|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hey guys, been a while since I updated, but I did manage to get in the garage and finish up the IO hole. Geno sent me an extra front bay cover he had so I could use it as a patch. So I placed it behind the hole and traced out the area to be cut, and cut it out. Sanded off the anodizing and filed the edges til I had a nice snug fit. I taped it from behind and slapped some bondo on it. Since the patch was a bit thinner material than the case was, I decided to bondo the back side as well. After it set up, I sanded it down, first using a cheese grater file, then a orbital sander. Then I used the bay cover as my drill guide, and drilled out the holes. Now you can barely tell it was even there. Once the primer is on, it will disappear completely.
Ok, Geno and I have been working on a new floor design, in an attempt to alleviate some of the mess of tubing down by the radiators. The floor is made up of three sheets of 1/4" clear acrylic and there will be six channels through the middle, each 1/2" wide, with compression fittings on each end. Of course the design had to be trident-approved. As you can see, I color-coded the channels so you can tell the three loops apart. Here are the three floor layers, the top being the farthest away. I also incorporated cut-aways for the optical drive, power cables, and lighting, as well as notches for case fitment and alignment. This is not the final version, as there are some areas that need minor adjustments (which weren't apparent until I did the mockup tests). I set the pieces on some cardboard so they might be easier to see, then clamped the whole floor assembly in place in the case. I will also be employing the new compression fittings from Primochill. I screwed them into the floor to see how they fit. This is when I realized the bottom holes were too close together. So that will be addressed in the final revision. In addition to minimizing the amount of tubing, this new floor design will look pretty cool with the coolant running through it. I plan to paint the underside of it so you won't be able to see through to the radiator compartment. Now the trick to pulling this off will lie within the gluing process. If I screw it up, I will have leaks and cross-channel mixing of fluid (which will not be good since I will be using three different colors of coolant). I've got some scrap pieces I can practice with, and I will make a jig so that the layers will be lined up correctly.
Only had a short amount of time this weekend, so I thought I'd tackle the hard drive covers. I took 3 pieces of 1/4" transparent blue acrylic cut to hard drive size. Looks cool held up to the light! I set up my router table with a 3/4" round-over bit to give me a nice wide curve around the plexi. First piece cut. A little rough, but I'll smooth them out in a bit. A couple minutes on each edge with a mouse sander and 220grit sandpaper. I purposely rounded only three sides on the top and bottom piece, and only the 2 sides on the middle piece. This way, even though they are separate pieces, they work together to make up a larger canvas for the next step. I'll need to sand these a bit more in preparation for paint. Then I will apply a mask with a trident-ish graphic.
Got more work done on the hard drive covers! Received the paint mask in the mail and couldn't wait to try it out. The actual masking is sandwiched between two protective backings. Peeled the top coating off, flipped it over and applied it to the covers after lining them up as they would be on the hard drives. Then peeled off the other backing. Using the x-acto knife, I took care of the pieces spanning the gaps between the covers. Then I primed and painted them white with a pearl topcoat. You can kinda make out the iridescence in the light. I'll remove the masking tonight and place the covers on the hard drives to see how they look.
Removed the masking last night! I put some UV cathodes behind the covers to see how it will look lit up. This is with me holding the cathodes over the covers. I'm surprised the white paint doesnt glow under the uv light. Maybe it's the pearlescent coating that shields it? Works better this way, and I may not even need to light these covers from behind like I was thinking.
T3 reservoir mockup with tubing!
Was able to mock up the tubing in the lower rad section last night. Still was pretty tight (due to the thicker floor) so I had to get some 90° and 45° elbows to make it work. Came out ok I think. I love the blue fittings on the white tubing!
