3D Printing Used in Creating This Amazing Star Wars Star Destroyer PC Case, Will Be at CES 2016

Just when I thought that I’ve seen the coolest Star Wars project that the PC Case modding or 3D printing communities can offer up, someone turns around and shows up to out do them. Case – no pun intended – in point, is this amazing custom PC mod that is an epic recreation of the Venator-class Star Destroyer, or Jedi Cruiser, as seen in the animated Star Wars series The Clone Wars. The case not only looks like an incredibly detailed replica of the iconic starship, right down to the 3D printed details and fiber optic lighting, but it is also a top-of-the- line PC with a water-cooled GPU. I can’t imagine a better CPU sitting on my desk than this one, although it is so large that I probably wouldn’t be able to fit anything else on my desk. Still worth it.

This massive CPU project is the work of master case modder Sander van der Velden, also known as Asphiax. He chronicles all of his amazing science fiction themed builds and projects on his blog, including a Borg Cube shaped PC case, a Star Trek Starship PC case and an incredible AT-AT Walker PC case. He has been working on his Star Destroyer project, that he calls Yazi, since 2012, but when gaming company MSI offered him a chance to showcase his amazing build at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas he stepped on the gas and raced to the projects finish line. The results are nothing short of incredible, and I have little doubt that Asphiax and Yazi will be a big hit at this year’s show.

The project started with some test builds using cardboard, and eventually some shaped aluminium sheets of metal. Once the dimensions were all worked out and the positioning of the parts for the PC were complete the final frame and body were professionally cut from more durable sheets of aluminum. Once all of the metal parts were joined together, the case was exceptionally stable and would easily support all of the computer components and parts. To make the CPU case really stand out Asphiax wired it with over 160 feet of fiber optic cables that lit Yazi up quite realistically. The lighting runs through the dual bridges on top of the ship, as well as all along the side of its sides.

After the frame of the case was assembled, Asphiax turned to adding the realistic detail that would bring the Star Destroyer to life. He 3D modelled several panels with the ship’s fine surface details, or what are often called greebles, that gave Yazi the cool exterior. Asphiax used his LulzBot Taz 5 3D printer to make all of the plastic greeble panels, and they were all printed using PLA filament because it is easy to clean and paint. Once the panels were painted, they were also wired up with the dramatic lighting and the case was assembled.

Yazi’s GPU and motherboard both require a customized cooling loop that fits on top of the case, but because Asphiax was shipping it to the United States he decided to leave it off to avoid risking any delays in customs. The CPU is also cooled with a long bank of six 9mm fans that push tons of air into the computer. The warm air is pushed down and out of the bottom of the case through a series of ports that were models specifically for that purpose. Let’s hope Asphiax designed these, exhaust ports if you will, a little better than his pals assigned to the Death Star.

If you’re going to be attending CES 2016 next weekend, then you can see the Yazi Star Destroyer CPU case at the booth for gaming company MSI who sponsored the build. You can find out more about Asphiax and all of his projects over on his blog, and read all of his posts about the Yazi project. And you can read through his full build log over on the MSI forums.  Discuss this story in the Star Destroyer forum on 3DPB.com.