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[SCRATCHBUILD] The Hikari Project - Full aluminium ATX case

Hanshin
Level 7
HI ROG community!

This will be my first buildlog here, so I hope you'll enjoy it!

I'm Hanshin, a french computer enthusiast living near Osaka, Japan.
I've been thinking of a project for some time, a scratchbuild project: The Hikari Project!



Made possible by my sponsors EKWB, Corsair, Hardware Labs, Cooling Lab and Pexon PCs!

Thanks to Chris for helping me with the CAD side of the project.

For some time, I've searching for the perfect case for me that would be defined by the following criterias:

- Simple/minimalist aesthetics
- Uniform aspect and color to give a "monolith" aspect
- Capacity to build an efficient watercooling system inside
- ATX capable
- Easy to work with

After a few monthes of reflexion and designing, I came to a final idea. Let me introduce you the Hikari Project.





"Hikari" means light in japanese.
This case will be made in 5mm & 2mm Aluminium (5052 and 6061 alloy), laser cutted and powdercoated!


This is the hardware that will be used:

CPU: i7 4790k
Mobo: Asus Z87 Maximus VI Formula
RAM: 16GB Corsair Dominator Platinum 2400MHz
GPU: Evga Titan X
PSU: Corsair AX1200i
SSD: TBA

And the watercooling gear:

CPU Block: EK-Supremacy EVO
GPU Block: EK Titan X waterblock
MB Block: EK-FB KIT ASUS M6F
Radiators: AquaComputer Airplex Radical 2 360mm radiators x2
Fittings: EK-HDC fittings
Tubing: EK-HD tubing
Pumps & Top: TBA
Reservoir: TBA
Fluid: TBA

I hope you will enjoy this buildlog and see you soon for a new chapter! 😄
15,772 Views
19 REPLIES 19

Hanshin
Level 7
Here are some renders of the case (sorry about the quality, I'm still a beginner). I'll try to not spoil every details to keep some surprises for after.




As you can see, the case is divided in two chambers. The radiators, the PSU and the pumps will be mounted in the bottom.






On the rear side of the motherboard, as I'm concerned about great cable management and ease of work, I tried to let a 5cm space. There will be a window on that side too, as I really want to expose the work that will be done there (and thanks to Pexon PCs, it should be awesome!).

The case itself consists in more than 42 pieces of aluminium (I use different alloys for the panels and mounting parts), for a total weight of aproximatively 25 kgs. Here is a preview of the cutting files:





The production of the case has already started, and I hope to be able to show you more really soon!




Hanshin
Level 7
Time for today's update!

A mysterious box from Amazon US was waiting for me today when I got back from work! I wonder what can it be? 😛



Time for unboxing!



It finally came! I wish NVIDIA would sell it directly in Japan like they did for the US but I guess the wait was a part of the game. redface.gif



This card is really a beauty! I can't wait to put it on the bench to test it!




Nice cooler, but with the help of EKWB, it shouldn't be on air for too long.

Stay tuned!

Hanshin
Level 7
Another mysterious box, from Tamiya this time, came today.




Can you guess what is coming? A little hint.

totalrognoob
Level 7
That stuff is great to work with, but it dries quicker than some people are used to, and it sells of alcohol. If I were you, I'd put a matte(or gloss) vanish over it with an airbrush or something to protect the paintwork because you're going to be using it everyday, and model paint is meant mostly for things going up on shelves. Finding places that stock it in quantity here in the states is kind of hard, or I'd be using more of it. A bit of ventilation might also be in order.

Hanshin
Level 7
@totalrognoob: Thank you for your concern. I'm living in Japan, so stock is not a problem.

This is actually Tamiya enamel paint, not Tamiya acrylic paint that is easier to find outside Japan . The curing time is a lot different from acrylic paint, where it take really little time to dry. Enamel takes a lot longer.
Also, this is not an alcohol based paint and I use a non-flammable thinner. 😮

The case being powder coated, I'll just give the hint it won't be used to paint the case. 😛

Xenocrates
Level 7
I'm loving the build so far. What sort of tooling are you using to produce the case? and what material? I'm a bit of a machining geek, so I'm always curious. I also wonder at the choice of a single Titan X. Wouldn't a pair of 980s be cheaper and better for most situations? I don't doubt it'll be kickass, but is it solely a bid to avoid dealing with SLI? Or do you use a large chunk of compute heavy programs such as CAD and Photoshop?

Cheers
Xeno

Hanshin
Level 7
Thank you for your comment!

The case is made of aluminium: 6061 alloy for the panels, and 5052 for the mouting parts. Everything is laser cutted by a manufacturer according my CAD files, except for the screw holes that are tapped by hand.

I chose the Titan X essentially because I caught the upgrade bug. 😛
I know it could have been cheaper and better to go with two 980s (that was the plan at the start) but I felt in love with the Titan X (and the VRAM is a plus at the resolution I play).

Time for the weekly update!

So, as you can guess, this time, it's painting time!

In combination with the Tamiya paint I received earlier, I will use High Finish brushes from Tamiya too.



Time to get that motherboard naked.



The shield will also have some "treatment" after!



So, after masking some sensible parts, I started painting the RAM slots and the first PCIe slot.
Working with high finish brushes like these ones has the advantage to be able to work very precisely without having to use a lot of masking tape.
I have been doing some model painting in the past with brushes so I had some experience before, but you have to be careful of overpainting and let the paint (especially enamel paint like this one) cure properly.



First coat done (the Sata ports have been done in gunmetal color, but I decided later to do everything in matte black).



So while the paint was curing, I had the time to take care of another package that came recently. 😄

Corsair Dominator Platinum 2400Mhz



And light bar upgrade kits.




They look really nice but I had to do something with the color.



So after a few days, I was able to do four coats of paints for all the slots. The result looks really nice and resistant!
I gave my airbrush some work too, by painting the shield in matte black. Here is the Maximus VI Formula Black Edition!



I decided to do the Sata ports in black too, as I wasn't satisfied by the finish I had with the gunmetal paint. So I had to sand it down, then paint it with my airbrush for a way better result (I don't know why it looks irregular on the picture though) .



I couldn't resist so I tried to fit the RAM and it match perfectly! So happy of the result!




That's all for today!

Oh, I think something is coming soon too. :cool:

Hanshin
Level 7
Today, a new package arrived from Slovenia!



A big thanks to for supporting this build!



Some teaser shots.

Supremacy EVO


EK-FC Titan X



EK-FB KIT ASUS M6F


EK-FC Titan X Backplate



EK-XTOP D5 Vario


EK-HDC Fitting 12mm


EK-AF Angled 90°



Stay tuned, more goodness to come soon!

Hanshin
Level 7