Death to COVID

[Grinder]

I decided to finish up the bottom filter before attaching the PSU shroud and mesh. Don't want to put a nut in the wrong place. When I bought the case it was missing a trim piece under the PSU at the back. Unfortunately the filter for the PSU also mounted there, plus I wanted to extend the filter to cover the new bottom intake fan.

I used some U-channel left over from installing a flooring transition molding to serve as a shelf for the filter, and aluminum flat bar for rails. And as I showed before, a piece of plastic cut from an old Rosewill case as the trim.The U-channel was cut to fit and attached to the case feet. I left an angled piece at the end to ease the filter rails into place. I wanted to keep the upper surface of the rails flush, so as not to snag. I ended up drilling pilot holes and then forcing the screws in (no tap that size) since steel is harder than aluminum and these won't constantly be backed in and out. I cut the screws to length afterwards.

It actually works pretty slick!

[Grinder]

The front mesh was kind of a pain to get lined up, it attaches to the front of the case but is fitted quite tightly within the front trim. I twist tied it in place within the trim and snapped it to the case to figure out how to secure it. Nuts were used as spacers to get the right depth and reduce flex (I may cover them in tubing for aesthetics). Originally I thought I might need some fasteners along the sides, but it seems quite strong with four 6/32 machine screws on the bottom and two 3/8 bolts at the top. Once the rad is installed it will add rigidity to the mesh panel.

It kinda reminds me of Alien, what with the inner and outer jaws.

[Grinder]

I know it would have been simpler to just attach the mesh directly to the case, but I like the look of the offset! Plus it serves a practical purpose. I wanted just a bit of extra space so as not to crowd the pump/res against the rad, and have symmetry for the res and sterilization module with respect to the bracket that I will fab to support them at the end of the PSU shroud. I'm using old D5 pump tops as props here, but they will make an appearance later

[Grinder]

When I made the filter rails and support, I left a narrow 1/8 ish strip for fasteners for the PSU shroud and bottom fan mesh so they wouldn't interfere with the filter. These are now attached, and just need to be prepped and painted. The mesh edge towards the front will be covered by a trim piece that will also serve as a support for the pump/res and sterilization module.







I still have a bit more structural/broad strokes work to do to the case frame. So far I've cut into the top, front, bottom, right (mobo) side. Next up will be the back, to add a vertical GPU mount. Since there is nothing on the window side except the edges of the others, that will be every side touched.

[Grinder]

I've been wrestling with some interconnected mods. The vertical GPU mount, boxing in the PSU shroud, and the mount for the pump/res and sterilization module.

The end of the PCIe riser will rest on the PSU shroud, but needed a piece of aluminum flat bar hanging over a thinner piece in order to avoid putting screws down into the PSU. Generally not recommended...

Boxing in the open end of the shroud will give a more finished look.

And provide the strength at the far right side to support stuff.

I took a plate intended for an EVGA DG-77 vertical GPU mount and adapted it to fit, reversing it and nipping it in a few spots. Then created an opening at the back of the case for it, superseding the former pass through for tubing.

Then I cut 9 pieces of aluminum flat bar, plus a couple of chunks from a leftover aluminum picket from my deck. I still need to drill a bunch of holes to assemble it, then prep and paint, but it looks like it will work out well. It's tempting to polish the aluminum, but I will be doing that for part of the sterilization module and don't want to overdo it or draw focus away from the stars of the show. The plate for the GPU mount is visible on the rear of the case in the final shot.







 

[Grinder]

40 drilled holes later... Nothing is tightened up yet, but the GPU position mock up with my old 390X looks good. I'll be suspending the pump/res and sterilization module from angle brackets and a strip of aluminum. Likely it will be flipped so they are under the frame, not above as shown here. Final mount height will depend on how a surprise design element turns out. Also I will likely cut out the middle part to make more room for the runs from the pump to the module. For the sterilization module I'll be blasting the coolant with UV lights mounted behind strips of aluminum connecting the two old pump tops that will form the top and bottom of a cylindrical structure that will counterbalance the pump/res.

After a few final cuts and tweaks there is a lot of sanding and paint to do to the chassis!

[Grinder]

I cut the piece between the pump and module, then bent the ends down. Looks nicer, stronger, does away with the brackets. I annealed the aluminum to help prevent tearing when I bent it.

A slice of aluminum from my deck was used to create an upper support, and I bent a trim piece to edge the bottom intake mesh.

[Grinder]

I wanted a bit more clearance between the pump and the front rad, so I deepened the offset of the front mesh. This required trimming the mesh to let it sit deeper in the plastic front piece, but also cutting some pieces off the plastic (it melted a bit but it was easy to remove the debris). I hope to reuse the original front mesh mounting mechanism, and some of the removed material as a stop.

[Rhoadspc]

Heck of a lot of work man great job, looking forward to seeing the final result. Sorry to hear the deck had to make a sacrifice haha  

[Grinder]

Heck of a lot of work man great job, looking forward to seeing the final result. Sorry to hear the deck had to make a sacrifice haha  

Thanks Rhoads, there is a lot more to go! Hope I haven't bit off more work than I can get done by deadline, might have to try to ramp up my time... I'm anxious to get to some creative, artistic parts of the build but trying to finish off metal mods so I can prep and paint everything. Hard to do outside this time of year, but my wife has a hard time with the fumes.

Thankfully the deck is still functional. This will be the second spare piece of aluminum I've stolen from the it. The first being a leftover picket, and the slice above being from a mid point rail support.

[DazMode]

Nice progress

[Grinder]

Thanks Daz. BTW, looking forward to my order of fittings, UV lights, cabling stuff, coolant, et cetera !

I went ahead and solvent welded the ABS plastic trimmed from the case into place as a stop for the front mesh.The original case had a push to open/close mechanism, I plan to reuse it. Initially I was going to simply move the cross piece with the black trim to the top of the opening and make a name plate of the black rectangular area (Death to COVID) but I ended up going with more of a stealth installation, flipping and shaping the piece and making it more subtle. The square holes in the piece are for the push to open mechanism.

[Grinder]

Thanks to Tpbmods for inspiring me to buy some cheap metal bending tools! Here is the front mesh, still needs tabs on the bottom and screws to engage the push to open/close mechanism and prep/paint but looking good so far. The last shot shows the pieces harvested from spare deck railing components. I should be able to use the other part of the T shaped railing support (used earlier for a bracket) for the tabs.

[Tpbmods]

That mesh is SIIIIICK.
Damn dude! I dig it

[Grinder]

Glad you like it! I am getting siiiiiiiiiicccccccccckkkkkkkkkk of bending the next piece though

The first one was just 4 straight bends, but I think it's roughly 16 gauge so it's pretty stiff stuff. The piece for the top of the case is a whole other level. Sloped in two dimensions

I started out with a straight bend down the middle of 4.5 ish degrees, then two more paralleling that a few inches to either side. I used an old metal tube and some flooring boards for these long gentle ones. Then two 90ish degree bends with the duct folding tool. After that it deteriorated into a myriad of snips and small bends with the sheet metal vise grips and regular pliers. Probably returning the seamer, I didn't really need it. The shape of the mesh is slowly getting there