Case Mod Window Install Video


Another Insane Case Mod by Mnpctech.com



Mnpctech.com accepts International Orders with Paypal Only.

Email mnpctechDOTcom item description, size and quanity.

All International Orders under $100 are shipped U.S. Airmail.

U.S. Airmail can take 14 - 30 business days. Note, there is no tracking capability.

All International Orders over $100 are shipped UPS Air International with tracking.

Mnpctech.com project was inspired by two of my all favorite artists.

Swiss Surrealist Artist and ALIEN creator, HR GIGER & Hot Rod Artist/Builder, ED "BIG DADDY" ROTH

[/center]


I've worked on Psychosis on/off in my free time over past 2 years. It's for my kids. I wanted to build something that would teach my kids about computers. Easily see how everything works while incorporating art. I build my creations so they can withstand pshyical abuse. You can touch and pull on things without worrying if it will break. In other words, "kid proof"

I do all of my own work "off the cuff" without any prior planning or sketching. I find that building/modding is much more enjoyable when I follow my gut. I build what I would want on my own desk. I find a lot of my ideas in scrap automotive & industrial parts. I'll pick up a disgarded part and imagine it morphing it into something else. I love reviving something old with a new life. Thats probally why I've enjoyed modding old computer cases for so long.

[center][/center]

The case used for the Psychosis core was found in a local used electronics store for $10. It was an INWIN A500 ATX Midtower. I refer to it as a "Pentium 1 Era" core. The bezel, panels, wiring etc have all been discarded. I only wanted the chassis.



The project evolved and changed a lot throughout it's developement. I'm going to skip some of photos taken over past 2 years where I was undecided on the overall theme.







It all started with these tribal-like cuts I made in the chassis. The chassis color was originally painted metalcast red, but changed to
Hot Rod green and top coated SEM Black etching primer. To my surprise, I discovered this paint combo resulted in a weird krackle effect. The Green paint revealed itself thru hair line cracks all over the chassis. I've never seen this happen before, but it was dumb luck because it created a unique color effect.







The round drum from a transmission housing off a commercial riding mower I found, modified and painted Matte Black


The steel skull was a tailight cover made for custom motorcycles.


Outter shell of tailight after meeting my angle grinder. The finished skull was attached to the drum with JBWeld and held in position for curing with a C-clamp.


I also wired the skull onto the drum for added insurance against it dis-attaching


To give the skull a bio-mechanical look, I added autmotive wire loom. (b/w photo)


The loom was spliced and attached with JBWeld. Then covered with Milliput epoxy putty


Round Modders Mesh was attached inside the drum with JBWeld. I then attached parts from a Lego's Bionical toy inside the drum.


Steel Nerf bars off commercial riding mower used for case feet and holding dual water resvoires


Photoshop mock up of the dual water reservoires


Making your own Acrylic Tube Reservoir.

Supplies
1/4" thick, 12" x 12" Clear polycarbonate sheet.
3" OD x 2.75" ID extruded clear acrylic tube.
Weld-On #16 Acrylic Cement, 5oz tube
5, DangerDen Hi-Flow 1/2" Fittings

TOOLS
Miter Saw for cutting acrylic tube
Scroll Saw for cutting tube end caps
Disc Sander or Sandpaper
3/8" Plas-Drill Bit (for plastics) & Tap for threading holes
1/2" Plas-Drill Bit & Tap for threading holes

3" OD x 2.75" ID extruded clear acrylic tube from Tap Plastics









Using Plas-Drill bit (for plastic) to make 1/2" hole for mounting Resevoir tube and 1/2" barb fitting


Taping 1/2" threads in Reservoir end cap. 1/2" Hi-Flo barb fittings from DD.


Architectural Grade Silicone to 1/2" barb fittings (DangerDen)




Polishing Reservoir end cap with buffer.


Weld-On #16 Cement. Applying pressure to end cap while it cures.



After leak testing the Reservoirs, I was ready to address them with a more industrial look.

Shrouding the Reservoirs with Round Modders Mesh


Bending Round Modders Mesh around the Acrylic Res before paint.


Round Modders Mesh painted Matte Black








Scotch brand Heavy Duty clear tape #4010




See why I like using this tape!













NMB-MAT 120mm Cooling Fan


6/32 Thread x 3/8" Socket Cap Screws for Black Ice Radiators Avail Here


Mounting NMB-MAT 120mm Cooling Fan to single Black Ice Radiator









The Psychosis Control Panel

The plan is make a hidden control panel for Main Power, Reset with 4, pot Fan control and LCD thermostat. I had this idea to morph different circuit boards into one.

Donor circuit board. 1, DOA video card


This is a Scythe KAMA Bay Cooler somebody sent me as a sample. I love cannibalizing free samples It will serve nicely as a 5.25 bay unit for the control panel.




5.25 Nexus fan Controller


I want the LCD Thermostat


3.5" Bay Mitron Fan Control


Cutting out portion of dead video card for donor circuits. This will be mounted in the Scythe KAMA 5.25 Bay Cooler unit.


Cutting portions


GOOP Adhesive


DOA video card mounted as faux circuit board with working fan controller and LCVD thermostat in Scythe 5.25 KAMA BAY unit.




A coating of Matte Black paint gives the illusion of it being one circuit board. weathered look.


Testing the fan controller & LCD thermostat. Dry brushing all of circuits should be fun and give it more realism.


My plan is to automate the control panel to lift and lower with a 12 volt DC Linear Actuator..

Here I'm visualizing it lifting up and out of Psychosis.


(whirrrrrerr)


(stop)


Actuator Action!

Actuators are something I've been meaning to play with, but never found the right application. It seems like I can find a reason from them everywhere now. Be warned. New ones can be very expensive! Luckily I found this used 4" Italian unit on Ebay for $35. I've priced brand new similar models for a minimum of $99. Theres a good turnover of used Actuators on Ebay. The majority I've seen on Ebay are from Automobiles which are 12 volt DC which can be powered by you PC power supply. If you do decide to buy new, firgelliauto.com has reasonably priced units, but their accessories ie: switches and brackets are overpriced. Next time I'll try mcmaster or rip out a power window switch from a junked car. Thank you!

12VDC, 3-1/4" stroke Linear Actuator. It's overkill for my application, but it's "big & brawny" look fits right into my theme.


The 3 most popular choices of switches for operating a linear actuator.

Momentary
This means that when you press the switch it springs back to the center position once you let go, and therefore the Actuators will move for as long as your finger is held on the button.

Sustaining
This means that when you press the switch it stays in that position, once the actuator has reached its full stroke the internal limit switches will cut the power to the Actuator. To return the actuator you simply press the down button on the switch.






The 3rd is Programmable
This programmable unit is made by SPAL. It features 3 user programmable presets that are easily accessed via the push-button display to precisely control one linear actuator. Once the linear actuator has reached a point that you would like to make a preset, simply press and hold the corresponding button for 5 seconds. The position will have been learned by the main control unit and visually indicated by a led flashing above the programmed preset. This unit has 3 Auxiliary negative inputs that can be used in conjunction with a remote control. When a negative pulse is applied to any of these inputs, the actuator will go to the specified preset.



You'll need to find one of these mounting brackets. They're steel and fit on either ends of the actuator. Once installed the Brackets are free to rotate almost 180 degrees to give you the most flexibility with your application.

Mine came with a cross pin, but no cotter pin (argh!). It wasn't made for my ebay actuator so theres a tiny bit of play. Easily cured with some washers though.


Here, I'm just pondering this mounting location of the Actuator. The control panel weighs less than 1/2 pd. So attaching the actuator to the side won't matter for stability.


Arm is extended 3-1/4" (I temporarily hotwired the actuator with a cooling fan molex connector to get the arm to extend)


The Actuator will get it's share or Matte Black coloring and weirdness as well.

Oh Boy!

Ive been waiting for this project log for years... and its been worth it!

I didnt know you could cut acrylic tube with a wood saw blad in the miter saw! Thanks :thumb:

I love the crackled paint effect.. I hope you can clear it OK. How durable is it the way it is at the moment?

Great idea with the faux circuit! Its going to look amazing when its dry brushed and animated.

Very nice mate.

Love the theme - and as usual it's looking stellar mate.

I'm with Cheebs on this one, waiting a while for this one to show up!

Bill, i love how you've balanced the organic and techno-industrial look. Looks bad ass . Question..will it be more of a open case without side panels or do you have something else in mind?

ohhh yeah the worklog ,been waiting on this aswell

man its gonna be insane when its done !! love your ideas for this,and all work so far

*i'll be watching*

btw let me know if my sig is to big xD

Yup. Please change it.

[quote=the rules]Signatures
You have the option to set a signature to be affixed after every post you make, much like email signatures. We ask that you keep the size of your signature to a reasonable length. We currently allow graphical sigs but please keep them to 360 x 140 pixels, under 200 Kb and avoid animations. [/quote]

The Rules

I get to look at the psychosis project all the time and I never get sick of it! Love the controll panel Bill! Just fantastic.

Awesome, Is this on display anywhere.
I'm a huge Giger fan and pictures just aren't good enough

Cool that Thermometor looks cool like that

Finally, geez! (kidding...)

Some very original ideas Bill, looking good so far. I too would like to know if this case will have side panels?

Psychosis is a very cool rig! I haven't had the opportunity to view it up close, but it's definately one that I'm going to be looking for when I get another chance to visit The Mod Nation workshop.

Thanks guys!

Open air. No side panels. I want to add more freaky and protruding features without being constricted. The Power Supply has gotta be insanely different too. No idea what I'll do, but it's just gotta be never done before.

No clearcoat. I plan to chip and accentuate the wear & tear in the black finish even further ..lol

Maybe not too insanely different, but a couple thoughts.....

What about mounting it externally and sheath the cables with the same wire loom used one the skull up front. Maybe fabricate a bracket that looks like a skeletal hand holding it. If you could give it a heart shape (not the valentine), that might be pretty sick.

So you'd have a skeleton hand holding a heart with the bio-mechanical look from the wire loom....

Just a thought.

WOAH! I've never even heard of this project before, must be because I'm such a newbie on the modding scene.

Anyway, g'damn, you sure have done your best on this one! That crackled paint is an awesome effect, but I do hope you clear coat it. The matte-black looks awesome, but you're going to need to protect it somehow. :/ Have you figured out why it cracked everywhere yet? O_o

Wow! - Bill, this mod is just insane! I've seen the pics of it before, but this is truly jaw dropping! I know I was complaining about having "MADD", but this is inspiring!!! I can't wait to see some more work on this one!