I was wondering if anyone at these forums knew how to add a window to a case. My case is severely dull, but will have some pretty sick hardware in it come this Christmas that I would like to show off with a neon light or two. I got my case from a junky barebones sytem a I bought a Fry's.
I use a dremel, but other people use jigsaws, and sometimes lasers. The dremel is pretty versatile for modding. I would recommend practicing on something other than the case so you can get a feel for it. Draw the area you're going to cut from the inside of the panel so you don't have to go back and erase it later...of course, if you're going to paint it, then it really doesn't matter. Just do the painting last. For attaching the plexi, I use JBWeld. I've found it does a better job of holding than epoxy. I don't do the kits. The rubber gasket is a pain in the arse to deal with. It's cheaper to cut your own hole how you like and mount it your way. I usually pick up a large sheet of plexi at Lowes home improvement. Depending on the size and thickness of it, you can get a nice size for less than 10 bucks. Unless you're going to build a case out of plexi, you don't need a real thick piece. Here's a big tip: wear safety goggles. Stuff does fly up. You can also cut your own plexi, and that stuff really tends to fly up and it's kinda hot...not super hot, but it is noticably warm and not something you want flying into your eyes.
ok this is the best way to cut the hole in the case it may cost a bit more but it will be the best cut ever seen. Look up in the phone book an engraver and ask him if he uses a rotary machine or a laser machine, laser machine is no good so there is no point so he must use a rotary and then open a drawing program and do the design for the hole and then take it to the engraver and get it cut out it was easy for me since my dad is an engraver
Don't you think it'd be a bit pricey to pay an engraver to cut a hole in your chassis? You could probably buy a new Themaltake Xazer chassis with the mod already in place for that kinda dough. Unless, of course, your dad happens to be an engraver...
lol true i spose ahaha well i got it cheap but i dont think it would cost that much only bout au$30 and then pick up some plexiglass second hand sum where for free
Well, if you plan on modding, pick up some kind of rotary tool: Dremel, whatever Black & Decker has...something along those lines. Depending on the , you're looking at $40-60. Plexiglass or acrylic...I get 18"x24" sheets that run about $5-8 or so at Lowe's. They can cut it down to the size you need and you can take along the spare pieces for future projects.
Speaking of dremels, Autozone has a generic dremel they're using as their house brand right now. It's about $30, comes with all the attachments, a nice case, an about $15 worth of bits. The crazy thing is that these things are actually a lot better than Black & Decker's. B&D's dremel runs at 2300RPMs and gets quite warm, while Autozone's run at 10,000 RPMs and still remain cool.
when you drill the whole, round the edges, dont make it like a perfect square-more of a circular. and also take that dremel and grind down the outside edge to make it smooth at about a 45 degree angle. just go slow and PRACTICE, you dont wanna f-up a perfectly good case. and while your at it, draw a circle in teh plexi and cut out a fan. or two;one on each side or even four if you gots-ta. If you take pride in your work, dont glue the plexi on, take your time and drill some holes and fasten it down with 4-8 screws. but dont tighten a screw directly onto the plexiglass, use a plastic washer(if theyre made-just and idea) i dotn know if they make them but it would be a good idea to put something hard in between the screw and plexi. yeah...use goggle...i was making a litle wooden car once and didint wear goggles and a few small pieces of metal flew into my eye, took about a week of putting this cream that resembles spooge into my eyes every night *shudders* just take your time, and focus. recheck all your measurements and everything before you start hacking away, dont want a lop-sided window.
