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Kimera Industries Project Nova: 17 liters of 5-slot mATX goodness

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jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
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Feb 22, 2015
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The solid handle is nice, though I made the mistake of getting chamfered corners on the first prototype because Protocase couldn't do the large rounded edges so it digs into my hands when carrying the case around.
 

Phuncz

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May 9, 2015
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That indeed seems like a problem only a prototype (or tons of experience) would reveal. It's not like you have Apple's design department's facilities who make 50 variations of a design to find the most optimal shape.
 

jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
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Yeah, in retrospect it's obvious but that's what prototypes are for :p
 

yoyo55

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Aug 15, 2015
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WOW!! I just recently discovered the SFF FORUM!! LOL...now I can stalk you guys over there too!! Awesome!
 

jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
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Haha, it's easier over here with the nifty little "currently online" markers.
 

Valheli

Case Bender
Aug 15, 2015
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Yeah, speaking of stalkers, I first read about this on the linus forum, followed it to overclockers, onto Hard forums, and finally made it on here! So where does Kimera hangout the most?

Anyway, I'm planning to build a business / pleasure pc. Choice of cpu is either 5960X or 5930K, GA-X99M mobo, 2x 16gb DDR4 memory, ... pretty much the same as the featured build of the week, but I would like to have 2x 500 gb ssd and an NVS 450 Quadro as a second gpu for the business part of this setup to provide multi monitors for stock trading. So with these choices, will the Noctua P12, Noctua 92mm slim, and the NZXT X41 still fit? ... and Aiboh, what was the weight of the build of the week system?

Forgive me guys, but it's been a while ( 10 years ) since I built a pc so please bear with my newbish questions..:):):)
 

jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
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Welcome! We're trying to consolidate the conversation here to make things easier to manage.

That parts list should fit. I'd recommend the EVGA X99 Micro2 over the Gigabyte if you want good fan control.

I don't have my accurate scale on me at the moment but it looks like ~10.4kg (23lb).
 

jeshikat

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An Amada laser-punch combination machine begins work on the main frame section.
 
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tedlas

Average Stuffer
Aug 18, 2015
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But also I suspect that some boards are cheating by pulsing the 12V line for pseudo-PWM instead of using the 4th pin like they're supposed to.

Which motherboards do you suspect that do that? Isn't it a good thing for controlling fans that don't do pwm?
 

jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
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I was suspicious of the Asus X99-A because I was able to briefly test one and the controllable RPM range differed between the CPU header and one of the chassis headers. It was a customer build and I didn't have my multimeter or oscilloscope to test for sure.

But I've since confirmed that the X99M-WS has true PWM capability on all headers so I'm not so suspicious now.

There's some concern that pulsing the 12V line isn't good for PWM fans.
 

PlayfulPhoenix

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Chimera Industries
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Feb 22, 2015
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Carved Feet



A hardened blade - cooled with oil - cuts away at a cylinder of aluminum on a lathe, in order to create custom-sized case feet.
 

PlayfulPhoenix

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Of note: While we'll be posting all of these illustrated updates here on the forum, I have a post up on KI's blog that will aggregate them as well, as they come along. Should be helpful to have them all in one place!
 

Phuncz

Lord of the Boards
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May 9, 2015
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Oh my, those feet must cost a fortune to produce ! :eek: This probably won't make it to production I reckon ?
 

jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
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They're not cheap so we'll see if it makes it to production. I like the custom ones because the off the shelf stuff isn't quite as tall as I would like.
 

PlayfulPhoenix

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Piercing



A laser penetrates through steel, cutting out openings from a metal sheet that will eventually be bent into individual internal frames.
 
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jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
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4 flats were cut but some stuff came up in production so we'll be getting 3 complete cases. We still aren't sure what we're doing with the spare, if no major changes are needed between the current design and production it'll probably go out as a review unit.
 

PlayfulPhoenix

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The Mill



1: At the beginning, an aluminum billet has screw mounting holes drilled through it, as they are also used to hold the part in place during the machining process.

2, 3: Next, an end mill bit cuts out the outside shape of the handle, over several passes.

4: After the larger cuts, a corner rounding bit is used to round off the edges of the part, for better ergonomics.

5: Next, the end mill cuts out the inside of the handle, and the interior edges are rounded.

6: Finally, the handle is flipped over, so that the opposing edges can be rounded as well.
 
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