Project: BloodMoon

Dgephri · Jun 20, 2006

I decided to get my hands on a Qmicra when they first sold the Case by itself.

Managed one of the first Black ones, with red hardware.

I worked in Sketchup (thank you GoogleSketchup) for a quite a bit to do some space planning, and get my cutting layout so I like the look of it:

I ended up with the idea of the BloodMoon eclipse event from October 2004. At a certain point, the refracted light coming around the Earth turns the moon orange, rust, or reddish in hue. Called a Blood Moon.

And then I had to find a way to do the domes shown in the Sketchup.

Voila! Cleardomes.com

couple phone calls to verify the capabilities, and for a "nut wrenching" price of $37 each, I got my two domes: one 6" diameter clear blue (like UV blue plastic) and one 1.5" clear. Done up in proper dimesions for comparitive size of the Earth (6") and the Moon (1.5").

Anyway, here is my first day of work!!:
Day 1--
6" round hole saw

And the interior fit...a little sanding to really seat it perfectly, but that is pretty close!

I did the smaller bore for the Moon dome, but didn't take a picture of it yet.

And the "foot mod"

should make it quite a bit easier to take the Lid off and show the internals without taking the Feet off, just leaving them threaded out a bit.

What do you all think?

hardware specs will be determined a little close to the Lan date of PDXLAN 8 in September. I am waiting to see about a Conroe mATX motherboard, GX2 or the next Nvidia card (if available) and maybe a pair of 750Gig parallel drives.

In the meantime, more cutting, more sanding, and some fiber optics to come.

I just did a test reassemble to check on component visibility with the new openings:

And the feet:

skudmunky · Jun 20, 2006

Wow, that looks really good. Can't wait to see it finished! Keep updating

Dgephri · Jun 20, 2006

thx, I plan to work on the other cutouts in the coming days.

My printer is out of ink so I have to go fetch some color cartridges to print out my mask decal for the lettering on the top before I can start that detail dremel work.

In the mean time I will layout the "eclipse" section between the two domes. I need some metal between the opening for strength, and holding the acrylic parts from behind.

Question:
Should I use rivets (black or red anodized) to hold the windows/domes on, or just my typical high strength silicone adhesive (E6000 stuff)? The exterior isn't really industrial, but the rivets could give it that feel...

Dark Prodigy · Jun 20, 2006

Cool project. I'd go with the adhesive to give a smooth and clean appearance. Besides later on you might want to airbrush some really cool stars to give it that 'outerspace' type feeling. I'll be keeping an eye on this. =)

Dgephri · Jun 20, 2006

I'm kind of leaning that way too, sort of my normal installation method anyway...I prefer the clean, frameless look instead of the window gasket type look.

Marking off my eclipse section now, I have been testing out those newer Metal Cutoff disk and the Quicklocking mandrel for them...good durability, worked well on the feet.

More coming soon!

Granthos · Jun 20, 2006

looks kick ass man good work, nice case

wiretap · Jun 20, 2006

This will be a project I'll be following.. looks awesome. What do you use to cut the case so perfectly in a circle? Dremel? Coping saw? Laser? bigger machinery?

Dgephri · Jun 20, 2006

6" hole saw. Not much clean up after that except for some black Sharpie to cover the silver parts.

Update again!

Just workin' like mad today--
the eclipse:

willie92 · Jun 21, 2006

Sah-wheet mod!

Quite original. I can't wait to see how you pull this all off--espeically the sphere!

/'scribed!

Dgephri · Jun 21, 2006

thx for all the positive guys...more plastic work today, no ink for my printer yet to do my lettering mask

Update: decided to work on the red window between the two domes--
a quick trace gives me the shape

have to buy new Radiosh--- needle files, I can't find my old set...so those corners will get cleaned up and painted black to hide the silver.

aerosaaber · Jun 21, 2006

that's looking cool, keep it coming.

Dgephri · Jun 22, 2006

just a little update...drug out my two 4" red cathodes, and a blue Lazer LED to see what I thought of preliminary lighting:

obviously wiring will be done later, I recrimp and sleeve everything when I have decided on the final locations.

I think I need two 4" blue ccfls on the big dome like I have red over on the small dome.

Thoughts?

Unknown-One · Jun 22, 2006

Freekin sweet mod!

Hinokagutsuchi · Jun 22, 2006

I dunno. The big sphere should be blue, no doubt, but it only needs a little more blue, that way it doesn't overpower the red. Right now, the fade from the red to blue is really really nice and it gives it the look and feel of an eclipse.

Dgephri · Jun 22, 2006

thx man...I am weighing using 2 laserLEDs instead of just one, pump it up a bit, and I took one of the red ccfls out just to see, and it still keeps the Moon dome bright, but not overpowering.

I will get it there...and having all the feedback here sure does help!

Darkala · Jun 22, 2006

thats pretty cool looking bro! i like that a lot!

F.E.A.R. · Jun 23, 2006

Me likes!!

Dgephri · Jun 23, 2006

wow, lots of positive feedback! I really appreciate it guys.

I got ink for my printer, so later tomorrow, and Sunday morning I will be doing the printing (since I need it exactly a particular size) and then start the dremel work to cut out the top letters.

More pics to come and more lighting trials are in the works.

Dgephri · Jun 24, 2006

well, I had to buy a new canon printer to save the ink cartridges I had just bought my old one...but the new one is pretty nice with a little flip up screen and built in card reader.

After fiddling around to get the letters the same proportions, I printed my letters onto while full sheet label material (so its stick all over).

I prefer full sheet adhesive since it won't move while you work with your dremel.

I cut little marks through my sheet so I could see my centerline, and laid it down directly onto the shell of my Qmicra.

Then I went around my first letter (I prefer to cut INSIDE the heavy black line) just to have a guide for my 1/16" carbide bit (actually meant for Grout removal, smallest I could find).

I then went on to start the slow process of working my way through the metal, little by little.

You can see on the backside just how narrow the cut is. I like to use nail files and such to finish the edges...this process leaves very little rough edge, and just a nice smoothing makes it look very finished.

As I move around the edges of my first letter (B) the support I have for my hand, and the angle of my tool slightly changes how the cut is made.

I have to consider when my center part will be free so I cut on the other edges to prevent putting weight on the most delicate section the letter.

Here is another look at the backside. The cut track is only about 1-2mm at its widest.

This is tedious work, but I already have one goof that I will have to adjust the shape of a letter. :x

By moving very slowly, in areas about 3/8-1/2" at a time, I can control the cutting path precisely. I much prefer to file a little longer in finish than to scrap the whole top of my very expensive case.

The first whole letter is now done:

Dgephri · Jun 25, 2006

Working some more this morning, got two more letters done:

And a look at the inside:

Then, I stopped off at the local pharmacy's manicure section for some of these:

Which I find are very useful in detail filing, and they are a whole lot smaller and cheaper than regular files.

rogue_jedi · Jun 25, 2006

Sweet mod, looks like quality work so far. Can't wait to see how it works out.

the black knight always triumphs!

Dgephri · Jun 26, 2006

got the whole first word done, and some of the filing started on the B and the L.

gregnash · Jun 26, 2006

You my good man are a master of the mod!!!! If you havent already go to www.mnpctech.com and add your log there, those guys are incredible and will give you some good feedback as well.

/bow *we're not worthy, we're not worthy!*

GMoney42392 · Jun 26, 2006

NICE post when u finish. wat parts r goin inside this beast??? PLZ dont make all show and no go like soooo many other case mods i've seen before.

Dgephri · Jun 26, 2006

I have been to those other sites, but call Gruntville primary home for now.

thank you for the compliments.

Right now the hardware list is "in flux"
conroe
but I need an mATX board that will support it
GX2 (or newer if the boards come out)
4X512 DDR2 Corsair
2X750G harddrives (parallel)
and some other stuff ;P

Dgephri · Jun 27, 2006

been doing some more filing, and to judge how well I was doing, I needed to take my printed letter mask off.

Ick, that adhesive only comes clean with citrus cleaner THEN paint thinner.

so here you can see it after clean up.

note the tool skips on the top of the B curve, and different part of the Os.

so I took a Sharpie PAINT marker, and just rubbed a little bit of black onto those little areas.

Up close you can still see the slight depression from the tool, but I'm not sure if I can really "fix" that.

These letters are about 80% of the way there IMO, some more smoothing to do, and small parts of the two Os aren't quite enough alike for my tastes.

Each cut is a bit better than the previous one, and my slow, tedious technique is paying off in needing only small files, taking a millimeter or so off at the most, and having the shapes well done instead of a lot of hard filing on the delicate section.

When totally complete, the silver filed edges will be covered in black paint too. Should make them appear VERY round when the only edge will be the light from below in red plastic.

noobtech · Jun 27, 2006

You make me want to mod a window on my dell. LoL

Dgephri · Jun 27, 2006

lol

I just couldn't resist cutting up the red acrylic to do a lighting test:

not quite the result I had hoped for...but if I frosted the window (tested using a folded paper towel to simulate):

gregnash · Jun 28, 2006

Score the back of the piece of plexi with a medium to small grit sandpaper to get the same effect. Other than that, it is looking awesome. You my good friend are a master

Dgephri · Jun 28, 2006

(bowing) thank you for the kind words.

I first tried a soft sander (probably 200 grit) to fog it up, but the ccfl has to be right underneath it, no dispersion.

Then I pulled out some 60 grit and roughed up both sides, which was a little better.

I think I will get some solid frosted white plexi and put the red under it (like they do for backlighting LCDs and laptops) which should give me a pretty even glow of the red tone.

It's just a lot easier to find solid frosted white plexi and red lights than it is to find red frosted plexi and white lighting.

Still experimenting, and still filiing, but I am really pleased with how close to my Sketchup it is.

Dgephri · Jul 8, 2006

finally, another update.

Had to return to work, and the holiday, and such.

The lighting has really been bothering me:
stripping tubes out of ccfls proved risky at best-a waste of 2 4" tubes.
so I went and fetched some 5mm 30mA red water clear LEDs and a handful of red diffuse 3mm just in case.

My idea is that making a mirror box (like my lightpump in Lubic Zen-Feng) should reflect the light, even it out, and keep it from washing the whole case in red light. I think I will add a layer of frosted white to even it out more.

It's only 3/8" thick in total (using the score and break method was time comsuming) and covers the entire area that the letters on top occupy.

It has to clear the PSU and drive cage, and it will be attached directly to the shell so when I hinge it the whole thing comes up as one object.

the results (before the white acrylic):

Much better IMO, and I think it will do the job nicely. Some black vinyl dye for the back to make it look stealthy from the inside, and Voila!

Dgephri · Jul 9, 2006

one of the other mods will be using some Fiber Optics, 2mm diameter.

Sort of like a VU meter.

4 sources, 12 lights

So I was playing around with locations, where to drill, where I could run the fiber without it being impossible, etc.

Does this make the front look "busy"?

or should I hunt for another location?

AdZ · Jul 9, 2006

Not that I'm a modding expert or anything but I would say that they're a bit cluttered and might not fit the rest or your design.. I'm not entirely sure what you have in mind and how it would fit your case but maybe it might loook better if they were a little more towards the edge of the case rather than on that front panel..

Your dremmeling is excellent.. I wish I had that much skill and patience

Dgephri · Jul 10, 2006

I have been thinking along the same lines...considering along bottom for primary activity, center out, and from the outer corner up for secondary activity level.

I will work up a Sketchup revision and post it next day or two.

BTW, thanks for the compliment, just very slow and careful...lots of tiny files.

Edit, revision idea:

GMoney42392 · Jul 10, 2006

i am very impressed. keep up the good work. btw, nice part selection. im not sure how u plan on fitting the 7950gx2 in that small case, but im sure u'll think of something

.

Dgephri · Jul 11, 2006

well, as I have seen 7900GTXs fit in this, and I don't run any PCI cards, I don't think space wise it will be a problem:
just the link since I don't want to break any rules--http://www.pcdesignlab.com/images/forums/Qmicra07.jpg

even has an AC cooler on it with a TV card in the PCI slot. I am more worried about getting a DD watercooling block (if they make them for the GX2 ever) in time for PDX.

Dgephri · Jul 12, 2006

working on the layout of the fibers, fitting my rad, and I found a handy LED strober at frozecpu.com
http://www.frozencpu.com/lit-134.html?id=6HEKbRD7

currently talking with the source manuf. on how to adapt it to control 12V LED rails.

Problem with my fan selection on the Radiator:

the AC fans are 1.5" thick instead of the 1" standard on 120mm. I might have to revert to otherwise normal low rpm fan.

I am thinking about a way to shave a bit off, but need to make a test bracket to be sure.

Dgephri · Jul 13, 2006

assembled the NV-7800 onto a gpu from another card...

and the fit problem with the waterblock:

GMoney42392 · Jul 14, 2006

ur watercooling this thing too!? jeez, this is a micro atx case, rite? i have a midtower, and i could barely fit all my cabling in there wen i built it!!!!! wat ur doing with this thing kiks primal ass. keep it up.

Dgephri · Jul 14, 2006

well, I hope it will kick some...just got confirmation on my GX2 purchase from someone right here at [H]

The 7800 with the waterblock is just a test to see vertical clearance, since the GX2 will end up about as tall.

The DDC pump will go down just behind the front fans, my BIP II 2X120mm will go on the left side above the RAM and CPU, and I will have two fillports (one fill, one drain) as well.

It should all fit, but snugly...according to my sketchup work.

But I don't think I can use the AC 120mm, they are too thick (almost 1.5" instead of standard 1").

Should perform really close to just about any SLI rig out there.

And I just picked up a lovely Viewsonic VX2025VM that I am already enjoying today on my regular rig.

I decided that Conroe on mATX was too far off, and I can use most of my existing hardware on the Asus P5LD2-VM for now, slap a 930 CPU in it, and I should be able to clock it up nicely.

Glad you like it so far, I need to get back on my letters and finishing the side panel look.

Project: BloodMoon

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