The ending of my Waterbox project was rather disheartening. After it fell, not only did I not have the waterbox anymore, but I didn’t have a case either. So this prompted me to get a new case, and start brainstorming my next mod: The DiamondBox.
One of the primary goals of this project was to overcome some of the limitations of my previous setup. The Waterbox was a bit cumbersome, having a separate attachment. It was also frail, as the pictures show. For my next trick, I designed a computer with all of the components in the main case, and also opted to make it strong enough that it could fall down, or be otherwise punished, without taking damage. Aluminum was a good choice for this, as it’s sturdy, but also light enough to take to LAN Parties. The DiamondBox took its name because I decided I would get an aluminum case and re-panel it with aluminum Diamondplate, giving it a very edgy, shiny, durable and unique feeling.
The case I settled on to build up from was a Kingwin KT-424-S all-aluminum ATX mid-tower model. It was laid out well for my plans and turned out to have just enough space (and not an inch more) for my needs. I was also amazed when I unboxed it at its light weight. That was due to change, though.
I was able to get some Aluminum Diamondplate through some connections my dad and brother had. We cut it into the four pieces I would need: front, top, left side and right side. I didn’t feel the back and the bottom were worth worrying about. The front piece was a bit tricky. The front bezel on the Kingwin case has sides to it; it wraps around about an inch and the entire piece comes off as a whole. Therefore, we had to cut the front to what the overall size is with the edges, then cut out the corners, and then use a finger break (a version of a sheet metal break) to make the corners. Then the diamondplate front goes right over the stock one. It took a good bit of tweaking, but they eventually fit together nice and snugly.
Initially, I had actually wanted to replace the stock panels completely, but once I received the case I realized this would be a much more difficult route. The front would have been extremely tricky to replicate six mounting holes on, and the sides have stamped rails which would have been difficult to replicate as well. Coming to terms with this was easy, since adding a layer of aluminum on top of the existing layer of aluminum serves to make it ridiculously strong, satisfying one of my goals. The stock aluminum is about 1/16, and so is my diamondplate, giving an overall thickness of 1/8. The raised ridges on the diamondplate add another 1/16 or so of strengthening. That makes me happy.
The right side panel was easy. There were no special cuts or anything to do. The front had a rectangular opening on the top, for the optical drives, and a round opening on the bottom for the 120mm fan. The 120mm fan was replacing the two stock 80mm fans normally mounted there, so the stock parts had to be modified for this as well. Since 120mm metal hole saw bits are ridiculously priced, we found a great alternative: an adjustable “circle-cutter” from Ace. Using this, I could cut any sized hole I wanted, perhaps at a slightly slower rate. This was used on both the diamondplate and the stock aluminum of the front for the fan.
The left side panel had its own set of challenges. I had designed it to have a sizable window in the side, curving around another 120mm intake fan. Both of these cuts had to be replicated on both the diamondplate and the stock aluminum. The circle cutter was used on the fan opening, of course, and I believe we used a jigsaw for the window.
The top needed an odd-shaped hole cut into it, to match the radiator I intended to put over it. It also needed two circular holes of about 5/8″ or 3/4″ for the inlet and outlet. Again, these cuts had to be duplicated on both layers of aluminum.
Everything was riveted together with aluminum rivets, which had to be carefully placed to avoid the ridges of the diamondplate. The fan grills I picked are a sort of swirl or blade-looking thing. They fit the theme very well and set off the sense that everything is “sharp”. I also saved the bay cover portion that was cut out of the front of the diamondplate. It’s been sectioned into individual covers for each drive, so that I can stealth them sometime in the future if I want to.
It sounds like everything went together simply, but I can assure you that is not the case. There were many obstacles that had to be overcome before proceeding, but everything managed to go together in the end. As I mentioned earlier, the case worked out pretty well, in some ways having just enough room to fit things and not a bit more. The pump height is one of these–it sits in the unused 3.5″ bays, and an opening is cut in the aluminum tray above it (the bottom of the 5.25″ bays and top of the 3.5″ bays). There is very little unused space above the pump, and only slightly more to the sides.
The top optical drive is another of these cases; I have to be very careful what length drives I get for that bay. Some of the shorter ones fit just perfectly, but longer ones will hit the fan for the radiator before locking into place. The Power Supply is the third of these tight areas, on the other side of the radiator fan. My previous PSU was moderately sized and left clearance. However, I upgraded to a PSU which was slightly longer, and actually had to remove the fan grill to make it fit. It has absolutely no extra room–it’s a perfect fit!
The next few shots show me filling up the watercooling system with water, putting all of the components into place, and some “done” shots with and without light. The watercooling setup is different than before. One big change is that I took out the reservoir, opting for a T-line instead. It’s not as easy to fill, but the water doesn’t stop moving each time it reaches the reservoir either, which makes things easier on the pump. And the system doesn’t need to be filled very often anyway. The new loop is thus: pump -> radiator -> CPU -> pump. This is another common setup, putting the water through the radiator to cool it directly before the CPU, which heats it back up again.
One addition I made shortly after this point was to add a baybus to control the fans. These fans are loud on full blast, and they still push a lot of air when they’re turned down, so I run them very low most of the time. The baybus is a Sunbeam model which fits into a 5.25″ bay. I used the lowest bay, which is actually concealed behind diamondplate and drilled four holes for the baybus knobs to go through. The baybus itself is only a couple inches deep, so it doesn’t interfere with the pump outlet, which is directly behind it.
Something that surprised me, once everything was put together, was the amount of additional weight I added. The diamondplate, plus all of the components, and the water and watercooling gear made the case officially heavy. It probably weighs 40-50 pounds now, but it’s solid as a rock. I could take it to a LAN Party by putting it in the bed of my truck if I was so inclined. I still have some things left that have been put on the back burner, unfortunately. I want to caulk some of the edges so that they make more visually attractive creases. I’d actually like to remove the side panels and put a thin layer of foam inbetween them to stop any rattles, too.
I also still need to customize the plug for the pump. I have it running out the side, which is ugly. I’ll probably cut off the end and run it out the PCI slots eventually. And speaking of the window…there isn’t one. It’s cut, but I don’t have a very good way to mount it. So there’s no window mounted in the side yet.
I recently treated it to a nice polishing with Nevr-Dull, though, and even though it’s a couple years old now, it’s still looking like quite the badass rig. I’m happy that it was so unique when I made it, and remains to be still. This case represents strength and durability not often seen in a computer case, and exudes a feeling of “sharpness” from all of the edges present on the diamondplate and fan grills, and the shape of the window. I love this case.
Thanks to my Dad and Tom for helping me with this project.
All content ?2006 Tony Magri
Lets anodize it.
Left by wintermute266 on December 3rd, 2006