Another Insane Case Mod by Mnpctech.com



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Bill Owen at CPU Magazine Photo Session





I've modified the Chieftec Dragon chassis to accept two 120mm cooling fans in the front and two 92mm cooling fans in the rear. The standard Chieftec Dragon mid tower has four 80mm cooling fans. One located in each of the two removable hard drive cages. The other two located beneath the Power Supply. I'm a firm believer in positive pressure cooling, this means the intake cfm (cubic-feet-per-minute) exceeds the exhaust cfm. Your case stays cleaner and requires less maintenance

Paint scheme from Ford's "Harley Davidson" edition F-Series Super Duty


The all time classic, Chieftec's Dragon ATX Server Tower. The greatest challenge was coming up with ideas never seen before on a Chieftec Dragon. This case has become a staple among PC Modders. I hope the modifications I performed inspires other people to getting into case modding. I enjoyed every minute of working on it.



In order to outfit the Dragon with two 120mm intake fans, I replaced the lower front portion of the chassis with 12â€

Access panel painted w/ Krylon Black Gloss enamel, wetsanded wit 800, 1000, 1200 then 1500 and 2000 before using power buffer and 3M Perfect It III rubbing compound.
Mnpctech Case Painting Tutorial






.5" 6061 aluminum pieces of Eagle design (reversed) arrive from customwatercuts


LED illuminated perimeter of window (base for pieces)


6061 alum will polish up real nice. Heres the supplies needed.

Bucket of water w/ couple drops of dish soap.
800, 1000, 1500 grit wetsand paper
3M Mag & Aluminum polish (part# 39529)

I start wetsanding aluminum w/ 800 grit paper


After wetsanding with 800 grit paper. Then I wetsand
w/ 1000 - 1500 grit paper before using 3M aluminum
polish


After rubbing out finish w/ 3M aluminum polish (Before / After)


6061 aluminum shines up real nice


Theres my wedding band reflection


Only a small portion of the sides of aluminum will be exposed. None the less, they're a tad fugly. Lets clean them up


Dremel attachments I used in order from left to right








3M fine grit sanding block.. Dampen with water... just a tiny bit





At this point, if you want a mirror-like finish, then wetsand the sides with with 800-1000 grit, then 3M aluminum polish, but again... very little will be exposed in the panel.. So this finish will suffice for my needs.

Part 1 of Illuminated 3D Panel Design Mod

Supplies Needed:

1' x 1' 0.25 (1/4") sheet of Cast clear Acrylic
mcmaster.com
1' x 1' sheet of .040 Mirror-Like (#8) Aluminum
mcmaster.com
12, 5mm LEDs from
performance-pcs.com
12, 470 Ohm resistors
performance-pcs.com
3 pin pwr connector
22 AWG hookup wire Red/Black (Radio Shack)
Solder Iron (Radio Shack)
.032 Fine Rosin Core Electrical Solder (Radio Shack)
Spring clamps or "Helping hands Vise"
Heatshrink tubing (Radio Shack)
Butane hand torch > to shrink heat shrink (Home Depot, Lowes)
Power hand drill
3/16" Drill bit > strongly recommend using brand new bit



















3M #4041 Heavy Duty adhesive tape. (I used this earlier for window) You can find it roll at some
Hardware stores and Home Depot. Its rated to hold up to 2pds!



3M Scotch Weld D-190 (2 part Epoxy)
3M Epoxy Applicator


Clean the surfaces




Applying 3M adhesive tape




Apply much pressure to the tape for maximum adhesion


Apply aluminum sheet to window. The other side has
been wetsanded and polished for reflecting LEDs



Measure before modding. 1/16th" gap to spare after
closing access panel


Notice smoother finish on the aluminum window backing




Use a rag to dab the Epoxy droplets.

Fan installation (final configuration)

2, 120mm Panaflo L1A
2, 92mm Panaflo FBK
Sunbeam fan controller from performance-pcs
Wire sleeving kit from performance-pcs
Black powdercoated wire fan grills
3pin fan extension kit
10/32 Black oxide screws



120mm steel mesh filters from performance-pcs



Clean wiring mates!




Modified to cool more effectively with less fan noise
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iXu1EHgPmc[/youtube]

PWR / RESET/ PWR LED / HD LED sleeved wires




DFI 925X-T2 "LanParty-in-yo-pants" P4 Mobo


Thermalright XP-120 & LGA775 retention bracket for socket 478


120mm Panaflo L1A from performance-pcs (with orange sleeving)




480W Antec Neopower


Acrylic PSU covers for 120mm fan




Installed LGA retention brackets and P4 3GHz


Knowing I would utiIize the XP-120 heatsink with a focus point of the big 120 x 36mm Panaflo fan, you gotta have an eye catching and unique fan grill. The original plan (noted in this log) was to mill and engrave the HD 100th anniversary logo into an aluminum frame.. That would have been killer, but time for that slipped through my hands. The honeycomb piece you see me dremeling here was one of 2, prototype designs for single 120 radiator grill we milled. (Milling grills as we anticipated take lots of time. Having this unique grill lying about caught my eye last weekend.. Aha!




New toy from Eastwood Company. 6" buffer with stand


Tripoli Buffing compound


Quilted cotton buffing disc







As you witnessed, I bounced around several ideas for the 120mm CPU fan grill. The Thermalright XP-120 heatsink demands your attention. An oridinary fan grill just wouldn't give it proper justice. I was first going to mill the HD 100th anniversary logo from 1/4" aluminum, but my machinst and I lack the experience for milling the complex design (shown here) I came up with another idea after searching through the scrap bin. We were playing around with different honeycomb patterns for radiator fan grills we plan to manufacturer. The patterns were milled in 4.5" x 4.5" sheets of 1/4" aluminum. I grabbed one and marked off mounting holes and dremeled a flame pattern that echoed my V-Twin bezel design The results (seen here) are pretty cool, but the chrome really contrasts the orange/black theme inside the case.

While planning this chassis window in orange acylic. I found a piece of scrap red acrylic and submitted it to a laser etcher for a test sample. After seeing the results, I promptly sent the orange translucent window to receive a larger version of the logo. As you can see, laser etching can add a nice personal touch to a window. I held onto the red acrylic sample knowing I'd find a use for it.

I used a Dremel with #125 bit to remove acrylic that surrounded the inner HD logo.


Using Dremel's drum sander (attachment #430) I rounded off the corners of the logo's wings.


Next, I used a Jeweler's hand file to detail the corner sections.


I removed the center portion of the acrylic logo..


Its no longer deflecting warm air from exhausting off the 3.2 GHz P4.


I don't wanna sacrifice airflow! The shield will be mounted onto the grill with 1/2" stand-offs (#10 machine screws, alum sleeves, acorn nuts)






Red acrylic on aluminum looks good, but it doesn't fit our Harley Davidson color theme.
I painted the honeycomb grills matte black and the shield pumpkin orange.


Also painted the alum sleeves and acron nuts matte black.


I eyed a sheet of HD 100th Anniversary decals on Ebay awhile back.. I thought I better purchase just in case the need arises.


The resulting shield would look right at home on any HD Screamin' Eagle


1/2" stand offs for acrylic shield


That looks HAWT!


Fastened on with matte black acorn nut.




I like it better than the polished cpu grill :rock:

Window for Chieftec Chassis

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spI5Elaygr8[/youtube]



Prepared image file for Laser Etching


Laser Etched .100 thick translucent Amber Acrylic

Mod the LCD Monitor, but do not void warranty.



















Did you predict this?!





Introducing the Dillion Precision 2001 Vibratory Tumbler

Walnut Shell Media


Smooth satin finish


Trim pieces for Top/Bottom of LCD


















Make a template


"Brushed Steel" Look Vinyl from Mnpctech.com


Damn, it actually looks good.






The aluminum flames and diamond plate that encase the 17â€

I Cannot stop!!! Must resist doing any more Mods to this!!!





WTF?!:huh:


The concept, cut wing span from 1.25" thick polyurethane block and mount it beneath HD cage (centered)... Just paint it? Incorporate clear acylic? illuminate it? I don't know...am I crazy for doing this? Yes.







Making the "Illuminated wing" from Harley's 100th Anniversary logo reality.



Pitched that 1.5" thick chunk acrylic sheet for this .5" sheet.. (much easier to cut)









Dremel sanding drum attachment




600 grit sandpaper






DragonModz HD [SIZE="1"]do a little dance, make a little romance [/SIZE]Meter [url="http://www.dragonmodz.net/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=39"]found here[/url]








Mounting holes.


Etching




Polishing




img]http://www.mnpctech.3dpixelnet.com/images/pics/HDwing9j.jpg[/img]

My reflection in paint finish














I pulled some small chrome knobs from a 3.5 Mitron controller. Comparing these to the painted knobs, I actually really like these better.



(^ Thats how optical drives should be painted)

The blowhole fan in the top panel looks like a motorcycle gas cap. This is my own design made from ¼â€

I think i fell inlove reading this thread........
Bill dont know if i told ya this but you inspire me !

that mod is wicked sick!

my favoured part was the waterjet cut billet logo on the left panel. also very slick job on the cpu fan grill

i dont even know where to start... so im just gonna say GREAT mod,and work log

the end

WOW

Man I love your mods! Simply amazing work!

....in a magazine. Was it CPU magazine, Maximum PC, or ???

This is just so much beyond my capabilities that I am floored. The photo documentation is just as good too, so we can see how these enhancements work from behind the scenes. I especially like the LEDs in the window, and how that effect turned out when viewing the side panel from the exterior.

wow that is amazing especcialy the flame paint and the screen just wow