[Navig]

In case you were wondering what I've been up to since completing my benching station. I give you the SpacemanSpiff-Navig project. Yes we need to give it a better name.

SpacemanSpiff liked my work on my first benching station, so after some negotiatin', we came up with plans for a fully lidded benching station to his design specs.

Here was my first rough sketch of what he described to me:






And here were some of his designs for layout:





Here is an overall rough mockup of the component layout:





The build is on going--here is the latest pic:






I'm shootin' for completion of the case in maybe 2 weeks, after which it'll be shipped to Spaceman for the install and accessories/lighting.


Here is the worklog.


I'll post pics here every now and then like I do.


navig

[asusradeon]

dude this is amazing.. i wish i had the chance to do something like this... roughly how much do you spend on materials doing a project like this ?

[asusradeon]

also just wanted to say i love your Lubic Tower PC.. Especially the remote !

[Navig]

A little update pic...





Thanks for the compliment. Love that remote, too. Wish I had bought more of those cheap remote units while they were available. Still using that system to this day.

Overall, I think the parts are going to come in at about $300. You do have to factor in that I really have all the tools necessary to do such a project.

Approximate breakdown:

Lubic Frame $100
Plastic trays $30
Plastic lid $60
Aluminum $10
Brackets and handles $40
Hard drive cage $25
Nuts n bolts $10



navig

[asusradeon]

Thanks Navig

[Navig]

Got some work accomplished today!

Finished all the bracketry to hold the lid together:






Backside view:






Internally lit:






And one of my signature concepts to my builds. The whole lid can just be popped on and off--in this model, you don't even have to turn the system off!





navig

[Rattle]

incredible work !

[asusradeon]

thats looking awesome... keep the images coming..

[Navig]

Well, the project is roughly done. Just got to do some finish work (paint & details etc.).

Since the last pics:


Added the side clips to hold the lid on:






As well as rear clips:





Added a button cluster:






Cut out the front panel and added a bezel (to be painted matte black):






Cut out a side intake to keep the hard drives cool:






Cut out the front intakes:






Lid still comes right off, no need to even turn off the system. Ready for some real components!

[Navig]

After a stray comment about the case looking as dark and evil as the first time you saw Darth Vader, we decided to officially title this project:


Project Dark Side







Here are some new pics, with the whole basic case completed:

















And with some components in the 5.25 bay:








And some pics without the lid on:













And some quick videos:

One of my signature functional features: quick complete disassembly:





And my drop down hatch for quick access to the hard drives:





navig

[eureb]

in the front shots, it looks like a little robot. just needs some arms on the sides

Looks awesome!!!

[Navig]

How about this?

[noxqzs]

very nice sir.

you just gave me inspiration for the weekend.

[Navig]

Okay, finally got everything 100% completed, including the wiring of the front panel.

Diagram'd:





Tested:





And mounted:






Testing the contrast of unlit and lit:

[Navig]

Here is the completed system, awaiting components:









And with the lid (still no components):

[Navig]

Putting in some components is super simple and quick (altho had to build a few custom cables):





Turn it on and put on the lid:





Turn off the room lights and take some internally lit pics:









And finally, taking the lid on and off is just that easy! It can even be done real time without even turning off the computer. Need to clip on temp probes? Fire a laser temp probe? Or oldschool put your finger on the southbridge heatsink? Mount some voltmod measures? Manually clear the cmos? Its just this easy:

[1cem4n]

damn.... it's like a mountain mod + HSPC Tech station. very nice work log and great photos.

[jcw122]

Amazing job Navig...very original and useful!

[OCnewbee]

Wow. clean build. Looks very good.

[thideras]

I LOVE it!!!

[TechJunky]

Did you use plexiglass for the construction?

That is a super clean install...

What would you charge to build a station like this for resale?

[BossBorot]

it looks like an evil awesome-o 4000.

Nice work

[Navig]

Hi, thanks for the compliments. I'm using the darker shade of acrylic available from delviesplastics. I can't really discuss specific prices or anything, but the approximate price I've charged is about materials + $100.

My next project will be for me--a competition "trophy" case deal, so I won't have time for any for-sale projects until thats completed. I always make threads about my projects both here and at the abit forums, so I'm not hard to find.

[laserkitty]

Where did you get the honeycomb mesh for the fans? I'm modding a (dead) subwoofer and that's exactly what I need!

[Navig]

mnpctech.

[Navig]

Alright, I'm back with some updated pics. I'm getting a little lazy so if you've seen this from the abit forums, I'm simply cutting and pasting:

Dark and mysterious poses:

[Navig]

Pics of the backside, or "bum" as the brits might say:

Pictures of the bum:

[Navig]

Some open pics to display the componentry:
























For those of you who aren't in the know, the components are: e6600 at 3.42ghz (quiet operation overclock 1.2975v), Crucial Ballistix 1gbx2 at 900mhz 4-4-4-12 1T, x1900xtx (obviously custom cooled), Tuniq tower 120 lapped, Abit IN9 32x Max, 2x Raptor X 150gb, 2xDVD drives.

[Navig]

Check out the power supply cabling. Damn I'm good!




Remember, that's cabling for 7 case fans, 4 fan controller, 3 CCFLs with independent on/off, Abit guru panel cabling, 2 dvd drives, and 2 hard drives.

[Navig]

Nekkid with dem lights on!