Project: Aerodyne

[slipperyskip]

VIA is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the mini-ITX form factor (they created it) so they sent me one of their new boards to use in a project. I'm so glad to not have to build something for a contest. Compromises and deadlines suck. Let's go.


VIA VE-900 mini-ITX mainboard w/ attached picoPSU.


Standoffs screwed into small wooden blocks. This helps me position the board up or down by removing or adding material. The system's SSD will be mounted underneath the board. Once the proper height is set I can order the appropriate sized standoffs.


Frame for the I/O plate.




Seven pieces of wood come together to form this...




I like the curve on this sugar canister.










This is a separator/bracket I made for my "ribs". I'll need five or six more at least.



Thanks for looking. Comments are welcome.

[slipperyskip]

Dry fitting for the camera.




Inspired by...




Not knowing what the dimensions of the "motherboard tray" should be I just start building on one corner and work my way out. Wherever the work stops will be my edge.


Finished adding material to framework.






Marked the five spots for the grilles' locator holes. Used a brad point drill bit to drill most of the way through the board.






Shaped the grilles' locator pegs to fit the holes.


The grille will always be a dry fitting. The locator holes/pegs are only meant to keep the grille
in its set position.


Square holes being made by first drilling pilot hole then carving out rough shape of square. Finished off with sandpaper wrapped around square rod.


Testing the square hole accuracy and fit.

Thanks for looking.

[Spyfox]

subbedddddd
looks neat

[Liighthead]

wow very nice work so far

[Moptimus]

Very neat. Subbed

[Reaper_1994]

Subbed

Love the mini-ITX boards. Just wish I had the money for a mini-ITX build myself

[Madengineer]

Nice looking. and Impressive.

[slipperyskip]

Originally Posted by Spyfox

subbedddddd
looks neat

Originally Posted by Liighthead

wow very nice work so far

Originally Posted by Moptimus

Very neat. Subbed

Originally Posted by Reaper_1994

Subbed

Love the mini-ITX boards. Just wish I had the money for a mini-ITX build myself

Originally Posted by Madengineer

Nice looking. and Impressive.

Thanks guys! I appreciate you coming along for the ride.


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Cut the birch plywood "base" to the dimensions that look right...to me.






The four square pegs are friction fit to just barely protrude above the surface. I can now sand the ends so they are as flat as possible. This will all become clearer later...hopefully.


Made up some end caps and glued them into place. These complete the enclosure structure and makes it very solid.






Final trimming of the grille. It's just about ready to be sent out for casting :hehe: Casting?


My four "pegs" attached to a piece of 6-ply 1/8" birch plywood.




Four small brass wood screws are countersunk and driven into the backs of the pegs.




A design I'm playing with. A subroutine is constantly running in the back of my head concerning a decorative element for this thing. Lots of others to try out.




A refresher on how I cut panels. A stationary fence used with a finger fence and razor saw. It takes about 45 minutes for each cut. The result is a very clean edged cut that promotes adhesion for the following veneer layer. Power saws rip up plywood along the edges and thus lose a significant percentage of adhesion surface where it is needed most. Did I just say thus? Damn. Watching too many shows on the BBC.




Identical panels. I mark the corners that are factory laser cut so they can be matched up later.


First course for the sides.


Second course creating a pocket for the USB ports. Ends are criss-crossed.


Need to figure out how to do better close ups on this new camera.


Same corner as above after third course and trimming.


Fourth side is different. It has to be thinner to accept various switches and plugs.


Gathered up my remaining mahogany. The higher quality stuff comes in thinner widths but these pieces are laser cut so matching edges is easy. An acceptable compromise IMO.

Thanks for looking.

[friedsweasel]

Dude this looks like its gonna be bloody awesome. While it doesn't look like its going to be your biggest or most ambitious project I really like the look of it and am looking forward to seeing it completed. With that said, keep the updates flowing.

[Madengineer]

Looking better!


I might attempt something like this.

[admiralranga]

awesome build slipperyskip. One question tho, the "pegs" are they just glued on?

[panman9]

lookin good my friend. cant wait for more

[slipperyskip]

Originally Posted by friedsweasel

Dude this looks like its gonna be bloody awesome. While it doesn't look like its going to be your biggest or most ambitious project I really like the look of it and am looking forward to seeing it completed. With that said, keep the updates flowing.

Thanks mate! I've had my moments in the past. 2010 was a good year for me because of Level Eleven and Mid Century Madness. They are proving to be tough acts to follow. This project is one of those "getting back to basics" kinda things that hopefully goes well.

Originally Posted by Madengineer

Looking better!


I might attempt something like this.

Do it!

Originally Posted by admiralranga

awesome build slipperyskip. One question tho, the "pegs" are they just glued on?

Thank you. You must have missed the small brass screws part of the previous update.

Originally Posted by panman9

lookin good my friend. cant wait for more

Cool! Thanks. Here we go....

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In order to accurately locate the holes for the other side of my grill I made these two templates from thin basswood.


The slots line up with the pegs and the template is keyed to the panel edge.


Since the panels are the exact same size I can easily transfer the data over.




Confirmed the locations by measuring and placing the grill to compare it to the marks. Cut square holes for this side vice the round holes for the other. This will make it easier for the child labor to assemble it. Yes...I said that.


Trim away the excess panel material.




Assemble.


Hey wait a minute. That's starting to look familiar.


Thanks for looking.

[IMtech]

Very nice!

You're going to stain it now I suppose? Would look mad in a reddish stain color!

[slipperyskip]

No. Sorry. I don't use stains. I'll be using a mahogany veneer. You can see it in the previous post. It will finish with a deep red colour. Thanks for commenting.