[WIP] Razmac G5 [Update July 30th, 2015: Assembling the system]

[Razbit]

Hi there guys!

 

Here we go with a new project (again..) Gotta have a little something to take my time away

 

So, JokuTyyppi gave me a Apple PowerMac G5 case about 6 months ago, and now I finally found the inspiration while derping around in the Interwebs..

 

Search for "neilhart short stack" on the interwebs, that is my inspiration. I'm not going to replicate, of course not. But that kinda case is my goal (to make the case smaller).

 

Table of Contents

1. This post shows the beginning [Dec. 3rd, 2014]
2. Cutting the case, temporary assembly [Dec. 14th, 2014]
3. Making the core [April 15th, 2015]
4. Gluing the frame [April 16th, 2015]
5. Glue & putty [April 20th, 2015]
6. Power supply [April 24th, 2015]
7. MOAR PUTTY [May 2nd, 2015]
8. Sanding and drilling, mobo mount [June 3rd, 2015]
9. Planning cooling & PSU placement, painting [July 29th, 2015]
10. Assembly. [July 30th, 2015]

 

First off, the disassembly. I'm sure you have seen a G5 ripped apart already, and unfortunately I don't have any pics of it, but here is the outcome:

 

Oh, by the way, there are MANY screws in this lil' bitch, and I really mean MANY. I don't even want to count them..

 

Now, the goal is to minify this case; to make it around 11 cm lower and shorter. In the picture above, some designing has already taken place (see the masking tape).

 

So far, I've only worked with the rear part, since that is the only side I'll do by hand; my stepfather will cut the rest at work using a table saw..

 

Here we go. First, I cut the rear-bottom half of the interior part of the case in half, like so:

 

The next step was to go get an old case and steal its rear part (the mobo i/o thingy), and then make some modifications to it.

First up, a little piece of Aluminum L-profile for fastening, with a hole (groove) for the expansion card shields:

 

And then we attach it to the rear part using rivets, like so:

 

 

And now, the rest of the rear looks like this

 

Here is the case with the rear temporarily in-place, 

 

The mobo rear thingy takes some more space than there is hole already (the case was modded once before already, hence the big hole in the rear), so I had to cut and bend some of the mesh. You can also see the aluminum profiles used to re-attach the rear parts, they will be glued, but now they are just bolted in.

 

Here is the last pic, showing the temporary attachment of the mobo rear thing and the interior of the case. The case upside down, btw.

 

 

From the pics you should already have the feeling of how small it should be, I'll be using this as a uATX case.

 

Not very much writing in this post, sorry about that. I'll let the pics do the talking and write what I can't say in the pictures

 

Next up is the rest of the interior shell, followed by the outer shell. I should receive the shortened parts of the interior during the weekend, I'll get back to you next week!

 

Thanks for reading, comments are more than welcome

 

Oh, and for those of you who have read the Zenbox project thread, I'll order a new board quite shortly (and those of you who haven't read the thread, please do )

 

Cheers,

 

Razbit

[JokuTyyppi]

And now u broke my G5 :'(     No, just kidding, it is gonna be awsum!

[TheSLSAMG]

If there's anything I like in a computer, it's a modded G5. Subbed.

[Laputacake]

Exciting and subbed

[ALXAndy]

Are you slamming it? like, making it smaller?

 

This interests me. Would be nice to see something different

[Razbit]

Are you slamming it? like, making it smaller?

This interests me. Would be nice to see something different

Yes, indeed

Thanks guys!

[ALXAndy]

Ooo nice !

 

The only thing that put me off of doing a hackintosh into a G5 was the size of the G5. 

[Gilbert]

This is going to be interesting! Subbed

[Razbit]

Hi folks,

 

Here we go now with the first real update!

 

As I said in the original post, my stepfather shortened the parts of the case at his work using a table saw. I got them back already a week ago, but I've been quite busy again.. Sorry 'bout the delay, here we go!

 

Let's start with the bottom-rear cut that I pictured already in the first post. As you might know, the G5 has a sheet metal part keeping the openable side together. I cut a piece of that sheet metal to reinforce the rear cut, like this:

 

 

That piece makes the case quite sturdy, especially when the outer shell is in place. That makes it even more rigid!

 

Talking about the outer shell, here are the other pieces of the case:

 

The scrap left-overs can be seen, too.

 

The case was shortened and lowered by 105 mm, roughly 4 inches.

 

I tried to assemble the outer shell, and it turned out quite good:

 

There is some inaccuracy in the cuts, for the reason being the shape of the case.. Nothing some filing can't fix, tho

 

 

Alright. Now, let's assemble the rest of the case. I started with the front and bottom pieces, which fit quite well. Some holes had to be moved, because they didn't have equal spacing; some were 50 mm apart, others 55 mm etc.. But, it fits well!

 

And finally, here is the rest of the case:

 

 

The side panel (the openable one) has some issues, it doesn't fit well with this temporary assembly, so gotta think about it a bit and make it work!

 

That's it, guys. Hope you enjoyed!

 

Razbit

[JokuTyyppi]

Some nice progress!

[Razbit]

Alright guys, here we go again! Its been a long time since last posting, for all kinds of reasons. However, now I finally have something to show you!

 

In the last post I tried to reassemble the case for the first time, now after that I figured I had made a mistake, and I had to lower the case by another 5 mm.. Now, that's done, and the core is reassembled (using Pattex 100% glue and chemical metal).

 

So, first I glued these holders in place:

 

 

The same thing was done to the roof.

 

Then I cut some hole mesh from the piece taken from the front:

 

And used it for gluing the front back together:

 

 

 

 

You can see the hole drawing for a USB hub that I'll use to replace the stupid (in my opinion) Apple connectors, there will be four USB3.0:s instead of a USB2, FireWire and an audio jack.

 

The rear is somewhat done also, the solid piece of aluminum was made at JokuTyyppi's workshop (thx again )

 

 

That's it for today, more tomorrow

 

Thanks for your time!

[HellaflushMcSwaggins]

I would like to know how you manage to disassemble the locking mechanism

[Razbit]

I would like to know how you manage to disassemble the locking mechanism

 

Umm, I think I did it back in December (or November?) so I'm not 100% sure anymore

 

I'd say I removed all the screws, removed some clips (two hands is't enough) and thats it Maybe

 

Thanks for commenting

[HellaflushMcSwaggins]

Umm, I think I did it back in December (or November?) so I'm not 100% sure anymore

 

I'd say I removed all the screws, removed some clips (two hands is't enough) and thats it Maybe

 

Thanks for commenting

I didn't find any screws on mine lol

Here are some picture of how mine looks like(2009 Mac Pro G5):

[Razbit]

Oh, so you mean the thing in the back that you pull to open up the case? Gotta say it looks different to mine, but I think there ought to be a screw there somewhere

[HellaflushMcSwaggins]

Oh, so you mean the thing in the back that you pull to open up the case? Gotta say it looks different to mine, but I think there ought to be a screw there somewhere

Also, what position do you recommend for mounting the PSU? I'm thinking about mounting it on the bottom and then make an L shape cover for the right side and put the HDD's next to the PSU

[Norman_the_Owl]

I would like to know how you manage to disassemble the locking mechanism

Ok i got this.

On the inside there are e-clips on some axles (for lack of a better term)

Take those off, slide out the bars and the things on them will fall out.

That's it, there are three pieces. Ones the thing you lock, that's by itself, the other is the bar connected to another piece with two screws. They'll come out together

[HellaflushMcSwaggins]

snip

You the real MVP

[Norman_the_Owl]

You the real MVP

Just be careful removing the E-clips, i ballsed one of them up by accident. I'll have to try and find a replacement, or otherwise live without it

[Razbit]

Alright, a bit more progress to show!

 

The core was assembled, seems pretty good:

 

Next up, the door-side thingy. I cut it to 4 parts and started testing the assembly:

 

 

 

There are gaps, yes. BUT they don't matter; everything visible will be made good-looking, that's a promise

 

Then I tried to assemble the outer frame, after some more cuts it started to take shape:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seems pretty good, nothing some chemical metal can't fix

 

The hole for the USB hub:

 

Alright, time to glue! All the surfaces sanded and washed (using ethanol).

 

Unfortunately, I haven't got that many pics of the gluing episode, had to be done quickly so the glue wouldn't dry.. Anyway, here's what it looks like now, some putty (chemical metal) is here and there. For gluing I used Pattex 100% Glue and on visible surfaces I used chemical metal. 

 

 

 

Next time we'll be gluing the inside of the case, the rear and the USB thingy. See ya soon!

 

cheers,

Razbit

[Norman_the_Owl]

Oh man, this reminds me of neilhart's short stack. i love it

[Razbit]

Oh man, this reminds me of neilhart's short stack. i love it

 

Thanks a bunch, buddy! Neilhart's short stack is actually the case that gave me the idea for this project

[Norman_the_Owl]

Thanks a bunch, buddy! Neilhart's short stack is actually the case that gave me the idea for this project

Good to see i'm not the only one who realizes tonymacx86 exists

[Razbit]

Also, what position do you recommend for mounting the PSU? I'm thinking about mounting it on the bottom and then make an L shape cover for the right side and put the HDD's next to the PSU

 

 

Ahh, the PSU. I've been thinking about it, and I decided to install a Corsair VX450 I have lying around to the G5 PSU case (shorten the case to fit the.. well, case). That is my design

 

You'll see when I get to it

 

Oh, and thanks for commenting

[HellaflushMcSwaggins]

Ahh, the PSU. I've been thinking about it, and I decided to install a Corsair VX450 I have lying around to the G5 PSU case (shorten the case to fit the.. well, case). That is my design

 

You'll see when I get to it

I already know what you're going to do are you getting custom extensions for the psu tho?