Scratch Build – In Progress Project: Blue Horizon - "MOTY" Nominee

I've managed to get an extruded heatsink which is 300mm x 300m x 25mm for only £50 from www.birminghamaluminium.com , I couldn't find a company that sold folded fin or bonded fin heatsinks for a cheap price when only ordering 1. The extruded heatsink also has a 6mm base so I can mill a channel striaght into the base of heatsink for the coolant.

 

Bit of catching up to do here. Worth the read That heat sink idea looks good ... hope the "Uber Dremel" ... doesn't give you any more grief.

 

Yeah I hope so too

Heres the heatsink which arrived last week:

 

You cheated, you said you were going to make one...lol.. I have to say that this is a much easier option and the one I would have chosen.

 

What size is that heatsink keir & are those A4 sheets for the background, if so I have an idea of how big that thing is .

 

Looking fantastic riekmaharg, seems like a damn good price on the heatsink! cant wait to see how well it performs

 

Lol, Yeah getting it made by a company was the only way to get a perfect looking one

Yep A4 sheets, I would have liked a bigger one but I'll make do. I've also got a indea for using some fans on it, if passive isnt enough. Only way to find out though is to make it. However repainting the backpanel is my main priority atm, as I've stripped off the paint as it was too soft and I'm sanding it all down now.

 

That's one sweet looking heatsink.

 

Thanks Nutman


Heres the next update:

After I'd given the case a good old sanding I sprayed it with some Aluminium Primer:

















Theres still a few imperfections, which I'll sort on the weekend.

 

Wow man... really nice!

 

Wooo, the actual case is back in play!

 

Thanks Marcos

Yep , once the paintings done, I will finish off the top panels and attach them to the case.

 

Urgh Painting never went well with my cases, I hope you have better luck.

What kind of paints will you be using and where from?

 

Really nice job buddy, can you show us the primer please? Mod on!

 

In case I can't afford getting my alu powdercoated, I did some research and have decided that I'm definitely going to buy some Metalprep 79 and Alodine 1201 to make sure to get a paint job that will stick well. Guys that do car parts and marine parts use this stuff before painting.
I've tried painting alu in the past, and the paint simply didn't want to stick well and flaked off way too easily.

Good decision on that heatsink. I think that will work very well for this.

 

Hehe! I'd almost forgotten that there was a case in this build too, all engrossed in alu casting and machining

 

Im using a primer called Plasti-kote Primer Aluminium, then once the finish is perfect I'm gonna take it to be sprayed at my local car body shop.

Its Plasti-Kote aluminium primer found here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Plasti-kote-P...t=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item43a47a6049

I sands great, and sticks to aluminium with ease so long as its nice and clean I also use it to reveal scratches then filler over it with car body filler.

Thanks voigts , Yeah aluminium must be primed with an aluminium primer before you put the paint on. I think it has some special chemical in it which either removes or helps the primer stick to the oxide layer on the aluminium.

lol, yeah I cant wait to finish the frame of the case and get onto the aesthetic parts .


Sorry about no updates, I'm still trying to get rid of all the micro scratches.

 

I have got rid of the remaining imperfections and the case is at the local car body shop waiting to be sprayed and heres the new Heatsink water channel design:





The dividing channel in the center of where the angle barbs will go will be filed down to like a knife edge so it neatly cuts the flow in half to make sure the coolant goes to the far end:



Please post any thoughts and suggestions for any improvements

 

A few points:

Is that cover plexi? you'll need to fix it in the centre somehow so it doesn't warp and allow water to circulate "over" the channels.

You'll need to create a decent gasket to seal it, preferably something that can be removed if you need to clean it out (algae happens :/) You can buy o-ring material in coils which could be put in a machined channel in the alu, would look good and create a good seal.

I'd consider rounding the corners of the channels, sharp corners cause turbulence in fluids which will restrict flow.

Gonna be an amazing heatsink

 

I'd keep it simple like that...



Water enters on the top finds it's way down through the serpentine and exits on the lower corner. This way you don't need to make your mind about directing the water through the fins and loss of pressure in the loop.