There’s something about miniaturized variations of the issues that we expertise in on a regular basis life that captures the curiosity of younger and previous alike. Whether or not it’s a scaled-down mannequin of an iconic landmark, a miniature recreation of a busy metropolis road, or a compact model of a favourite gadget, the attraction is plain. Miniature variations function reminders of the creativity and craftsmanship that may remodel the extraordinary into one thing extraordinary.
Generally these scaled-down objects are way more than only a mannequin, and as an alternative carry out an actual perform. Probably the greatest illustrations of useful miniature objects is probably on the earth of computing, the place technological developments have shrunk the scale of computing parts to the purpose that the facility of a desktop PC can now be squeezed into some very tiny circumstances. Absolutely many Hackster Information readers will likely be accustomed to Raspberry Pis, Intel N100-based mini PCs, and a dozen different tiny computer systems like them.
A take a look at the mini PCs via the entrance panel (📷: Jay Doscher)
Serial creator Jay Doscher has gone all in on mini PCs and has them performing all types of capabilities round his residence. However whereas these mini PCs look good and don’t take up a lot house, he discovered that there are additionally some downsides to having a bunch of little containers far and wide. It’s simple to by accident snag one of many energy or Ethernet cables and ship a tiny PC flying throughout the room, for instance, which might by no means occur with a giant, cumbersome, conventional PC case.
So as to add some order to the chaos that was being created, Doscher determined to construct a tower of mini PCs referred to as the N100 Obelisk. Because the title implies, the construct consists of Intel N100-based mini PCs — specifically, Beelink QC12 Mini PCs with Intel Alder Lake N100 CPUs working at 3.4 GHz, 16 GB of RAM, and 500 GB SSDs.
4 of those mini PCs have been slotted right into a customized 3D-printed case. Loads of additional room was inbuilt to permit for enough airflow to maintain issues cool, and to permit for cable routing. Detachable panels line the case to permit for growth and entry to the inner parts. These panels have been connected with greater than 100 M4 screws, not simply to lock the panels down, but in addition to offer the look that Doscher was going for.
A view with the panel eliminated (📷: Jay Doscher)
To prime off the construct, a Waveshare 13-inch AMOLED show was connected to at least one aspect of the case such that the N100 Obelisk can be utilized as a totally standalone system. To match the form of the tower the monitor was configured to be in portrait mode, which required a bit little bit of hacking in Ubuntu, however labored simply high-quality when all was stated and executed.
The N100 Obelisk might be tailored to make use of different {hardware} platforms as effectively. If N100 mini PCs are usually not your factor, it may simply as simply be a tower of Raspberry Pis. In case you are a paid subscriber of Doscher’s, the entire 3D modeling information it’s essential recreate the mission will be downloaded. If not, you’ll want to take a look at the mission write-up anyway, as it would encourage you to construct one thing fascinating by yourself.
