Finished: Sleeper: Watercooled Lian Li A70b - Page 5 - Overclock.net

Warfarin88 · 01-19-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by nafljhy

EDIT: after looking at it again.. the only thing that i can think of to clean up the wires w/o moving it to the top is to cut a hole where the cables are and try routing them through the back. the problem with that is that i'm not sure how much space you have behind there. you might not be able to close it perfectly if that was done.

Yup, cutting another hole was my first thought too. But now that I'm looking at it, I think I might just have something a little more interesting in store for that bottom area of the case.

It's all part of my sinister plan...

... that I haven't quite worked out all the details for, yet.

nafljhy · 01-19-09

haha. nice. i can't wait to see what that sinister plan is.

curly haired boy · 01-19-09

i love sinister plans. >:3

Warfarin88 · 01-31-09

Update time

I didn't really have a satisfactory solution for my HD mounting. I only have one at the moment, but I wanted the option up to four, and I didn't want them in the factory location on the case floor. None of the 5.25 bay solutions offered by Lian Li were quite what I wanted, so I went about fabricating my own.

I started with the seven drive tower that was originally on the case floor:

I chopped off the top three slots, and used its old top as a brace for the bottom of the new cage:

Held it together with M4 hex bolts and nuts:

The relocated bottom panel was drilled out with some 3/4 inch ventilation holes, and some 3/16ths holes to hold Lian Li HD screw grommets.

The finished product:

I then fabricated a bracket to mount it in the 5.25 bays. This is constructed from scratch with 2mm thick aluminum:

Stainless steel M3 threaded inserts were used on the sides for mounting to the 5.25 cage:

M4 inserts were used to mount the HD cage to the bracket. I also mirrored the ventilation holes in the bottom of the cage:

For once my measurements worked out for me. The two pieces bolted together perfectly:

Fully assembled, the HD's are now double dampened, as the M4 attachment points are affixed through grommets in the same manner as the Lian Li grommeted HD mount method. There is zero metal to metal contact from drive to rack, and zero metal to metal contact from rack to mounting bracket:

The finished assembly does take up four 5.25 bays, but I don't need them anyway, and I like extra breathing room this rack provides the drives when all four are in use:

No pictures of it mounted in the case yet, sorry.

I need to relocate my fan controller now to accommodate it. That's going to naturally require more fabrication, so, more to follow.

nafljhy · 01-31-09

dude war, that is very original and it looks very elegant.

always amazed at your handiwork.

Syrillian · 01-31-09

So clean... so professional.

Warfarin88 · 01-31-09

Thank you gents.

I got the cage mounted in the case.

I had to cut a hole in the top of it, I was maybe a millimeter too tall, and ran into clearance issues with the bottom of the top USB plug:

It's right at home now though:

If you know your Lian Li's, you know I have an issue with the drive bezels now. I'm blocking the holes where the bottom one would clip in. Never fear though. I actually anticipated this; and I have a plan.

Oh, and as for the fan controller. I moved the PSU to the top of the case, and for the time being, it has been rather unceremoniously deposited here:

nafljhy · 01-31-09

now that looks sick!

also gives easy access to the drives too. i really like what you've done war.

curly haired boy · 01-31-09

mmmm, that's some classy modding.

Warfarin88 · 01-31-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by curly haired boy

mmmm, that's some classy modding.

Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by nafljhy

now that looks sick!

also gives easy access to the drives too. i really like what you've done war.

Danke!

Well, here's as far as I got tonight. (For the record brushed aluminum is all but impossible to photograph with a flash).

I took a $5 scrap of aluminum from PPC's and went to town.

All the different cuts, measurements and bends were pretty complicated. To be honest, I really didn't think I would pull this off on my first attempt:

but it mounted up pretty nicely:

I ended up having to shim the bottom two thumbscrew points with some nylon washers, but in the end, it flushed out pretty well:

This was the only photo I could get where it looked halfway true to life. The finish on the aluminum is a perfect match to the case, but there is some slight waving on the edges where I made the bends. It's also pretty bland. I wanted it to look clean, but now I'm wondering if the subtle breaks of the factory bezels isn't more visually interesting.

I'd be ashamed of myself if I failed to acknowledge that murderMods most certainly inspired the monolithic front cover, but without the detailing of their waterjet work, I'm afraid the overall effect is leaving me somewhat less than excited.

hrm.

01-31-09	#44 (permalink)
Warfarin88 _______________ Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 843 Rep: 166 Unique Rep: 117 Trader Rating: 0	HD Cage Update time I didn't really have a satisfactory solution for my HD mounting. I only have one at the moment, but I wanted the option up to four, and I didn't want them in the factory location on the case floor. None of the 5.25 bay solutions offered by Lian Li were quite what I wanted, so I went about fabricating my own. I started with the seven drive tower that was originally on the case floor: I chopped off the top three slots, and used its old top as a brace for the bottom of the new cage: Held it together with M4 hex bolts and nuts: The relocated bottom panel was drilled out with some 3/4 inch ventilation holes, and some 3/16ths holes to hold Lian Li HD screw grommets. The finished product: I then fabricated a bracket to mount it in the 5.25 bays. This is constructed from scratch with 2mm thick aluminum: Stainless steel M3 threaded inserts were used on the sides for mounting to the 5.25 cage: M4 inserts were used to mount the HD cage to the bracket. I also mirrored the ventilation holes in the bottom of the cage: For once my measurements worked out for me. The two pieces bolted together perfectly: Fully assembled, the HD's are now double dampened, as the M4 attachment points are affixed through grommets in the same manner as the Lian Li grommeted HD mount method. There is zero metal to metal contact from drive to rack, and zero metal to metal contact from rack to mounting bracket: The finished assembly does take up four 5.25 bays, but I don't need them anyway, and I like extra breathing room this rack provides the drives when all four are in use: No pictures of it mounted in the case yet, sorry. I need to relocate my fan controller now to accommodate it. That's going to naturally require more fabrication, so, more to follow. Last edited by Warfarin88 : 01-31-09 at 01:58 PM

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Finished: Sleeper: Watercooled Lian Li A70b

01-31-09	#47 (permalink)
Warfarin88 _______________ Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 843 Rep: 166 Unique Rep: 117 Trader Rating: 0	Thank you gents. I got the cage mounted in the case. I had to cut a hole in the top of it, I was maybe a millimeter too tall, and ran into clearance issues with the bottom of the top USB plug: It's right at home now though: If you know your Lian Li's, you know I have an issue with the drive bezels now. I'm blocking the holes where the bottom one would clip in. Never fear though. I actually anticipated this; and I have a plan. Oh, and as for the fan controller. I moved the PSU to the top of the case, and for the time being, it has been rather unceremoniously deposited here:

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