Archers custom chassis work log

[Budza]

Thanks Maybe if you ask very nicely I can design and/or make you one

Nicely = $$$ ??

 

[Archer]

Nicely = $$$ ??

Haha, depends what you need. If you want some advice for your own build or mod ask away. I've already learnt a million and one things on this build and will happily share what I know. But if I gotta do everything for you then you'll have cough up the dough

 

[Archer]

Updates woohooo! I forgot my camera at home, so I was forced to use my phone. So I'm sorry for the poor quality of the pics

So last time I just managed to get the bottom panel onto a side panel. So first order of business - get the next side on! Clamp the two pieces together, drill through the panel into the square bar, and hey presto the screw holes are in exactly the right place

I was planning on doing the top piece next but it was proving to be a little tricky. Just couldnt be 100% sure that it was in the right place. So I decided to do the front panel first. Now there are actually two front panels, one ugly one which the fans and radiator will mount to, and the nice one that will sit in front of that. So off I went, clamped everything in place again and lets see how it turned out. In the second pic you can see the steel panel sitting behind the front panel. I'm going to powder coat everything the same colour, and there will be a filter in between the two, so it shouldnt be as obvious when its all done

I remembered to bring some 5.25 drives along today, so next I'm testing out the bay holders. While the drives are fastened properly the whole thing just rested there. So some things are not quite flush, but they will be when mounted properly

Continued in next post......

 

[Archer]

And a couple more of the drive bays... I was quite worried about this actually, but the drives fit perfectly into the opening on the side panel. Hopefully that means I wont get any light bleeding out from here which I find really annoying on most other cases.

With the front done I moved onto the back panel. Followed the same procedure in marking the holes for drilling. End result was good except for one hole (top right in this pic). Obviously the part had moved a bit while I drilled the other 5 holes. Sigh... for now I'm going to leave it. Still looking into rubber washers to help protect the paint on the final product. So with a bit of luck I can enlarge the hole, cover it with a washer and all is good. Had this been on any other panel I'd have redone the bar, but since its at the back I'm willing to let it slide (for now). Second pic is the view from the front of the case

With the front and back panels on I was confident I could get the top panel right. And get it right I did! Only one pic because the other one was horribly blurry, gah

With all the outer panels done I moved onto getting the motherboard tray in. Its currently only fastened at the top and bottom. The left side in the pics still needs some square bar that will also hold the drive bays. The right side needs some very careful planning. The rear IO + PCI slot thingamabob must be fitted in exactly the right place otherwise I'm going to struggle getting the actual hardware in.

And this is how I left it at the end of the day. I think its looking good so far. Lemme know what you guys think

 

[nakedpeanut]

And we finally have something that looks like a case

Very nice work man!

 

[Ono'rach]

Huzzuh! It lives!

Very nice dude, its coming along very nicely

 

[PhireSide]

Very nice! Keeping my eye on this one

 

[Archer]

Thanks guys. Cant wait to have this sucker painted and done Well... almost done, still lots of lighting, wiring and perspex pieces to add in

 

[techead]

this is really impressive....

How heavy is it gonna be?? Looks like a tank!!

 

[Archer]

this is really impressive....

How heavy is it gonna be?? Looks like a tank!!

Looks like a tank, but it definately isnt going to be as heavy It should weigh less than a CM690ii which is 9.56kg. My calculations show it will be around 9.45kg, maybe a bit less. That is its empty weight obviously

 

[ToxicBunny]

Very very nice dude..

Wish I had the work space to do things like this... have to build my garage first tho

 

[HavocXphere]

Holly sht, why didn't I see this earlier.

If the end result gets painted black then you really really have to name it Styx. Couple of questions:

Why solid alu bars & not L shaped ones?

From the rendering the front & back don't look the same height? Is that intentional or just the render perspective messing with me?

Are the CD bays mounted sideways or am I just imagining things?

Is any of it pop riveted?

 

[Archer]

Holly sht, why didn't I see this earlier.

If the end result gets painted black then you really really have to name it Styx. Couple of questions:

Haha, still deciding on a name actually

Why solid alu bars & not L shaped ones?

Somewhere in the beginning of the design I went for solid bar since it would be easier to make everything fit together. Also, you need a certain number of threads to engage on the screws. On a M4 screw that translates into at least 2.8mm of thread. If I went for angle bar it would only have been 2mm thick, and hence not enough thread would actually bite in.

From the rendering the front & back don't look the same height? Is that intentional or just the render perspective messing with me?

Nah, they are the same height

Are the CD bays mounted sideways or am I just imagining things?

You are correct. It was the only way I could get all my cooling (radiator + 3x140 fans) situated in one place and not make the case super long or tall. The way it is now everything is nice and compact

Is any of it pop riveted?

NO!! Rivets are evil I tell you, you'll only see nuts and bolts in here

 

[HavocXphere]

Makes sense. Rivets + L shaped works OK too (did that for a stand to raise the box off the carpet), but I guess your approach is cleaner.

Radiator...so water cooling right? Wouldn't that have to be outside the case somehow?

I reckon my next box isn't going to have an optical drive. Only thing I need it for is OS install & that worked fine of USB last time (actually faster).

 

[Archer]

Makes sense. Rivets + L shaped works OK too (did that for a stand to raise the box off the carpet), but I guess your approach is cleaner.

Well I will say that actually building this case has given me a lot of insight into how I could have made things simpler. MarkII will hopefully be much simpler and quicker to assemble

Radiator...so water cooling right? Wouldn't that have to be outside the case somehow?

Nope, all the water cooling bits will fit inside the case. You'll see

I reckon my next box isn't going to have an optical drive. Only thing I need it for is OS install & that worked fine of USB last time (actually faster).

5.25 bays are there for easy installation of a fan controller, power buttons, and a single DVD drive which I do still use once in a while. Still thinking about stealthing the drive. Could have put the power buttons and fan controller on the side panel, but then I'd be stuck with the usual problem where every time you take the panel off you first need to unplug everything thats attached to it. So the 5.25 approach ended cleaner in this scenario

 

[HavocXphere]

The other thing you should consider is putting some rubber between the parts screwed together...might reduce noise from vibrations a bit.

 

[Archer]

The other thing you should consider is putting some rubber between the parts screwed together...might reduce noise from vibrations a bit.

Already considered All moving parts will be mounted on rubber/silicon

 

[tjiPPi]

Very impressive
Can't wait to see it after it's been painted.

 

[PhireSide]

What are you going to do with your old case? Looks good, and you have implemented some nifty ideas!

 

[Archer]

What are you going to do with your old case? Looks good, and you have implemented some nifty ideas!

Already sold it, so my PC is all over the show on my desk now. PSU is upside down, mobo sitting on top of its box. Actually, just take a look So I'm pretty motivated to get this case built and put my current hardware in it.