WWII Online theme case

[saxxon68]

Working on a WWII Online theme case. Full aluminum framing covered with dark blue acrylic. Plan is to have 22 inch wide screen viewsonic inside case internally wired when completed. Here is a pic of the plan:

Still cutting plexi to complete all the side panels. But here is the framing and panels so far:

I just completed the keyboard tray which will slide from case 6.5 inches.

Air cooling will be efficient utilizing this airflow straightener from saxonpc.com in a wind tunnel configuration.

I want the drive bays on the side below the monitor, and to make them look similar to this WWII aircraft cockpit.

More photos avaliable on my worklog at:
http://www.saxxon.net/WWIIOnline2.html

I will post more photos soon.

 

[saxxon68]

I got the windowed HD from Western Digital, this unit is so nice

The passthrough to the keyboard/cd will be through this desk type button. This will allow for a good air seal.

I have the entire table full of parts to assemble this thing. I have only a few more brackets and one very detailed plexi piece to get it running.
I will run the foot stack of drivers this week and start on the LCD mounts.
The specs are:
Saxon Computers Hemmed LCD Case with Keyboard Slide
GIGABYTE GA-965QM-DS2 LGA Q965 Express Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
eVGA GeForce 8800GTS 320MB Superclocked PCI Express Video Card
Western Digital Raptor X WD150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
HIPER HPU-4B580 12V v2.2 580W Power Supply
OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 (loaner chip employee benefit)
ViewSonic's 20.1" VX2025wm widescreen LCD
HIPER HCK-1S18- Silver Slim Clavier Keyboard
Sony NEC Optiarc 18X DVDSATA Model AWG170S-B2
AeroCool TURBINE 1000 120mm Fan
LINKSYS WRT54GL Wireless-G Broadband Router
HAWKING HWUG1 USB 2.0 Wireless-G Adapter with Removable Antenna
ALTEC LANSING Speakers
Logitech 931379-0403 Cordless Notebook Mouse
Fieon Digital HYN104-BLU 4-Port Hub

I wanted to get away from the IDE CD drive so I got a SATA Sony drive. Then I had to give it the paint job I did the IDE drive, no such luck the 2 CD drives housings match.

And more stickers, arhhhh if you leave every sticker it would look like a stock car with all the sponsors.
This was sanded down to metal and painted with metalcast blue. It will be hard to see through the dark blue plexi, but looks nice.

Here is the stack o' software that had to be run to get windows running. I also bought this case because it was chaper then buying the few buttons I needed and I could get Windows & WWII Online running while I do other things. This USB port will be internal to run the keyboard and mouse.

You can see the fan controller running, that is the first time I powered it up, makes me want to get done to see this part running.

The part that was causing me to really drag me feet on this project was the front bezel. It took a few hours to mock up and measure everything out. Then a few hours to cut and clean up. By far the most complicated piece in the project. I still have to cut a door into it but so far one try is less then I thought I would have to make.

The scroll saw does not seem to track perfectly straight, so there is alot of clean up with files and sandpaper.

The CD drive door will be this 1/8 inch aluminum. Matches the thickness of the plexi so should mount flush. I will drive the screws right into the CD plate

The clock is working out well. I bought two of them so I will now drill out and tap the clock case to mount onto the acrylic. And replace the whole display with a new one with no scratches. And put in fresh batteries.

Here is the hardware running WWII Online for the first time, with no adjustments it got 122 FPS off the bat.
I installed all the hardware from many vendors, hooked up so many wires. Got everything running USB and pulled out all but the power and monitor. The monitor will also be interally wired, so this shall only need AC to run

The compass looks good and fits snug. I also decided to go with dual drawer slides. This will allow the keyboard to go 8 inches from the monitor, the average distance of the 3 PC's I measured. So more drilling drawer slides. I though measuring and mouting one set of slides was tough.

I want a 1/8 inch piece of aluminum for the keyboard door, this piece is 1 1-/4 inch wide, giving plently of clearance above and below for keyboard and CD mounting.

The hinges are for a jewlery box I think, It was tough to find small enough hinges. And I had to grind a bunch of screws for the door and hinges.
Now the door works perfect. Swings open very easy like I wanted. Then the keyboard slides out 8 inches.

Then I drilled in 24 additional holes for looks, these won't do anything but look freaking SWEET!!! Really gives it a military look and matches the CD drive.

 

[maverick7]

wow sweet mod, i cant wait to see the finished product !

 

[yadge]

That looks pretty awesome. It'll be cool to see it finished.

(lol. I had this window open for like 15 minutes, doing other stuff. And when I finally post, it's pretty much exactly the same as what Maverick7 said. I just thought it was kind of funny...)

 

[lostandwandering]

Can't wait to see the final product. Wish I had enough time on my hands to mod a case.

 

[saxxon68]

Ok, Now comes the fun part. Tearing apart the Viewsonic 21 inch widescreen.
It was not as simple as 4 screws like I thought and the cheap ones I was eyeballing at work. This thing snaps together tight. And I lost the rear mounting plate I thought I would have so the mount will be in the silver framing. This will work out better for airflow.
Here is the screen disected a bit:

The LCD power button is the only one I use, I may just bring this one only through the plexi, sealed with an industrial nipple. No one takes me serious when I say I need an industrial nipple.

With the silver framing it sure fills out the entire case frame.

Won't be much left of this piece when the LCD hole is cut.

I am not crazy about leaving this LCD sitting around. I wanted to mount it like this, but it will be better supported with the silver bump ring.

!7 screws ought to look good and support the monitor well. It will have to be cap screws thought because so far I cannot find button heads that long.

The door was quite a long process to cut into the plexi- file to fit, cut hinge slots, and make the whole thing work well and smooth. I do not want to have to mess with this stuff later.

Then I had to rig the door with magnets and a piece of steel so it will stay shut. This took some work on paper.

And then hours later it works for real. Cutting a magnet is not something any of my tools will do. Band saw didn't even score it.

Here is the door with a piece of the blue plexi.

From the conception of this project I knew that if I did not put a protective panel over the LCD for transporting it. I would wish I had the first time I transport it. So I cut a 18 x 13 inch clear piece that hinges off. To protect it and if it is optically the same I may just leave it on.
I should of took more photos of the whole panel. Here is the hinge pieces cemented to the clear panel. With no tack paper, No peeking eh!

The magnets keep the door shut great.

Besides what is a functional PC in the start up case. All this stuff is going into the box, boy is it going to be tight.
My dream of a 1-foot DVI cable died when I opened the UPS shipment. 1 foot is measured from end to end, just short of what I needed. I will have to use a 3 foot DVI cable. Anyone got a line on a 2 foot DVI cable? I got a 1 foot if anyone wants...? It is only good for rack mount..?
Here is all what will be going in:

 

[Sengoku]

Out of curiosity, where are you building this thing? And where are you physically located?

 

[smokedyou911]

Amazing!! Looks looks like an insane mod, hope to see the finished product soon . You could also consider putting some lights/led fans in there for an awesome glow.

 

[gigman]

Awsome man. Make me one! Ya i wish

 

[saxxon68]

Out of curiosity, where are you building this thing? And where are you physically located?

Hillsboro, Oregon USA It is build by hand, sometimes in front of the TV, sometimes in fron of the drill press