MODTHEBOX.COM - Canada's Premier Case Modding Source

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Prior to receiving the QMicra SFF Enclosure from PC Design Lab, I spent a few weeks exchanging e-mails with the staff at Moddersmart. In my e-mails I had detailed the theme I was looking at presenting with this case and also inquired about some custom water jet work for the side panels. Since the presentation would be centered on a military theme, a final decision was made to go with the "Live Ammo" logo. The case was express shipped over to Moddersmart who began to strip the external shell of the pre-installed absorption matting material. With the absorption matting material removed, the external shell was loaded into a water jet machine for some precision cutting.

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Water jet cutting is nothing new and has been used in automotive and manufacturing plants for several years. The process is mainly used to cut materials with a jet of pressurized water as high 60,000 pounds per square inch (PSI). Often, the water is mixed with an abrasive like garnet that enables more materials to be cut cleanly to close tolerances, squarely and with a good edge finish. In order to make precise cuts, Moddersmart created a CAD representation of the external shell which was used in the design process.

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With one side of the external shell completed, the panel would be re-positioned back in the water jet cutter to add an additional and much larger window to the opposite side. I wanted to make sure that the internal components and water cooling solution could be viewed from both sides of the case.

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Due to the size limitations of the QMicra SFF Enclosure, deploying a complete water cooling solution would present all sorts of unique challenges and headaches. The location of the dual 80mm fan mounts was a perfect choice for installing a PrimoChill Radiator Pro Series 240. In order to fit the unit the front portion of the case was removed and would later be re-fitted with a custom front bezel.