circuit board encrusted computer case....

[justin146]

I was bored tonight and was about to throw away some used parts when I got a crazy idea. I decided I would build a case out of these circuits, since they are all the same size. That didn't work to well ( I still plan on building one though) so I decided to mount some to my lady's Opteron machine. I think it turned out good, but I am not finished. I plan on making a front panel out of one of the boards. I also want to add some small cold cathode lights behind the boards, because they will glow through them. Anyway, enjoy....

EDIT: Here are the final pictures from page 2...











EDIT: these are the first attempt....

I took these Lucent controller cards and cut the front panel and rear connector from them with shears...




I then used thick double sided foam tape to mount them to the case....

[XaNe]

nice idea too geeky for me
i have some boards like that though my grandmother worked at allenbradley

[Penicilyn]

Ghetto-Fabulous

[justin146]

Originally Posted by Penicilyn

Ghetto-Fabulous

haha, yeah I know I am not liking it as much as I though I would.

[dhrandy]

You should spray paint over them.

[dmbjohn]

Originally Posted by dhrandy

You should spray paint over them.

that wouldn't be ghetto at all,

I think it would have looked better if all the boards were the same size and appearance (chips in same spots/sizes) and covered the base case completely. gotta do with what you have though sometimes.

[kennymester]

Great use of old parts. What kind of system was that from originally?

[sli_shroom]

you could cut sections out of the case and mount the boards from the back side. that would get rid of the "just stuck on" look.

you could even go so far as to light them or put them under plexi windows

[ice_owl]

Paint them flat black. Kudos for trying.

[Warfarin88]

I've seen that done. It was somewhere deep in MNPCTech's sight iirc, but I can't find it now. They used small bits of circuit board that they cut up and countersunk into a CNC milled plate. The whole assembly was then painted black. It looked really unique, and very sharp.

Obviously you don't need the whole CNC job to pull off a similar effect. I would bet a little time cutting out odd shaped pieces from those boards and laying out a simple geometric mosaic would really pay off. Kind of like a big puzzle where the pieces don't quite fit together right. If that helps visualize it at all.

You wouldn't need to cover every square inch of the case either. Just accents really. Some pieces could even go on the case front. Once you got everything laid out and re-attached, you could shoot the whole thing over again with your bedliner. Would be a fairly subtle, but very unique look.

If you had any more gadgets you wanted to do exterior mountings for, like your USB drives there; now would be the time. Think BORG.