Scratch Build – In Progress Project Pyramid

I wouldn't go for option2. Put 45 degree bevel cuts on the sides of the panels; then they'll meet at the corner point.

 

Yeah option 1 looks better and it flows more then option 2.

 

the first one

 

tnx all for the input!!....good to hear you all have the same idea as me....it only makes it more difficult in implementing ...
@radodrill.....the 45 degree cut isnt an option due to the moving plate : it would slam into the foam. (the moterized part is making it to difficult).
I tried your suggestion of the garage-movement : wont work. It still will slam into the other plates on first movement. If i want to solve it i have to change the movement to first go horizontally then moving up.

 

most impressive work, the door looks great, i even like the theme and im not a stargate person, excellent well thought out ideas, keep up the good work

Seth

 

I'll have to think about the door mechanism; I might come up with something for you that works better.

 

cutting

As on advice from radodrill, i thought about the 60/120 degrees cut of the foam. I came up with a little tool for cutting the foam.



As it has to cut in 2 directions its angled in 2 directions. Although the angle should be 60/120 degrees there is the problem that the foam will strech during cutting, so i had to do a trial and error to get the right angle and speed at which to cut the foam. For anyone who is ever going to use foam. 1 tip : if u cut it, let the blade " grab" the foam and then let the foam loose ( don't hold it tight with your hands) and cut fast. This way u get a clean cut, otherwise if you hold it tight it will tear.

Here is an example i got now of a clean cut.



The angled cut i can use for 2 sides of the pyramid, the other 2 sides have to be straight (and angled on the end). Thats the next thing to figure out..

 

The best way to cut foam is actually with a hotwire. Use a thin wire (~.5mm dia) and fasten it to a bow to keep tension on the wire (be sure that the the wire holders are insulated) then apply an AC current across the wire. The wire will heat up and allow you to make nice smooth cuts. You'll just have to have guides on both sides of the material to ensure you get a straight even cut.

 

Didnt try that. As i thought it would melt the foam to badly to give a clean "cut".

 

Actually works quite well; you just need a way to adjust the current or voltage (wire temp control) so you can compensate for different foams. Less dense foam needs to be cut with a lower temp. If the temp is too low then it won't really cut; but if the temp is too high then the cut will be pretty $h*tty.

 

I'll add my for the Stargate theme.

How stuck are you on looking exactly like the pyramids in the pics? If you deviate a little from those you might be able to fix your clearance issues on the door (BTW: good call with the counterweight) Here's my idea:

You see how the pyramid has the slot up one side? what if you added another on each side close to the corner like this:

Code:

              ..........             
 __ ____ ____.__        .
|_______________|door    .
 |             | ..........extra slots
||  cut away   ||        .
||  view from  ||       .
||    top      ||      .
||             ||     .
||             ||    .
 |_____________| ....
|__ _________ __|   .
             .     .
              .....

That way the corner could slide with the door kind of like your idea for the top in post #32
Additionally you could put another cut nearer the top and make the top move with the door like this:

Code:

                             /\
                            /__\
                           /
                          /
       /\                /
      /__\              /__
     /    \            /    \
    /______\          /______\
   /        \                 \
  /__________\       __________\
 /            \                 \
/______________\   ______________\

One thing I learned from when I did finishing carpentry: If you can't hide a problem (/challenge) make it a look intentional.

(or in geek speak: MS would call this "adding a feature")

 

TnX alot ...

 

1) First part i dont understand...perhaps a drawing...
2) Exactly!!...your idea was the same as i had......solving it by making the top a kinda hat. Only thing i dont like about it is that it looks silly...

 

I don't think the second idea looks too bad actually, but that's only my opinion.

Anyway, great work, nice theme. Keep up the good work!!

 

If you look at a brick wall you will notice that the corner bricks are not cut at 45 to be joined but that both sides share a single corner piece. I'm suggesting something like that but where that corner brick moves with the one side.

Code:

        /\
       /__\
      /----\
     /______\  Original with vertical slot on one side
    /---||---\   and horizontal slots around
   /____||____\
  /-----||-----\
 /______||______\
/-------||-------\

                               /\
proposed with slots on        /__\
             corners         //
                            //
        /\                 //
       /__\               //
      //--\\             //--\\
     //____\\           //____\\
    //--||--\\          /--||--\\
   //___||___\\        /___||___\\
  //----||----\\      /----||----\\
 //_____||_____\\    /_____||_____\\
//------||------\\  /------||------\\

I hope that's clearer

True but you'll mostly only see it from the front where that bit won't stick out as much -shrug-.

On another note: Once upon a time I was looking at that same board but some sites said the PCI-e slot was only connected as a 1x slot (even though it will hold a 16x card). Can you confirm or refute that?

 

As i understand your suggestion you mean a kinda box in a box idea. That wouldnt be necessary if u make a moving "Top". The second idea of the hat. That would work without an additional layer.
But i think i have found a better solution. A bit of faking a Top :




This way i have to change nothing on the motorized part.

The board has a full pci-e 16x slot. Atleast the connector is one (all pins are soldered and connected to components on the board). And the ATI HD2400 works with it (thats a pci-e 16x card).

 

new cutting tool

After cutting parts of the foam, which ended up pretty good, i tried to cut the upper triangles. This is a nogo with only a cutting blade. As Radodrill already pointed out : the best way cutting foam is to use a hotwire.
As i only needed to cut a few inner angled sides and for this building a foamcutter, seems to be a bit overdone.
As i have a solder-iron for bigger things i thought of using that. I came up with the next construction :



Close-up :



I used a scalpel blade and attached it to the solder-iron. Making a angled construction onto it and a guide for the foam.

.......after a few try's on heating time and pulling speed of the foam.........Works perfect!!


So finally foam cutting parts are done!!!........next will be the wooden inner sticks.

 

update 21-9-2007

After a week on holiday in Barcelona, here is an update of the project.

The sticks between the foam are finished and carved to give it a better look.
Elastic rubber has been put on the foam pieces.
For the cd and buttons 1 side plate had to be cut. (buttons for power/reset/manually control of motorized part)

BTW : As a side note : the Exterior is done by my wife!!....she deserves the credits for it.....talking about modding with ur soulmate......

Here some pics on how it was done :

Carving the sticks :


Finished pieces :


Elastic rubber on foam :


mould for the cd and buttons :


The cutted plate :


Cutting the foam for cd :


Finished side plate with buttons and cd :

 

THat's is slick IDEA! EGypt Pyraminds 2007 love it man love it

 

Hehe, TnX!.........pyramid shape fever is every where i think......