Mod of the Month - October 2007

Not Another Stacker

by Grifter
Worklog

What a fitting name, huh? Just when you think that this whole month's offerings might be CoolerMaster products, we bring you... another CM Stacker. Or, more correctly, Not Another Stacker, according to Grifter.

Apparently, he's as sick as you are of seeing the same old dominance by CoolerMaster - but, the problem is, the cases are great! Especially the original Stackers, which are some of the most popular "large" cases in the modding world. Because of that, Grifter decided some tongue-in-cheek nomenclature might help separate his from the pack - along with one of the most unusual (re-) construction techniques we've seen.

Grifter started this mod after he gave away his previous PC to a sibling in an act of "brotherly love;" or, more specifically, "family blackmail." You'll have to forgive me if I get some of this construction information incorrect...the truth is, in all my experience with mods and modders, I've never seen something built quite like this. Instead of looking to "liven up" the exterior of the clean-lined Stacker, Grifter literally just rebuilt it - and saved a ton of weight in the process.


After stripping the Stacker down to nothing but its frame, Grifter started his project. What did he do with the top and bottom, you ask? Uhh...threw them out - and replaced them with some Fibrelam. For those unfamiliar, Fibrelam is a honeycomb of fiberglass composite that is incredibly strong and very lightweight. In fact, its entire production purpose is for aerospace - it makes up the floors of almost every commercial aircraft in the world. How did Grifter get a hold of the stuff? Who knows, but it's a new one to me.


With the top and bottom clad in iron...err, fiberglass, it was time to make the frame. What would the material be - wood? metal? re-use the side panels of the original? Nahhh...it was time for some Ureol - polyurethane modeling foam. It can be machined and painted with more "even" results than any other material, but it's also incredibly lightweight and very hard to accidentally damage. Once the basic frame was done, side panels were created out of - yep, you guessed it - more Fibrelam. This will have to be the lightest Stacker case in the world.


The lack of weight must be in preparation for this next part - the sides of the case have been "accented" with MDF board. The addition may give the final product a lot more weight, but also some attractive, clean lines.


In order to eliminate the slight resemblance to the Silverstone TJ07, Grifter went to work with the Ureol again to create a mould. After some resin work, he had cast himself two great air vents for the top, adding to the airflow abilities of the final case.


The airflow has been increased further with a centre "scoop" vent on the top, as well as an opening for the area that the hard drives will sit in.

It seems like Not Another Stacker is truly living up to its name - there's very little left of the original design at this point! What's been put in its place is attractive, unique, and using some of the most interesting materials we've seen in a long time. I'll be looking forward to seeing how this progresses in Grifter's worklog.

If the unusual materials and unique construction have won your heart, make sure you vote for Not Another Stacker as this month's Mod of the Month!