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Scratch Build – In Progress Project Pyramid

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by Gup, 3 Sep 2007.

  1. Macros_the_Black

    Macros_the_Black Yup.. I'm a f-ing reptile

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    hehe, well it remains to be seen if it comes out nice or not.. but that is my ambition at least. Yup.. it's gonna be a spaceship (I have almost made up my mind on which one out of four final candidates).. but don't want to give away more until I have the funds to start the project. :worried:

    Aah, the other way around. =)
    Wow! 11 EUR!! That's cheap! o_O Even if quality is less, it should be fine for building internal support structures and that kind of stuff, or is it really crappy? I wish I could get 1mm sheets at ~6 EUR / m²!! <8D¨

    Ur wlcm ^_^
     
  2. Gup

    Gup What's a Dremel?

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    Spaceship as model or as (HT)PC??..........(I cant wait to see ur idea as you have alot of same minded ideas as me..:D )

    They are oke but they tear very fast on bending. (I used them as the backplates on the pyramid for instance)
     
  3. Macros_the_Black

    Macros_the_Black Yup.. I'm a f-ing reptile

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    Well, it's going to be a proper model that will be the crown piece of a custom scratch build PC case.... (hehe, more similar minds than you know.. you see, I will have motorized stuff/effects on my case as well =) ...I'll try to speed up my research and design process, so I don't keep you waiting too long =) ;P)
    [edit]
    The thing is, I've had this idea for.. hmm... dang! it must be three-four years now!! o_O But something has always gotten in the way of realizing it... not thinking I could do it, no time, no money, etc..... but now I'm tired of waiting for the right circumstances. I'll do what I can, when I can with what I can get. =)
    [/edit]

    I see.. so ok for non bent pieces then.
     
    Last edited: 16 May 2008
  4. DXR_13KE

    DXR_13KE BananaModder

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    it would be amazing if someone made some speakers with the shape of the gates from stargate.... it would be further amazing if they managed to put a functioning iris on them.....
     
  5. ChaosDefinesOrder

    ChaosDefinesOrder Vapourmodder

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    That wouldn't be so hard to do really - if you think about what a standard speaker looks like - the cone and the "bulb" in the middle - then the iris pattern could be painted on the cone quite easily with the bit where the iris "crosses over" itself painted on the "bulb" part...:thumb:

    The problem with trying to make the speaker stand up on it's own like the stargate is that the speaker will not have the usual baffle surrounding it, severely affecting the sound quality - sound will project backwards as well as forwards, the resulting reflections cancelling out the sound you want. (Hooray for A Level physics...:D)

    There is a possible way to do it, however, if you use an NXT type speaker (flat surface speaker) - If you made a flat sheet in the shape of a stargate, painted it to look like one, then attached the NXT "vibrator" (for lack of a better word) like a Soundbug then that would work:idea: The steps or the ramp up to the gate would work perfectly as the stand!

    But then again, I could just be getting a little caught up in this and should probably shut up now!:hehe:
     
  6. Gup

    Gup What's a Dremel?

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    Man you make me curious now..!!...:D
     
  7. Gup

    Gup What's a Dremel?

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    Euh..............that would be a project on itself .....:D
     
  8. Gup

    Gup What's a Dremel?

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    Good to see ppl get inspired for it...:D
    The IRIS should me be automated then and open like in Stargate!!!...:D
     
  9. Gup

    Gup What's a Dremel?

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    Hello All,

    It's been a long time for any update due to illness and it prolly will be last one for a long time as i get a heavy operation.
    Still astonished about the time it takes to finish it.
    Over 1 year now on building it. Seems it has a long learning curve..:D

    Changed several things and added some new things.

    Changed external connections to spdif and hdmi as i got a new TV which has a HDMI connection.
    Added the Compact flashcard underneath the dvd player.
    Changed mechanics again to remove about all plastic part and glued parts as they kept on breaking. Most of
    the parts are now replaced with aluminium pieces.
    As i wanted a silent HTPC i added a fancontrol based on voltage control.
    I call it an "overdrive" fancontrol...:D
    Its based on lowering/increasing the voltage (DC-DC converter) which gives it a range of about
    6-14 volts (hence the overdrive for 14 volts).

    The designs for exterior are done with parts of preformed polystyreen glued with a mix
    of aceton and MEK (4:1). Advantage is it sticks right away and the mix keeps the plates
    straight instead of deforming it if you use pure MEK. Best way to apply it is with a syringe and less is better (1 drop is often enough)
    Painting job is done with copper and black and shoe-polish : it gives it a worn look which i liked.
    I have to give my wife the credits for it she did all the designs and painting.
    Last pics are from the finished pieces attached to the pyramid. The light look really kewl but that i will
    show on next update as it doesn't show well yet.

    Still alot to do!!


    The compact flash-card
    [​IMG]

    Changed glued/plastic parts
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    The fancontrol from test/design to PCB
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Exterior design

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]


    Painted designs

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Attached to the pyramid

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  10. Nooby4Ever

    Nooby4Ever 2 left hands

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    very nice =o
     
  11. ComputerKing

    ComputerKing <img src="http://forums.bit-tech.net/images/smilie

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    Hey buddy. Very nice work. What problem you are using to design that PCB??
     
  12. Macros_the_Black

    Macros_the_Black Yup.. I'm a f-ing reptile

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    I'm sorry to hear about your illness, and I wish you the best of luck with your surgery and recovery!!!
    Nice PCB! =)
    What is this MEK stuff?
    Pass creds forward to you wife from me, those panels look great!

    Keep up the good work, and I hope you get well soon!
     
  13. bigsharn

    bigsharn Officially demotivated

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    Bugger... my project after next was going to be stargate themed:p

    a) get well soon:)
    b) damn that looks good, you've done the Ha'tak vessels justice:)
     
  14. Gup

    Gup What's a Dremel?

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    Problem?
    I hope u mean what software i use....:D......It's Target3000! which is a pretty good schematic and PCB package and it's free..:)

    Tnx for the compasion i need it...
    I will pass it on, she did really a superb job on it and its fun to work on it both!
    MEK=Methyl-ethyl-keton. It's a kinda solution which bonds polystyreen (used by painters for cleaning)

    Tnx!....and don't let me stop you doing a stargate theme.....there are enough themes in there!!..:D
     
  15. TapperSwe

    TapperSwe What's a Dremel?

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    Hi Gup!,sry to hear about your health problems,but im happy to see that you have been working on the project,the painted parts do look awesome!.Have a nice weekend.

    Best regards.
     
  16. Gup

    Gup What's a Dremel?

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    @TapperSwe :

    Tnx.....i will pass it on to my wife..:D
    Progress is going good....almost all panels attached and it looks kewl. Its a big difference with the panels as the chopped wood and deterorated plexi, cables etc. make it look awfull.
     
  17. Lone_Wolf

    Lone_Wolf What's a Dremel?

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    looking good if it wasnt i would scream at you for botching up one of the ships of stargate sg1 and stargate
     
  18. Gup

    Gup What's a Dremel?

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    Hello,

    I am back again!

    The long delay was due to my illness. Surgerey didn't went well and I had to stay in hospital for more then 2 months. Still recovering from it (almost 3/4 of a year).

    Been working on the pyramid for last 2 months now as i wasn't satisfied with the workings of it.

    First problem was the overall heat of it. Due to the design and no ventilation happening the pyramid heated up to 60 C!!

    As all components are placed inside the pyramid, incl. PSU without possibility for fresh air intake, i had to change it.

    After long search I found solution in a DEll Powerbrick (DA-2 200W) and a combination with a PICO-PSU.
    As the overall power consumption can reach 120-130 watts (full load), it's about the max the PICO can handle.
    Now the PSU is outside the Pyramid the temperature dropped 10 C!!
    Idle its about 40 C and full load 50 C which is acceptable.
    I added a new fan for the GPU to keep it cool.
    Noise levels are almost non-excistent.

    The pico PSU

    [​IMG]

    New GPU FAN

    [​IMG]


    Next problem was the lights and door. I controlled these both by using the GPIO of the motherboard. Unfortunally on a RESET it also gave pulses to the door and lights. So the lights and door could go spontanious on and up. There was no way to control this behaviour.
    To fix it i redesigned the control. Instead of using the GPIO i used the LPT port. Unfortunally the LPT port does the same. It gives off bytes on reset and windows startup so the door and light still did spontanous things.
    I finally fixed it by using some control logic. A code has to be entered on the LPT port before both the door and lights are activated.

    LPT-port interface

    [​IMG]

    CLoseup

    [​IMG]


    As the Pyramid is designed to be used as a HTPC. I wanted to control everything by Remote Control.
    For this i used a IR-USB receiver (based on IgorUSB) which also has the nice option to control Power ON/Down and RESET with the remote (independed of windows).

    The IRUSB receiver

    [​IMG]



    Another issue is the combi of the PSONE screen and the HDMI (attached to a bravia LCD).
    On startup and reboot the GForce 8600GT sets the PSOne (attached through the DVI/VGA port) as primary display. So i can't see the boot screen and any adjustments in the BIOS i can only make if i detach the PSONE. Not a good option as its a pain in the ass to remove the cover.
    So i thought about an automated plug out of the PSONE screen. I finally came up with a timer that delays the recognition of the screen on boot (disabling pin 12 on the VGA connector). It works with a timer chip (555) that gets triggered by the onboard PS2 keyboard as i don't use this connection (i use a usb keyboard).


    DVI/VGA adapter with time delay

    [​IMG]


    Overall Look of the pyramid. Completly cramped with alot of PCB's :D:D:D

    [​IMG]




    Next thing is adjusting the door as it isn't running smooth at the moment.

    For final i will make some decent pics and a movie of it in action, probably this will take some time as the software has to be configured for it.

    See you all soon!!!!
     
  19. Matticus

    Matticus ...

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    Holy crap.

    I missed this when it was going on, was a bit before my time.

    I just read through and I have to say I love it.

    The way the side opens is fantastic. Glad to hear you are working on it again. I hope you get back to full health soon.
     
  20. ModMinded

    ModMinded Are you throwing that away?

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    Ditto! Sorry to hear about the poor health, and am glad to hear that you're feeling stronger and able to get back into the mod! :thumb:

    I'm subbed... gonna have to go back and read from the beginning as I really like the integrations and control options you've built in... gotta have ventilation! Can you make the top pointy bit of the pyramid out of mesh? or maybe select black layers between the side pieces can be black painted mesh? That should help with some airflow.
     

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