useless against plastics and can cause melting, but some better discs should make it a bit better, i would get a proper dremel but im saving money for a holiday at the end of my exams and i need a lot of spending money.

[mnpctech]

useless against plastics and can cause melting, but some better discs should make it a bit better Melting is unavoidable when using any cutting disc on plastic unless you can adj to lower rpm. Of course that make the task more tedious. This is where the hand files come in. File down the excess melted plastic.

Agree, jigsaw would provide a cleaner cut. Use a metal cutting blade.

[Pug]

On your front panel (http://t.waters1.users.btopenworld.com/newcase/front-panels.jpg) you could keep the strength by retaining the top arch and the lower 1/2". Fill in the channels either side (with bridging filler, after keying very well with abrasive), then just cut out the holed area & you'd be good to go with the approach I took, I reckon. :)
(less is more in this instance, if that makes sense)


[Edit] Looking again at it again, you'll probably find it easier than I did like this, as you only have a curve one way on the Matrix front. The Dragon has a downward curve too.

Oh and I've been meaning to cut that little chin bit at the bottom off, tbh. I don't know why I left it there in the first place. :o

[mnpctech]

Oh and I've been meaning to cut that little chin bit at the bottom offI like the chin.

[Pug]

I like the chin.
Argh, the onset of indecision... :wacko:

Maybe I'll do another case the same way and try that one without it. :unsure:

[toby]

but if i used a filler it would mean that i would have to paint it and then that would mean that i would have to paint the whole case and i dont want to cause i just havent got the time

[mnpctech]

i dont want to cause i just havent got the time
It takes TIME if you want it to look good :)

[toby]

i know, but i rather like the paint job already on there, well its not amazing but i am not doing another paint job like i did on the voltmeter cause that took ages, although it did get an awesome finish. Im not doing anything spectacular for this mod just a few well executed simple mods to set the case off. Im leaving all the big complex time consuming stuff for when i finish uni and have lots of cash! but i have decided to buy a dremel 395 vr with 40 bits and a flexi shaft and a few good cutting disks because i deserve it, well as long as i have enough money and the gf dont find out

[toby]

well i cut out the front portions today and did a pretty good job, it was a lot eaier to cut than i thought with my jigsaw and after a bit of filing it should look pretty neat.The panels (http://t.waters1.users.btopenworld.com/newcase/IMG_0741.jpg) are pretty good and the plastic i had to cut through is very thick (http://t.waters1.users.btopenworld.com/newcase/IMG_0744.jpg) but it worked fine although there was some slight melting that was my fault for goin too fast!As you can see in the second picture i also took out one of the grills at the front with some new discs i got for my dremel clone, that needs tidying up a bit with the files too but it worked out pretty good. I was thinking of maybe doing some sort of design on one of the side panels and the top of the case but i havent figured out a theme or design i want yet

[Pug]

Jigsaws are sorely underrated for case-modding in these 'Dremel days' we live in. ^_^

Coupla' tips I picked up along the way -
1) regularly use a light machine oil on the blade to aid cutting metal and prolong the life of your blades (and potentially keep plastic cooler)
and
2) protect the surface of the surrounding metal by covering the skid plate of the jigsaw with a layer of masking tape before use.
(normally easier than masking the whole panel)

[toby]

well i decided to go the whole way and do cut out the whole mid section as the rear back bits of the original matrix holes made putting the mesh in very hard. I have got the mesh in and im pleased with it it looks great, although with the bottom panel you can see all the nasty case steel underneath so im going to have to cover it with something. i was thinking some sort of plastic but im unsure at the moment. I would take pics but im about to sell my digicam on ebay and upgrade to a hp945 5megapixel job.