WING X99 | A CNC-milled Scratch Build! (Benchmarks, temps and wallpapers posted!)

[Brodholm]

Next update will be posted later today.

I also have something satisfying that I forgot to post last time

 

I had been waiting a long time for that!

[Brodholm]

About time to mount some components. These have been sitting on my shelf long enough...

Like a glove! Always a bit nervous when you make scratch builds and make custom IO that it will not fit. But it was really nice and snug!

GPUs and SSDs mounted!

Here is a neat tool I designed. The thing I hate the most about sleeving is stretching the sleeve so that you get a really tight fit around the cable. That hurts my hands bad after a while, and it is not like the other burning and bending etc does not hurt. And at the same time you need to pinch the cable so it does not go back. This is my first rev of a tool to aid me in this. And I must say it works quite nicely.

Here you can see the sleeve pulled through the rolls causing it to tighten around the cable. And when you stop pulling the sleeve stay in place and does not go back. And a stretched sleeve looks much much better than a non stretched sleeve.

This is such a mess. I don't like to sleeve, I think it is tedious and I get nervous that I have done something wrong all the time and checks everything like 5 times over and over...

Okay, a few days later I am done with 90% of the cables. My fingers hurt, I have burned myself on the arm and hand (very small table in the apartment) since I put down my arm and hand on the very hot gas touch 2 times... My fault but lets blame the very limited space

This sleeve gets very stiff when streched and it is a pain to bend, but on the other hand it looks amazing and it is really tight, much tighter than the MDPC sleeve that is very good quality.

Okay now, how the hell do I fit this into here. I originally planed this with 18 AWG wire and much softer sleeve. Now with this much tighter sleeve and 16 AWG wire the cables do not like to stay in place...

I really like how the GPU comb turned out. I wanted to make something that goes with the same theme and lines as the build. Turned out better than I thought it would.

Decided to make the pump connect inside the pump house.

Shortened the original cables of the D5 pumps

I ended up using hot glue to be able to get the cables to stay in place. Was impossible otherwise. Either way, I only used hot glue on places where you cant see it. So no hot glue what so ever will ever be visible. I originally was against using any kind of glue "since then I cant remove the cables" then I remembered that I have threaded each individual cable through holes so that is pretty much a permanent installation... So then I was fine with it. If you do something like this though I recommend that you are really careful to not get any glue where you don't want it.

A small amount of hot glue to fix the bottom layer of the cables did the trick. Really neat.

Here you can see the whole tree.

Now I just need these cables to conform to MY reality, GET IN LINE!!!

That is more like it! Will leave it like this for a day or two and they will stay more or less in place when I remove the scrap acrylic pieces.

Looks really neat but what a pain to do. Don't think I would have done them visable if I knew how much time I would have to spend on them. I would at least have done some changes in the design if I knew I was going to use 16AWG and this thicker sleeve. This could have been much easier than it was.

Time for a very big moment. Plugged in the cable and put on the switch on the PSU. Time to boot for the first time since removing every single cable and every connector and putting them back in again. THe amount of money that rides on that all the cables are correctly connected is HUGE.

Here we go...

The sweet, sweet boot screen! What a HUGE relief, it posted just fine into bios and all GPUs etc are detected. Had to turn it off after about a minute though since I have no cooling on yet. But this is such a relief.

Quickly fixed up the cables on the front and straightened them up a bit (they need a bit more work to be perfect but I will do that later)

The foot is not mounted back again since I might need to screw in the fill ports from underneath when I connect the custom blocks.

Another quick boot with the lights connected also.

Starting to look a lot like the renders! I am really excited now! Now I just need to polish the acrylic parts, make orings, leak test the blocks and test the pump tops. And If all that works I am basically 99% done with the case. Just some minor things like the power on button that needs to be fixed!

A Video of how the sleeving tool works and how I do my sleeving:

 

 

[paddy-stone]

Wow, that is amazing @Brodholm, very nice work indeed.

[Marine_Boy]

This build is beautiful! *-* Cables look so satisfying  All aligned and perfect  

[W-L]

@Brodholm That sleeving tool is brilliant! I still remember the sore fingers from manually stretching and using clamps to hold things in place when heatshrinking. 

 

Beautiful work as always  

[Brodholm]

On 2017-04-07 at 10:46 PM, W-L said:

@Brodholm That sleeving tool is brilliant! I still remember the sore fingers from manually stretching and using clamps to hold things in place when heatshrinking. 

 

Beautiful work as always  

Exactly, your fingers still get a bit messed up due to other things. But at least for me, stretching the sleeve between my fingers is by far the worst while sleeving. Just rubbing of piece after piece of skin...  

[Brodholm]

Polishing and sanding the acrylic

I got this kit. You basically use sand paper, and then you use number 3, number 2 and then clean with number 1.

I recommend using microfiber cloths. And remember to NOT use the same cloth for different number bottles. You do not want to use the same cloth for number 2 as you did for number 3!!!

Before you go with the number 3 you will have to do the basic work with sand paper. I went from 240 grit to  --> 400 --> 800 ---> 1500 ---> 2000 and then I went with number 3. That produced a really nice result.

Did all the sanding in this container filled with moving water. It really helps when you have running water when you polish. At least I think so.

This is how it can look when you start.

Sanded to 2000 grit.

Polished with nr 3, 2 and then cleaned with nr 1. I was a bit lazy with this part since it really does not matter.

Sanded this uneven with 60 grit. The idea being that it will diffuse the light and give a more even illumination around the base of the case.

Can you spot the difference?

Clear like glass!

Rinse and repeat, same procedure as before.

Finally done with the polishing. This took a LOT of hours to do, and it is really draining work, both mentally and physically. You need to push really hard when you polish with the cloth and sanding seems like it never ends. Going through all those stages of different grit papers was tedious work. But in the end the result was all worth it! Now I need to make some o-rings!
 

[paddy-stone]

You missed a spot...... j/k

 

You have many factors of patience more than me, I have to say. I like doing good work, but get frustrated quickly and want to see some results of my work, on day 2 of this project I would have had everything plugged in and my PC up and running

... No, I wouldn't really, but I sometimes feel that way.

 

Great work again @Brodholm

[Yahtadi]

"Here is a neat tool I designed. The thing I hate the most about sleeving is stretching the sleeve so that you get a really tight fit around the cable. That hurts my hands bad after a while, and it is not like the other burning and bending etc does not hurt. And at the same time you need to pinch the cable so it does not go back. This is my first rev of a tool to aid me in this. And I must say it works quite nicely.

 

Here you can see the sleeve pulled through the rolls causing it to tighten around the cable. And when you stop pulling the sleeve stay in place and does not go back. And a stretched sleeve looks much much better than a non stretched sleeve"

May i know more information about that tool? I mean how that works, i want that tool myself

[Brodholm]

On 2017-04-11 at 1:50 PM, paddy-stone said:

You missed a spot...... j/k

 

You have many factors of patience more than me, I have to say. I like doing good work, but get frustrated quickly and want to see some results of my work, on day 2 of this project I would have had everything plugged in and my PC up and running

... No, I wouldn't really, but I sometimes feel that way.

 

Great work again @Brodholm

Probably missed a lot of small spots  

Dude, I get frustrated as well, sometimes I just need to take a few days of and I can't stand doing any more work and wonder what the "bleep" I have gotten myself in to
Projects like this are a bit to big for one person alone. It gets REALLY frustrating from time to time. I mean I could have built 4 systems (regular systems with no mods etc) in the time it takes to polish just the acrylic...

Best thing is just to take some time off, look at some other peoples projects and get a bit inspired and get it done!
 

On 2017-04-11 at 6:53 PM, Yahtadi said:

"Here is a neat tool I designed. The thing I hate the most about sleeving is stretching the sleeve so that you get a really tight fit around the cable. That hurts my hands bad after a while, and it is not like the other burning and bending etc does not hurt. And at the same time you need to pinch the cable so it does not go back. This is my first rev of a tool to aid me in this. And I must say it works quite nicely.

 

Here you can see the sleeve pulled through the rolls causing it to tighten around the cable. And when you stop pulling the sleeve stay in place and does not go back. And a stretched sleeve looks much much better than a non stretched sleeve"

May i know more information about that tool? I mean how that works, i want that tool myself

I am trying to make a simple design that I can maybe sell or something like this. Right now the tool is sub optimal in some ways and I would like to fix those issues before I do anything else. But the #1 priority now is to get this build done first

[paddy-stone]

3 hours ago, Brodholm said:

Probably missed a lot of small spots  

Dude, I get frustrated as well, sometimes I just need to take a few days of and I can't stand doing any more work and wonder what the "bleep" I have gotten myself in to
Projects like this are a bit to big for one person alone. It gets REALLY frustrating from time to time. I mean I could have built 4 systems (regular systems with no mods etc) in the time it takes to polish just the acrylic...

Best thing is just to take some time off, look at some other peoples projects and get a bit inspired and get it done!
 

I am trying to make a simple design that I can maybe sell or something like this. Right now the tool is sub optimal in some ways and I would like to fix those issues before I do anything else. But the #1 priority now is to get this build done first

Yes, thank you... I will try to be more patient.I might get something in the works soon, I will have to work on it when I am not building systems or fixing them for other people of course, but I plan on this project not to be centred around my main rig, so should be able to be more patient. I am actually just now swapping in an AM4 mobo and 1700 into the case I have now for my main build. So I will either sell the i7 6700k and mobo, and use my i5 4670k for the project, or the other way around. I am not going to rush it at all, and will try to be a bit more creative than just slotting components into the motherboard, lol   

 

[Brodholm]

On 2017-04-18 at 2:37 PM, paddy-stone said:

Yes, thank you... I will try to be more patient.I might get something in the works soon, I will have to work on it when I am not building systems or fixing them for other people of course, but I plan on this project not to be centred around my main rig, so should be able to be more patient. I am actually just now swapping in an AM4 mobo and 1700 into the case I have now for my main build. So I will either sell the i7 6700k and mobo, and use my i5 4670k for the project, or the other way around. I am not going to rush it at all, and will try to be a bit more creative than just slotting components into the motherboard, lol   

 

That is a good idea. It is important to have a fully functioning rig while building. Else you tend to rush things along just to get it up.

[arbellason55]

Just curious on how the build is going as I haven't seen an update in a while.

[Foxxer]

Good job, what speeds and feed rate was used on the acrylic panel ?

[Brodholm]

On 5/18/2017 at 9:52 PM, arbellason55 said:

Just curious on how the build is going as I haven't seen an update in a while.

Sorry for the long delay. I had to wait for parts to come in (custom length orings etc, will explain more in further updates...)

On 5/19/2017 at 5:44 PM, Foxxer said:

Good job, what speeds and feed rate was used on the acrylic panel ?

uhmmm, dont remember. I could check later. But this will depend A LOT on your machine and what tool you are using. I used a 12mm tool. I think I ran it about 7000 rpm and something along 500mm/min.

[Brodholm]

Expect updates to ramp up. I have started editing now. I have over 3000 pictures to go though. Sorry for the long delay.

Time to fill the engraved letters and wing x99 logo!

Warming it from the bottom.

Then dab the shellac on the top.

Let it cool.

Observe your hard work and burnt fingers...

After some sanding you can finally see the results! I decided to go with the all black shellac (clock makers black shellac).

This is the real line in the top of the case. Still needs some more sanding but you can see the pattern now!

All done! Same procedure was done on the other side.

Here you can see the button assembly and the 3 small aluminium pieces that will be glued in place.

I had to mill these in a inverted shape so it would fit, and then I sanded down the "backplate". It took about 3 hours... Not the recommended way. But since I could not mill these so small and send it of to the anodizing company I had little to no choice.

It sure fits nice though!

My initials A and F is the logo.

This is the button assembly itself. Magnets are turned against each other and provides a resistance to the button. And I soldered a small board to fit the actual switch and LEDs for the backlit. It is very tight with space here. And I wanted to get as even illumination as possible, so I just taped some pieces plexi on the leds to diffuse them a bit more.

This is the back side of the cover. Two connectors, one of the power switch and one to power the LEDs.

Here is the other part of the assembly.

I thought of adding 2 extra paper pieces but decided against it after testing. It was better without.

Here it is illuminated.

Same pictures without the LEDs on

This is the effect I looked for. An even illuminated logo. It is not a 100% even when i put it close. But still very close to perfect. I would probably have had to make the assembly deeper to fit it. But this was a compromise since there was no space left. I am still very happy with the results!

[Brodholm]

Pumps! Naked!

Well there we go! Some bling! Rinse and repeat on the next! I used Autosol with some old cloth.

Custom orings. I did my own orings first, but one leaked a drop every night and I had to tear it all down, after that I decided to order vulcanised orings from a manufacturer. I could never trust it otherwise. Set me back 3 weeks...

Fits nicely and stays in place if you don't mess with it to much.

Just installed the main block. No pictures during this though. I had my hands quite full at the time.

The GPU connector fits nice and it was not to much of a hassle to "push on" all those tubes. Key here is to have the correct measurements from the start!

Yes I know the SLI-bridge does not fit this build. I have a HB sli bridge coming later that fits the overall design very well. Don't worry

Everything looks good and aligns really good!

Quite the slab of acrylic!

Really pleased with the installing. Was not easy I can say that much. But it worked and I am really pleased with the results and the overall look.

I also put a balloon in the fill port to make sure there are no huge leaks. Had it like this for a night and noticed no change in the size. Next update it is time to fix the last pieces of the case, button, the divider line and covers for cables etc.
 

[0ld_Chicken]

Woah, time for some clean pants after that update!  

[paddy-stone]

That looks amazing @Brodholm

[smicha]

Exceptional work! Can you produce parts made of copper?

[KrMaH]

Holy shit!

Can i marry your computer?

It's do beautiful!

(Please dont tell the missus)

[stealth80]

This is turning out to be awesome, please tell me you have plans for that SLI bridge? 

[Brodholm]

22 hours ago, 0ld_Chicken said:

Woah, time for some clean pants after that update!  

Cleanup on isle 3!  

13 hours ago, paddy-stone said:

That looks amazing @Brodholm

Thanks 

12 hours ago, smicha said:

Exceptional work! Can you produce parts made of copper?

Probably could, copper is no fun to mill. It is a bit sticky, but so is aluminium. I have no copper in the shop and I have not tried yet   

3 hours ago, KrMaH said:

Holy shit!

Can i marry your computer?

It's do beautiful!

(Please dont tell the missus)

 

1 hour ago, stealth80 said:

This is turning out to be awesome, please tell me you have plans for that SLI bridge? 

Don't worry! I got one of those new HB-bridges  It fits perfectly with the theme of the build! My original plan was to make one but It turned out that the new ones fits really well. So I finally get to use a stock part right of the shelf  So I got that going for me, which is nice ^^

[Brodholm]

This is how I fastened the GPUs and SSDs. Wanted to have a straight line up from the motherboard so I raised the screws a lot.

Also installed covers in the 2 blank spots. Also notice the magnet. That is how the cover gets fastened.

The opposing side.

And here is the result. A nice and clean surface with no screws and easy to remove. This is how the top, back and side covers are attached. It is really neat if I say so myself. I have no visable screws on this case (except on the pumps where I wanted that industrial look (they are actually blanks, except from 2).

It is really something special when you get to put the panels on. It makes it come alive in some way.

The top seam for the case. Here is where the line cover is put.

The bottom part of the seam is covered with a thin piece of aluminium.

Here you can see it installed.

And this is how it looks, and I must say I am really happy with how it turned out!

The real cover for the cables. Was a hassle to get everything behind this. And I would probably make this in sections the next time around. Having one big sheet was quite the challenge.

The illuminated feet mounted and connected.

This is the result it produces. It is quite hard to catch on camera and always gets over exposed. But it looks really good! This is a RGB strip so I can have any color i desire. But red is really pleasant and does not hurt your eyes

The button and logo.

This is the effect it produces when it is on and a bit darker. Not a 100% even but close! Spent over 2 days designing the button and its components. I found It really hard to make something like this with the very limited space and I am happy that it turned out this good!

A view of the case without the side panels on!

Here are the "fake" screws I talked about, They screw into the plexiglass, except for 2 that I used instead of a magnet. But I really like the look of the circular pattern with the screws.

I must say that I am more than pleased with how the design of the cable routing turned out. I think it is beautiful. I worked really, really hard on this design. To fit what I wanted aesthetically and also have it function well was really hard. But in the end it really added something to the case. Now both sides are really interesting and pleasant to watch. Next update it is time to get some water in this thing!

[8uhbbhu8]

Damn this has turned out amazing!!!! I absolutely love it and can't wait for all the finished glam shots  Please have lots!!!