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Case Mod - In Progress Cosmos Cruizer - Final Pics!

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by Boddaker, 26 Jul 2012.

  1. Cheapskate

    Cheapskate Insane? or just stupid?

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    Oof. So cool looking, but my back hurts just thinking of moving it. Love that top vent.
     
  2. Boddaker

    Boddaker Still hangin around

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    Dang, another two months have just flown by again. Can't seem to stay consistent on this project, as other things keep taking precedence. Just gotta continue pluggin away at it as time allows, and it will get done eventually. :)

    Anyway, I finally accumulated enough pics to warrant an update. I've been working on this wc manifold since like February, and it's gone through numerous re-designs to get to it's current state. What started out as a simple laminated piece is now a multi-section, multi-directional part incorporating rigid acrylic tubing and stainless steel braided lines!

    But let's start with the rigid tubing. Primochill recently came out with a whole line of rigid acrylic tubing, and I just had to work it into this build somehow. So I got some of the amber tubes with the special 1/2" rigid fittings.
    [​IMG]

    They also included a piece of the silicone rubber hose that fits into the tube to aid in the heat bending process. I made a quick and dirty bending jig that enabled me to get any 90° radius I need, using whatever pipe or cylinder I may have on hand.
    [​IMG]

    For the tighter bends, I made a helper mold to keep the tube from flattening out.
    [​IMG]

    About a week after getting the regular fittings, Primochill announced their new badass Revolver style fittings, so I had to grab them..
    [​IMG]

    Getting the hang of heat-bending.
    [​IMG]

    After a few bends, it became apparent that I would have to finish gluing the manifold together so I could get more accurate measurements between it and the motherboard blocks. So I turned my attention onto that.
    [​IMG]

    The manifold accommodates two separate loops.. One for the motherboard blocks, and one for the video cards. The manifold will replace the SLI adapters from EVGA's Hydro Copper blocks, so I took measurements from them and transferred the holes.
    [​IMG]

    Here are the two pieces, after much alterations and revisions. The smaller section on top will mount directly to the hydro copper blocks and will fit into a notch in the larger part, which will be mounted vertically next to the first video card.
    [​IMG]

    They fit together like so...
    [​IMG]

    The steel braided lines are the main feeds to and from the pump, rads, etc... via quick disconnects that will pass through the fiberglass panel.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    As a final shot, I fitted the rigid tubing into the manifold.
    [​IMG]

    Once I finalize the rigid tubing and everything fits perfectly, I will mount the quick disconnects into the fiberglass panel. Then I can cut the steel braid to length and finish them off with the same chrome hose ends. Hoping to tackle that this week, and then I can start plumbing out the back side.
     
  3. Ace_finland

    Ace_finland Minimodder

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    just read the whole log, amazing work!
     
  4. Blooddrunken

    Blooddrunken In Flames we Trust

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    The color of the tubes is awesome. :)

    I'm looking forward for more of this build. :thumb:
     
  5. Dr. Coin

    Dr. Coin Multimodder

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    Fantastic work.

    With the steel braid hose it reminds me of Orac³.
     
    Last edited: 20 Nov 2013
  6. Boddaker

    Boddaker Still hangin around

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    Thanks Dr. Coin! Good to hear from you again. Been awhile. :)
     
  7. Waynio

    Waynio Relaxing

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    The amber tubing looks awesome against the metal, sweet quick disconnects too. :)
     
  8. keenan

    keenan Minimodder

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    Awesome so far Boddaker!!! One question.. with the steel braided hose, can you cut it to custom lengths? Which fitting do you use to connect it to G1/4 thread?
     
  9. Hukkel

    Hukkel James' minion

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    Sooooooo shineyyyyyy *.*
     
  10. Boddaker

    Boddaker Still hangin around

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    The steel braided hose can be cut to any size using a hack saw or Dremel, but you have to wrap it with duct tape to prevent fraying. I'm just using 1/2" barbs with a standard worm-drive hose clamp.

    :)
     
  11. Nutman

    Nutman Never stuck with stock

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    I bet this'll be much, much cleaner than Orac³!
     
  12. Dr. Coin

    Dr. Coin Multimodder

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    True, but Orac³ was meant to busy.

    Unlike many people, when I got involved in modding I didn't go a register with every forum I could find. When GruntvillE went down it was also when life got busy and I drifted away from the modding. I am know looking to get at it again, just need that inspiration first.

    Now for an on topic comment:
    From your pictures that’s no standard worm-drive hose clamp. I can see the worm-drive, but yours have a nice fancy cover.
     
  13. Boddaker

    Boddaker Still hangin around

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    Crap, another month gone by! I've been making progress here and there, but mainly on the back side and mounting things like the lower radiator and pumps. So let's get to it!

    First thing I needed to do was make a sub-floor. This cleans up the area and allows for some stealthy cable management.
    [​IMG]

    I cut the floor to fit, then added various holes for mounting and cable access.
    [​IMG]

    I also installed a pass-through fitting from Koolance, to serve as a drain for the WC system.
    [​IMG]

    Here's a shot from below. I added a 45º elbow to clear the side bezel.
    [​IMG]

    A close-up shot of the floor with drain hole.
    [​IMG]

    Now that the floor was done, I could move onto the mounting system for the lower radiator. I wanted something simple, yet stealthy. So I fabricated some aluminum posts that make use of the fan's mounting screws.
    [​IMG]

    A closer up view shows the 3/16" tube that runs through the aluminum post. It's a pretty tight fit, so it doesn't float.
    [​IMG]

    With the radiator in place, you can't really see the posts at first glance.
    [​IMG]

    The posts go through the floor and fasten to the bottom panel with standard 6-32 case screws.
    [​IMG]

    I made sure to include some cable access holes in between the fans on each side of the rad.
    [​IMG]

    They travel under the floor to the front corner, where the cables will come up to the Lamptron Touch fan controller. I'll need to get (or make) a 3pin 4-way splitter to complete the connection.
    [​IMG]

    Next up will be the pump mounting, and some pipe bending. Stay tuned!
     
  14. Boddaker

    Boddaker Still hangin around

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    Ok, time to mount the EK pump top and D5 pumps, however, I did not want to use conventional bracketry. Keeping with the automotive theme, I looked at various oil system setups and noticed how there was a striking resemblance to a dual oil filter system. So I devised a mounting method that replicates that look.

    Of course I had to incorporate the requisite amount of chrome, so I found the perfect donor item for the pump covers: a 2 1/2" chrome exhaust tip! :D I wasted no time cutting it up into two equal lengths.
    [​IMG]

    For the actual mounting, I used a piece of left-over 3/8" acrylic, cut it in half and drilled/tapped some holes.
    [​IMG]

    They fit snuggly inside the covers. Some tiny flush-mount screws hold them in place.
    [​IMG]

    The covers fit loosely over the pumps, so I had to add some o-rings to take up the extra space.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I cut slots into the sub-floor so the acrylic mounts would slide right in. They're secured to the bottom panel with a couple case screws.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    So with the lower rad and pumps mounted, I could finally start running some stainless steel tubing! Using the bender is a bit tricky, but after a few practice bends, I got the hang of it.
    [​IMG]

    A pipe cutter is way better than a hack saw or dremel for cutting tubing. Well worth the money!
    [​IMG]

    This is the lower drain pipe going from rad to drain.
    [​IMG]

    Pipe in place. I'm not tightening anything down just yet, since I still have much to do before final assembly.
    [​IMG]

    Next piece was the reservoir-pump feed line, which is just a simple 90º bend.
    [​IMG]

    Another angle showing both pieces. I'm liking the look so far!
    [​IMG]

    The next pieces will be a bit more challenging, with compound bends on the longer runs. Should be fun!
     
    Teelzebub and Marcos_Viegas like this.
  15. Asouter

    Asouter --------

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    Love the braided lines, fits in well with the cruiser theme. After seeing those I had some serious second thoughts about what I'd used :)
     
  16. Nutman

    Nutman Never stuck with stock

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    LOVE the way you mounted the radiator. Innovative modding right there - at least I've never seen it executed like this before.

    I also like the way you bend, cut and mount the stainless tubes. I know it's kinda THE way to do it, but it still looks nice. Are you going to chrome plate or paint the tubing?
     
  17. bulldogjeff

    bulldogjeff The modding head is firmly back on.

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    This is looking superb, stainless tubing as well? ...That must be hard work to bend
     
  18. siliconfanatic

    siliconfanatic Johny-come-Lately

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    Isn't the answer quite obvious? :D

    Looking good, bodakker!
     
  19. Boddaker

    Boddaker Still hangin around

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    Thanks Nutman. I was thinking about polishing the stainless tubing, but since I have numerous other pieces to chrome, I might as well just do it all at once and save myself the extra work. Probably won't cost much more anyways.

    This particular stainless tubing is pretty soft (type 304) so it isn't really that hard to bend, especially with that bender. :)
     
  20. Boddaker

    Boddaker Still hangin around

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    Ok, time for another update! Today I'll show you what I did to this poor power supply lol. As I mentioned on Facebook, I was not phased by the little sticker covering up one of the screw holes, put there by some dude named Warren T Void. :p

    Upon removing the cover, I proceeded to cut pretty much the whole top and end away. Since the case has rounded corners, I needed to do the same to the PSU cover in order for it to fit as close as possible. I'm also replacing the stock 130mm fan with a 140mm NZXT orange led fan, which will be mounted directly to the back panel.
    [​IMG]

    The power switch and plug will be relocated to a custom IO panel, so I cut the main wires and extended them.
    [​IMG]

    Here's the power switch/plug cluster that I de-soldered from the main wires.
    [​IMG]

    It will be re-soldered to the extensions once I know how long they need to be. I won't know that until I get the switch and plug mounted to the new IO panel.
    [​IMG]

    I routed the extension wires through the top of the PSU, insulating the hole with a rubber grommet.
    [​IMG]

    Now that the cover has been thoroughly transmorgrified, I placed it back onto the psu. (Warren is going to be soooo pissed!)
    [​IMG]

    To secure the PSU vertically in place, I whipped up a couple aluminum brackets. The PSU will rest on this one across the bottom.
    [​IMG]

    A shot of the bottom bracket from underneath...
    [​IMG]

    ... and with the PSU mounted..
    [​IMG]

    Here's the top bracket, mounted for a test fit. You can also see how the PSU matches the rounded corners.
    [​IMG]

    In order for the 140mm fan to fit, I had to notch the top bracket just a little.
    [​IMG]

    I've also been working constantly on the back panel for the last couple months. It's taken a while, but it's finally starting to come together. If all goes well, I will be able to show that progress right after the new year. :)
     

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