One of the signs of a true geek/nerd is the constant curiosity and drive to tinker with technology. What I mean here is to take it apart and see how it works 😉
Recently I had another inspiration for tech recycling and took some retired hardware apart: a drive bay tower.
Markings on “duct tape” to protect the case from scratches
While the drive bays got properly recycled the drive backplates should not go to waste so I decided to give them a new ‘home’.
After a quick visit to the local Maplin store in the hunt for the new case, the next step was all ready to go.
This finally provided a good opportunity to try the recently acquired ‘multi-tool’.
During this learning experience of how to use the tool and fitting hardware into a new case, the following main points crystalised:
- Prepare a pattern print of the cut out before attempting the milling.
- Use workbench if available rather than being too lazy to set it up.
- Check polarity and power consumption of LED before fitting.
- Don’t forget to add hot air gaps.
The finished product: open casket
A small test run over the USB 2 port showed that even after refitting it still works. I only had an inadequate power supply to hand so I hope the LED will actually light up properly in the end; so far it only hints at any HDD activity.
Overall I am very satisfied with the quality of the plastic on a £3.50 box from the shop around the corner.
This may lead to future refittings 🙂 Tech Recycling – I’m loving it!