EFIKube: Lego EFIKA case

[motorollin]

Ok, I was going to wait until this was finished to post anything but I'm excited :-) I am building a custom case out of Lego for my EFIKA. So far I have used about 320 Lego bricks.

The case was originally going to be a cube but it doesn't need to be that tall, so it is now square and will probably be about half as tall as it is wide/deep. However, I had already settled on the name "EFIKube" so it's staying, even if it's not geometrically accurate ;-)

Here is the case so far, which shows the basic design:
Link

The three small holes in the front will be for the power, reset and eject buttons. These will be made of coloured lego bricks with the pegs removed from the top, and the bricks at the bottoms of the holes will also have the pegs removed from the tops. This will allow the buttons to sit in the holes and operate switches behind.

The slit on the right hand side is obviously for the CD tray. This will be hidden by this piece:

Link

The pegs will also be removed from the top of the bricks on this piece, and from the bricks at the top of the slot in to which it fits. The whole piece will then be attached to the front of the CD tray and will (hopefully) be completely flush so the tray will be invisible.

Here's what is inside so far:

Link

The gadget in the top left corner is an IDE->USB adapter to allow the CD drive to be connected to the EFIKA. The black towers around the CD drive will hold it in place (but will need padding) and will also support a shelf above the CD drive for the motherboard. The tower in the bottom left of that photo will support the power/reset/eject switches. The wire running along the right edge of the CD drive is soldered to the eject switch to allow the drive to be ejected with an external button.

I need to go to the Lego shop and get the bricks for the switches, then to Maplin and find some suitable switches. Then I need to get my dremel out and try removing the pins from the bricks :nervous:

I'm also looking for suggestions on how to mount the ports in the back of the case. These will be extended away from the board so I don't need to mount the whole backplate. Ideas please! :-)

More updates (hopefully) soon!

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moto

[motorollin]

weirdami wrote:
Instead of removing the pegs, you could just use the smooth topped caps that Lego also makes.

I don't think they make them in the same dimensions as normal bricks. They do them in pieces 1/3 of the height, so I could stack up two of the ones which have pegs and one on top which doesn't, but I think you would see that they weren't normal bricks and the CD tray would be visible, which would defeat the object.

weirdami wrote:
There's a Lego "shop"? You in Denmark or something?

Nope, England.

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moto

[motorollin]

amiga_3k wrote:
Hehehe... Weirdami beat me to it. The 'smooth' stones should prevent you from taking the dremel.

As I said above, I can't find them in the same dimensions as normal bricks, only the thin ones. I would love to be proven wrong though! :-)

amiga_3k wrote:
I saw some USB-memorystick-inside-Lego-bricks on the net the otherday. What type of connectors do you need? I can only think of USB and VGA.

Exactly, USB and VGA. Power will be easy as it's 12v in to the mini PSU, so I can just make a hole in a brick. VGA and USB will be harder...

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moto

[motorollin]

amiga_3k wrote:
You can cheat a bit by running a 'thin' layer (so, one layer of 1/3 bricks) across the whole case, probably in some contrasting color like grey. It's a trick used by most of the designers.

Good idea! I'll definitely consider that! Cheers :pint:

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moto

[motorollin]

weirdami wrote:

Interested in how this project will grow.

Brick by brick. :-P

You beat me to it! :-D

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moto

[motorollin]

ZeBeeDee wrote:
No 'chicken lips' lego errrrr I mean logo? :lol:

/shakes head and slowly walks away

I am actually considering building an Amiga tick in to the side of the case, but I would have to use very small bricks for that and I'm not sure what effect it would have on stability. I'll experiment and if it's stable enough I'll leave it in.

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moto

[motorollin]

ZeBeeDee wrote:
Or something like this would be nice...

Its PC but still nice and adaptable for a miggy project.

That's pretty good. But I think mine looks a bit more classy ;-)

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moto

[motorollin]

TheGoose wrote:
LOL! Freaking Awesome. You need some little lego people inside too, you know the 'System Operator'

I intend to :-)

TheGoose wrote:
A little couch in there, you know make the place real nice.

If there's space I will do it just for you :-D

TheGoose wrote:
Danes build the best Lego computers.

We'll see about that!

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moto

[motorollin]

Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
With a nice window with little curtains in it. :lol:

I'll leave the soft furnishings to you, Speel ;-)

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moto

[motorollin]

Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
I suggest a confronting yet subtle mixture between baroque and minimalism, where the curly frivolity is being mercilessly shattered by straight lines and primary colours. :lol:

:lol: Where do you get this stuff? BTW I read that message to my other half and he now thinks you're mad ;-)

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moto

[motorollin]

taunusand wrote:
I live in Denmark, but my mom gave away my lego several years ago, because sho thought that I was to old to use it anymore  :cry:
Stupid parents  :madashell:

Anyway, I really like your projekt :-)

Thanks! My mum did the same. Shame as I now have to buy lots of lego for this project :roll: Buying it from Lego directly is so expensive, so I'm really glad I found this web site:

BrickLink

It's great! I bought just over 300 2x4 black bricks for £15 including postage. Lego charge 11 pence per brick which would have made that £33 plus postage! I've bought more bricks since then, so I've saved a LOT!

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moto

[motorollin]

I have had a delivery of Lego! :-D

Hidden CD panel in place:
Link

From the front:
Link

And removed to show how it was done:
Link


Thanks a lot to amiga_3k for the suggestion of running the thin contrasting lines around the case to help hide the CD drawer. Initially I was reluctant as I thought it would spoil the design, but did it anyway as I couldn't think of any other way to do it. But in the end I think the two white lines look really smart!

The hidden drawer is a bit of a tight fit in the front of the case so I'll have to be really careful when attaching it to the front of the CD-ROM. It will have to be perfectly in alignment otherwise it won't eject properly. This will be tricky!

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moto

[motorollin]

Another update!

Filed the studs off of the bottoms of the holes which the buttons will go in:
Link

Made some buttons from two 2x4 plates sandwiched together with a 2x2 tile on top:
Link

The buttons will eventually be red, yellow and green (power, reset and CD-ROM eject respectively) but I need to go to the Lego shop and try to blag three bricks for them.

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moto

[motorollin]

uncharted wrote:
Are you sure that comment was directed solely at Speel?  :crazy:

Well, his exact words were "he's mad". So he was either talking to me and referring to Speel, or talking to himself and referring either to me, to Speel, or to some unidentified referent ;-)

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moto

[motorollin]

ZeBeeDee wrote:
I see by the pictures, there is an empty grey expanse surrounding the case ... a good area for some  flowers and perhaps a few lego bushes?  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

Haha, maybe! I was actually planning to cut the surplus base away, leaving the case looking like a pure black box. But if you insist, I'll make a little lego garden ;-)

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moto