[Professional] Phantom of the LAN

This project is going to be a little different to the others in the competition. The case i am going to be building is not actually for me! I have been commissioned to make it for Bastiaan_NL.

He came to me a few weeks ago asking me if i could make him an acrylic air cooled case for him to take to LAN parties. I sent him away to do a rough sketchup. With this i made a proper SketchUp model exactly to scale that i could make with the tools available. The name came from the fact that it was for a LAN party (obviously) and that it is going to be made out of black/smoked acrylic with subtle red lighting.

Unfortunately Bassie lives in The Netherlands, so you will never see photos taken by my hand of the case with all its final bits in. Hopefully he can take some and send them to me, however, and i will stick them up.

• Q9550
• ASUS P5Q-E
• Sum RAM
• nVidia GTX250
• Corsair HX620

This is exactly as the case will (hopefully) look like once finished. The design actually makes me look like a noob at sketchup, i.e. the lack of thickness in the sides, the lack of bevel for the windows. This is actually intentional. One of the themes i have gone with is the lack of edges. The case will look like a solid cube of acrylic. I will achieve this by cutting 45 degree angles on all the acrylic edges.



The inside of the case wastes as little space as possible, whilst still keeping 100% functionality. The PSU and drive bays are on the left, whilst the motherboard has the rest of the inside.



The back follows the clean look of the case, with space for 2x 120mm fans.



With all the side panels removed, you can see the inside structure of the case. Learning from previous builds, i have gone with a solid internal skeleton that can support itself and everything is holds without any side or top panels. This allows maximum strength, essential when going to a LAN party. The frame is constructed from 20x20mm acrylic verticals and 8x20mm horizontals.



This is the 5.25" bay. Bassie specified he only need a max of 2 hard drives since it is only a LAN box. This allowed me play around with space saving ideas, and so i ended up choosing a 3-HDD hot swap bay from Jou Jye. It fits in 2x 5.25" bays, has built in HDD warnings, built in cooling fan, looks amazing and being hot swap means cable management is non-existent when adding/removing HDDS. For £50, it is excellent and saves alot of fiddling about with making/incorporating a separate HDD bay.

Below the hot swap you see a Lamptron FC-5 Fan Controller and a Lian Li front panel connection thing which has a power button and reset button incorporated in it. At the very top of the rack is an optical drive.



This picture shows off the door covering the bays. This will be made of a middle core of 10mm clear acrylic, sandwiched between two layers of 3mm acrylic. There will be holes cut in for the fan controller dials and LCD. It latch on using magnetic tape. I will embed a 4" red cathode inside the clear acrylic which will make the whole door 'glow'.

You can also see the large 200mm fan grill. This is made of 10mm acrylic and will have the outer edge rounded with the router. The red LEDs of the fan will set off the edges (hopefully!)


So those are the initial plans! Everything is ordered. The motherboard tray will be in stock next week and will be shipped straight to the powdercoaters. It should be back fairly soon after that. Meanwhile, i can get on with everything except the back panel.
Edited by oliverw92 - 6/10/10 at 2:44pm

Here is a list of links to all the updates in the worklog.

• Update #1 - 28/01/10 - The Beginning of the LANOpera!
• Update #2 - 02/02/10 - Acrylic arrived, cut down to size
• Update #3 - 04/02/10 - Lasering, routing, messing around with cathodes
• Update #4 - 07/02/10 - Pics of some hardware
• Update #5 - 10/02/10 - More routing and lasering. Lots of bags of screws
• Update #6 - 04/03/10 - Back finished, new fan grills done, top laser cut, motherboard tray done

Edited by oliverw92 - 3/4/10 at 4:09pm

Update #1 - 28/01/10 - The Beginning of the LANOpera!

20mm acrylic rod arrived! Taped up and started marking out.



Band saw with an acrylic blade on. You can spy the casting platform and brazing/welding station behind! Unfortunately not going to be using those machines of dark forces in this performance!



Cut down to just-over. Some of you may spot my amateur error (please don't move me down a class rado )! Remember kids, measure twice, cut once! Not measure once, cut once, cut another bit off and sand it down and have to stick it on the bit you cut too short!



Introducing another weapon, the belt sander. Using a perpendicular guide to get the ends nice and straight.



These parts are for the frame if you hadn't guess yet. The machine they are on is a bobbin sander. The drum goes up and down as it spins round. Excellent for sanding the inside of holes (i.e. fan grills!).



Marked off the ends and center punched ready for drilling.



Got out the dichloromethane and glued on the little extension where i messed up earlier!



Introducing pillar drill one of two in this workshop! Set up here with a clamp to drill the holes straight down the rods.



Used a miniature set square to get the rod square



All holes drilled!



I then tapped the holes to M3



Used a right-angle clamp to hold a 300mm to a 310mm whilst i syringed some solvent into the join. The burnt effect on the clamp isn't permanent, i set it on fire whilst brazing



After a couple of minutes i had both A frames cemented together (the joys of solvent cement!).


End of Scene 1 of this acrylic opera!

*Oli exit stage left*
Edited by oliverw92 - 6/10/10 at 2:46pm

Update #2 - 02/02/10 - Acrylic arrived, cut down to size

Mahusive sheet of acrylic! 1000x1000x8mm black. Decided on the nice thick stuff instead of 5mm, will make it alot stronger.



Sheet of 1000x500x5mm black acrylic and two sheets of A3 5mm smoked acrylic. Need 8mm instead of 5mm black due to a design change after i ordered the acrylic, so some more is on the way, as well as an a4 sheet of 3mm for the door.



Did a scale plan of my cuts in the massive slab of acrylic in 2D Design.



Hard to see, but marked out the parts.



Time to introduce some more workshop friends! Here are the two Boxford metal lathes



Warco milling machine (non CNC)



Giant automatic hacksaw thing that cuts through aluminium like butter!



Planer/thicknesser



Beastly table saw



Axminster wood lathe with a crazily cool turbine dust extractor next to it! Inflates itself like a punch bag



Laser cutter



Shoddy OEM pc for the laser cutter



Back to the modding! The bandsaw made light work of the massive acrylic slab!



More of the acrylic.


Next time, pictures of the laser-cut base and side panels.
Edited by oliverw92 - 6/10/10 at 2:47pm

Update #3 - 04/02/10 - Lasering, routing, messing around with cathodes

Did some lasering! This is the right hand panel, with the 5mm smoked acrylic window test-fitted.



I then stripped it nekkid and glued it in with dichloromethane



Clamped up ready for routing



Busted out the router with a 45 degree end bearing bit.



Action shot!



2 sides done



Finished the right hand panel



Left and right panels both finished routing



Finished routing the base too. This came out the best, had perfected my system for clamping and routing etc.



Should note, i found the solvent wasn't strong enough for the A-frames so i broke them all down, sanded off the solvent, drilled and tapped holes so now it is much stronger. Solvent will be re-applied at the end.



Left panel test fit!



The tiny gap between the panels can be removed by adjusting one of the holes in the panel (one of the holes in the frame is 0.5mm too high. looks pretty pro to me!



The profits of the last two days!



For the door, i am going to need to remove the actual cathode from its tube. I had an old blue one lying around, so i decided to test removing it. The first blue one i broke, the second I cut it right by the end cube, so it didn't snap the delicate inner glass element.



For some reason the end decided it didn't like me, but thats a success in my book, considering how delicate the elements are!



So for anyone who is wondering, here is how you do it will sealed cathodes - some brands, the cubes on the end just pull off. However mine were glued on. First off, get a small hacksaw and cut all the way around the tube near the cube. Go gently, you don't want too much vibration.



Pull the element out the end you just cut until the foam blob comes out too.



Unwrap/slide off the foam



Pull the element back into the tube. Slowly and carefully pull it through the small hole in the cube.



Done It is the one top right. These are actually red, but the digicam makes them orange. I'll get the 450D out soon and take some proper photos of bits and pieces.



Final shot of the naked cathode element. This will be embedded in the door of the 5.25" bays.
Edited by oliverw92 - 6/10/10 at 2:48pm

Update #4 - 07/02/10 - Pics of some hardware

Decided to get out the studio lights and the 450D for some piccies of bits that have arrived.



SMD LED tape in red, great stuff!



Lamptron FC-5. Been really interested to see what these are like, glad i've finally got my hands on one!



Lovely anodized aluminium.



Nice solid knobs too.



Mass of electronics behind there. They have used two PCBs to fit everything in.



Powered on! Thats supposed to be white according to the jumpers on the back...



One of the temperature probes connected up. Shame the cables are white! Ah well, they will be sleeved.



There are loads of jumpers on the back for changing the colour, mode, F or C etc. Got it in celcius, white at the moment. You can also have it show the fan voltage.



Nice bit of green!



Purple has got to be my favourite though!



Case feet. I thought these would be solid aluminium, but they feel like plastic! The aluminium is so thin. Something is going to have to be done about this...



They make for great photos though



PCI slot covers. Bit of mind-rape going on in the positioning of them



Lian Li expansion bay. Feels really nice and solid!



eSata, 4x USB firewire and front panel audio.



Power and reset buttons.



Hot-swap bay.



Fits in 2x 5.25" bays, takes 3 hdds!



With the trays slid out.



Rear connections.



One of the trays.



I powered it up, and found that the rear fan was absolutely deafening! Opened up the back to investigate...



I will try undervolting it to 7/5v first, if that doesnt work i will get a different fan for it. Apart from that though, this thing is amazing! Build like a tank too.
Edited by oliverw92 - 6/10/10 at 2:49pm

Update #5 - 10/02/10 - More routing and lasering. Lots of bags of screws

Laz0r! Cutting the acrylic for the front and HDD bay



Drive bay finished! Made out of 8mm acrylic and glued together with dichloromethane. Attached to base with M4 countersunk screws.



Front lasered and routed.



Screwbag. Err...



Finished the frame for the right hand side.



Placed the front panel up against the rest. This will be glued on to keep a clean look, so it isn't held on properly at the moment.



Window panel



Sorry for the dodgy photos



Sized up some 10mm clear acrylic for front details.



Laser cutting the front fan grill decoration bit out of the acrylic.



Goes very slowly on 10mm acrylic! Only a small 30W laser.





More lasering photos.

YouTube- Laser Cutting 10mm Acrylic
And a video of that part being lasered!


Until next time...
Edited by oliverw92 - 6/10/10 at 2:56pm

Update #5 - 10/02/10 - More routing and lasering. Lots of bags of screws

Been a bit busy so no updates for a couple of weeks. Was also waiting on acrylic and parts to do the next stage.



Motherboard tray finally arrived! Above you see it de-riveted.



I don't want an 80mm fan there, so i am going to cut the mounting part out.



Used a forstner bit to create a nice clean rounded inside corner.



Very nice!



Wait wut? Wheres my curved edge gone? Oh yeah i was a pleb and cut into it when cutting the straight lines on the band saw! Oh well, i neatened it up with the dremel and all is fine.



Now jump to the laser cut back panel! You can see here i have also countersunk the mounting holes for the motherboard tray.



Power supply attached.



Lovely old 20-pin grey PSU!



Looks pretty nice with the countersunk screws



Welcome to the stage, the finished motherboard tray!



Put some 20mm standoffs through the unused mounting holes.



Motherboard tray attached. You can see where i had to laser gaps out so the rivets on the tray would sit flush.



Silver screws will be replaced with black ones.



It is quite a tight fit between the PSU and tray, but there should be enough room for cables such as front panel audio etc.



It also fits perfectly with the rest of the case!



However, it is such a good fit that there is nowhere to get the cables through from the PSU to the motherboard!



Seeing the cables coming out here gave me an idea.



This PSU is 14cm long, so standard 15cm PSUs will fit fine too.



The mass of acrylic is starting to look like a proper case now!



So here is my idea for solving the cable issues! A cut out up to the height of the motherboard tray to allow cables to escape underneath.



I used the Dremel and a reinforced cutoff wheel to cut the acrylic.



Now the cables can get through to the main area easily



Should be more than enough room!



Looking good



I posted a video of a piece being laser cut for the front fan grill in the last update. This laser cut actually turned out awful. Loads of people had been cutting MDF on the laser cutter all that week, so there was alot of carbon deposit left on the hexagonal bed. This meant that when i laser cut my nice 10mm clear acrylic on a really low speed, the laser was going so slowly it kept on combusting the carbon depositis, burning the acrylic protective layer and permanently marking the acrylic So i ordered some 5mm translucent red acrylic to replace it.



The edge is actually shiny, doesn't look it in this photo.



Mounted with m3 screws. Will replaced with countersunk black ones.



I'm hoping the 200mm red LED fan behind it will set off the translucent red acrylic.



I then laser cut the smoked acrylic window for the top and got ready to glue it in place with solvent.



Done! You can also see the 120mm grill mounted on top. There are also two on the back of the case.



I taped the window up a few minutes to protect it from scratching.



Rough test fit! Looking good!



Just need to route the top to 45 degrees and we will be set for a proper test fit.

Another update tomorrow perhaps!
Edited by oliverw92 - 6/10/10 at 2:57pm

Update #6 - 16/03/10 - Routing finished! Door finished, lighting started!

Routed the top. Finally done all the routing



The internal frame needs a little sanding to get it sitting flush.



Duck tape - its incredible!



I'm starting to love this case so much



Best corner at the moment.



Now onto the door! It is going to be made like a sandwich - the bread is 3mm black and the filling is 10mm clear acrylic. You can also see the brass piano hinge here.



Sexeh!



Mr L. Aser at work again!



Did it a little too fast so it was stuck Had to carefully chip it out with a hammer and scribe. You can also see on the right where the laser had a fail and destroyed my first 200mm rad grill.



It's free!



Frosted spray for the edges of the clear acrylic.



The faces are a little messy, they aren't seen though.



Sammich



Hinge in place.



It weighs a ton! At least 1KG.



Drilled the mounting holes on the front and tapped them



Yays



Will be replaced with black ones.



It swings perfectly, and doesn't squeek either which is a result!







Mounted a fan in the top.



Looks nice IMO!



Sets off the rad grill nicely too.



Front fan mounted. I may replace the LEDs with brighter ones.



Door! I found a white cathode to chuck in it. I quite like how it (accidentally!) fades out to the bottom



I may have to remake the door - the acrylic has cracked because there was alcohol in the frosted spray



I'm liking white, even though i originally planned red! Gives a heaven-and-hell look to it



Current status
Edited by oliverw92 - 6/10/10 at 2:58pm

Update #7 - 29/03/10 - Mounted the rear fan holders, took off the protective layer on the acrylic

Mounted the fan holders on the back.



The fans were tapped to M5 rather than having to use nuts on the machine screws.



The silly blue and black stickers on the fans will be replaced with black ones which i have cut out on the CNC laminate cutter.



Case with top and right side panel removed.



Retaped up the back panel to protect it.



Fitted the case feet.



Look pretty nice tbh!



Drilled a hole for the cathode cable to pass through.



Really not happy with those edges



Here you can see the glue joint attatching the back panel to the frame.



Needed to drill holes for the motherboard standoffs to attach to the base of the case. Used a method I stole from someone on bit-tech to mark out the holes.



You layer up masking tape 5 times then stick it where the standoffs will hit the floor. Then you mount the tray on the back of the case, get a hammer and hit where the standoffs are on the tray. It leaves a little mark like above. Then you just drill your hole and its sorted!



3 Holes drilled



20mm standoffs installed



And now jumped to the almost finished product! I have taken off all the protective coating. All i am waiting for are some screws and a cathode.



The red fan grills look awesome



Lovely shiny black acrylic.



Rear fan grills.



Top with smoked acrylic window



Here you can see some parts that i have not shown before. The feet were not tall enough to allow a cathode mounted underneath, so i laser cut three red acrylic disks per foot and then sandwiched them together. The red cathode is mounted with two acrylic brackets. The cathode should light up the case feet a bit too.



This cathode is broken so a replacement is on the way.



The bracket was made by laser cutting the small pieces then attatching them together with solvent cement. You can also see the hole i drilled for the cathode cable to pass through.



I painted the motherboard tray in black hammerite. It has a nice hammered finish!



You can also see the Nexus PCI slot covers.



I remade the door



Also fitted the fan controller.



The new door has an inner core of two sheets of 3mm live edge red acrylic.



The magnetic tape also arrived for the door. You can see it on the left of the door.



Fitted the i/o panel and the hard drive bays.



Lovely stuff!



Silver screws will be replaced with black ones.



Final shot of the front fan grill.


Just waiting for screws and cathodes and we will be done!
Edited by oliverw92 - 6/10/10 at 3:00pm