In progress: Modula mockup 4 pc system

Rastalovich

New member
This is a culmination of a number of theories I`m running through, pretty much @work in my time - with a tremendous amount of help from a college (tbh most of the manual work) and a fine job of putting my theory into practice he`s doing.

The concept is that I`d like to enclose 3 regular pcs and an Amiga system. The idea is I`m almost sick and tired of opening cases, moving them around, plugging and unplugging and so on - I`m sure I`m not alone there with a number of people.

Also I`m posting this as an ongoing thread with the hope the site`s WAP can be used to show it off also, and prehaps, with any luck, there may be a point where work in progress can be posted as it`s done via the mobile phone - we`ll see if the technology/plug-ins are up to that. ;)

Anyhow, the first thing thought of was a cooling base. The idea was three inlet fans, three outlet fans, and in between, inside the box, was to be something akin to the wire-wooled-looking-oven cleaning rag type things u can buy. Theory being, if the room is hot/warm, as the air is blown in, the mass of metalic surface area will induce somewhat of an amount of heat. If u`ve never seen the rags, they`re like as if u took shavings off a metal block and scrunshed them all together into a handsided cloth-shaped thing. Surface metalic area will be massive, and they`re a relatively cheap product. So somewhere along the line I`ll test the theory. It was hoped that it would be the base for the 4 pc unit, but moving on with other thoughts, the 4pc thing is going to already have a big minus of heat by the way it`s constructed, so it may be negated. Thinking that there is really only a certain amount of cooling u can do with fans and objects, so the level may already be reach by the construction as it is.

Here`s the base as far as it got b4 other thoughts came along:

280906-BaseCoolTheory0.jpg


I`m sticking to a 6mm plyboarding as a case exterior (well 2x3mm laminated) only because it`s very easy to work with, we have a very nice stock of it atm, and as things develope there can be changes to be made and any other medium could prove expensive. As a mock up, the stuff works well, and who knows the finalized item my just need a little pimping to become acceptable as a "household item" ~ or more conventional looking shall we say.

At the moment, work moved to the module for the 4 motherboards, the idea right now is to get 1 or 2 motherboard trays installed (hence the request for LL ones a while back) so that thoughts of the further 3 modules can progress at a similar pace. Here`s a few angles of the mobo module.

280906-MoboModpreshelf0.jpg


280906-MoboModpreshelf1.jpg


280906-MoboModpreshelf2.jpg


These are from the 28th, the shelves are in now, as are the 2 mobo trays and some cladding (which is a woodflooring underlay with a metalic reflective surface) are in place, further images will be posted to show how the theory comes together.

The 3 modules to come are basically for the hard-drives, PSUs, and optical/floppy. The principle is that hard drives alone can pump around 60°, opticals somewhere close and I wouldn`t mind betting the psus work somewhat below that. Closely housed inside a regular pc case, it means your processor is amoungst this before you start doing any work. It obviously doesn`t help, sure there are ways to be cute with fans, but anywhichway you put it each department is not helping the temps of the other. (aside from the obvious wc approaches)

The concept is to isolate each, as much as possible cables permitting, including each mobo level from the other. Each able to be worked on either from the front via a door setup - likely to be perspex in nature, or from the rear via the mobo shelf runners that will alow them to be pulled out easily, totally out if necessary.

It helps to get the ideas down on the forum too, it will permit an easy way to look the project over as thoughts are dawning. It`s easy to get a rough idea of where I`m going by the images of the mobo module, but it has to be said that the places where fans and cables are to run will be cut at some point using something like a Dremel. (one of which we`ve already blown up LOL) this is where using a medium like ply comes in handy for the mock up, it may be decided to take the whole unit once completed to a fabricators and have it converted to aluminium - who knows at this stage, and of course costings will come into it.

The dimensions of the finished 4 modules will be approximately 75cm high x 45cm deep x ~60/65cm wide (very much depending on the outcome of the other 3 modules).

The black cases I use atm, which I have to say I`m sticking with coz they`re the easiest ones I`ve found to work with, are 55cm x 47cm x 20cm - multipled out, maybe I`ll even save some room space. ;)

Chances are the finished product will have either lazy wheels or a turntable-effort too, to get to the rear easily.

Not something that I`m immediately thinking of, but it would appear from the paper sketches I`ve made, that the remaining 3 modules will not fit squarely (or cubely) together without an empty 5th module space - if this is the case, it`d be a future thought in terms of wc or similar, but atm it`s not the first consideration.
 
To give a closer look at the cladding material. It does worry me slightly with the weight, but I dunno:

021006-ExcelCladding.jpg


This is how it stands from the front:

021006-MoboModShelfedFront0.jpg


021006-MoboModShelfedFront1.jpg


And a closer look at how the trays are performing from the rear, does look a little rough atm, coz we`re pondering a few little things:

021006-MoboModTraysRear.jpg


021006-MoboModTray0.jpg


Subsequently, I`ve gotta add an extension to the top shelf >.< Mr Stoopid here forgot that the Amiga mobo has a section put on the right of it to carry both the mouse and joy ports - they could be re-situated, but that would mean hacking at an antique which frankly I don`t want to do. The system works as it stands, so I don`t want to give it an excuse to fail. I`ve got an AmidaCD32 which would fly in there, but unfortunately that would mean leaving out ppc power and/or Mac emulation/linux - so scrub that.

It may appear also that the additional modules to this one ~might~ turn out to be just 2. Which would be incredible. I Can stick with my original drive back thoughts, measuring approx 60cm high x 21cm deep x ~18cm wide, and would fit nicely under the addition I need to make to the uppermost part of the mobo module. However I`ve had a challenging idea concerning the housing of the floppy/opticals/psus - which will take some trickyness, but might just work.

Giving an end product of 75cm high x 45cm deep x ~ 55cm wide - maybe 10cm wide by the area saved !! LOL
 
Ugh, almost 4 weeks where I`ve had to actually do more work @ work than think & work, and I`ve had to loan out my dood-with-the-tools.

Now we may well be back in action and to be fair I want this completed, minus the electrics by Nov10th, as I`m on a week vacation where I`m planning on installing the mobos, drives etc.

Then we`ll be talking esthetics.

To this day, I`ve got 2/4 of the shell of the 2nd module cut out, ready to be prepped. I`ve figured on 1 module in addition to the one photographed, as I`ve done some measuring, math and tested some theories whilst we`ve been at a standstill and I think it`ll work out just fine. Just means a little more technique involved and prehaps being cute.
 
To be really honest, getting the system up and running with the 2 pcs I have at home at the moment, a 3rd made out of bits laying around and the cherry on the cake of the amiga at the top, is the first priority.

Once all working together, a change from practical to a more eye-pleasing form will take effect. Templating from the existing working model I`m hoping. I`ve emailed two fabricators, local and local-ish, and had no replies off them for 3 weeks - which to be fair I kinda expected as their sites seem to be fronts for what they do - which kinda leans to being websites coz every1 has 1.

There`s still an outside thought of putting a turn-table effort under it or revert to some jumbo wheels (which I already have).
 
*Project shelved until further notice*

Unfortunately/fortunately - I`ll be without the manpower for a while, although all relating goods will be stored for future use.
 
Bugger, nothing worse than having to shelve a project. Especially one that was shaping up to be something as interesting as this one. I hope you get some time to work on it again real soon...keep us posted :)
 
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