hdd mod (in the box)

[blakerwry]

From the mp3's you can tell a difference in pitch... but the graphs dont show much difference. I need to do a closer examination of the graphs to see where exactly this change is occuring frequency wise.

The steel sandwich cost about $40... and several hours of time.

$25 : 12" square .25" thick steel plate
$5 : Metal cutting blade for circular saw
$4 : Foam
$4 : lead
$4 : plaster

The USPS box cost me about 5-10 minutes of time and $0.... however, with the USPS box I would need to add some type of cooling.. air cooling through a 60MM fan or water cooling... overall, I'd say the USPS box does a decent job, esp if you have a quiet case... you also don't have to worry about the usps box touching something and shorting things out...

so, if I were to recommend things to a friend, I would say a USPS box with a fan... or buy a pre-made unit that says it will support your drive...

 

[blakerwry]

smartdrive 2000 seems like a decent product
http://www.googlegear.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=143901
http://www.directron.com/smartdirve.html
http://us.st7.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/directron_1730_110365

 

[blakerwry]

woohoo, HDD doesnt seem to get above 100F (37.7C) with my case closed

 

[jtr1962]

$25 : 12" square .25" thick steel plate
$5 : Metal cutting blade for circular saw
$4 : Foam
$4 : lead
$4 : plaster

1 silent hard drive: priceless

The best things in life are free. For everything else there's MasterCard­®

 

[powergyoza]

As I said over at SPCR, very ambitious and daredevilish project my fellow hdd silencer. Got a couple concerns, because I've had the same idea to work with lead as well. Not plates like you mind you, but I was going to "gift wrap" my Maxtors in 1/32" thick lead foil (2 lbs / sq.ft. - 32 STC).

My fellow die-hard silencers have brought up the concerns of the toxicity of lead. There's talk of the lead getting airborne. Is this a concern for you? Do you have a way of dealing with it? I'm planning to line the exposed lead with Al kitchen foil so no more skin or air contact.

 

[blakerwry]

I'm not really worried... when I melted the lead, I did it outside and stayed upwind of any fumes... I also wore gloves, although I could have worn a respirator...

lead dust is another concern, definately do not use powertools to manipulate your lead... they will throw dust up in the air... you probably also dont want to sand or file the lead becasue of the "dust" they create. Wet sanding with coarse paper might be OK.

For the most part I used gloves when working with the lead, however I washed my hands after handling it.


I dont think lead is as toxic as you might think. Your main concerns would be birth defects/developemental problems in pre-adolescents. You certainly dont want to ingest or inhale lead, but I dont think handling it will hurt you.

To tell you the truth, I was more worried about the steel, I was using a table saw to cut through it and was worried about inhaling the dust.. I was out of paper dust masks... I probably should have used one of our gas masks or respirators.


I assume you want to use the lead foil to act as a conductor that will transfer heat from sides and top of the drive to the exterior (vs me just using the top of the drive)... sounds like a neat idea.
Perhaps you have seen the idea of jtr, using two side pieces to transfer heat away from the sides and to the top.




I got some final pictures ready:
Making of the lead cast
The sandwich installed
Taking the drives temperature

 

[powergyoza]

Yeah, i wasn't gonna use powertools to manipulate the lead. Most likely just repeated scoring with a utility knife. I'll prolly work with a dust mask + gloves anyway so I should be safe.

Once I have my lead sheet "acoustic gift wrap" done, I imagine that lead would be pretty stable in my case even as the air passes by it. Lead particles don't just magically loosen and fly off do they?

I tried searching for jtr's stuff, but found not trace. Can you post a link?

BTW - you've seen all the craziness I went through with sidesinks and foam enclosures and rubber boxes didn't you? If not: http://www.silentpcreview.com/modul...ns&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=66&page=1 and also the link in my sig.

 

[blakerwry]

Yeah, i wasn't gonna use powertools to manipulate the lead. Most likely just repeated scoring with a utility knife. I'll prolly work with a dust mask + gloves anyway so I should be safe.

Once I have my lead sheet "acoustic gift wrap" done, I imagine that lead would be pretty stable in my case even as the air passes by it. Lead particles don't just magically loosen and fly off do they?

I tried searching for jtr's stuff, but found not trace. Can you post a link?

BTW - you've seen all the craziness I went through with sidesinks and foam enclosures and rubber boxes didn't you? If not: http://www.silentpcreview.com/modul...ns&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=66&page=1 and also the link in my sig.

Earlier in this thread, jtr mentioned his ideas on an improvement that he thought he might implement in a project of his own...

I imagine his project as being similar to mine, with the exception that he will use side sinks that attach to the top and bottom plates... he also mentioned fins to increase surface area(and thus heat transfer through convection) on the plates... this sounds like an interesting project if he decides to do it, however I would recomend he just buys a retail unit unless he enjoys the project in a philosophical sort of way... :wink:

yes, i've seen the crazyness.. infact, it was your projects that inspired me to do my own.

 

[powergyoza]

Oops, i didn't check the names in the thread.

Rock on blakerwry et al. Not too loudly though okay? Then we'd be missing the point. :lol:

 

[blakerwry]

Yeah, i wasn't gonna use powertools to manipulate the lead. Most likely just repeated scoring with a utility knife. I'll prolly work with a dust mask + gloves anyway so I should be safe.

Once I have my lead sheet "acoustic gift wrap" done, I imagine that lead would be pretty stable in my case even as the air passes by it. Lead particles don't just magically loosen and fly off do they?

I tried searching for jtr's stuff, but found not trace. Can you post a link?

BTW - you've seen all the craziness I went through with sidesinks and foam enclosures and rubber boxes didn't you? If not: http://www.silentpcreview.com/modul...ns&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=66&page=1 and also the link in my sig.

Are you worried that your gift wrap might short out a component on the circuit board side of the drive?