I had the same thought cross my mind but I assumed he has some specific purpose for the design.
The motherboard side would look pretty clean with the 24pin cable running straight into the cutout.
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Wow, you have my respect. This case looks awesome. And i am very impressed you can design and produce all of this on your own at 15 years. I am 29 and only earn money with my head, so i have zero of your skills, but would like to have just a tiny bit of them!
Thank you, thank you! Those are great questions, thanks for noticing.
The main reason I chose this style is I didn't think my wires would have enough room to do a 180 degree bend (from the motherboard into the motherboard tray) if I made the cutout right next to the 24 pin connector. Moving it down a little allows me to bend the cables a little vertically as well as horizontally if that makes any sense. It isn't going to look as neat, but hopefully it'll work!
Thank you sir! I'm not going to pretend for one second that I am advanced in anything that I'm doing, I think the main benefit I have of being younger is that I have a little more free time to work on things like this compared to those with full time jobs. Never too late/early to start, on Overclock.net, I know one of the most prominent members (LadyFitzgerald) is in his 70's/80's.
Tool Talk
Hey everyone, hope you are having a nice day!
IMO, sleeving and custom cables are sort of the dark horse of pc modding - many of the top modders I see on various forums do it themselves, but readily available information about how to do it is not as abundant as I would like (and much of the guides that exist are fairly old.) That being said, there are more options than ever for sleeved cables made by another person/company, but unfortunately many of these aren't offered in sizes/variants that would best benefit the people on this forum. Here's hoping to more future tutorials - by myself or others!
I figured I'd share some of my favorite tools for sleeving with you guys, and I'd love to hear what you like to use as well as any questions/comments!
Crimper
Much to my surprise/bemusement, I found a Molex Service Grade crimper for around $110 including shipping on ebay about a week ago. Not too shabby, considering the crimper is about $300-400 new! I bit the bullet and ordered it. When it arrived, I was amazed to realize these are brand new units, with all of the packaging/manuals.
If you guys want to get into sleeving, or already do it and don't have this crimper, I would STRONGLY encourage you to pick this up from the same place I got mine from. Granted, things like the MFC Crimper are half the price, but honestly this crimper just blows them out of the water, and will last you years (it also makes short work of UL1007 16AWG wire, something many cheaper crimpers struggle with.)
Here's a quick crimping demo using the new crimper!
Wire Stripper
I can't say enough good things about my Capri wire stripper! After using the popular Knipex stripper for about a year, I bought this instead and have enjoyed it infinitely more. There is a little acrylic stop that allows you to strip 3mm lengths easily (what I do when crimping), and it has multiple holes for different wire guages. This prevents the stripper from slipping, something that I had a lot of issues with when using my Knipex.
Hey everyone, hope you are having a nice day!
IMO, sleeving and custom cables are sort of the dark horse of pc modding - many of the top modders I see on various forums do it themselves, but readily available information about how to do it is not as abundant as I would like (and much of the guides that exist are fairly old.) That being said, there are more options than ever for sleeved cables made by another person/company, but unfortunately many of these aren't offered in sizes/variants that would best benefit the people on this forum. Here's hoping to more future tutorials - by myself or others!
I figured I'd share some of my favorite tools for sleeving with you guys, and I'd love to hear what you like to use as well as any questions/comments!
Crimper
Much to my surprise/bemusement, I found a Molex Service Grade crimper for around $110 including shipping on ebay about a week ago. Not too shabby, considering the crimper is about $300-400 new! I bit the bullet and ordered it. When it arrived, I was amazed to realize these are brand new units, with all of the packaging/manuals.
If you guys want to get into sleeving, or already do it and don't have this crimper, I would STRONGLY encourage you to pick this up from the same place I got mine from. Granted, things like the MFC Crimper are half the price, but honestly this crimper just blows them out of the water, and will last you years (it also makes short work of UL1007 16AWG wire, something many cheaper crimpers struggle with.)
What a beauty.
Here is a picture of the crimping jaws. This is one of the reasons I think this crimper does so well, as the jaws slide up and down. This system looks much more similar to the professional Molex terminal presses that are used to make OEM PSU cables than the diagonal clamp system cheaper crimpers use.
Here's a shot of the terminal locator. Really handy for positioning male/female atx terminals, and can be easily removed when crimping terminals that it doesn't support.
Holy crap, this thing costs >$50 to buy individually! I hope mine proves to be durable, it's pretty crazy how expensive a little piece of plastic can be.
My secondary crimper, made by UPC. AFAIK, this is the same exact model as the MDPC-X and MFC Crimpers, the only difference being the handle colors, the milling of the crimp jaws (all of them are milled, but done by different people), and the quality control. Quite a good all-round crimper, but begins to struggle when using thicker insulation 18AWG/16AWG wire.
This is the crimp jaw design that I alluded to earlier when comparing the Molex Service Grade crimper to the professional crimping press. Instead of the jaws pressing straight down, it closes at an angle. Although I haven't seen this confirmed, I feel that this design can exert uneven pressure on terminals when crimping, leading to problems with thicker wires.
Family photo!
I bought this crimper about a year ago. After many many sleeving projects it's beginning to show a little wear, but still a fair option for a very low price. Just search SN-28B on google, and you'll find an overwhelming amount of these things!
Here is a picture of the crimping jaws. This is one of the reasons I think this crimper does so well, as the jaws slide up and down. This system looks much more similar to the professional Molex terminal presses that are used to make OEM PSU cables than the diagonal clamp system cheaper crimpers use.
Here's a shot of the terminal locator. Really handy for positioning male/female atx terminals, and can be easily removed when crimping terminals that it doesn't support.
Holy crap, this thing costs >$50 to buy individually! I hope mine proves to be durable, it's pretty crazy how expensive a little piece of plastic can be.
My secondary crimper, made by UPC. AFAIK, this is the same exact model as the MDPC-X and MFC Crimpers, the only difference being the handle colors, the milling of the crimp jaws (all of them are milled, but done by different people), and the quality control. Quite a good all-round crimper, but begins to struggle when using thicker insulation 18AWG/16AWG wire.
This is the crimp jaw design that I alluded to earlier when comparing the Molex Service Grade crimper to the professional crimping press. Instead of the jaws pressing straight down, it closes at an angle. Although I haven't seen this confirmed, I feel that this design can exert uneven pressure on terminals when crimping, leading to problems with thicker wires.
Family photo!
I bought this crimper about a year ago. After many many sleeving projects it's beginning to show a little wear, but still a fair option for a very low price. Just search SN-28B on google, and you'll find an overwhelming amount of these things!
Here's a quick crimping demo using the new crimper!
I'll use a female ATX terminal from MFC, and some UL1007 16AWG wire from the aptly named buywireonline.
Push the terminal locator forward
Insert the terminal
Insert the wire
Crimp that sucker down!
There you have it, a perfect crimp! Piece of cake with this crimper, nothing to do with my skill or lack thereof. At first glance this may look like a bad crimp as one wing overlaps the other, but this is actually by design as per the molex specs.
Push the terminal locator forward
Insert the terminal
Insert the wire
Crimp that sucker down!
There you have it, a perfect crimp! Piece of cake with this crimper, nothing to do with my skill or lack thereof. At first glance this may look like a bad crimp as one wing overlaps the other, but this is actually by design as per the molex specs.
Wire Stripper
I can't say enough good things about my Capri wire stripper! After using the popular Knipex stripper for about a year, I bought this instead and have enjoyed it infinitely more. There is a little acrylic stop that allows you to strip 3mm lengths easily (what I do when crimping), and it has multiple holes for different wire guages. This prevents the stripper from slipping, something that I had a lot of issues with when using my Knipex.
Funnily enough this tool feels much more solid than the plastic-y Knipex at 2x the price.
The different wire gauge holes.
Line it up
Squeeze a little to clamp the wire
Little more pressure, and you're golden.
This gives you very good results, every time. I used UL1015 for this example, which was always a pain in the a** to do with the Knipex.
The different wire gauge holes.
Line it up
Squeeze a little to clamp the wire
Little more pressure, and you're golden.
This gives you very good results, every time. I used UL1015 for this example, which was always a pain in the a** to do with the Knipex.
Gotta love the Hakko Flush Cutters! I see these bad boys everywhere, and for good reason; they're cheap, sharp, and high quality. Highly recommended!
The MDPC-X depinning tool is another great addition to any sleever's arsenal. I heatshrinked mine to have a better grip when using.
Lastly, I love these little silicone finger covers that you can find on Amazon (exact model). I use these whenever I sleeve, it protects my fingers and prevents them from getting burnt when using PET or paracord.
At $4.66 shipped right now, these things are as cheap as a meter or two of heatshrink from your favorite sleeving shop and should last you several projects or more. I'd recommend picking one up!
Or 4...
The MDPC-X depinning tool is another great addition to any sleever's arsenal. I heatshrinked mine to have a better grip when using.
Lastly, I love these little silicone finger covers that you can find on Amazon (exact model). I use these whenever I sleeve, it protects my fingers and prevents them from getting burnt when using PET or paracord.
At $4.66 shipped right now, these things are as cheap as a meter or two of heatshrink from your favorite sleeving shop and should last you several projects or more. I'd recommend picking one up!
Or 4...
Yeah, the actual Molex crimpers are really nice to use. I also recommend them over the MDPC-style crimpers if you can find one for a good price.
On the one I got though, the plastic terminal locator was busted, though luckily the seller gave me enough credit to buy a replacement. After looking at the broken one, it definitely is a weak design and I expect the new replacement to fail eventually.
On the one I got though, the plastic terminal locator was busted, though luckily the seller gave me enough credit to buy a replacement. After looking at the broken one, it definitely is a weak design and I expect the new replacement to fail eventually.
Dang, I'd jump right on that Molex crimper if they shipped to the UK!
Thank you sir! As long as your stripper has the correct screws, you should be able to mount the wire stop provided you can find one. You can always just measure out 3mm with a ruler and make a little mark on your wire insulation where you want to strip, but I've found that to be a lot more tedious and time consuming.
Thank you, unfortunately I can't use any other PCIe slots, 8L is really pushing it with my design, and one GPU is pretty much the limit that I can fit in here.
It's a pleasure! Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions. I'll also be posting a more in-depth guide on how to sleeve sooner or later, just have to find the time!
Of course, so sorry I forgot! I'll upload everything I have so far when I wake up tomorrow morning, some parts aren't finished, and I'll update them ASAP!
Thank you very much Colin!
I will be sure to post pics when I get everything cut.
EDIT
I just took a good look at the designs and if you don't mind I have a few questions Colin...
First of, I think the front panel might be missing from the pack you uploaded. It's possible I missed it!
Second, I'm a bit unclear as to the purpose of "Top Tray.dxf" & "Bottom Tray.dxf", should they be placed on top of each other?
Also is the file "Left panel fix.dxf" an obsolete design? I noticed there are 2 other designs for the left and right panels which look like the ones in your final product.
Thirdly, I need to adjust the dimensions a little because I will use an online laser cutting service who only have 5mm and 3mm acrylic. I think the difficult part might be knowing which dimensions need to be adjusted. I can probably figure this out myself but a bit of guidance would be appreciated.
I will be sure to post pics when I get everything cut.
EDIT
I just took a good look at the designs and if you don't mind I have a few questions Colin...
First of, I think the front panel might be missing from the pack you uploaded. It's possible I missed it!
Second, I'm a bit unclear as to the purpose of "Top Tray.dxf" & "Bottom Tray.dxf", should they be placed on top of each other?
Also is the file "Left panel fix.dxf" an obsolete design? I noticed there are 2 other designs for the left and right panels which look like the ones in your final product.
Thirdly, I need to adjust the dimensions a little because I will use an online laser cutting service who only have 5mm and 3mm acrylic. I think the difficult part might be knowing which dimensions need to be adjusted. I can probably figure this out myself but a bit of guidance would be appreciated.
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Thank you very much Colin!
I will be sure to post pics when I get everything cut.
EDIT
I just took a good look at the designs and if you don't mind I have a few questions Colin...
First of, I think the front panel might be missing from the pack you uploaded. It's possible I missed it!
Second, I'm a bit unclear as to the purpose of "Top Tray.dxf" & "Bottom Tray.dxf", should they be placed on top of each other?
Also is the file "Left panel fix.dxf" an obsolete design? I noticed there are 2 other designs for the left and right panels which look like the ones in your final product.
Thirdly, I need to adjust the dimensions a little because I will use an online laser cutting service who only have 5mm and 3mm acrylic. I think the difficult part might be knowing which dimensions need to be adjusted. I can probably figure this out myself but a bit of guidance would be appreciated.
Hello!
I'll add the front panel, probably just a mistake on my end!
The designs here are a little messed up - I actually changed the right side panel design last minute, and for some reason it is called left side panel fix, lol... I'll also upload the fixed file for this, left panel fix is a final design, but the left panel fix is the wrong file. Top Tray and Bottom Tray are meant to be stacked together, that way you can recess the little nuts that hold the standoffs into the motherboard tray itself.
Unfortunately, changing the dimensions would be a pretty big undertaking, as the design is centered around 1/8 and 1/4'' acrylic. However, I would be more than happy to cut all of the parts out for you (which also allows me to make some tweaks to make the design better), and just charge for materials.
Thank you, that's very generous Colin. But I would feel guilty to inconvenience you so much. Also I live in the UK so you would need to send internationally.
Heya everyone! I just wanted to write in to let you guys know what's up, as things have been a little stagnant lately!
I just want to thank you for all of the feedback so far, and can't wait to finish. Unfortunately, I just don't have time to work on it for awhile. I'm in the dance program at my school, and am at school until 6 most school days until May. That plus 2 hours of homework per night has pretty much eliminated much of my free time.
I'm still trying to read all of your guys' build logs, and am still super invested in finishing this and guys like @Boogle who showed interest!
I just want to thank you for all of the feedback so far, and can't wait to finish. Unfortunately, I just don't have time to work on it for awhile. I'm in the dance program at my school, and am at school until 6 most school days until May. That plus 2 hours of homework per night has pretty much eliminated much of my free time.
I'm still trying to read all of your guys' build logs, and am still super invested in finishing this and guys like @Boogle who showed interest!
