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Upgrade Mac Cube to G5 Look
ExCEPTION writes "This Japanese guy upgraded his Mac Cube to G5 all by himself. Well, not really an upgrade, just the case." Apple should pay (or hire) this guy.
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altavista's translation
"A minor sidenote: How on earth did he drill the holes in the side panels? They are definitely not pre-drilled as shown by the pattern of holes around the cutouts for the power button, CD drive, and USB hub."
It definitely looks like it was water-jetted, or laser cut. I am guessing waterjet, because it would be cheap to get something like this done. It's plastic, but takes a little bit of time to cut due to the number of holes.
You are correct that the Cube is convection cooled as shipped. However, there is a mounting point for (I believe) an 80mm fan near the bottom / below the heatsink "chimney." It is certainly possible to install this fan though I have no idea if this guy did this.
Hope this is a little better than Altavista or Babelfish.
Creating a G5-ish case for the Power Mac G4 Cube
December 1, 2003
I thought I'd like to have a cube with a Power Mac G5 design, so I started to make a case. First I measured the cube... I started to measure the dimensions with a height gauge.
Looking forward to how I'll cook up this thing...
# Huh? Why am I making a case? It's because I can't buy a G5, though people I know are calling me and telling me they bought it... (;_;) And while I was fretting over it, I heard this (http://www.powerlogix.com/products2/enclosure/) was going to be released, so I guess I was inspired by it.
December 3, 2003
First I cut out the parts for the case walls, using ABS boards. I made it a little taller than the real cube.
I'm going to put in a USB hub into the extra space, because they tend to get in the way. It actually was really inconvenient when you connected USB stuff to the Cube, because you had to be careful while laying down the Cube on its side... so that's why. Bought a slim 4-port USB hub. It's what I plan to use.
A pic of how it looks after I glue and assemble the parts I cut out. The size is a bit smaller than the real Cube.
I'm gluing thin boards on the outsides, to shield the insides and increase strength. After I finish gluing the boards, I plan to glue aluminum boards about 0.3 mm thick in the insides for shielding.
The front panel is going to be glued like this, but of course, there's going to be mesh holes because it's a pseudo G5. I'm going to draw in guides, and there's going to be holes for slot-loading and the USB hub, so I'm going to glue on the panel after I finish working on it. At this point, the size is height 193mm * width 179mm * 183mm.
I'd like to attach handles, work on the mesh, and install the USB hub tomorrow.
December 4, 2003
Built in a USB hub in the extra space in the bottom. The picture is how it looks from the bottom. When it's completed, there's supposed to be 4 USB ports lined up at the bottom of the front panel.
This is how it looks after I put in the Cube (although it's upside down). I plan to work on the front panel, open holes for slot-loading and the USB hub, make a on/off switch, and create a mesh for the front panel.
I'll work on the front panel and handles tomorrow.
December 6, 2003
I opened holes in the front of the case, so it'll look like the aluminum mesh that represents the G5. I first thought of marking off the back of the front panel to open holes, but since there were so many, I reverted to using mesh aluminum as a guide to open the holes. So many 2.9mm diameter holes... my mind goes blank.
The front panel was completed after a painstaking effort. Gawd... it's almost looks like mesh aluminum in the picture.
I put it together and glued it to the case I made yesterday. I guess I'm blowing my own horn, but it looks real nice...
I started to work on the handles. I have to bend boards in order to use them, but since it's going to be troublesome to heat the boards and bend them, I'm going to glue together two 1.5mm thick ABS boards while bending them. Unless I do this, the boards are going to try to return to their original shape after a while.
I made a guide with the same width as the case (glued V-shaped blacks to a flat table), and glued the boards while bending them in the guide.
December 7, 2003
The leg parts after the bending was completed. I glued them on after cutting and finishing them.
Glued completed legs to the case. It's starting to look more like it...
Another pic from the side. Yeah, this is more like it.
This is working out great! Got to make another set and start working on the top.
December 7, 2003
Another set of parts for the handle, after bending. Same size as the legs.
Glued the handles and finished the areas where glue was applied. Looks like a G5 all over... height 259mm * width 179mm * depth 183mm
All I have to do now is make a transparent part for the on/o
OK, apparently he didn't actually add a G5 and I forgot that there was no stock fan in the Cube (I'm thinking of the LCD iMac), but I still think this thing is going to overheat due to the lack of a chimney effect.
I have a website. It's about Macs.
There are laser drills and water jet drills and particle jet drills that are common in all types of industrial manufacturing, mining, tunneling, etc.