Modding SSR-X by Dave Biro

http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/case-mod/2012/10/23/ssr-x-by-dave-biro/1

 

wow that is insane

 

so much awesome!

 

I'm sure it looks much better in person, but the front looks, well, a bit... Not good (For lack of a better word) i.e the carbon looks, in the photos, like 2 different weaves, or Bi directional?

Great project, I just don't think it looks finished.

 

@dodokiller. the trickest part about carbon fiber is laying it in a mold where a spray adhesive has been sprayed. The complex mold used in SSR-X used spray adhesive so when laying in carbon fiber by myself I didn't in some parts get it exactly right. If you try to take the carbon fiber out after laying in you destroy the weave and the fabric. This is all 2x2 twill weave used in this project.

I did not want to decal the covers all up with names and logos. I thought about it long and hard. Though traditional black projects by the US government have little to no marking on there projects.

Thanks

 

I am glad I wasn't the only one that found keeping the fiber straight and lined up an utter pain in the butt. It gave me a whole new appreciation when I see production carbon fiber items with all the fibers perfectly lined up.
Have you tried using an adhesive that doesn't have as fast of a set time as spray adhesive? I know fiddling with it tends to make everything worse most of the time, but a little bit of wiggle room can help considerably.

Also, make sure you are wearing a mask when you cut carbon fiber with that abrasive cutter, the dust is no good for the lungs.

 

Stunning, exceptional work
I've worked a lot with normal GRP (glass fibre to most people) including vacuum moulding the stuff although we used GRP male/female moulds with glass pre-cut to size and shape then laid in the mould and resin poured in and the moulds put together and vacuum hoses attached, we failed and failed and failed for ages to get good results because as you experienced getting the pour pattern correct is crucial, how you did that without solid moulds is ridiculous

Anyone that has not worked with CF needs to understand what a pain it is to work with and even after working a lot with GRP I don't think I would attempt CF in the shed..RESPECT

 

Amazing details and workmanship there. The part where you said you have scrapped 500$ worth of carbon fiber fabric, my soul weeped for you.
Just the front lacking the windows resembling the F-117A is what makes my nose twitchy because I just love that aircraft and its form. A minor detail that can't silence the whole work and result.

Blazing paths are always rewarding at the end, no matter how painful it may be.

Congratulations and hope you gain the MOTM award and some sponsoring to keep improving.

Side note: Have you decided to take advantage of the moulds to almost create a production line? A way to make some profit of that if you wanted. The moulds are done, the rest is "easier" to do

 

I have to admit it's not my favourite-themed mod, being a bit too bulky for a practical desk computer, but the work and design that's gone into it is fantastic.

 

So much effort. So much care. So much carbon-fiber. So much time. So much expense.

And yet...

It's one of my least favourite computers of all time. A computer squeezed into the stealth design costume is akin to a novelty toothbrush or a soup bowl carved from a human skull.

It's amusing if you're into that sort of thing but not something that wins any awards for practicality, aesthetic beauty or functional excellence.

I prefer mods that show incredibly original sleek design or offer some functional improvement that can't be obtained using off the shelf components.

But please don't be sad. I'm just not into wrapping gadgets up in fancy dress. It's a girl thing.

 

Awesome project Dave & good to see the article up.

It's missing a few of my favorite shots though.




If that isn't awesome modding done by 1 dude working a material like this for the first time in the way he did then I really don't know what is, it's an awesome result.

It's tempting to ramble a bit about the above comment but I will pass.
But I will say modders aren't paid for these articles which the modder writes themselves to a certain word & picture count after what is usually a request from bit-tech to the modder so try to keep that in mind when modders contribute an article, thank you.

If we were commissioned to make something to someones liking I'm pretty sure we could & I'm absolutely sure Dave could, complex geometry like that is hard to do but he managed it perfectly, tricky geometry is definitely Dave's thing in modding.

 

All that work on the roof, geez, I can't look, if it blew off

 

Thanks everyone for all the comments!!!!

 

Does it fly?

 

Having done actual composite work for aircraft, this is a lot harder than it looks. Great job!

As for the edges looking wavy and not crisp, there isn't too much that can be done short of using an autoclave or (way) more vacuum. Another idea would be to make smaller aluminium sections for moulding and combine them later for the finished product using carbon fibre strips or some other means. The CF strip idea would make it look like mostly one piece and you'd have to layer them small to bigger (the first layer closest to the pieces joined being smaller and the next one going on top overlapping a bit, etc).

If anyone is curious about aircraft application, the minimum vac level for any aircraft composite repair is 22 inches of mercury and the entire thing is cured via a hot bonder (for small jobs). You need a very specific stacking order inside the bag and direction of composite material is crucial. The weave type gives it more strength in certain directions and you must line it up according to the job. You then have a heating pad on top of the entire thing that's electrically controlled by the hot bonder (looks like a really expensive briefcase) using info from the temperature probes you need to have all over the place. You program the cure cycle to increase at a certain temperature rate, hold whatever temperature for a while, cool down at a specific rate, etc. Tons of options to set it with. The end result has to be perfect and there can be no de-lamination for obvious reasons. I've only done a few small repairs since I have no interest in making composites a career.

Like I said to those that never tried composite work, it's surprisingly hard to do. It can be fun though, more people should play around with this material.

 

Oh and for future reference - doing it small sections at a time can also save you a lot of money. Less CF to scrap if one of the pieces got boned instead of the entire thing
Sucks that you had to scrap so much material.

 

My god I remember seeing this when, Dave first started building it, its certainly taken some time, but my god does it look good.