【MSI PRO MOD - S3】"YAZI" - Venator Class Star Destroyer

Hello everybody,

I just wanted to do a quick intro before posting my stuff.

I have been building custom computers for over 5 years now. But I do not do traditional box builds.
Only scratch builds really get my attention where I usually build big scifi ships that house the computer hardware.

After doing builds like the USS EURISKO - Intrepid Mark II Class and the IMPERIAL AT-AT that were full manual depron/styrene and glassfiber builds, I wanted to automate the creation and use my ever increasing 3D skills to build the next one.

This has become the YAZI - Venator Class Star Destroyer. Its 1.6 meters (5 feet) long and 77 cm wide (2 feet) wide.
After big research phase in what kind of 3d printer I was going for, I settled on the TAZ5.
And never looked back since, what a machine (even when I am only using about 10% of its capability rightnow)

The YAZI is part of a global contest on who can build the biggest, baddest, innovative, crazy computer.

Hope you enjoy the buildlog and please leave me messages, comments on how to improve prints or just to say hi!

many thanks in advance

ASPHIAX
aka
Sander van der Velden
Boxtel, the netherlands

"YAZI" - Venator Class Star Destroyer

Legend has it that the dragon has nine sons.
Each of whom inherited at least one great talent from their father the great Imperial Dragon.

The 7th son YAZI is the most warlike and fearsome.
With his perpetual wrathful glare, four legs, long tail and long horns he strikes fear into the enemies hearts.
This is the dragon that signifies victory in battle and enhances the morale and strength of soldiers


Carrying Yazi into battle will assist any warrior’s triumph over enemy forces!




"YAZI" - Venator Class Star Destroyer UPDATE 001



Hi, my name is ASPHIAX also know as Sander van der Velden and I am from the Netherlands.
I have been modding since 2011 but involved some way or other with computers since 1992 when I got my first MSX computer.
You may have seen some of my mods come by like the IMPERIAL AT-AT and the USS EURISKO - Intrepid Mark II Class

I am a true SCIFI nut and so I usually build my mods around that theme but… it must also have a good story
So one day I came across the legend of the Imperial Dragon and his nine sons and instantly knew this was to be the background story for the Venator.

For me modding is about idea’s that wont leave you alone. That moment when your modders eye catches something and you just have to build it.
So was it with the YAZI for me. After the AT-AT, the Venator class is my favorite Star Wars ship and I knew I had to build a gaming rig into it someday.

This build started for me about 2 years ago just after finishing the EURISKO.
I was looking to do another big ship build but after starting I soon realised I didnt have the skills or the tools to make it like I wanted to.
I dont want to rush or do a half assed job and so I parked the YAZI in storage for when someday I was better at building with aluminum.
So I studied and studied, researched materials, worked with aluminum, worked with CNC’s and laser cutters for 2 years.

And now thanks to my MSI and my sponsors I have the opportunity to build her!!!
Thanks ever so much for that!

Here are some of the 3D work I did for the build and some low spec renders

“YAZI” - Venator Class Star Destroyer UPDATE 001 continued


Lets start adding some fans to the main body and draw out some of its features .

Now to start the hard part. These pieces of aluminum needed to be folded to create the launchbay doors for the top hull.

Starting to look like something now!

“YAZI” - Venator Class Star Destroyer UPDATE 001 End


Time to make the neighbours angry again by cutting up the launchbays and drawing out the airduct holes.




Time to work on the fanholes that have to connect to a airduct that holds the radiators also.

And thats where i came to realise my skills in working with aluminum were not good enough.
Didnt know how to fixate everything into place accurately to prevent light bleeding for example.
So I had to stop … (well I kinda went into overdrive learning how to work alu)

Parked but not abandoned !!

Untill the next update and let me know what you think of it !
Laters

"YAZI" - Venator Class Star Destroyer Hardware Update

The YAZI is going to have some awesome internal systems to combat enemies.

The Gaming System is going to consist of the following :

Mainboard - MSI B150m Mortar matx board
Graphics Card - MSI 780TI Lightning (Only 12 made specifically for overclocking)
RAM - Avexir Blitz 1.1 32GB DDR4 3000MHz - White
Processor - Intel Core i5 6600K 4x 3.50GHz
SSD(s) - TBD
Power Supply - Thermaltake toughpower DPS G 850W Platinum

The Liquid Cooling System will consist of the following :

CPU Cooler - Thermaltake Pacific W1 CPU Water Block
GPU Cooler - Custom GPU Block by Diamond Cooling
Coolant PUMP - Thermaltake Pacific P1 Black D5 Pump w/ Silent Kit
Radiator - 480 40mm high
Fittings - Thermaltake Pacific G1/4 - Black
Coolant - TBD
Reservoirs 2x - ModWithMe 50mm Tube Reservoirs with custom 3d printed Venator Engine cover
Tubing - Thermaltake PETG 16mm OD tubing

ModWithMe Additional Features will consist of the following:

Laser Array - 8 fat green 5mw lasers
Lights - 0.5mm fiberoptic strands
Laser/Light Control - Arduino programmable micro processor




"YAZI" - Venator Class Star Destroyer 3D Printing Update 001

Since the venator went into storage and I went off to pursue my dreams I learned a lot.
Learned about materials, fabrication, design and so much more.
So I decided I needed to build the YAZI in a different way then what I was used to before (ie jump in feet first and hope for the best lol)

I think that 3D printing is the way of the future of casemodding. To be able to create any (case)structure you want, any mounting option you want, any decoration theme you want, all from the comfort of your house is what I believe will be happening in the next few years. Offcourse you will need to use common sense like “reservoir before pump” and mounting a drainport 2 cm above your PSU is still not a good idea, but the way we look at computer systems and how they should be constructed is about to get a major overhaul. (ok rant off)

So I bought myself a 3D printer after a LOT of research. I decide on the TAZ5 from Lulzbot.
When you get past the name (lul means d!ck in dutch) its one hell of a machine.
Travel speed 185mm/sec, print speed 80mm/sec, dual extruder option and a nozzle that can heat upto 400 degrees. That means its capable of aluminum powder and carbonfiber printing.

So I started learning how to design and print.
Here is the first print ever I did on the machine and its a part of the detailing (also called Greebles or Nurnies) that I am planning to put on the YAZI.

Not too bad I think, but it has lots of room for improvement.

After several test prints I decided it was time to up the stakes.
This engine part will hold a reservoir. (there will be 2 with and 2 without)

BUT , lets make it interesting and connect the 2 reservoir engines




This is what i mean with iteration based building. Small to large but in steps.

Some shots from the print itself. It different then with designing for laser or cnc. You think in single lines mostly when you design for those, for 3D printing you have to think in 2 lines as a wall.
Small but important difference IMO.

So that was it for this update, the final design and prints will come in a later update!

Have a good one!

Somebody asked me where the hell I was going to put the YAZI When it was finished …
Well right next to these !

Got some filament in today, time to crank up the volume !

“YAZI” - Venator Class Star Destroyer Exterior bottom hull details

Well the design for the bottom hull is done and ready to print.
This was NOT a small job.

Here are the different iterations of the design from start to finish.

Combined a little bit of design 1 with a lot from design 2 and extruded it as seperate blocks to get a highth difference as well.

Quick shot to see the hight difference better.

And did a quick bend of the planes so you can get a good feel of the design when its on the YAZI.
The colour scheme might differ a bit in the end.

And offcourse there will be some styrene work done to detail it further.

Let me know what you think!

Sneak preview of the tower design

Requirements :
1 x 50mm acrylic tube
2 x 50mm acrylic disks
Sandpaper (wet/dry) ranging from 240 to 2000 in 5 steps
Cup of water
non abrasive cloth
silver polish
old molex cable
ACRYLIC glue that is water thin
Hypodermic needle
29/64 inch drill
Tap G1/4
Powered Drillmachine (or stationary drill)
Some old fittings and tube

Ok so instead of just showing I made my own reservoir, i want to show you how to make one yourself as it is pretty easy.
You just need to have the right tools and glue!


So I ordered 2 pieces of 50/3 mm tube and 4 pieces of 3mm acrylic cut into circles of 50 mm
Got some wet/dry sandpaper ranging from 240 to 2000 grit and start put your sandpaper on a completely flat surface


Above you can see how much you need to sand. The slightly coloured pieces are deeper and made by the sawteeth of the factory.
Just sand with the 240 grit until they have disappeared. Make sure you keep the tube completely level with the sandpaper and use a circular move.
No need to apply big pressure, if you notice that the tube is hopping over the sandpaper, use less force and smaller circles.

When you dont see anymore sawteeth marks, take the 600 grit and repeat the procedure ( i do at least 3 x 20 circles per side)


When thats done, time to break out the water. From 1000 I always use water, just works better
Stick the tube into the cup and pull the tube out leaving the drops on the tube and place it on the sandpaper.
That is enough water to sand it with.


After 20 circles, dip it again in the cup and repeat at least 3 x per side of the tube.
Continue with the 1500 and 2000 grit.


After finishing with the 2000 grit, it should look like this. You can start making out the reflections of the tube itself inside the acrylic.



Then the final step to make it perfectly smooth. Everybody has their own preferred brand but I always use this silver polish as it has no special chemicals added.
Those would possibly ruin the acrylic. You just have to try some on a old piece of acrylic and leave at least 24 hours to see if it degrades or stains the piece.


After the polish you should see a lot of internal reflections in the tube wall.


Next step, find yourself an old molex cable. You must have some lying around :wink:


Strip the cable and place 4 of the small strands between the tube and the disk.
This creates a very small cavity into which the acrylic glue will be “sucked”
This is called the capillairy action and is very usefull.


I was lucky to have found the last weld-on 3 in europe. They are not sold anymore due to a specific chemical thats used.
Appereantly you can make a bomb with it. But thats next on the MCGyver show …
This can will probably be enough for my grandkids to build reservoirs with.

Take the syringe and suck a tiny amount out of the can. Then find the cavity between the tube and disk and VERY, VERY slowly push the glue out while following the cavity along the disk.
When you come to a strand, pull it out and continue. WATCH OUT : you will only have about 20 seconds to replace the tube if you knock it over or move it.
You will see the glue being sucked into the cavity and spread out.
DO NOT push on the tube, just let gravity work its magic.
(PUSHING will create a crackled appereance and potentially ruin the weld)


If you squirt out to much of the glue please do not be tempted to whipe it off as I intentionally did here.
The glue is so powerfull it will stain the acrylic. Just let it dry and use the previous method of sanding and polishing to clean it up.


As you can see here. Mind you, it will never become as transparant as it was so better safe then sorry!


Next up, drilling and tapping the G1/4 port.
I had a very hard time finding the correct drill as its a non standard size here in the netherlands.
Luckely I found the correct drill and tap over at the E22 store!


The human body and mind is perfectly capable of drilling perfectly straight but you can probably better do THIS … with a vice or stationary drill. DO NOT DO THIS LIKE THIS !!! THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS !!!
The flakes you want is about the size above. Go very very slow, spinning to fast will melt the acrylic and ruin the reservoir.
Let gravity again do its work and blow away the flakes regularly from the tube and vise.
WATCH OUT : The drill will lockup at some point , usually when almost through the acrylic. Be ready for it and immediately stop drilling.
Spin up the drill and gently push it down. The speed of the drill will remove the lockup part and you are cutting acrylic again!


Now onto tapping.


Again better to do this with a vice but you can do it by hand. Just takes some practise.
Drive the tap to about halfway , dont stop to soon, the fittings will like that :wink:



And two last tips …

How to get those darned flakes out of the tube…
Do you know what the fastest way is to empty a bottle?
Fill the bottle with liquid and spin it so the liquid makes a vortex towards the cap. Air replacing the liquid inside will have a unobstructed way in while the water can get out.
Dont believe me, try it with a coke bottle!
Also, due to the vortex the flakes (lighter then water) will spin down in the center of the vortex and flush out in one go … guaranteed!

And the last one : Simple Leaktest
Add the fittings and tube and for a leak test, keep one end of the tube closed off with a finger and blow on the tube on the other end.
Put the entire reservoir under water (use a bucket or a bath) and if you see bubbles, you got a LEAK!
(see if you can add some additional glue, if not start again unfortunately!)


And there you have it, your own tube reservoir.
Thanks for watching and if you like this DIY (or have some improvements or comments) leave me a comment.
Starting to think I am talking to myself here lol
Untill next time!
Mod-on

Did a quick test fitting of the reservoir. The resholder is very solid and has a good overall feel.

The benefit of designing with 3D is that just before the final version was ready to print I thought it might be handy to have a inbuilt LED wiring channel in one of the legs.

They are multiplying …

And after so additional love and care they are now ready for airbrush and lighting !

Untill the next update !

And finally the 3rd engine designed and printed !

The force is strong in your family …

Also started on the lightplan for the YAZI by covering the internals of the engines with aluminum tape

You know you are getting good progress when you start designing the hardware / internal structures of your build …

Looks like an AWESOME build. Can’t wait to see more.

Thanks! It has to be completed before the 31st of december so more is sure to come :smiley:
Just have a little issue with printing at height, the engines have a little wobble / wavy structure about 10 cm or so.
For this project its ok as it add detail with the airbrushing but it has to be eliminated for future ones.

Post a picture of what you’re talking about I’m sure someone here can help you. In the meantime it’s nothing a little sandpaper and some primer can’t help.

Thanks for the offer.
Yeah I am using sprayputty and a sanding block for now.
I am talking about this

The bottom printed perfectly but after a 10cm height a wavy pattern appears.
I am getting comments that it could be Z-Wobble, coldend temperature fluctuations, object stability (vibrations) and such.
Could use the help here.

Thats about when you get to the midpoint of the rod and the leadscrew, and the design changes to need more x and y lobe travel rather than just circles. Things start to get less precise on Z the closer you get to that midpoint.

Thanks for the response!
Is there any way to prevent, work around it?

Depending on how much time and effort and printer modification funds you are willing to throw at your printer, Yes. There are two potential paths:

  1. Print and install the Mangrove (Taz 6) style Z axis system with the stiffer and larger Z rod http://devel.lulzbot.com/TAZ/Mangrove/production_parts/

  2. Look up the Openbuilds modifications and fit those to your printer. In this case the Z axis https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/adding-openrail-z-axis-to-a-lulzbot-taz-4-5/2108/1 and the anti wobble https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/anti-z-wobble-z-nut/2064/1 may be of interest, though the X and Y axis will also help.

You can also lower the layer height and get a finer layer, but that may actually make the issue appear worse if it is Z wobble.