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The Caffeine Machine |
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With more and more people buying computer cases with windows, cold cathodes, bay buses, even custom paint jobs, the truly hardcore case modders are quickly finding themselves having to search harder and harder for an original case mod. Everyone has done black cases with blue lights. Everyone has installed case windows, cut blowholes, and maybe even installed a baybus. The modding community needs fresh, new ideas, and I believe I may have one.
This idea came me one day when I realized 1) I drink a lot of coffee and 2) I spend a lot of time at the computer. I'd already gone through several coffee pots when it suddenly struck me: why not integrate a coffee maker into a computer case and get the best of both worlds? Thus began the search for The Caffeine Machine.
First, it's necessary to take a look at how coffee makers work. They are extraordinarily simple devices, with three major components:
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Water is poured in through an opening and temporarily held in a tank.
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The tank is connected to a heating element via a one-way valve.
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When the heating element is turned on, the water boils and expands. The one-way valve prevents it from going back into the tank, so the only place for the heated water to go is out, where it falls into the filter and makes coffee.
The next part involved a lot of brainstorming and trying to come up with a setup that would work. Here's some preliminary sketches I did:
The next part of the design phase involved selecting the case and the coffee maker. I was a little concerned about space requirements, as fitting both the coffee maker and the actual computer components together would require a bit of shoehorning. Ultimately I settled on the InWin Q500 case due to its full tower size, simplicity, high-quality steel construction, and low cost. A picture from the manufacturer's website:
As for the coffee maker I settled on a $15 White-Westinghouse 4-cup coffee maker from the local K-Mart. Unfortunately there wasn't enough room available in the Q500 for a larger-capacity version. Another factor was that the manufacturer used normal, Philips screws, whereas the bottom of most other coffee makers have funky screws, clearly designed to keep people from tinkering with them (this is from my Mr. Coffee pot):
After completing some initial measurements, I decided to build an enclosure for the coffee maker portion out of sheet metal, which I felt would be easy to work with but sturdy enough for my purposes. Looking around town, I was able to get a 3' x 3' sheet from the local sheet metal store for about $14. The next stage involved sketching out how the pieces were going to be cut and how they would fit together:
Note to anyone attempting this or any other significant mod: I cannot stress enough the importance of figuring things out on paper before starting. I actually had to redo the coffee maker enclosure twice because I didn't measure it correctly or because one of the pieces didn't fit correctly. The old adage of "measure twice, cut once" certainly applies here, so make sure you know what you're doing before you pick up that Dremel! With that in mind, I drew up the diagrams I used to make the enclosure, taking into consideration how all the pieces would fit together:
With some solid measurements, the next step involved sanding down the Q500 to the metal and then removing a significant chunk from the front of the case. For sanding purposes, I used a sanding disc with 80 grit sandpaper (I'm impatient), steel brushes for the Dremel, and hand sanded only when absolutely necessary. This took only about ten hours or so to complete. Cuts were made using the reinforced cutting wheels for the Dremel (note the missing portion):
I then cut the enclosure pieces using reinforced cutting wheels for the Dremel to have greater control over the small corners and tiny cuts that had to be made. I then formed the pieces by taking the cut piece of sheet metal, putting it in a vice grips, and then using a hammer to bend the metal. Finally, the pieces were attached by means of a pop riveter. I decided at this point that I was going to install a hot plate on the top of the case as well--more on that in a bit.
