Mod of the Month - June 2008

Azure

by wastedtime
Worklog

I think that most of us in the modding scene have a soft spot for the good old 1U rackmount server. It's not glamorous - in fact, aesthetically it's pretty much the most awful design that could be conceived. Well, maybe not that bad, but it's certainly not good. What it is is an utter hallmark of efficiency - the individual systems that can be crammed into such a small space are really impressive!

Maybe that's what attracted wastedtime to mod one. Or, maybe he was just looking for a challenge. A proper 1U rack doesn't have a lot of excess space, nor does it have the ability to really be an effective case without...well, the rack. Or, I suppose it might have something to do with the fact that the case was purchased on eBay and didn't have a lid.

Yeah, that may have actually had a lot to do with it, I suppose.

wastedtime actually purchased the case for his folding and webserver box. A 1U rackmount seemed like a perfect size, though it would require a bit of modification to meet his needs. Of course, the first thing it needed was a lit - easily fixed with some smoke coloured plexi!

Since the lid was already being redone, accents could be easily created for various cabling and ventilation needs from the same smoke plexi. For instance, the whole front of the server box was cut off and replaced with a drilled and polished piece of plexi.

Since the case wasn't going to be put in its proper rack-type home, it needed some type of feet. Rather than going for typical and boring feet, wastedtime opted for acrylic steps fabricated out of clear acrylic.

The steps would be lighted underneath with some LEDs, perfect for adding a little flare to the otherwise black case. After a bit of wiring, it was pretty much set for take-off!

As we fast-forward to the current state of affairs, you can see wastedtime has got much of the outside of the case completed. Azure is coming along wonderfully, so it's time to keep track of the progress in its worklog!

But before you scurry off to go read that, you should take a detour. After all, if you think turning 1U rack servers into clean, glowing folding boxes is a great idea, you should swing into the forums and vote for Azure by wastedtime as bit-tech's Mod of the Month for June!