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A project log for HTPC in DVD Recorder Case

Building a Home Theater PC (Media Centre) in an old Sony RDR-GX3 DVD Recorder

rainingheavyRainingheavy 07/28/2016 at 19:460 Comments

I've punched the 'counter-bores' for the screws that will be used to hold the DVD plate onto the chassis. They didn't come out as well as I'd hoped, but they work.

I left off last time with the punch set banging holes through the steel instead of forming it. I enlarged the die hole and tapered and smoothed the punch, which helped. I could punch on a hole and it would simply enlarge the hole and flare it, but it wasn't tearing.

I tried to punch without the hole, which was a lot harder to align. Every time it would BANG! and the metal would tear. I also tried annealing the steel by heating it red hot and letting it air cool, but it didn't make much of a difference.

I drilled another die hole in the other end, shorter than the punch, with the thought of using it as a two step process. This made a big difference - the metal didn't tear on the first side, and only just tore once the die was flipped. However, trying to drill the screw hole in the middle was a pain. I need a pillar drill...

In the end I settled for punching on a hole, just using the short die. After a practice try, I ran it on the DVD mount and it produced four enlarged holes, counter-bored, with just enough metal at the bottom for a flange screw to hold.

With the screws in place the DVD drive slides over no problem. Now I need to draw and cut the adapter plate.

Also, I've ordered a PSU. It's a 250 Watt flex-ATX, which is quite a bit smaller than standard ATX PSUs.

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