[mcnaryxc]

Links to posts:
01 - Making the Frame
02 - Good and Bad Ideas
1+ year break!
03 - Back in Action
04 - Mobo Tray and Slots

=====================================

So... After 1.5 to 2 years of no modding on OCN, I've decided to come back. Some of you might remember me from the Portal case mod that won me MOTM. I haven't been on the forums for a while, but it's good to be back.

I should catch you guys up on this mod. In Dec '09, embarrassed that my Turret mod I was working on was accidentally smashed by a roommate, I decided to post my logs on Pdxlan.net. All those guys are local to me and I get to talk to them at PDXLANs whenever I go. I started this mod called Pulse^3.

The reason for Pulse^3 (pronounced "Pulse Cubed") was to create a custom mod that no one had seen before, go beyond my normal low budget, and to have a computer that is extremely easy to take to LAN parties. Think of it as a Mac for LAN parties, in that you just plug it in and turn on. No fiddling with monitors, few wires running everywhere. Something clean, but also something that fits my rougher style of modding.

The name Pulse^3 can be explained later, but for now, here's some drawings.

With this drawing, I was originally going to put four monitors on the case, but due to some measurements, it wasn't a great idea. So, I opt-ed out for something else....which you'll see later. With that, a CAD drawing was done.

Get the picture? Ok, let's get to building! ...but since this is an intro, I'll explain it in another post.

Keep reading!

 

[mcnaryxc]

Again, this happened in December '09, so please bear with the bad photos. Another thing old about this photo is that my friend no longer lives there and we aren't friends anymore lol.

Eh, at least he let me use his tools.

Went to Lowes and bought some 1" angle aluminum at 1/16" thickness. I thought 1/8" would be too thick, and I used aluminum for weight reasons.

The top and bottom frame parts are all one piece. My "friend" thought it would provide more strength. That means to cut out little right angles and bend.

Then, on to cutting the other pieces.

I love to use rivets when I can. Such good strength. This was the perfect opportunity to use them.

And here's the frame all put together.

Next step is to figure out how to add the monitors...which I'll explain in the next post.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Liighthead]

nice subed.

anything goin in the back? or

 

[mcnaryxc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liighthead;12886343
nice subed.

anything goin in the back? or

Awesome. Ya, there will be a piece of plexi going in the back. It'll be a window to look inside when the monitors are closed.

 

[mcnaryxc]

Attaching the monitors has always been a big thing to think about. The biggest concern is their weight and how the hinges will handle that. While that's definitely an issue, I've decided to tackle that later when the case is more assembled.

O, and FYI, this post might get confusing so just try to play along.

The idea I had to was to "hide" a piece of wood inside the case to hold hinges. The type of hinges used were ones used in tight spaces. I got the idea when looking at the ones in my dad's bathroom one night.

Since the angle aluminum was 1", I thought it was only proper to use 1" wood.

And then attach hinges and then attach to case.

I would keep going and show you how I attached the monitors, but here's a short story. Over the 1+ year break, these pieces I made were lost. Between moving three times and the garage getting cleaned, the pieces must have disappeared. I thought I'd show you this anyway, so you get a better idea when I later show remaking the hinge system.

So, skipping over that, I proceded to paint. Looking back, it was a VERY BAD IDEA!

I don't know what I was thinking, but I decided to paint. I'd show you all the pictures, but since it's going to be repainted, I'll give you the short version.

Primer, black paint and clear coat later...

Lastly, I put feet on the case. This was a stroke of genius. The feet used are usually found on desks in classrooms that can move up and down by turning. Simple solution for keeping the frame level on the table. And, it doesn't look half bad.

Oh ya, and I added a bottom. BUT LOOK AT TEH FEETZ!

Now that I've caught you all back up to speed to where I had stopped, I can now show you my current progress....in another post.

Thanks for reading!

 

[mcnaryxc]

Now that everyone is caught up, I thought I'd quickly take the time to explain my absence from modding. (You can skip the next paragraph if you don't care.)

The reason I stopped modding was because I was put on academic probation at my uni, Oregon State. As some of you know, I'm in Mechanical Engineering, and when I entered pro-school, I was hit really hard with what felt like being misplaced. I didn't feel like I fit in. I signed a paper saying that I had to get my grades up the next term to avoid get kicked out of my college. I am happy to say that after that year or so, I got my grades back up to a cumulative 3.28 and was on the honor roll these last two terms. I also was promoted at work and started my own little side business buying/selling used electronics on eBay/CL. I bought a new camera (Pentax K-x, best camera ever) and I have funds built up. My schedule is difficult this next term, which means that updates will probably only pop up on weekends.

Back to work! Here's a picture of my work space, which is really my dad's garage.

Like I said before, I had to remake the hinge system. Lucky for me, Lowes still makes the same exact hinges.

Did it to both sides.

Then, with some new monitors I bought, that worked better than the old ones I was originally going to use, I drilled some holes to attach to the hinges. (I didn't notice until I was done, but my camera auto-WB decided to use the metal as a reference. Oops.)

Hinges done. Lets attach monitors. The LCD panels have been taken off to avoid being damaged.

Now, for the real progress. I drilled holes for the third monitor...

...and attached it.

Here's what it looks like with wings spread out.

I'm sure it'll look way cooler once the LCD panels are back on.

With time still left in the day, I moved on to the middle of the mod. I have some 1/4" slot aluminum I bought. Measured how I want to.

And then I cut with a jigsaw. (not my precious scroll saw

)

Last, I glued on some brackets.

Here's a close up.

And that's it for now. Hopefully I'll see you guys next weekend.

Thanks for reading!

 

[dcyli]

Subbbed!

 

[mcnaryxc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcyli;12886753
Subbbed!

Cool thanks!

 

[SmasherBasher]

We missed you!

The turret was smashed?

 

[ph10m]

awesome idea, subbed

 

[Triedge1991]

are you going to make it so there's little to no bezels on the LCDs?

 

[mcnaryxc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmasherBasher We missed you! The turret was smashed?

Dawww

I missed this place too.

Ya...at my old house, I was building the turret. One of my roommates pretty much lived out of the garage except for sleeping (which was the family room). All his school work/office stuff was out there. When this girl moved out, he decided to take her room. When he was moving his stuff, some of his books slipped out of his hands and landed on the main framework on the turret. Pretty much snapped the middle part in half. He was really sorry, but I was crushed. I also was very embarrassed to show you guys. At that point, I was so swamped with school that I decided to give up on the project and pursue something else later.

AND, this case happens to be that something else.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ph10m awesome idea, subbed

Cool thanks!

 

[lil-tom7]

Looks pretty epic. Subbed

 

[mcnaryxc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Triedge1991;12890642
are you going to make it so there's little to no bezels on the LCDs?

Yes. Originally, it was going to be just taking the bezel off and painting the non-shiny metal black to go with the frame. Usually the only part that is shiny is a few screws and the frame that surrounds the LCD panels themselves. But, after taking all the monitors apart, only one of the three actually has a shiny metal frame. So, and it hasn't been "officially" decided yet, I think I'm going to tape off the front of the LCD and spray paint that frame part black, but leave the screws that hold it to the rest of the LCD framework as shiny metal. If that doesn't make sense, I can take a picture to show you what I mean.

 

[Ren-dog]

Subbed, i wana see this.

 

[mcnaryxc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lil-tom7;12890717
Looks pretty epic. Subbed

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ren-dog;12894535
Subbed, i wana see this.

Thanks bros. I can't wait to get more done so you guys can see all that I have in stock for this case.

 

[csm725]

Wow awesome. Subbed. CANT WAIT

 

[mcnaryxc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by csm725 Wow awesome. Subbed. CANT WAIT

Thanks!

This isn't really an update, but since I've yet to have homework this week, I decided to start disassembling my current computer, as I'll probably be getting the main parts board cut out this weekend and want to mark/drill holes. Before I disassemble, I thought I'd show you what my computer was stashed in.

That's right. I had my gaming PC inside a trash can. I didn't make a work log for it as it only cost me $10 and two days to make. Nothing special. Just something I decided to do one weekend in the summer.

Here's what it's like in the dark. (really need to buy a tripod)

Anyway, thought I'd show you before I take it apart and throw all the real trash away. Off to disassembly and hopefully some more progress this weekend.

 

[krajee]

Haha, I love the trash can. What do people say when they see it for the first time?

 

[mcnaryxc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krajee Haha, I love the trash can. What do people say when they see it for the first time?

When I took this to a work lan party, most reactions were laughs. The pictures I put up are decent, but if you take the time to look closely, I tried to make the trash can realistic. Empty CD spindle, empty Bawls bottle, lots of crumbled paper, empty pens, napkins and other stuff. Because I used all that, my friends found it amusing.

What got the most laughs is that we put our computers on the floor. Most people who didn't know that it was my computer used it as an actual trash can. Luckily everything they threw in was paper. I guess it was too realistic.