Stark IMD Case Mod, Part 3

Creating the power core:



A diamond-shaped shield was cut from acrylic sheet and the inside edge beveled
to an angle using a flexshaft and carving burr. The open shield is sanded, primed,
and painted silver, and then given the transparent red overcoat. A thin white
plastic sheet is glued to the back to diffuse the LED backlight. After painting,
the shield is held up to the armor and the outline traced on the front of the
case. A hole is cut through the front PVC armor, slightly smaller than the traced
outline.



A nickel and brass insert was made to fit the opening. I used metal to double
as a heat sink for a high-power LED. A high-intensity 1 watt white LED is mounted
to the bottom of the insert, and held in place with two plastic fasteners. Thermal
compound on the rear of the LED assembly will conduct excess heat into the brass
back plate while the nickel sides reflect the light forward. A 100 ohm resister
(covered with black heatshrink tubing) limits the current when the LED is attached
directly to a 12 volt Molex connector.



Clamps to hold the mask in place are created from short sections of MDF, and
lengths of 1/2" threaded steel rod cut and glued into holes drilled in
the "clamp" and "actuator" pieces. Holes are drilled in
the panel and mesh to mount the mask and the clamps. Short screws anchor the
clamps in place, and nuts lock down the mask to the mesh.

Finishing touches: Two holes are drilled in the mesh behind the eye
slits. A pair of white LEDs are hot glued onto the mesh to cause the eyes to
flicker when the hard drive is accessed. The systemboard's front panel power
switch pins are wired to a low-profile stainless steel switch is mounted in
the side panel, presumably to open and close the IMD clamps.



Screws through the bottom of the case anchor the MDF base plate treads. The
stock Intel heatsink is replaced with a big, blocky, Peltier-cooled one. Then,
the system board, power supply, and hard drive are installed. Power and drive
cables are organized a bit, and spiffed up with some chromed convoluted (AKA
split loom) tubing. Before the case is closed up, a real system diagnostic board
is installed in one of the PCI slots, providing additional blinking LEDs and
Hexadecimal status display while the computer is booting and in operation.

Presenting the finished Stark IMD case mod:



Side panel with a view of the system board.



With power on, the front shield glows white, and other LEDs shine in the transparent
window.



Front panel, with drives concealed.



Front panel with DVD drive open, and with lower panel removed for floppy, card
reader and USB access.

The Iron Man mask is visible "clamped" into place on the right side
of the case.


The system's power switch is located on the side panel. Hard drive access causes
the Iron Man mask's eyes to flicker