Is this feasible? Star Trek ship as a case

[hafa]

A couple of ideas that may constitute compromise:

1. Use a 2.5" SSD or even a 2.5" mechanical drive
2. Use integrated video; some of the newer boards with HDMI aren't half bad

 

[Enablingwolf]

I was thinking on hafa's suggestions combined with the wireless USB idea.

What if you used a USB ROM? Attach it to a wireless hub and walla.... You have a wireless ROM. I think doing a wireless USB for the HD would make it rather slow for the OS and such.

 

[QuietIce]

I've read through this thread and love the idea!

One thing I've seen no one mention is how all this is going to be held together. Plastics and fiberglass are fine if you're just holding more plastic and fiberglass but once you start trying to support metal (boards are full of copper) and water (in the nacelles) you'll need something more substantial. With the motherboard in the saucer and, I presume, your support post attached to the engineering section you're going to need some kind of re-bar or iron pipe to keep it straight. Boards weigh a lot from this perspective and putting it out on a 12" limb will make it seem like even more weight. I'd suggest a very stiff, steel rim around the saucer (with cross supports to hold the board) and a steel plate in the engineering section as your base anchor. The nacelles will also need some re-bar or pipe because of their water load.

The biggest problem with running the wires won't be running the cable itself but getting the plugs through the tight places. You might consider removing the pins from the sockets, threading the wire, then replacing the pins. Another (not as good) option would be to cut the wires and splice them back after the wire is threaded. On the other hand, if you have your base support frame in place you can run your wires with plugs attached (and your tubing for the WC) then add the outer pieces for the correct look.

For the tubing to the nacelles you can use regular 3/8" copper pipe (as small as thin-walled tubing but stronger). You'll need a very short piece of 3/8" tubing as a conector (to avoid issues at the nacelle end) but other than that it should work fine.

 

[JerkasaurusRex]

EnablingWolf: The problem really isn't the length or width of the motherboard for this project as the ship has a 16" diameter. It is really the height that I am having an issue with. But you did give me another idea. Maybe i can just build a 2nd computer on an ITX platform to use as a file server and store everything but the OS in there, this way the main project only needs a single OS drive. This would add a lot more expense and complexity to the project though.

Hafa:I was planning on using 2.5" or 1.8" drives from the start. As far as integrated video, the best one i can find is something with an ATI 42XX in it. I don't think that will cut it for Civ5 or SC3.

QuiteIce: You bring up a great point about having to support all the extra weight of the computer inside a plastic model. You suggested i use 3/8" copper pipe instead of tubing. Maybe the pipe itself could be used not only to transfer water to the blocks, but also be used to internally support the ship. The NCC-1701A wasn't very curvy like future ships like the 1701D so having straight pipe within it would be easy to implement. More specifically for the saucer though, what do you mean by a steel rim around it? Is it something almost like those tubing clamps that attaches to the engineering section at one end and is tightened to hold the saucer section in towards the engineering section? Also, would the cross-supports be inside or outside the ship?

Right now i am still on the fence about actually attempting this project as there are still a lot of problems and kinks which we have been talking about, and that we should continue to discuss. Even though I am on the fence, I am leaning towards doing this project. I plan on ordering up all the computer components by the end of august or early september, hopefully I can get some Labor Day sales or something. I'll be poking around the other forums trying to figure out what components to use based on size/weight and heat output. I plan on purchasing the models in mid-august so I can do a dry run of them and see what they actually look like in real life. After seeing them for real, the project might actually be impossible and I would change my computer build accordingly.

Either way, thanks for all the suggestions! The support I'm getting here is amazing but I still need more information! I wish i knew CAD or something so i could model this and see how it would actually work. So far, pencil and paper and my head have been the only place this project has been worked on. Please let me know of any problems, solutions, issues, or anything you can think of about how to make this project actually happen.

 

[QuietIce]

The steel ring and it's cross supports (maybe just a simple 'X'? - needs some thought) would be inside the saucer. Basically the ring would be just behind the vertical bulkheads (walls) at the outside edge of the saucer section. In fact, you could use it as a base for something like body-putty to form those outside walls leaving the plastic model pieces for the curvy upper and lower horizontal sections. The cross-braces would need to be relatively thin (maybe 1/8" hard steel I think would be enough) so you don't take up that precious vertical space you need inside the saucer.

I doubt 3/8" copper pipe would be structurally strong enough to support the water. What diameter and length would the nacelle res's be? You can figure the weight from that information. 1/2" copper pipe might be able to support them ...

 

[mrgettmann]

Just a different way of thinking about it, but what about using a flat case like a server for a base for the model for the MB and PSU, and have your pumps optical drive etc in the model?

As for the fluid in the res. I would suggest blue LEDs instead of dyed fluid. That stuff has a tendancy to break down after a while and bake onto your blocks.

Now that I think about it more, it might be easier to make your own alum model out of tubing that could fit "inside" the bigger plastic one and just hollow out and attach the plastic pieces to the alum frame. That way your system isnt relying on the plastic for support.

 

[Enablingwolf]

EnablingWolf: The problem really isn't the length or width of the motherboard for this project as the ship has a 16" diameter. It is really the height that I am having an issue with. But you did give me another idea. Maybe i can just build a 2nd computer on an ITX platform to use as a file server and store everything but the OS in there, this way the main project only needs a single OS drive. This would add a lot more expense and complexity to the project though.

Maybe explore a nebula cloud? Humor aside. Have you explored the idea of cloud computing for it... Small form factor and pass off the work to a machine using wireless tech. Cloud computing does have some strengths.

It may shrink the build by a factor of a lot.

 

[JerkasaurusRex]

Mrgettman: That might just be the ticket out with the server case. Maybe what I could do is have the mobo/components, drives, and slot loaded optical drive in the server case. I could even make it look like an LCARS display complete with isolinear chips on the inside and hide the actual components behind those. I could then have the NCC-1701A along with the shuttle above the LCARS console as sort of "holographic" historical recreations of something from the 23rd century.

This could be an option, but it sounds like an easy way out. I feel that if the computer is not in the ship, i might as well not even bother pretending the ship is my computer. I might as well build the computer in a regular case and build the ship just as a novelty for myself. It would save myself all the trouble of engineering this whole contraption as well as allowing me to actually OC the system since I probably wouldn't be able to in such a tight space with little ventilation.

Enablingwolf: Nice pun! I think i would actually be better off putting an entire ITX system in the ship and using it as a headless file server or HTPC with a bunch of high capacity external drives attached to it instead of having a low power system in there with a remote high power system. I will be moving into a small 1 bedroom apartment in NYC soon so I won't have much space for computers all over the place. That is why I am trying to have this as one single computer.

QuiteIce: That sounds like an interesting idea. That is what i was thinking all along with Jolly-Swagman's suggestion. Making my own cylindrical saucer out of metal and just using the model saucer sections as an external facade. The support struts you are suggesting are a great idea though to actually keep the saucer on the engineering section. Probably some sort of L-brace like on a bookshelf would work best as I probably won't have space to make arched braces and definitely not diagonal braces. Maybe 1/2" pipe will work, but i am not sure how much clearance I will have in vertical part of the engineering section. I'll have to check that out when i actually get the model. Also, copper piping will mean I will need to have a copper water block and make absolutely sure I don't have any other metals in the system to mess with the chemistry of my pipes and waterblock.

This project seems like it is coming together. I am going to draw up some sketches tomorrow and see how it works. I watched this video going over the model and getting a better sense of scale for it, the Nacelles seems pretty long but narrow. I would need a narrow tube to put in there, but getting in/out barbs on it will be a big problem. Also, i couldn't get a good sense of what the inside of the vertical section connecting to the saucer would look like.

 

[QuietIce]

Yeah - I've been looking at YouTube videos and the strut connecting engineering and the saucer is too thin for what I had in mind originally. A pair of 1/4" bars might fit through there but I think anything else would be too big. That also means you'll have to use Al for the saucer ring and you'll never be able to support a motherboard and video card up there (though I'm also of the opinion that modern IGPs are plenty for strategy games).

Those same videos also give a pretty good view of the nacelle struts and they are pretty thin. I've been thinking about a bank of four 1/4" copper pipes (tubing, really, at that diameter). If they're soldered together they might create enough structural support for the 5-6 oz. of water you'll have in each nacelle - assuming a 10x2" cylinder for each res.

I'll keep thinking about this until you get the model and can post up some dimensions to work with. I love engineering projects like this ...

 

[JerkasaurusRex]

After thinking about this a lot and getting all the great input from everybody here, i think that on my budget with my resources and skills, the project is not feasible for me. I am not saying the project is impossible, but somebody in my position probably would not be able to pull it off.

The reasons I believe this is as follows:

1. My budget includes both the computer components, as well as the necessary cooling equipment and whatever I will need to create the case. Currently i budgeted about $1,000 to the computer and $200 for the case. I don't believe this project will stay within budget if I am going to be buying extra components like wireless USB hubs, fashioning aluminum saucers with supports and fiberglass struts and using copper piping.

2. I don't believe I am skilled enough to even create a saucer out of AL, and my painting skills aren't good enough to actually finish the ship off. I was willing to attempt it, but with so many other shortcoming in the project, it is just another nail in the coffin.

3. A lot of the problems we have been discussing throughout this thread are substantial problems that can be overcome, but that are just not worth it in terms of time and money spent to get it to work right.

4. The computer will be at risk of overheating due to poor ventilation in the saucer, thus not allowing me to overclock.

5. Many of the workaround to the problems are basically taking the computer out of the ship, which defeats the purpose of the project.

6. Many workaround still do not meet the goals I set out to achieve.


Through all this, we have all learned a great deal, but after all this, I think this project will not happen. The purpose of this thread was to determine if this project was doable. I think what we have learned is that yes, it can be done, but it requires a great deal of effort, time, skill, and money. I only have one of those four things in abundance, maybe a bit of skill too, but in general, I am not cut out for this project. If anybody else is willing and able to do this, by all means go for it, as I would love to see this happen. Unfortunately, I am in no position to be the one to make it happen.

 

[BrianAbington]

if you have some fiberglass, metal, and paint skills you can make anything.

I remember a few years back on TechTV before it became G4, they showed a case that some one built them selves that was a life size Bender from futurerama.

It was the coolest thing I have ever seen.

Just buy a model for a reference and then build an enterprise of your own.

 

[JerkasaurusRex]

This project is now resurrected!

I have decided to do this again, but I have changed my parameters. Instead of the ship being my main rig like originally planned, i will build this as an HTPC instead. This simplifies this project a lot as I will not have to worry about water cooling, large video cards, and other big things getting in the way.

Currently the plan is to use an mITX board with an i3 using the onboard video. I still think the larger 18" model would work best for this. The only problem now I can think of is getting the power supply to fit in there. I am assuming at this stage that I will be able to fit all of the components in the saucer section, including a Blu-Ray drive.

I'll update with more info as I make decisions on components and conceptualize this a bit more. This resurrection is still in the early stages and I will come up with some goals for myself within the next few days.

As always, suggestions into how to fit things, where to put them, and how are greatly appreciated.

 

[Enablingwolf]

m-ITX power supplies can be very tiny. So finding room for it may not be as much of an issue as you would imagine.

On the other hand. A blueray ROM would require some thought. Some options may be a slim ROM or a little bit cheaper. Maybe even a laptop ROM.

Even if you can squeeze a full size ROM in there. Cutting a section of the saucer out and attaching it to the front bezel would be rather trivial. I have had a couple builds with hidden ROMs. It was not bad, but was not elegant mooshing the cover attached to the bezel. Looked very good, long as I wasn't mooshing.. My workaround was to just have a hotkey setup, for a vB script, to open and close the tray. Overall, it was really nice. (Long as I had the OS up and running, otherwise I had to moosh the cover.)

 

[TorqueRanger]

I do believe it has already been done before!!!!!

 

[mrgettmann]

IMO put the mobo in the saucer as planned and the PSU in the body, run the cords up the "neck" of the ship.

 

[JerkasaurusRex]

I do believe it has already been done before!!!!!

Pics or it didn't happen! Seriously, got any links? I'd love to see how somebody else did it so I can get some ideas.

EnablingWolf: I was already looking into those pico-ITX power supplies but the most powerful one is only 160W. I am not sure that will be enough, especially if I am putting in hard drives and a blu-ray drive. Also, the i3 on it's own is I think 93W. Also about the blu-ray drive, i was hoping to find a slot loaded drive so I wouldn't have to worry about a tray or anything and have it be completely discreet within the saucer. Just pop the disc into the front of the saucer and it loads up and when it ejects it comes out, like any other type of slot-loaded drives. Problem is I am not sure if I can find a slot loaded blu-ray drive, but then again I haven't actually looked yet.

mrgettmann: I was thinking of that too but i think most PSUs will be too wide for that section of the ship. That part of the ship is rather long, but also pretty narrow. I think maybe only 2" wide, maybe 3" but i doubt any more. Maybe a mini-ITX PSU would do the trick but I would have to look into it a bit more.

 

[QuietIce]

Maybe a pair of those mini-PSU's so you can mount them in-line down the engineering section ...?

 

[TorqueRanger]

Check this out!!!
http://www.valhallaarms.com/casemods/borg/borg.htm
http://www.neatorama.com/case-mod/
http://speedingcomputer.com/2007/11/custom-computer-case-mods/

 

[TorqueRanger]

Oh sorry man it was star wars not star trek

 

[JerkasaurusRex]

So I started a new thread in the HTPC section of the forum to go over components for an HTPC of this size.

For this thread I want to focus more on the practical matters of fitting all this into a ship and how to route cables and everything.

So as has been suggesting, the bulk of the PC will be within the saucer section, including the optical and storage drives. The PSU, if space permits can be put in the engineering section of the ship and have the cables routed up through the neck of the ship but I will have to see if that tube is wide enough and hollow enough to do it. I also need to think about a cooling solution for this. How am I going to ventilate this without it looking ugly? I can't really have an i3 in there without having some airflow.