Test bench mod by Ace_finland

[Ace_finland]

Entered the Cooler Master mod competition this year and thought i would start a build log here too so you guys can see what im doing.

Finally got a design i was happy with. A lot has changed and i probably have spent 100hrs on the design and making things fit (3D) before starting to fabricate.

So this is the design I'm gonna stick with for now unless i change my mind for a 100th time


Its not the latest version but rendering takes too long so this will have to do. It won't be as glossy as the picture and if i have time I will make some custom gpu backplates and do something to the new Dominator platinum memory i have just gotten.

Also started fabricating the radiator boxes today.

Started with some kinda straight pieces of 1mm metal sheet. Decided on 1mm thickness to add some stability and still easy to fabricate


The machine


Bent a small test piece to figure out the radius and the measurement, also to get all the angles right.


Made four pieces so i can mess up two, easier to make extra now than going back to make two new ones


Quick test fit to see how its gonna look



Also the parts that arrived


Hope you like it and please comment, more comming soon!

Sponsored by:

[BLEH!]

Love it.

[Ace_finland]

Originally Posted by BLEH!

Love it.

Thanks!

[Anarion]

Hyvältä näyttää.

[PhazeDelta1]

I like the test bench builds i've been seeing at lately. Can't wait to see how this one turns out.

[Ace_finland]

Originally Posted by Anarion

Hyvältä näyttää.

Kiitoksia!

Originally Posted by PhazeDelta1

I like the test bench builds i've been seeing at lately. Can't wait to see how this one turns out.

Yeah, it's fun to do something different. Hopefully it will turn out allright

[scoter man1]

Well damn, this is about to look sick as hell.

[Hilbert Hagedoorn]

Sweeeet mozes ... build me one !

[iancook221188]

does look very professional is that a mATX broad can it fit a normal ATX

[Ace_finland]

Originally Posted by scoter man1

Well damn, this is about to look sick as hell.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Hilbert Hagedoorn

Sweeeet mozes ... build me one !

Thanks Hilbert! I might just do that

Originally Posted by iancook221188

does look very professional is that a mATX broad can it fit a normal ATX

Yes, its a mATX but it will also fit an ATX, the square in the middle is the Cooler master bench so it will still fit all the same boards as the original one will

[Ace_finland]

Back after a lot of hrs in the garage and at the workshop at work. Not much of an update when it's full of fail but thought i would share anyways.

Plan A

Cut a template of the size i wanted


Mark the piece to be cut


Working with my best friend (angle grinder)


After a lot of filing.



After this i realised cutting the next 3 slots in the metal will make it very thin and will flex and bend a lot. And the plan is to powder coat it after i'm done with it so i can't use any filler. so over to...

Plan B

Decided to get all the cuts before bending. Don't mind the tolerances, just forgot to adjust the digits



Make a "table" for the mill at work.


Used doubble sided sticky tape between the table and the metal sheets to prevent the pieces to vibrate during milling.


Fastened the sheets with screws in as many places as possible, i did not want the sheet to move during milling.


Let the milling begin. Still a Manual mill so need to be very focused


More fasteners used as it progressed.


Almost done, still need to deburr all the edges and as you can see in the red circle i made a bit of a mess. I had just finished that slot and turned the mill off without turning off the feed. So when i turned the mill on it went like a bat out of.... Words can not describe the feeling when that happened. I had spent 6 hrs milling just to do a simple mistake. Anyways, gonna weld it back and see if i can file it down. Wouldn't be a problem if i could use filler.


More updates coming tuesday-wednesday if i get the metal bent into shape.

Ace_finland

[Ace_finland]

welded and grinded down the mess i did the other day

Got the sheets bent today but now i don't know if i should go with the circular mesh or the hexx mesh. The hexx mesh is made out of 1mm aluminum and the circular mesh is made out of steel sheet which would make the whole construction a lot more stable. What do you think?





Circular or hexx???

Thanks for dropping in!

[CasperTm]

Hexx for sure!

[PhazeDelta1]

hex looks better

[sinnedone1]

another vote for hex

unless you want more of a contrast, then go with the circle. The hex just looks cleaner/sleeker

[..VeNoM..]

Hex here too buddy

[Anarion]

Kenno eli oikea ehdottomasti. Looks somewhat cooler than the rounded grill.

[pieisgood]

I dunno, hex looks a bit cheaper like chicken wire.

[Ace_finland]

Thanks for all your input guys and all the comments! It keeps me motivated to keep going when i get home from work and are tired!

Got a bit distracted from building the actual bench the last two days but i did some experiments.

The Hex mesh has very little surface and stability to it. I want something that "glues" them together which will hold it in place but still fairly easy to remove. I tried with double sided sticky tape which almost held it in place but as soon as you apply pressure to it it instantly came loose. That got me thinking...

As you can see the surface of the mesh is not much.


taped the holes that i did not want to be covered, used Teflon tape on the steel sheet so nothing would stick to it


Filled the holes with 2 component epoxy, and let the glue harden. Not the best finish but keep in mind this is just a test not a final mod




Now there is a lot more surface for the double sided tape to adhere to and it works perfectly!

Found another mesh today but not really liking it


I have decided I'm going to paint all the different meshes black and re post the pictures. I might change my mind once they are all black.

Also tried some powder coating last night

This is satin black. Two problems with this color, fingerprints sticks instantly, and it looks kinda cheap


Gun metal gray. Had to try, not gonna paint it like this though


This is the surface finish of the original cooler master case. I'm really liking this surface finish so i'm gonna order some textured powder coating black and give it a try.


Gonna order this color and give it a go!


That's all for it now, but my gf is going to a wedding and will be gone all weekend so a lot will probably happen :thumb:

[sinnedone1]

I like the gunmetal color personally.

Instead of black grills have you though about maybe a contrasting color?
Not anything like red or yellow but possibly something more neutral?

[Ace_finland]

Originally Posted by sinnedone1

I like the gunmetal color personally.

Instead of black grills have you though about maybe a contrasting color?
Not anything like red or yellow but possibly something more neutral?

yeah, i have, ordered this color today, gonna paint the mesh and see what it looks like in real life

[Ace_finland]

Hey guys,

got a lot done the last week so thought i would post a few pictures

First of all I'll show you something great when working with metal sheets. I have not seen many use these and i don't know why. They are quite handy when you don't want to weld and will help a lot in hard to reach places, when you don't have to use a regular nut. It's rivet nuts

Works like a normal rivet.


Modified a normal rivet gun buy cutting the head of a M4 bolt and jamming it in the rivet gun. Added a few washers to prevent the rivet from entering the gun


Screw the nut on the thread


All done


In the end I just got a rivet gun made for the rivet nuts which made it a lot easier.


Back to the case.

Made some acrylic for the case. Had to countersink the acrylic in order to get it flush against the case


Mounted. It's clear acrylic but it has a green protective sheet on it.


Spot welded some ends on the radiator holders and mounted it all together


Removed the green protective plastic. Still needs to be sanded to get a matte finish so the red leds will spread the light better.


Drilled the front acrylic plate. Still need to remove a lot of acrylic in the middle


Drilled holes in the aluminum after i knew the acrylic would fit.


Test fit


During the test fit i marked around the edges with a knife so i could get a rough template.


As you can see its a bit rough Will still do some more welding on the case and when that is all done i will grind down the front and back plate and sand it smooth. But you can see its starting to look as the rendering


more updates coming soon!

[Ace_finland]

Big update coming tomorrow if i get time to take pictures of all the stuff

Sneak preview


stay tuned

[Ace_finland]

back as promised

Almost forgot to update, have another project that I've been working on for the last 5 months. Can anyone guess what it is? Just got the "table back from a workshop that leveled it for me. So now i just need to get it assembled and it should be good to go if I just can figure out how to use it


Back on topic

Started sanding the edges, tried a lot of different machines and files before getting the result i wanted. Still need to straighten up the edges but wanted to mill the fan controllers first in case i make a mistake and need to redo it.



Milled away a bit of material to get the psu as close as possible to the back of the case to make as much room as possible inside the case


Started disassembling the new lamptron's


Very easy to take apart


In the preview yday you saw the milling so no need to post more pics of that, the controller fitted!


Had to power it up





After looking for leds for the acrylic and realizing buying "computer leds" are way too expensive i started looking for other options. Found this through a company in Finland. I don't know the price but it should be less than 50€ for 5m of leds. These are 15,6W/m so should be plenty of lumens


The Leds can be cut every three leds and cables can be soldered on straight on the copper tabs, 8mm wide and 2,5mm high. The best thing with them is if you have a 2cm led strip or a 5m led strip all you need is 12V.


Also have milled the front acrylic, milled a 3mm gap to place the leds in, a nice tight fit.


From the top


Full 12V, probably need to run them on 8V, otherwise with 2m's of leds it will look like a nuclear power plant


As low as it goes.


Still need to sand the acrylic edges to make it more smooth and spread the light even better, but it's a good start.

Does anyone have a suggestion how to get good photos when photoing the acrylic? They are super red but turns kinda orange in the pictures

Think that's it for now

[Nirvana91]

Damn!

Good luck! I´m enjoying what i´m seeing!