Project HELIOS - Beginnt 10.01.10

[TheLanger]

You'll have to forgive me, I don't speak German so I'm going to do my best with online translators.
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Sie müssen mir verzeihen, ich spreche kein Deutsch, also werde ich mein Bestes tun, mit Online-Übersetzer bin.




Design Features:
- Crafted from the worlds highest grades of composite materials and carbon fiber.
- Showcasing some of the finest watercooling components and computer hardware.
- Designed to hide every fastener, nut and bolt.
- A lack of case windows leave the motherboard bare and exposed.
- High-tech and specially engineered ceramic foam filters and stainless steel mesh keep out dust.
- Made from virtually indestructible panels over 8MM thick.
- Taking advantage of air pressure zones to keep hardware dust-free.
- Fully removable motherboard tray without disconnect or power-down.
- Highly modular design makes part-swapping as simple as possible.
- Sleek minimalist design is a call back to swiss modernism and bauhaus principals.
- Design and fabrication methods tailored to an extreme rapid fabrication cycle.
- HELIOS is to be a scratch build mod, truly, like no other.
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Design Features:
- Hergestellt aus den Welten höchsten Graden von Verbundwerkstoffen und Kohlefaser.
- Präsentation einige der schönsten Wasserkühlung Komponenten und Computer-Hardware.
- Entworfen, um jede Schraube, Mutter und Schraube zu verbergen.
- Ein Mangel an, falls Windows das Mainboard nackt und ausgesetzt.
- High-Tech-und speziell konstruierte Schaumkeramikfilter und Edelstahlgewebe Staub fernzuhalten.
- Hergestellt aus nahezu unverwüstlichen Panels über 8mm dick.
- Ausnutzung des Luftdrucks Zonen zu halten Hardware staubfrei.
- Vollständig abnehmbarer Mainboardschlitten trennen oder ohne Power-Down.
- Hoch modulare Design macht Teil-Swapping so einfach wie möglich.
- Sleek minimalistische Design ist ein Rückruf zur Moderne und Bauhaus-Prinzipien Schweizer.
- Design und Fertigung maßgeschneiderte Methoden zur schnellen Herstellung einer extremen Zyklus.
- HELIOS ist ein Kratzer zu bauen mod, wirklich, wie kein anderer sein.


Hardware List:
Computing:
Processor - 1x unknown
Graphics - 3x nVidia GeForce GTX 480
Motherboard - 1x unknown
Memory - 12GB unknown
Power - Corsair AX1200
Storage - 8x 120GB SSD
Display - 3x Asus VW266H 25.5"

Cooling:
Processor - 1x AquaComputer Cuplex Kryos XT
Graphics - 3x unknown
Motherboard - 1x unknown
Radiators - 2x HW Labs GTX480 (3x140mm)
Tubing - 20' Tygon AS600038
Fans - 13x NB-BlackSilentPro PK-3
Pumps - 4x Laing DDC-1plus
Pump Tops - EK-DDC Dual Top V2
Memory - Mips RAM Kühler6
Fittings 1 - 10x 3/8" Straight Rotary Fitting
Fittings 2 - 20x 3/8" 45 Degree Rotary Fitting
Fittings 3 - 20x 3/8" Angle Rotary Fitting
Fittings 4 - 10x Low-Profile Stop Fitting
Fittings 5 - 16x Fitting Spacer
Fittings 6 - 16x Mini Fitting Spacer
Fittings 7 - 8x No-Spill Quick Disconnect Female
Fittings 8 - 8x No-Spill Quick Disconnect Male
Fittings 9 - 4x 2-Slot Crystal Sli-Link Tube
Fittings 10 - 3x Mini Sli-Adapter

Fasteners and Hardware:
Polyethylene Spacer - 40x 3/16”OD x .115”ID x 3/8” (McMaster - 92825A009)
SS Dowel Pin - 50x 3mm x 6mm (McMaster - 91585A051)
SS Press-Fit Threaded Insert - 5x 1/4-20 x 1/2” (McMaster - 92394A116)
SS Press-Fit Bushing - 4x .257”ID x 1/2”OD x 1/4” (McMaster - 8492A155)
SS Knurled Thumb Screw - 4x 1/4-20 x 3/4” x 1” (McMaster - 91830A577)
Wool/Rayon Adhesive Back Felt - 1x 24” x 32” x 3/64” (McMaster - 8770K3)
SS Low Head Socket Cap Screw - 75x M4 x 30mm (McMaster - 92855A425)
SS Knurled Thumb Screw - 24x 6-32 x 1/2” x 1/4” (McMaster - 91746A536)
SS Low Head Socket Cap Screw - 25x 6-32 x 3/4” (McMaster - 93615A210)
SS Self-Lock Flat Head Cap Screw 25x 10-32 x 1” (McMaster - 92805A268)
SS Male-Female Standoff - 18x 6-32 x 3/16”OD x 3/16” (McMaster - 91075A461)
Hinge / Lid Support - 2x 1.744” x 5.313” (McMaster - 14785A51)

Materials:
- 8MM thick CNC cut carbon composite panels crafted to the strictest military specifications
- 2MM thick thermoset carbon composite panels made for aerospace applications
- Stainless Steel hardware throughout
- Stainless Steel micro-weave mesh
- Felt dampening
- Polyethylene to reduce friction in modular areas.
- Custom engineered ceramic foam air filters
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Material:
- 8mm dick geschnitten CNC Carbon-Verbundplatten den strengsten militärischen Spezifikationen gefertigt
- 2mm dick Duroplast Carbon-Verbundplatten für Luft-und Raumfahrt gemacht
- Edelstahl-Hardware im gesamten
- Edelstahl-Micro-Mesh-Gewebe
- Felt Feuchtmittel
- Polyethylen, um die Reibung in modularen Bereichen zu reduzieren.
- Custom Keramikschaum Luftfilter entwickelt

Specifications:
Size - 206mm Wide - 610mm Tall - 610mm Deep
Weight - unknown
Performance Statistics - unknown


Design, Prototypes, Mockups and Fabrication log to follow.
======
Design, Prototypen, Modelle und Fabrication log zu folgen.

*j

---------- Beitrag hinzugefügt um 20:23 ---------- Vorheriger Beitrag war um 20:22 ----------

INDEX:
Konzept, Gestaltung und Planung
First Stage 3D-Prototypen

---------- Beitrag hinzugefügt um 20:23 ---------- Vorheriger Beitrag war um 20:22 ----------

*reserved for final/current image*
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*Für die endgültige / aktuelles Bild vorbehalten*

---------- Beitrag hinzugefügt um 20:28 ---------- Vorheriger Beitrag war um 20:22 ----------

INITIAL CONCEPT ILLUSTRATION:
Using Adobe's Illustrator I created a couple rough perspective drawings, so that I could get a better idea of the concept in my head:
-At this point the plan was to construct the case in Aluminum.
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anfänglichen Konzept ILLUSTRATION:
Mit Adobe Illustrator's habe ich ein paar grobe perspektivische Zeichnungen, so dass ich eine bessere Vorstellung von dem Konzept in meinem Kopf zu bekommen:
-An diesem Punkt war der Plan, den Fall in Aluminium zu konstruieren.



REVISION 1.0:



REVISION 2.0:
After talking with the community and doing some more planning myself, I made some changes to the plan.
-Altered some of the chassis dimensions.
-Trashed the idea of stacked radiators.
-Relocated the pumps and reservoirs.
-Added a downward facing PSU fan, which would later be scrapped.
-Finalized the tubing layouts.
-Changed from 360MM radiators to 420mm
-Changed the fabrication material to Grade 38 Titanium
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Version 2.0:
Nach einem Gespräch mit der Gemeinde und tun etwas mehr Planung selbst, habe ich einige Änderungen an dem Plan.
Altered-Chassis einige der Dimensionen.
-Trashed die Idee des gestapelten Heizkörpern.
-Verlegte die Pumpen und Reservoirs.
-Es wurde eine nach unten gerichtet Netzteillüfter, die später verschrottet würden.
Abgewickelte den Schlauch Layouts.
-Geändert von 360mm Radiatoren für 420mm
-Changed die Herstellung Material Grade 38 Titanium



REVISION 3.0:
I again posted my designs for the community to critique and made some very minor alterations yet again.
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Revision 3.0:
Gesendet ich wieder meine Entwürfe für die Gemeinschaft, Kritik und machte einige sehr geringfügige Änderungen noch einmal.




REVISION 4.0:
At this point I was getting some really good feedback online and started putting it into practice.
-I redrew the entire design with new dimensions.
-Plotted the wiring paths.
-Refined the tubing layouts.
-Finalized the pump and reservoir positions
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REVISION 4.0:
An dieser Stelle erhalte ich ein paar wirklich gute Feedback online war und begonnen, sie in die Praxis.
-I neu kartografiert das gesamte Design mit neuen Dimensionen.
-Zeichneten die Verdrahtungswege.
Raffiniertes der Schlauch-Layouts.
Abgewickelte die Pumpe und Reservoir Positions




PAPER PROTOTYPE:
It was now that I decided to take my design and bring it into the physical plane. The medium I decided upon was cardboard and tape - the board I used is the same stuff one would use to matte pictures when framing.
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Papier-Prototyp:
Es war jetzt, dass ich mein Design nehmen und bringen sie in die physische Ebene entschieden. Das Medium I beschlossen wurde Pappe und Klebeband - das Board habe ich das gleiche Zeug würde man benutzen, um Bilder matte bei der Gestaltung.









REVISION 5.0, current and FINAL revision:
Happy with the prototype and the general concept, I decided it was time to finalize the plan and fix the little issues. This revision I've kept to myself until this now. I've made many very small changes to the plan.
-I again completely redrew the design, this time with 8MM thick paneling.
-I added small routered grooves where the panels fit together to better hide the seams.
-Altered the relationships of components and their positions.
-Finalized the design for the PSU cavity.
-Beveled all the edges of the cuts - to compensate for the diameter of the 1/8" cutting tool on the CNC router.
-I also swapped out the Titanium for a Carbon Fiber construction instead (I'm going to save the Titanium I acquired for another project down the road).
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Revision 5.0, aktuelle und letzte Überarbeitung:
Glücklich mit dem Prototyp und den allgemeinen Begriff, beschloss ich, es war Zeit, den Plan fertig zu stellen und die kleinen Probleme zu beheben. Diese Revision habe ich mich bis zu diesem jetzt gehalten. Ich habe viele sehr kleine Änderungen am Plan vorgenommen.
-Ich wieder völlig neu kartografiert das Design, diesmal mit 8mm dick Verkleidung.
-I hat kleine Rillen routered wo die Platten zusammen passen besser zu verbergen allen Nähten.
-Altered die Beziehungen der Komponenten und ihre Positionen.
Abgewickelte das Design für die PSU Hohlraum.
-Beveled alle Kanten der Schnitte - für den Durchmesser des 8.1 "Schneidwerkzeug auf der CNC-Router zu kompensieren.
-Ich habe auch die ausgelagerten Titanium für eine Carbon-Faser-Bau statt (ich gehe zum Speichern der Titanium ich für ein anderes Projekt auf der Straße) erworben.





---------- Beitrag hinzugefügt um 20:32 ---------- Vorheriger Beitrag war um 20:22 ----------

I've been working with an engineer, and friend of mine named John Dalton, who has graciously offered up some time to throw together a 3D mock-up. He sent me off the first revision of his model today.
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Ich habe mit einem Ingenieur gearbeitet, und mein Freund namens John Dalton, der gnädig up hat einige Zeit, um gemeinsam ein 3D-Mock-up zu werfen angeboten. Er schickte mich von der ersten Überarbeitung seines Modells heute.

There are couple of minor errors, due to my vague explanations:
-In this model the motherboard backplate is flipped 180deg
-The SSD mounts are affixed to the side panels instead of the rads
-the motherboard tray is just floating in space.
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Es gibt einige kleinere Fehler, aufgrund meiner vagen Erklärungen:
-In diesem Modell wird das Motherboard Backplate 180 Grad umgedreht
-Die SSD-Dämpfer sind die Seitenteile anstelle des Rads befestigt
-Der Motherboard-Einsatz ist nur im Raum schweben.

They are such minor issues that I have no problem at all sharing some previews with you. And John already agreed to rectify the issues for me on Monday.
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Sie sind wie kleine Probleme, ich habe überhaupt kein Problem, teilen einige Previews mit Ihnen. Und John bereits darauf geeinigt, die Fragen für mich zu korrigieren am Montag

You can CLICK HERE for a live model preview which you can rotate around and navigate in 3D space.
Unfortunately this HTML export from SolidWorks is only supported by IE, and on PC.
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Sie können Klicken Sie hier für eine Live-Vorschau-Modell der Sie sich drehen kann, und navigieren Sie im 3D-Raum.
Leider ist diese HTML-Export aus SolidWorks wird nur von IE unterstützt wird, und auf dem PC.


Here's an ISO view with perspective.
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Hier ist ein ISO-Ansicht mit Perspektive.



Side view with perspective:
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Seitenansicht mit Perspektive:



View of the back and side of the chassis.
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Profil des Rückens und der Seite des Chassis.



A couple of detail shots of the bottom.
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Ein paar Detailaufnahmen von der Unterseite.



Note here how I managed to save some space by routering out some spots in the chassis and side-panel. These will allow for a couple extra millimeters for the pumps and PSU fan.
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Beachten Sie hier, wie ich etwas Raum durch routering einige Flecken in der Chassis-und Side-Panel speichern verwaltet. Diese werden für ein paar Millimetern ermöglichen extra für die Pumpen und PSU-Fan.


---------- Beitrag hinzugefügt um 20:44 ---------- Vorheriger Beitrag war um 20:22 ----------

That's all I have to share for today.
I'll have the revised model as well as some renderings to show you all next week.
As well, next week, I'll share some pictures of the manufacturing process behind the composite panels. Perhaps even some shots of them being CNC cut to spec.
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Das ist alles, was ich für heute zu teilen.
Ich nehme das überarbeitete Modell sowie einige Renderings zeigen Ihnen die ganze nächste Woche.
Wie gut, nächste Woche werde ich einige Bilder des Herstellungsprozesses hinter der Verbundplatten. Vielleicht noch ein paar Aufnahmen von ihnen sind CNC geschnitten spec.


*j

[whuzabi]

wow that looks awesome. great idea. if u realy start this projekt in january maybe there will be no complications until now

want to see some real pic´s

lets go und make it real

[TheLanger]

Thanks a lot for the comment.
The date 10.01.10 is October 1st, 2010.
That's when I'll post the first fabrication pictures. =)
I started planning in July.

*j

[TheLanger]

Because, some of the finest mods I've ever seen have been here on Hardwaredeluxxe, and I'd like to:
A) take advantage of the minds here and get some advice on my own build.
B) join the ranks of the amazing minds here.

Also, I wasn't aware that linking off-site was acceptable practice. I'm already posting this log on over 40 other forums, so adding 1-more didn't seem like a big deal.

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Da haben einige der besten Mods, die ich je gesehen habe hier auf Hardwaredeluxxe gewesen, und ich möchte:
A) Nutzen Sie die Gemüter hier und lassen Sie sich beraten über meine eigene zu bauen.
B) in die Reihen der erstaunlichen Köpfe hier.

Auch ich war nicht bewusst, dass eine Verknüpfung off-site wurde akzeptable Praxis. Ich bin bereits auf dieses Posting log über 40 anderen Foren, so Zugabe von 1-nicht mehr wie eine große Sache sein scheinen.

[GM]

jede kann sein Projekt da Präsentieren wo er möchte, dass hier so dar zu legen ist nicht in Ordnung ( Beitrag entfernt )

@: TheLanger: The maximum size for graphics of any kind is in the forum at 900x900 pixels.
Please adjust or

[Gruba]

1st, Welcome to Hardwareluxx!
Nice idea and the concept seems to be a good one that just should work fine. I'm really looking forward to October to see some real pics.
So good luck and have fun building this case!

Gruba

[kuki122]

Looks good so far!

Go on like this.

[whuzabi]

oh haha sry my fault....gg thats another thing with the dates :P

so i hope it will be one of the great ones...i dont remember did u write something of the colour sheme of the case?!

paint ore powdercoat something new?!

[TheLanger]

8mm thick carbon fiber panels, made from the highest grade composites

[whuzabi]

uhh thats sounds n1
did you make it ureself ore a company ?!

u got a sample of the strukture? i think carbon can look great but it can also look realy ugly i hope it will be good

[TheLanger]

Thanks a lot for the comments everyone.
The composite wil not be like anything you've ever seen before... it's not even available to consumers.
The panels are being made to military specifications, they and are usually used as armour plating on nuclear submarines.
They are made from 52layers of material - ranging from carbon fiber, kevlar, lithium, teflon, PEEK, PET, among others.
They will look something like this, only I've asked for a focus on aesthetics.
======
Vielen Dank für die Kommentare jedermann.
Der Composite-Wil nicht wie alles, was Sie jemals zuvor gesehen haben werden ... Es ist nicht einmal den Verbrauchern zur Verfügung.
Die Paneele werden sollen militärischen Spezifikationen bestehen, sind sie und in der Regel verwendet als Panzerung über nukleare U-Boote.
Sie sind aus 52layers von Material - von Carbon Fiber, Kevlar, Lithium, Teflon, PEEK, PET, unter anderem.
Sie werden in etwa so aussehen, nur ich für einen Schwerpunkt auf Ästhetik gefragt haben.

[TheLanger]

I've been diligently plugging away.
I decided to trade in the project log for a big bang at the end.

Many issues arose when fabricating the 8mm thick panels - there was a great numbers of unsuccessful trials before arriving at the solution seen in the images below. A total of 64 layers were required to achieve the thickness and rigidity of my specifications.

As planned:
There are three small 1/8" pins sticking out 2.5mm from each mated edge. These more than hold it together, there are no visible fasteners. (I've not yet inserted the pins holding the side panels in place - this will be the last step.

All that remains now is to give the panels a final surface finish.
A final clean of the edges.
Dilling of a few remaining holes for mounting things like the motherboard.
Then a light hammering to seat all the pins into their final positions.

That's all I have to say for now, I'll let the images do the rest.

Presenting HELIOS:
Side-View w/ Side Panel


Side-View



Opened Top



Front


Reverse Side and back of Motherboard


Detail Shot




Tune in soon for final pics, the fabrication story, technical specifics, hardware selection and some pretty badass motion graphics.

*j

[Jogibaer]

Looks very nice, I like the segmentation. Looking forward to more updates.

[GM]

@: TheLanger: The maximum size for graphics of any kind is in the forum at 900x900 pixels.
Please adjust or

[TheLanger]

Whats next?
1) Resurfacing the panels - this will be done by squeezing each piece for a few seconds at ~200,000lbs in a press heated to ~400degress. The pieces will be pressed between a textured sheet of teflon, the texture will be transferred to the surface of the composite panels. The result will be a flat, even surface with a slight texture to it; just to add a bit of character.

2) Final assembly - this will be where the panels are fixed together using small press-fit steel pins. You wont be able to see these pins once assembly is complete and they will offer more than enough structural stability to hold the chassis together.

3) Aerogel (Frozen Smoke) pieces - I've decided to manufacture the remaining parts of this case from a material known as Aerogel. This material is just... remarkable... it looks just like frozen smoke, it weighs almost nothing, it's the least dense solid on the planet... and it can withstand ~4000 times its weight in compression. I'll leave you with a video discussing it's properties:
[youtube]kHnen2nSmDY[/youtube]

4) Install the hardware - I still haven't settled on the hardware for this build... but I think something over-the-top and epically powerful is in order. I'll start gathering the remaining pieces over the next month or so.



I've been asked some questions regarding the struggles in creating the panels used to construct Helios... so here is goes.

I will ********* with a photo walkthrough when I can find the opportunity in the next few weeks.


Material Composition:
Base Materials:
- Carbon
- Nickel
- Lithium
- Teflon
- Aramid (Kevlar)
- Polypropylene
- Glass
Resin:
The resin used is the highest performance material currently available on earth:
"PEEK™ polymer is regarded as one of the highest performing materials in the world. Its product portfolio is the broadest range of polyaryletherketones on the market today and helps customers improve application performance, realize greater design freedom and achieve systems cost savings."
As a small qualifier to the performance of this material; combining PEEK with a something like Fiberglass will result in a material stronger than carbon fiber (albeit not as light).


The process of manufacturing is as such:
1 - Fibers are grouped 25,000 at a time, in this case, and wound onto rovings.

2 - The rovings, like big spools of thread, contain about 2.5KM of fiber and weigh only about 1KG (depending on the material).

3 - The rovings are fed into a machine, 64 at a time, and impregnated with plastic resin

4 - The result is called "tape" and it's 6inches wide, it's cross section would reveal 1.6million individual fibers held together with resin.

5 - The tape is then fed into a machine which melts as many as 7 spools together.

6 - The result is a continuous sheet 42" wide and composed of 11.2million individual fibers across.

7 - This 42" wide sheet is then sliced into 42"x42" squares called "unidirectional sheets".

8 - These "unidirectional sheets" are then stacked one atop another, following a strict pattern called a lay-up. For the panels used in Helios the lay-up called for 64 specific layers of materials in the form of unidirectional sheets and woven fabric.

9 - The sheets are then stacked 0degrees -> 90degrees -> 0degrees -> 90degrees -> etc. This is to alternate the direction of the fibers and ensure rigidity in both directions

10 - Every few layers the lay-up calls for a sheet of resin film to be added, this film will melt and help further adhere the layers.

11 - This stack of sheets, fabrics, and resins is now sandwiched between some sheets of teflon fabric and topped off with 1/8" aluminum panels. The aluminum keeps the panel surface straight and the teflon stops everything from sticking to the aluminum (sometimes textured teflon is used for effect).

12 - This 'sandwich', now over 6" tall, goes into a GIANT press heated upwards of 500degrees and capable of exerting several million pounds of force under tens of thousands of PSI.

12 - The Helios panels went into the press for 11mins 400,000lbs @ 420degrees, then another 6mins in a cooled press at 120,000lbs. These unimaginable forces turned the 6" tall lay-up unto an incredibly rigid panel 8mm thick.

13 - In the case of Helios, I've added another step: a second pressing using textured teflon to add a surface texture to the panels. This is because when the panels were made using smooth teflon and I want a more unique look than just plain "shiny".

RESULT - Each of the 6panels used to construct Helios contains 718,800,000 individual 42" long fibers - each approximately 1/50,000th the width of a human hair and each with a strength of about 48,000 kN·m·kg−1 (High carbon steel is rated about 154 kN·m·kg−1). The panels are as close to the physical embodiment of indestructible that any man could ever hope to see.

In Short:
Fiber is wound, injected with plastic, grouped into tape, melted together into sheets, which are stacked together with resin film, which is pressed and cooled... this is how you get thermoplastic panels.

As you can imagine (even moreso once I get some photos up) there are about a million things which can go wrong during this process... and I think every possible problem showed it's face during this project.

I hope that illuminates things a bit.




Thanks for the comments and support everyone.
I look forward to sharing my current progress with you soon.

*j

[STER187]

amazing work!
i'm really looking forward to see more of this peace of art

one question: how does the airflow work in the final revision? like in Rev. 3? this would be the best in my oppinion [cooles the water perfektly]..
and how do you want to put the heated air out? through the window [wouldn't be nice]

best regards

STER187

PS: you get an abo

[pajaa]

Hi Langer,

I saw your project recently on bit-tech. Great to see you here! Just stick to english and don't use those crappy online translators anymore. It can't keep up with the quality of both your work and your art of presentation.

And now go on and show us your extreme rapid manufacturing process.

[TheLanger]

@STER187 - Thank you very much for posting. The airflow is almost exactly like revision 3.0, only in the bottom area the airflow is directed upwards instead of down. All the air is evacuated out the cavity in the center of the chassis... this case has no windows at all. This design creates a high-pressure air zone around the components, preventing duct from reaching them. What is an ABO?

@Paaja - Thanks for the support. I'll share some pics of the manufacturing process soon - but I can say that if you had all the parts, assembly on a case like this will take less than 24hrs from raw materials to boot.

[bundymania]

Ich habe dein Projektthread bereits bei RRR gesehen, sieht ganz interessant aus, was du vorhast ! Grüße nach Kanada

Schade, das Projekt Prometheus immer noch nicht fertig ist

[STER187]

Abo: Abonnement

ok now i understand, i'm only thinking that the pressure would be higher with Plexi window in the front
the air would blow out extremly on the top and bottom.. may you can try it by holding it closed with something?

best regards

[TheLanger]

@Bundy - HEY HEY, how goes it man. Thanks for stopping by. Once I get back home I'll finish PrometheusCU off... I've spent the past couple years bouncing around the world and I left Prometheus in storage back home.

@Ster187 - The bottom sits on the floor, so there will be no air venting that way. And the top will be sealed off from the rest of the chassis. Putting a window in place would prevent any air from being able to escape.


I've been asked quite a bit about it, so I've uploaded some images of the surface of the panels.

It's very hard to capture... but the 'woodgrain' effect you see on pieces labeled "current" is still very much visible through the "final" texture, but the camera has a hard time picking it up.







That's all for now, I'll be back soon with progress updates.
Stay classy.

*j

[TheLanger]

SO it turns out making large aerogel monoliths is an incredible challenge in engineering, patience, and chemistry.

I can make little beads and small pieces all day long... I'd even go so far as to say I have the 'gel' making process down to an art. BUT, Manufacturing the large chunks I envision is proving somewhat unobtainable... but I'm getting through it.

The process of making Aerogel with any level of precision or clarity requires a pressure vessel (called a supercritical dryer) which can handle about 75bar, or about 1000psi. And if you know anything about pressure tanks, a 1000psi is one hell-of-a feat.

This has not phased me however... I've been endeavorering to acquire the necessary materials to build my own "supercritical dryer". My design features an internal area large enough to allow the creation of parts 26"x10"x2". Bare with me on that front as it needs extreme care and caution - else it will become a very impressive bomb.

Also, I've gone through about a grand worth of chemicals now, and I'm awaiting another delivery of the base elements which go-into creating this magnificent material.

i'll quote a section from my recipe so you can get a better idea of the process:

9) Once gel has set, soak under ethanol for 24hrs.

10) Replace ethanol and allow to soak for 5-7days, changing ethanol every 36hrs

11) Supercritically dry the gel.
a) Transfer gel into the super critical dryer (at your own risk).
b) Replace the atmosphere with CO2 (at your own risk, lol).
c) Begin to heat the atmosphere in the dryer. (you're not reading this are you?)
d) Heat the CO2 past its critical point (31.1°C and 72.9 bars) to ~45°C . (goodluck)
e) Maintaining a pressure of ~100 bars. (???)
f) Depressurize at ~7 bar h-1. (profit)

12) If you're still alive, remove gel from the supercritical dryer and machine to spec.

As a poit of reference the tiny dryer I have now with a chamber just 0.8"x0.8"x1" (made from a high-pressure pipe X joint) ran about $800 with all the valves, fittings, gauges, and such.

The dryer I'm currently using is based off this reference:

***THESE ARE NOT HOME DEPOT FITTINGS!
THEY ARE SPECIALIZED HIGH PRESSURE FITTINGS!
DO NOT TRY TO BUILD A SUPER CRITICAL DRYER WITHOUT EXTREME CAUTION!***

The big dryer I'm working on is seeing some extreme manufacturing, redundancy, composites, and fittings... I wont be blowing it - I'n fact I plan to start selling Aerogel monoliths (nomenclature for big pieces of this stuff) to offset the incredible project costs.



Since the Aerogel is taking longer than expected...
I'll let you in on the next step
...LEDs are so 2010.

I decree that 2011 be the year of radioactive isotope case lighting!


Various pieces of custom formed Tritium as well as off the shelf tritium inserts will be the illumination feature for Helios.

Tritium requires no "charging" and glows entirely passively without the need for power or electricity of any kind.

Gun buffs may have seen this stuff before in high-end tactical sights.


Read more on the stuff here: mb-microtec