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[SPONSORED] Juxtapose __ an in house CaseLabs build log

40K views 391 replies 56 participants last post by  ProfeZZor X 
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#1 ·




Concept

Simply put, I'm going for a super clean build with a minimalistic quality. I'll be starting with a standard Merlin SM5 (discontinued
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). For the exterior I will be removing the door handles and adapting push to release style latches with a huge window on the door. The front cover will be completely solid with no I/O panel or switch (there will be one power switch at the top rear of the case). The interior will have a mid-plate (false floor) which will house the drives, PSU and fan controller. The divider wall will have almost no cable management holes. Acrylic tubing and custom made cables throughout. The entire case will be custom painted and powder coated with a black and white theme with red accents.

Merlin SM5 with a standard ATX layout


My attempt at google sketch-up
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Parts List

Motherboard: Asus Maximus VII Gene Z97 - Got it!
CPU: i7 4790K - Got it!
GPU: EVGA Geforce GTX780 Superclocked 3GB - Got it!
RAM: 16GB G. Skill RipJaws X Series 2133 CL9 - Got it!
HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB - Got it!
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 128GB - Got it!
SSD: Intel 510 Series 128GB - Got it!
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 750G2 - Got it!
Fan Controller: Lamptron FC5 V2 - Got it!
Radiator: Aquacomputer AMS 360 - Got it!
CPU Block: EK Supremacy EVO - Nickel - Got it!
GPU Block: EK GeForce 780 GTX VGA Liquid Cooling Block - Nickel - Got it!
Pump/Res: EK D5 X-RES Top 250 w/ D5 Vario Pump - Got it!
Fans: Noiseblocker eLoop B12-3 1900 RPM (4) - Got it!
Fans: Noiseblocker eLoop B12-4 2400 RPM (3) - Got it!
Fittings: EK-HDC 12mm G1/4 - Black Nickel - Got it!
Tubing: E22 12mm OD ridged acrylic - Got it!

1. Overall concept
2. Making the mid-plate
3. Making the rear chassis section
4. The frame is structurally complete!
5. Fabrication of push to release door latches
6. Started fabrication of the doors
7. Modification of the top radiator mount and switch relocation
8. Color scheme
9. First glimpse at the rigid cabling
10. Exterior is finished!
11. Case feet
12. Finalized 24 pin design
13. Reservoir mounting and first round of tubing
14. Pass-through for 24 pin in mid-plate and finalized GPU cable design.
15. The 24 pin has been started! PSU intake cut-out, SSD mounting and GPU cable pass-through.
 
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G
#3 ·
I have put together a brand new frame with a completely solid divider. Haha this divider took months of pleading and begging to get...



I will be making a few more custom sections, but I may need to do some more begging depending on how everything works out
rolleyes.gif


Here is the basic layout. By the way that's an old res and I will not be using it



As you can see there will be a mid-plate which will cover the PSU, fan control and I'm about 90% sure the drives. That plate there was just for mock-up. The real one will need more structure to make it work right.
 
#7 ·
I'm in!
 
#8 ·
How did you get the chassis without any powder coating applied? This option would be ideal for someone that will have their own case custom powder coated. Saves the time and money to have it sandblasted to bare metal by their local shop for the powder coating process.
 
#9 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by NavyChief View Post

How did you get the chassis without any powder coating applied? This option would be ideal for someone that will have their own case custom powder coated. Saves the time and money to have it sandblasted to bare metal by their local shop for the powder coating process.
Working at CaseLabs comes with some perks
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#12 ·
I am so subbing this!
 
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#13 ·
Today I started on the mid-plate. It pretty much determines how every else will come together so why not, right!
biggrin.gif
I really liked the bend size and placement on the mock-up part so I am going to keep it as close to that as possible

Side by side shot of the mock-up and the material I will be starting with.



Here is what I'm going for.



I'm no sketch-up wiz, but it's close enough
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This is actually the view from the backside of the part, basically the side that will be up against the divider wall. There is also a hole for the PSU fan which will help with the orientation.

EDIT: Just realized the tabs on the ends are bent the wrong way, they should be pointed downwards.
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I'm starting with the backside closest to the PSU.

Notching out the corners






Prepping and measuring for the first bends.







Guess I didn't need to cut in on both sides
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I'm going to get it bent in the press break. Since I don't know how to use that I'm done for the day and the part should be bent tomorrow. From there I can determine the overall length of the part.

FedEx and UPS delivered on time!! With the exception of a few odds and ends this is pretty much everything I'm going to need to finish the build.
 
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#14 ·
More work on the mid-plate today.

First bends!




I cut away most of the flange so the PSU won't interfere. I will need to do the same thing on the other side because of the fan controller



Made some reliefs for the hardware




It's getting close! Just need to cut back the excess and make the last bend.


Will need to wait for the brake operator. Sigh... just one more day
rolleyes.gif



From here I will need to make a new rear chassis section.

Old plan
The reason for making a new rear is because the PSU will need to shift over at least 15mm to the left (looking from the rear). I'm doing this to make the PSU fan opening more inline with the rear fan opening of the PCI back plate. It would just look too far back otherwise, IMO.

Here is what it looks like now (Thanks PCModderMike!)


It's a little hard to see in this photo, but it was the best I could find. The red lines represent the mounting point on the fans, you see how the PSU fan is shifted left towards the mobo. I want to make it more in-line with the rear fan. The PSU will be off center looking from the rear, but I don't care. Besides by making a new rear I can eliminate the upper PSU mount, unused counter sink holes and the PSU support mounting holes. The rear will be almost completely clean except the I/O, PCI slots, lower PSU cut-out and screw heads.
 
#17 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by NavyChief View Post

How did you get the chassis without any powder coating applied? This option would be ideal for someone that will have their own case custom powder coated. Saves the time and money to have it sandblasted to bare metal by their local shop for the powder coating process.
Well, CaseLabs has stated that they can't guarantee anything of it's not coated at all. That's why they won't send a bare aluminium case. You can get it with primer if you want another colour!

I hate Kevin for having a bare case though. It looks way better than I thought. Sigh.
 
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#18 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flamso View Post

Well, CaseLabs has stated that they can't guarantee anything of it's not coated at all. That's why they won't send a bare aluminium case. You can get it with primer if you want another colour!

I hate Kevin for having a bare case though. It looks way better than I thought. Sigh.
About the raw aluminum,

I understand the desire for a raw case, but what you guys can't see in the photos is all the tooling marks and scratches. Before I actually get this case powder coated I'm going to need to sand out all of the imperfections. It's not guaranteed that every part will need to be sanded (and by the way that divider came out super clean, it's not normally like that especially on the backside), but the brushed aluminum look will not be retained by the time I'm done and I will be powder coating it. This will be even more so on the exterior panels which all get welded, grinded and sanded. As you mentioned, the can case be purchased in the primer finish, but we also do custom powder coasting on request.

I'm also going to be extensively modifying this case and working with powder coated material will make it more difficult. At this point here is the custom part list:
  • chassis divider
  • mid-plate
  • rear chassis
  • motherboard side door
  • cable side door
  • front cover
 
#19 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin_CL View Post

About the raw aluminum,

I understand the desire for a raw case, but what you guys can't see in the photos is all the tooling marks and scratches. Before I actually get this case powder coated I'm going to need to sand out all of the imperfections. It's not guaranteed that every part will need to be sanded (and by the way that divider came out super clean, it's not normally like that especially on the backside), but the brushed aluminum look will not be retained by the time I'm done and I will be powder coating it. This will be even more so on the exterior panels which all get welded, grinded and sanded. As you mentioned, the can case be purchased in the primer finish, but we also do custom powder coasting on request.

I'm also going to be extensively modifying this case and working with powder coated material will make it more difficult. At this point here is the custom part list:
  • chassis divider
  • mid-plate
  • rear chassis
  • motherboard side door
  • cable side door
  • front cover
I didn't mean to criticise CaseLabs stance on the matter, I agree with you. I think it's nice that you took your time to explain why you refuse to sell bare aluminium cases!

I'm looking forward to this project! It's shaping up nicely!
 
#20 ·
Man this is looking awesome.. Really love the raw idea
smile.gif
 
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#21 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flamso View Post

I didn't mean to criticise CaseLabs stance on the matter, I agree with you. I think it's nice that you took your time to explain why you refuse to sell bare aluminium cases!

I'm looking forward to this project! It's shaping up nicely!
I didn't think you were criticizing, I just know this could be a constant thing people bring up in this thread so I just wanted to give a little more information on the matter.

Thanks! I'm really liking how it's coming along!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pathfindercod View Post

Man this is looking awesome.. Really love the raw idea
smile.gif
Thanks! The case could look kind of cool in it's raw form once its all finished, but I just couldn't leave it like that. I'm thinking a semi gloss white with a heavy metallic black and some red highlights to match the red on the mobo.
 
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#22 ·
So the mid-plate is pretty much done with the exception of drilling the mounting holes and 140 fan cut-out, but I cant do that until I make the new rear section. I got kind of excited to see if it fit alright so I didn't take any more pics, but here is how it looks in the case!
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#25 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin_CL View Post

As you mentioned, the can case be purchased in the primer finish, but we also do custom powder coasting on request.
I would say something silly like "it's a pity you guys don't do two-step/layer or wrinkle coats"... Except I talked with the guy who does custom work at a powdercoating shop that's local to me, and he had a few stories about just how much work they are to do, so I can see why they aren't offered. ^_^

Case is looking great so far!
 
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#26 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by WhiteWulfe View Post

I would say something silly like "it's a pity you guys don't do two-step/layer or wrinkle coats"... Except I talked with the guy who does custom work at a powdercoating shop that's local to me, and he had a few stories about just how much work they are to do, so I can see why they aren't offered. ^_^

Case is looking great so far!
Wrinkles actually have been done by us, though never for a case. Before my time the shop had to do these big panels in a black wrinkle... probably around 3 feet by 5.5 feet if not larger. They has such a hard time with it but eventually they figured it out. I'm not sure if we would try it on a case though. Two stage powders are the most pain in the butt types of powders to shoot by far! It's not the base, it's the top coat that makes it a nightmare. No matter what we try the color is not uniform, it drips down the part as it bakes (or cures) and getting a consistent color tone on different parts is near impossible. cpachris's BBBB case is a two stage powder and we scrapped out panel after panel trying to get it right. Haha, I think we must have shot over 25 bay covers because those were the hardest. Since then we have tried it with about 3-4 different types on other things, not cases, and it's the same old story...
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Thanks!
 
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