NCC-1701 USS Enterprise Deck by Deck - WIP

Discussion in 'Fan Art' started by havoc92, Jan 18, 2010.

  1. Saquist

    Saquist Commodore

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    Seeing this is really helping me to appreciate what I could do to change the Constitution's design to make it more realistic and perhaps even a better looking ship. I really believe Shape should follow function and this might be an interesting part of the ship that could be altered to better suit it's needs.

    I always felt the base of that neck need alot more girth in width for the loads it was carrying.

    -----
    While keeping to the Consitution current form... I envisioned something like this.


    [​IMG]
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    Last edited: Nov 3, 2010
  2. havoc92

    havoc92 Commander Red Shirt

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    I kept thinking about having the supports run singly into the secondary hull structure; but, instead ended up deciding for a solid base that the structure would weld to. I felt like that would act as a stiffener at the hull connections.
    But, I also went with a 12 inch beam instead of the apparrent 6 or 8 inch beams suggested by the everhart drawings. I did this before consulting Everhart essentially because I felt that any smaller would simply not be sufficient for the stresses you mentioned.

    I also did a full beam instead of I-beams. I figured these columns should be more like the support columns at the base of a building - hollow core and thick walls. But I also imagine that a lot is going to rest in the nature of the materials used. These are going to be alloys that like a samurai blade allow for a mix of rigidity and flexibility.

    This seems an under-appreciated idea from my point of view.. that the materials make a difference. That said, one need only look at the effect that things like titanium and carbon fibre has had on the building of all sort of things.
    These materials have allowed us to make things like dragster frames that both require less of the material, provide a lighter weight frame and a more rigid and strong frame at the same time. Carbon fibre extends that even further. So next gen materials should extend this concept even further.

    That said, much has to be assumed of the materials as there is no deliniation made of what the realworld tolerances of those materials might be. The buildup I have put forward for the dorsal section, were it for a stationary structure, would be pretty massive overkill. I like what Drexler did with his cutaway; but, FJ did'n't allow space to do that here. And to be honest, I'm not really certain I like the amount of space or construction dedicated to the connection at the primary hull. I'll do what I can to make the available structure do the job intended; but, I don't imagine that will look less like magic and more realistic in the end. It's annoying; but, there's only so much that license will allow one to get away with sometimes.
     
  3. blssdwlf

    blssdwlf Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    If you take a look at the refit-Enterprise you can see that there are not many "deep" structural supports going into the ship from the warp pylons or the neck. Go-go super advanced materials ;)
     
  4. Saquist

    Saquist Commodore

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    I'm not sure exactly how you would judge the "deep structural support but I'm not sure that's true.

    The refit was given a wider base (the Torpedo launcher).
    The neck was also reigned in more over the Secondary hull allowing for more of those perpendicular supports to be added to stiffen between the two hulls. In fact I think you could add 3 or four vertical load supporting beams directly between the saucer and the stardrive where the original ship would only allowl one because the neck protruded forward so much.
    (see picture in last post)

    On the refit it looks like most of the support of neck is right above the ceiling of Main Engineering.

    The refit pylons are properlly mounted with a wide base but there is nowhere on the out side that I could judge how ridgid adhered they are to the ships keel.

    I'll admit the very nature of the Pylons on both the refit and the original seem to imply that the material is doing the job where structure normally would because considering that there is no bracing between the two pylons at the top then it's a given that there is a lot of flexibility in them no matter what the internal structure. (and this is normal engineering failsafe, powered tech like IDF and SIF aren't a factor at this point.)

    From what I learned materials do not dictate the internal supports. Like in a house. You could have aluminum beams or wood beams but you still need the beams.
     
  5. blssdwlf

    blssdwlf Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    You can see in the interior shots of the engineering room of the refit-Enterprise looking back towards where the power conduits split off to the nacelles that there aren't any bracing structures reaching in. I'd guess from where the nacelle pylons connect to the secondary hull they only reach in for support about 1 or 2 decks at the most.

    The neck connects to the wider torpedo launcher box but it's mostly hollow in the front leaving only a couple of points where there could be nice beefy vertical supports.

    Anyway, all I'm saying that with advanced technology (including those of alien origin) there is alot of flexibility to build things we would normally think is impossible. (Or at least it could be argued that way ;) )

    I'll stop here so as not to derail havoc92's progress.

    Keep up the hard work havoc92 :techman:
     
  6. Saquist

    Saquist Commodore

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    Indeed, lets sideline this for a later discussion.
     
  7. Albertese

    Albertese Commodore Commodore

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    It turns out that I-beams, regardless of material used, will always be stronger than "solid" beams. I have to get back to work so I don't have time to discuss all the reasons why, but to sum it up, the mass of a solid structure works against its loadbearing ability especially when we're talking about torque. For example, a solid rod bends much more easily than a hollow tube made of the same material. It's more than simply a mass savings to use I-beams; they are structurally superior due to the way the shape physically works, no matter what sort of material the form is made of.

    Otherwise, great project, I really like how things are shaping up!

    --Alex
     
  8. havoc92

    havoc92 Commander Red Shirt

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    Thank you. And you'll note that I said I used hollow core beams ;) Same thing as used in the base of skyscrapers.
     
  9. Albertese

    Albertese Commodore Commodore

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    ^^^

    OOPS! That's what I get for typing replies during a rapidly diminishing lunch break. Looks like you have it all in order. Carry on.

    --Alex
     
  10. havoc92

    havoc92 Commander Red Shirt

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    LOL ;)
     
  11. havoc92

    havoc92 Commander Red Shirt

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    The latest.. Been under the weather for a few days and got back in the saddle this afternoon for a bit..

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    These aren't final. I needed to do something a little different to change things up a bit. So, I decided to start by playing with some furniture.
    The chairs are based on the drawings in the Tech manual. After reviewing some screencaps, I'm a little cheesed that they differ from what's in
    the show; but..

    The tables were slapped together in about 15 minutes. The res needs bumped a little here and there; but, otherwise I was quite pleased with them.
     
  12. BolianAuthor

    BolianAuthor Writer, Battlestar Urantia Rear Admiral

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    Welcome to your new title as PRESIDENT of the Insane Detail Club.
     
  13. TIN_MAN

    TIN_MAN Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Wow! your "These aren't final" chairs are better than most peoples final versions.
     
  14. DrMcCoy

    DrMcCoy Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    This is an AWESOME project! I will be eagerly following the progress.
     
  15. havoc92

    havoc92 Commander Red Shirt

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    LOL

    Chess Anyone?

    [​IMG]

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    Just finished this morning on this little project.. 2 days worth of work. Not bad I guess. The Knight was a bear and still kinda sucks.
    And the support arm for the chessboard is giving me a few fits; but, overall, very happy with this batch.

    Ok, off for smokes.
     
  16. blssdwlf

    blssdwlf Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    "Queen to queen's level three."

    Nice work :)
     
  17. havoc92

    havoc92 Commander Red Shirt

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    Thank you!

    And another bit done and ready for textures..

    [​IMG]
     
  18. Mytran

    Mytran Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    That looks suspiciously like the wall-mounted corridor machinery! :)
     
  19. 137th Gebirg

    137th Gebirg Admiral Premium Member

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    It does indeed! :techman:

    Are you also going to have that bizarro wall-mounted-pipe-cap-end-thingy-propped-up-by-a-piece-of-trapezoid-shaped-plywood (TM)?
     
  20. CDR6

    CDR6 Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Havoc, some really nice work going on here! ( Thank you for sharing all the good stuff with us). What with one thing and another, how much time have you put in on the project, thus far?

    Regards,
    Chuck