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- Apr 26, 2012
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Hey all, it's been a bit stagnant over here on these forums for a bit. Thought I'd post my progress pics on my Mac Pro Replica.
Standing on the shoulders of all you wonderful modders and a special shoutout to Bouly for his 3d .stl files. Without all of you I wouldn't be here.
I just have the bare assembly at the moment. Planning on waiting around til solid Skylake support (maybe even Kaby Lake) and HBM supported graphics....Might be a while.
3D printed files for base, PSU support, Mobo mount, and fan circle from Shapeways in black strong and flexible. Thanks Bouly!
So far I have:
Pardon the mess at my work station
Cutting the Trash can:
I used a 4.5" (114mm) Hole saw. The real mac pro has a 112mm opening at top the size of a CD. Couldn't source a Non-Carbide 4-3/8 (111.125mm) hole saw locally, so the extra 2mm will have to do!
Pre-drilled the nicely centered divot so the mandrel didn't skirt around
BOOM. The shadow throws it off a bit. It's damn centered.
Now it just needs some sanding for the rough edges and the raised rim needs to come off eventually. I wonder how I can
My original 3d print was ABS and I used a local print place found using 3Dhubs. Image next to a Shapewals SLS nylon print. HUGE difference.
Cutting the OpenBeams:
Set up a jig at the desired length to cut 4 beams exactly the same length
...and yeah, I'm using a wood saw blade, cuts through aluminum nicely tho
Both ends were tapped with an M3 tap and some Blaster penetrating oil for reduced friction.
Broke the tap off in the LAST beam and the LAST hole. Guess I got too anxious. But in my defense the tap wasn't as sharp as when I started.
Good thing I have 20 feet of beams. (6pack from Amazon) I only needed 3 feet. I should have just bought the single beam 2 pack. But I wanted to be sure I had enough. If anyone needs some beams lemme know...
Sanding and tapping the beams:
I went with OpenBeams because, 1. They're cheaper. and 2. I much prefer the simple M3 screw/nut fastening system as opposed to the proprietary V-Channel mumbo-jumbo with MakerBeams.
Only caveat.... OpenBeams are significantly bigger
Assembled, the beams hung over the 3d printed parts and would barely fit in the trash can.
They fit with coercion but left some nasty scratches on the inside.
These sharp corners have to go...
Belt sander with 120grit. Took forever pushing these down with my hands they'd heat up right quick. 20 seconds of sanding and a few minutes of cool down.
Sanded edge vs non-sanded edge.
Won't be scratching the inside now!
This one was particularly difficult but it's there. The mounting holes on the psu plate aren't exactly squared or placed equidistant from one another so this beam stuck out way more than the others.
Clear coating the beams:
Ideally I'd want these re-anodized but that's not really an option. So, to prevent oxidation I used some clear coat I had around.
Loosely masked off
Countersink PSU 3d mount plate:
The stock 6/32 screws for the PSU are way too short to pass through the 3d print. Went with longer screws. No philips bits here! I counter sunk them for a nice flush look.
Oddly, when sanded the print is white underneath! Went at it with a regular Sharpie. The dull finish matches perfectly.
The beams are fastened to the plate with an M3 screw. Fiber washer and regular washer for extra support.
Fitting the ITX tray:
Quite simple here. Used a combo of aluminum and nylon spacers.
Sanded a tad
and Shapie'd
All mounted up, just a few MM of clearance
Another few MM clearance for future PCIe extension to pass under here.
360 View of assembly so far:
The fan isn't attached to the top just yet it's just the shell for now. I didn't want to risk damaging the fan.
The fan top is 23mm below the cutout. This measurement was requested from another user because I don't have access to a real Mac Pro or one locally for that matter. Trusting that this measurement is accurate.
Upcoming:
Standing on the shoulders of all you wonderful modders and a special shoutout to Bouly for his 3d .stl files. Without all of you I wouldn't be here.
I just have the bare assembly at the moment. Planning on waiting around til solid Skylake support (maybe even Kaby Lake) and HBM supported graphics....Might be a while.
3D printed files for base, PSU support, Mobo mount, and fan circle from Shapeways in black strong and flexible. Thanks Bouly!
So far I have:
- Luminaire trash can
- OpenBeams
- Scrap ITX board
- 600w PSU
- OEM Mac Pro fan modded to 4pin PWM see here
Pardon the mess at my work station
Cutting the Trash can:
I used a 4.5" (114mm) Hole saw. The real mac pro has a 112mm opening at top the size of a CD. Couldn't source a Non-Carbide 4-3/8 (111.125mm) hole saw locally, so the extra 2mm will have to do!
Pre-drilled the nicely centered divot so the mandrel didn't skirt around
BOOM. The shadow throws it off a bit. It's damn centered.
Now it just needs some sanding for the rough edges and the raised rim needs to come off eventually. I wonder how I can
these edges"Diamond Chamfer" - Phil Schiller
My original 3d print was ABS and I used a local print place found using 3Dhubs. Image next to a Shapewals SLS nylon print. HUGE difference.
Cutting the OpenBeams:
Set up a jig at the desired length to cut 4 beams exactly the same length
...and yeah, I'm using a wood saw blade, cuts through aluminum nicely tho
Both ends were tapped with an M3 tap and some Blaster penetrating oil for reduced friction.
Broke the tap off in the LAST beam and the LAST hole. Guess I got too anxious. But in my defense the tap wasn't as sharp as when I started.
Good thing I have 20 feet of beams. (6pack from Amazon) I only needed 3 feet. I should have just bought the single beam 2 pack. But I wanted to be sure I had enough. If anyone needs some beams lemme know...
Sanding and tapping the beams:
I went with OpenBeams because, 1. They're cheaper. and 2. I much prefer the simple M3 screw/nut fastening system as opposed to the proprietary V-Channel mumbo-jumbo with MakerBeams.
Only caveat.... OpenBeams are significantly bigger
Assembled, the beams hung over the 3d printed parts and would barely fit in the trash can.
They fit with coercion but left some nasty scratches on the inside.
These sharp corners have to go...
Belt sander with 120grit. Took forever pushing these down with my hands they'd heat up right quick. 20 seconds of sanding and a few minutes of cool down.
Sanded edge vs non-sanded edge.
Won't be scratching the inside now!
This one was particularly difficult but it's there. The mounting holes on the psu plate aren't exactly squared or placed equidistant from one another so this beam stuck out way more than the others.
Clear coating the beams:
Ideally I'd want these re-anodized but that's not really an option. So, to prevent oxidation I used some clear coat I had around.
Loosely masked off
Countersink PSU 3d mount plate:
The stock 6/32 screws for the PSU are way too short to pass through the 3d print. Went with longer screws. No philips bits here! I counter sunk them for a nice flush look.
Oddly, when sanded the print is white underneath! Went at it with a regular Sharpie. The dull finish matches perfectly.
The beams are fastened to the plate with an M3 screw. Fiber washer and regular washer for extra support.
Fitting the ITX tray:
Quite simple here. Used a combo of aluminum and nylon spacers.
Sanded a tad
and Shapie'd
All mounted up, just a few MM of clearance
Another few MM clearance for future PCIe extension to pass under here.
360 View of assembly so far:
The fan isn't attached to the top just yet it's just the shell for now. I didn't want to risk damaging the fan.
The fan top is 23mm below the cutout. This measurement was requested from another user because I don't have access to a real Mac Pro or one locally for that matter. Trusting that this measurement is accurate.
Upcoming:
- Attaching OEM fan to top shroud
- I/O shield
- Base locking ring
- Sanding top hole and raised edge