Eco.Intel MOD - The four elements

WORKLOG ECO-INTEL MOD


By PEK Designs & Technology - www.pekweb.es

MOD sponsored by intel


----- Index ----
1. Introduction
2. Aeris
3. Tellus
4. Ignis
5. Aqua
6. Mundus
7. Set
8. Videos

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1.- INTRODUCTION:

Pek clan started 4 years ago winning the first prices from differente categories at the Campus Party:

•The clan started winning the first price en originality with a robot called Bender from the Tv show Futurama and another Mod with a bomb design won the second place in other materials;

•The following year they made the first group Mod in the country, called THE ATOMIUM, that was rewarded with the first place on originality, first on the overall contest and the one with more votes among the participants, setting a standard for all modders in Spain.

• On 2007 they won again the first overall place, and second place on “final aesthetic” with the Mod called Tetris.

•And this 2008 has been the year that the clan broke all records with seven different rewards with the ECO MOD.

1.1.What does it means?


It represents the 4 basic elemens from greek civilitation. Fire, Air, Earth and Water.

On his origins, they represents the comprenhension of the cosmos where everything that exist can live together.

These four elements are not only the ones that built the word bt as well the ones that can destroy it, Fire ( fires ), Water ( waterflows ), Air ( hurricanes ) Earth (earthquakes ), mainly due to the climate change which is a key issue now a days.

In other to put a strong emphasis on the climate change where human hands have more power we have represented the center of the world with smoke due to the heavy usage of our planet.

To give names to the elements we have used Latin wording, Ignis, Aeris, Aqua and Tellus.

1.2.What do we seek?

Each element is unique: differents sizes, materials and lighting that allowed us to work with different modding techniques. From these ones we would like to poit out the refrigeracion ( by air, water and apssive ), integration, electronic, painting which has allow us to personalice each mod.

The main idea was to biuld a mod that as a whole show different modding concepts and ways of working with high level on details to add the message of climate change.

Not only on the deisgn but as well on the building process, PEK had as one main objective the usage of different materials, some of them quite frecent on modding and some not as usual which we though it could be interesting. Some of the has been DM, pine, sapelly, aluminum, acrylate of different thicknesses and colors, paper maché, fiber glass, gold bread, silver and receives, paper onion…


This brief summary have the purpose of showing some of the materials, technologies and tools used to build the Eco-Intel-Mod.

On the design phase, which took around 6 months, differents softwares were use, Like SketchUp, Autocad 2007, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, Mathcad 14 and Microsoft Office.

This phase required different studies in order to achieve efficient designs to confront the building phase of the project.

2. AERIS

The clean and dynamic look is what represents more the Aeris, where a revolution geometric where used and where the hardware was on a second stage in orders to give more presence to the structure.

It is build with a succession of rectangular sections with a phase angle of 30º.

2.1 Idea
The Air Mod has been done use only acrilic, and the idea came when the Tetris was build and while putting rectangular piles together we move them with a tornado figure.

From this idea, it evolves into the Air Mod that is no more than rectangular sections that grow 1cm both wide and length while the displacement has 30º to the previous section
giving a movement feeling.

2.2 Manufacture

2.2.1 Structure
The manufacture of the rectangular sections was design by vectorials which were cut by laser. Two acrylic plates of 600x600 mm were use. One for the pair one and another one for the odd ones so in both pairs and odds we were doing concentric cuts to use 100% the acrylic plates.

The assembled of the 50 units it was done dividing on 7 intermediate pieces, as follow,

We were putting acrylic sections 6 by 6 (intermediate piece) so the first piece relater to the last one (6th) will form and 90º angle and the rest from the 2nd to the 6th using a sole in order to place the sections.

Following this structure, we just have to assemble the intermediate sections and the structure of the mod will be done.

2.2.2 Components

Maintaining the philosophy of the initial idea, that better form to cool the component
interns of mod of Air that to use air, of that form we used a passive heatsink to cool the graphic one, heatsinks in memory, as well as the indispensable heatsink of the Microprocessor.

In mod it is necessary to consider everything, the blue motherboard, the blue memories, the heatsink of the graphic one like graphic the blue ones, the heatsink of the micro silver plating that along with the power supply impregnated of silver bread that in accordance with the acrylate transparency, elegance and simplicity equipped to mod with.

2.2.3 Lighting

Another subject to consider is the illumination, we used the placed colours blue and white strategically so that the shade that affected the together table that along with the reflection of rays of light when affecting acrylate would give a showy aspect. Altogether we used more than 50 LEDs of high intensity for its illumination.

2.2.4 Peripherals

The mouse was designed with the small rectangles of the structure of the Mod. These 3 pieces would go stuck one upon another one without clearing the functionality of the click of the buttons.

Of the same form that we designed the structure of mod, something similar we did with
the monitor, after disassembling and to only remain with the LCD, we fitted in a section of the same thickness and size that LCD panel, once we had this, was necessary to work of the same form that with mod, the difference that the sections are all of the same size and the angular displacement is something smaller of 30º, for this part was used acrylate sections of 450mm x 300mm x 3mm and we prepared the sections so that
there were 8 in front of the LCD and 8 behind.

So that it had a good one finished we came to sandpaper the goal, with a fine sandpaper,
so that it had something of resistance with mod.

2.3 Final result

3. TELLUS (Earth)

The wood predominates in Tellus, where they have been realised you cut complexes in her. In order to obtain the wished finished one it has been applied the technique of cracked on DM and the wood plated one of pine with leaf of sapelly. Also, looking for a natural aesthetic, a window has been realised in paper onion and several plants have been gotten up cheers, as a hanging Bonsai and several plants.

3.1. Manufacture

3.1.2 Box

It is totally realised in wood, having combined DM of 1cm of thickness and pieces of massive pine. The main structure this formed by 8 faces of DM, emphasizing 3 of them that they contain windows.

As one sees in the images superiors, we applied to putty colour sapelly and we sandpapered so that the meetings between the plates were with the best finished possible. Once finished the structure we began its decoration. The first step was to plate with leaf of sapelly of 0,6mm the visible parts of the box and covers.

Also we plated the pine wood pieces to give a more sober aspect them, eliminating veins characteristic of this wood. To these we obtained pieces realising by cutting to 45º on a ribbon of 10x10x300cm of pine.

It is possible to see as the plated piece by piece is realised. This process consists of sandpapering the piece to plate, to apply contact tail to it, to stick leaf of sapelly previously cut with cutter and to cut the edges with the same tool to leave the finished one wished.

The final result can be observed in the image of above, that corresponds to which will be the legs of mod and part of the decoration of the cover. When we finished the plated one we began with the cracked one, a technique that we had never used.

After realising necessary tests, we came to crack the pieces of DM and pine. In order to realise this cracked process of we followed the following steps: In the first place it is necessary to print the pieces to crack, later to paint them of the colour that we want that they are the cracks, in our case brown.

Later it is necessary to apply a primary painting (with a duration of drying of one hour approximately), and to half an hour applying the painting of cracked (dry in 10 minutes), that when the curing before the primary one forms cracks. With the aid of a dryer you can accelerate the process of drying of the cracked painting of, increasing the cracks.

Finally, we applied one slides of painting to create an aged aspect simultaneously to give a similar tone him to the one of the Earth. We reviewed them to the cracks with a brush of fine end.

The same process is the one that we followed with the pieces of DM:

It is possible to see that we have obtained that the pine and the DM have the same finished:

Once finished we stuck them to the pieces to the box with wood tail. We begin with
the cover of mod.

We applied brown painting to him to the hollows that a post would serve as flowerpots and varnished.

We finish the cover and we finished the rest of the box the same way.

After sticking all the pieces we added one of the great details of tellus, its main window that is a realised on DM and painted with our own design of brown. On her we stuck paper onion to give him a distinguishing aspect, zeng.

We paint the interior of the black box to polish imperfections.

In the other two windows the water tank of the fitted RL will go and a green acrylate plate with the power button. As it is seen in the following photo, the deposit is an acrylate bucket of 0,4mm of thickness of the same length that the window.

With this we finished the main part of mod and began to place the computer. First it was to place the power supply that previously we had disassembled and painted.

Afterwards, we placed the rest of components of the computer and the RL.

As it is observed in the previous image, a motherboard was chosen with tone hemstitches and a graphical card of green colour to take care of the final finished one.

The radiator is hidden in the base. Finally, we placed the illumination that consisted of an ultraviolet cathode to react with green the RL and 20 LEDs.


3.1.3 Peripherals

In order to modding the mouse we followed the technique of the cracked one that already we had used in the box.

The monitor we decided to decorate it so that it seemed most real possible, using paper maché; to do as if a plant had grown on the screen. The paper maché; is the name of a decorative technique using grazes of paper. This technique is very easy to realise and also to shape, for that reason we thought about it to carry out our idea.

Once we had the materials to make the paper mache and made the mass, begin to shape as if one was a mass of clay that we do not have to hydrate to facilitate its use.

The form that we decided to give the mass is as heavy branches but at the most under monitor would be for giving but realism to the figure.

Once we have the wished form, we cut leaves of plastic plants and we stuck them by all the branches considering that the leaves will be more abundant and smaller whichever minor is the branch. Later it is come to paint the structure. For this point, we used acrylic paintings of different colours to look for that wished realism.

In the front part, we also decided to play with the forms of the leaves being done letters with them.

As far as the keyboard, to decorate it in the same thematic one that the rest of mod, we decided that maché as a branches was a good idea to use paper on a cracked painting with.

First we disassembled the keyboard to be able to paint with spray brown the outer
housing and only not to stain the keys or other components. Once dry spray, we could crack above, emphasizing in the cracks to give a greater resistance him of colours.

In order to put the branches to the keyboard we used the paper in the same way maché
that in the monitor once mounted already the keyboard. Having the wished form of the branches, we trimmed very small leaves of artificial plants we stuck and them with tweezers. In order to finish, the branches are painted in the same way that since it became in the monitor.

3.2 Final result

And this is the final results of Tellus with all plant on it:

4.IGNIS (Fire)

We all agreed in PEK when affirming that the element fire was going to be most difficult to represent. Whereas with the other elements very clear ideas arose to us of how we wanted the things, in Ignis it took more time of the awaited thing. It had to be copper, had to be it by several reasons: because without a doubt the copper is a metal that remembers the fire, because it was going away to unmark of the other materials and because it was going to give the opportunity to us to work with him, something new for us. In addition, their good properties allowed us to play with new elements of refrigeration.


4.1. Manufacture

4.1.2. Box

In the design stage, we wanted to flee from too straight and static forms, for that reason you can see doubled pieces, that they simulate flames and that they try to break with main geometry. The body is somewhat particular, is a pentagonal basic pyramid, in which a change of direction in the wood of the same has been realised. This change of direction was another resource not to resort to a purely pyramidal geometry, less interesting and original.

When we already had determined the geometry and integration of hardware, we thought about the finished ones that we wanted to obtain, for that reason bought copper, in plates of 0,4mm, with certain finished polished. This one was brought from Holland, since the one we found in Spain did not convinced us. Along with copper we acquired many products for its polished and later protection before the oxidation and corrosion, since the copper is a very active metal.

Parallel to this, we were also acquiring the hardware, which has been selected specifically for each mod. In the case of Ignis, a motherboard was bought with the red PCB and copper heatsinks of the Abit house. CPU and GPU were cooled with copper heatsinks, of the company Zalman and Thermalright respectively. Like in the others mods of the Echo Intel Mod, it was tried not to leave no element of factory. In the case of the power supply, several modifications were realised. The source at issue, a Tacens Radix Smart was disassembled completely for its personalisation.

In the first place the vanes of the ventilator in colour were painted metallic silver, to try to maintain the finished metallic of mod. On the other hand, the housing was pickling and cover in its totality by several authentic copper bread layers. We decide to use the copper bread to the detriment of the painting by more real finished, not in vain is fine authentic copper laminae.

Returning to the main structure, it is possible to mention that to construct it we resorted to the aluminum, since the copper that predominates in mod is quite heavy, therefore we tried whenever possible to lighten the pieces that were lent to it. Several meters of aluminum plate of 2mm of thickness and 4cm of width were bought. This plate was folded to 120º, to facilitate the later installation of copper plates.

The construction of the mentioned aluminum skeleton was a very delicate task of realising, coverall by the phase of weld. As many you will know, the aluminum is a metal difficult to weld and have to resort to techniques of complex weld, as it were the case of weld TIG. Since the construction involved weld, it was difficult to respect the averages of the designs, coverall as far as angles and distances that would determine a correct assembly of mod. It is by that the copper plates were cut after having the structure, since we had certain uncertainty in the final measures. Once finished the skeleton, it was polished, printed and painted in copper metallic, to standardize the skeleton and its cover.

A critical phase was the cut of copper, because we lacked leftover material, since by its lifted price we could not buy a comfortable amount. This one was cut in CNC. The vectorial design of the cuts was delicate to realise, since there was to measure the aluminum skeleton to assure a correct final assembly.

The process of cuts, contrary to which it is possible to be thought, he was not free of difficulty, since the plate had to be subject with much force to the bank of the drill, but without damaging it. But in spite of a very good subjection it was even necessary to use really slow advances in the cut, and even so a pair of drills was broken. A separate chapter could be dedicated to the ardent shaving that came out. In spite of commented and the lack of material to realise tests of advance and penetration, all the cuts were realised correctly.

Small holes with form of flame in the part can be appreciated superior, get ready to facilitate the exit of hot air, because we did not install any ventilator of general flow, only the one of CPU and power supply. Thanks to copper, this did not represent problem some as far as temperatures and this mod can be conceited of a really low loudness. Other cuts, like it can see in the images are windows, logo and a grid in the base inferior for the natural aspiration of air. In order to perfect the plate cut, the sides were reviewed several times to clean of nongenerous shaving and diverse flashes that disfigured the cut.

Also some angles were reviewed, since the radius of rounding of the DRILL[/b] could not realise certain very acute inner angles.

Once in this point, it was begun to integrate all the hardware within the skeleton, already once covered mobility in the interior one was going away to see very decreased. Integration was important facing not creating restrictions to the air that would circulate in the interior in ascending direction, reason why much taken care of in the assembly was put.

At the same time, the elements of illumination were integrated, consisting of several LEDs of high luminosity of red colour and orange. These were controlled by a circuit ignited that them with certain cadence, to give a more dynamic touch to the illumination, we remember that we are trying that mod evokes to the fire.

The union of the cover and the skeleton were realised with special a bicomponent putty for metallic unions, since, as many you will know, the copper and the aluminum is not weldable to each other. We let two of the covers with a nonpermanent union to be able to accede to the interior of mod in case of necessity

As one has already commented, the cleaning of copper had to be constant by means of products of polished with agents antioxidants.

Thus to obtain a finished “mirror” delaying the appearance of oxide.

4.1.3. Peripherals

Since you have been able to observe in the rest of mods that composes this project, as
much keyboard, mouse and monitor were modified to give more uniformity to the set.

Beginning by the keyboard, this one was disassembled to paint the body with a painting in spray of finished metallic copper. Later it was mounted again and a small copper piece stuck with form of flame, realised with remnants leftover of the plate of mod.

Of the monitor little we can say: they painted foot and buttons with mentioned spray and a great copper decorative plate flame also done in the later part was added. In addition, small copper flames were cut to decorate the frame of the same.

The mouse also was disassembled and sandpapered for painted his. In order to give a colour note, it was painted with two painting layers: a yellow base and a stumped electrical orange on the yellow layer. In center of the grip a small flame, present was drawn in other elements of mod, and it was covered with gold bread.

4.2. Final result

5. AQUA (Water)

The water and the acrylate are protagonists in Aqua, where the difficult geometry and the complexity of the circuit of water demanded many hours of preliminary design. An effect used in Water is the illumination by means of stroboscopic light UV of variable frequency to secure the wished illumination.

The electronic circuit has been designed to be able to in this way vary the frequency in an ample rank and the illumination.


5.1 Idea

From the phase of planning designing first 3Ds did not convince us the finished one that it was having and so we made many modifications, some we did not like other that were very difficult to create by their complication at the time of the manipulation of the materials, but in the end was a design we all liked.


5.2 Manufacture

5.2.1 Cylinders

Aqua is formed by two concentric cylinders of 350mm and 300mm that among them had to be watertight, for it we used 2 “washers” who just entered between both cylinders each end, to stick we used chloroform in this way we made sure the watertightness

Once we had both cylinders beaten, now we had to realise two clearing throughout cylinders, so that way the water that slipped by the walls, besides playing with an optical illusion fell making see the person observed who it that it seemed that the components of the PC were within the water. These two clearing acted simultaneously of spillway, when the water cylinder filled overflowed, but also worked of “shock absorber” so that the water when they fell did not splash so that underneath it was the water of the clearing.

The washers acted 2 as on the one hand to give watertightness him and on the other hand, like later in the ends tapeworm that to go patch the “drops” (acrylate pieces where it goes to go subject the walls) arose the problem to us from which we did not have sufficient surface of support to stick the “drops”, but with the washers that problem was resolute, and only it already was to stick it with a little chloroform.

5.2.2 Walls and base

Almost we already have the main structure, now is necessary to think hot to put the walls. First it was to each other to unite the two walls through two squares, so that when it was closed with the walls there was a suitable site to place hard disks.

In order to place the motherboard and other components of the computer, a subject removable tray by average acrylate circumferences was designed.

In order to hold the mod we used a pool giving him 2 functionalities, one to support the mod and simultaneously suspends by where the water fell that slipped by the cylinders.

Another important subject was the liquid refrigeration, that gave some breaker us that another one, since on the one hand the refrigeration of the PC went and by another one the dripping that fell by the walls, the problem arose because we wanted that after crossing all the circuit of the RL, this water it would leave by the drop-drop that would fall by the wall, the problem of this is that the circuit in the point of the dripping is very restrictive since all the express does not let pass the water that we wanted, reason why the water spent long time in the blocks before leaving, with this we made to go down the optimum yield of the RL, so we have to rejected this idea. The solution was to put two circuits, one for the RL and the other for the dripping...

5.3 Components

Modding in this project does not only remain in the CPU if not that we would want to go beyond, for it also “we altered” the mouse and the keyboard with reasons that they included to the mouse and the keyboard within mod.

The keyboard was painted in blue, and in way retro the drops in the keyboard so that several keys formed a pixelated drop.

To the mouse we made a hole to him in the form of drop, that later stuffed with a full water balloon, occurring to him somewhat particular finishing

But not only we remained in the keyboard and the mouse and wanted to go beyond, when we put ourselves to see that we could do with the monitor, was clear that by some side tapeworm that to have water reason why happened itself to us to make a structure of acrylate in which to extreme it took two cylinders to them where by all means it would take water, later we made vectorial ones to make cuts to laser where we would leave our company/signature, to optimize space was necessary to disassemble the monitor to remove it from its housing, since we only needed the LCD. This along with a bubble cap of aquarium that would go within the cylinders we had ready the AQUA monitor.

5.4 Final result

6. MUNDUS

Starting off of the base of a sphere of 55cm of diameter, and seeing that the results of the paper technique maché were the adapted ones, we thought about making the continents with this technique to give more volume him. As we had mass that exceeded to us, it was not necessary to make new, and so we began to give form him fixing us to an atlas.

In order to fix the mass to the sphere, we used white tail and a brush.

Once done all the continents, we paid attention to a satellite vision to paint it and thus to cause that it was resembled most possible the real world.

7. SET

8. VIDEOS


Overview 1:
-Youtube:
-Download: http://www.pekweb.es/kaos/videos/ecointelmod.avi


Overview2:
-Download: http://www.pekweb.es/kaos/videos/ecointelmod2.avi


Link To Original Worklog