A little help on case construction

[OMGpedobear]

Hi , I am planning to build an xbox 360 laptop. I know what ya thinking , im another time waster but i can asure you this is a genuine project ans i genuinely require some help. I have attached some pictures of some 3 d models i have made. And im undecided between red, green or white.

So far i have started building the ultra flat heat sinks out of small sold copper rod and brass sheeting cut into little strips all soldered together. I am looking around for vga monitors of the right size that are 17" and i am going to use an xbox arcade with vga adapter (i tried making my own but the image was horrible without proper shielding).

My real question is plastics for the case, I am in the uk so the plastic needs to be sourced in the uk. Im thinking from one of these places:
1.http://www.mutr.co.uk/index.php?cPath=6 ... =5a&page=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
2.http://www.technobots.co.uk/acatalog/On ... ls_95.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
3.http://www.directplasticsonline.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have ordered from all these places before for my other hobby of combat robots so i am sure they are genuine.

Idealy i would like to use sintra, i have not found any source in the uk that calls it sintra or any of the other names you guys use. I also from looking around the forum hear good things about HIPS but can it only be used for vac forming ?Both source 1 and 2 sell this thing called expanded pvc foam.I think this is sintra but im really not sure. I ahve a hot glue gun and CA glue , i know sintra is good with CA but whats it like with hot glue ? From the third source i use HDPE for combat robots , its very strong but quite bendy and has an icky greasy shiny feel to it , not too nice for a mod . Obviously the parts of an xbox are quite heavy and i have a lovely habbit of breaking things so i want to build this with strength over looks , but most of mky projects look liek crap so i really want to make an effort to make this look nice.

One option i have been storngly considering is carbon fibre look alike sheet.
http://www.mutr.co.uk/product_info.php? ... cts_id=524" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Has anybody used carbin fibre or CF look alike before on a games console ?, if so does it look ok , im worried it might just end up looking bland and tacky.

One more unrealted question, i have been poking around in the 360's power supply and i presume the 3 balck and yellow wires are +12V and ground grouped together and that te red one is +5V , what the hell is the other one and how does the xbox power supply know what the xbox is doing by talking to it on this line and is there anyway to trick it as i want to run the xbox 360 laptop from a small atx power supply bult into the xbox laptop.

Thank you for reading this far and braving my hideous spelling mistakes and typos.

here is a mock up of the insides, everything seems o fit quite nicely with ample room for the heatsinks and other crap.

the basic layout , similar to benhecks 3rd (or 1st) i dont want to look :P.

view2.JPG (39.47KiB)Viewed 6641 times

This is it in green , honest opinions please
.

or green ?!?

view3.JPG (37.32KiB)Viewed 6641 times

and in red, my personal favorite so far, couldnt get it all black but you cna imagine .

red !! . what ya think ?

view1.JPG (22.21KiB)Viewed 6641 times

BTW, ebay is off limits for any parts needed .

thanks in advance.

[OMGpedobear]

errrr, bump ? Thought this was quite an active forum, banish me to hell for buping but id really like some general criticism or any helpfull input at all, ive started buying bits now so some help from ben heck himself even ? (i can dream...)

[collinE]

You got it. That's Sintra/Komatex. The design looks fine and all, so good luck. We have a few 360 laptops being built right now so good luck. it's not impossible

edit: ok, I have some time now to give a full response...

the second link you gave does actually call it sintra in the material description, so yes, its sintra. The problem I'm seeing is that your websites are selling it really thin. For the base in your 360 laptop you're going to want something closer to 6mm, so if you got the 3mm then you'll need to double up. I have 3mm sheets and they're too flimsy. fine for walls or the face, but not the bottom. The 6mm is really sturdy but I wouldn't use it much thinner than that.

Hot glue works fine on sintra for holding things in place, but I wouldn't use it for permanent weight bearing situations. I usually use a bit of hot glue to quickly hold things in place, but then go back with a better glue for strength.

HIPS is stronger and you can definitely use it without forming it. If you have the tools to cut it, then go ahead and use it. The sintra is just easier to cut and shape.

and I say do red.

[OMGpedobear]

OK , i have a screen sorted out its only 15 inch but its all i can afford as rpices shot up massively above that , and as long as a i make a big deal of the speakers grills either side fo the scren it shoudl be ok. Ive been thinking about names , I asked a few of my friends and they came up with 360 portable and then 360p , but of course that is taken. On of my friends with a psp go suggested 360GO . Oh and its goning to be red and white . And all cnc cut.

[collinE]

well I just had a nightmare of a time trying to machine a case. hopefully you have better luck.

[OMGpedobear]

I have access to a cnc machine .

[Timthegeek]

Router or laser?

[FA-MAS]

Are those Google Sketchup models of the mobo and dvd to scale, where'd you get them?