Scratch Build – In Progress Project: Hush!

You tried to hide it, but I see you are still rockin' the glue bottle.

 

Lol, I've actually removed it now. There's no glue bottle in that first shot, you've just been conditioned to expect it now! The triple pci screws of the card do a reasonable job stopping the 2kg card snapping the PCIE slot!

 

Few photos of PCI bracket and the lovely Alphacool Eisblock Aurora GTX4090 water block Alphacool generously sponsored the project with (vielen dank!).

Bit of work done; heated 14mm OD/12mm ID copper tubing to anneal, straightened with an inner 12mm solid soft silicone tube, outer spring steel pipe straightener spring, and a flat surface (10mm thick aluminium plate). Still very frustrating to get 100% straight. Deoxidised with vinegar and salt soak, deburred ends, polished tubes.

Got some shorter tubes that are straight but semi-hard, so will have to see if they bend okay in the 14mm tube bender...

Polished the Bitspower vertical GP bracket as black and material blasted didn't match the build's shiny aluminium colour scheme. Realised the sponsored Alphacool Eisblock 4090 waterblock PCI I/O plate is black...

20230326_123800 by Tom ., on Flickr

Whatever it is coating it, paint or plasticoat, you can buy Alphacool's GPU waterblock and rest assured it is very durable! That nitromors didn't touch it. Neither did paint thinner soak/scrub. Needed physical abrasion in the end!

Next up over Easter is disassembling loop, dremeling the PCI I/O bracket to attach the bitspower vertical GPU bracket, fitting GPU block, bending cutting and fitting copper hard tubing.

Here's some shiny pictures in the meantime (excuse the condensation!)...

Before:

20230102_224607_HDR by Tom ., on Flickr

20230105_154148_HDR by Tom ., on Flickr

After:

PSX_20230407_182333 by Tom ., on Flickr

20230407_173335~2 by Tom ., on Flickr

PSX_20230407_182857 by Tom ., on Flickr

High res non mobile/too little depth of field camera photo:

DSC07468 by Tom ., on Flickr

 

nitro mors is not worth buying. and i thought the thread on oc.uk looked familar

 

Fiddling round with positioning for where the pump will sit (case lying on its back on a polystyrene sheet). Might be the shortest ever hard tube there!

20230410_194342_Edited by Tom ., on Flickr

 

From that angle it doesn't look like it 'should' connect.

 

You're right, it won't in that pic, but the vertical GPU bracket there is around 3mm to the left of where it'll be when all screwed in - in the pic it's resting on the pci slot i/o bracket before it's been dremelled/cutout to allow the vertical gpu bracket to sit flush (so the pci slot tabs of the vertical gpu bracket can't slot into the motherboard tray pci slots and so it's ~3mm ish out of place in the pic. Should be okay (famous last words).

 

iam struggling to even see the hard tube looks like 2 fittings connected

 

There's no hard tube there yet, just about a mm gap I expect between those hard fittings! Could try using the straight fittings only without the 45 degree ones, and bending an 'S' interconnecting copper pipe with the pipe bender, though I think the bend radius is probably tighter with those corsair(bitspower) 45 degree gold fittings

 

So, not enough room to thread the fitting?

 

Sigh, you're right. May be able to remove the aluminium angle leg to give space, bend a short s piece of copper pipe instead of the 2 45 degree fittings, or worst case use the port outlet on the front of the EK res top (it's an immediate 90 degree restriction so will avoid if I can).

 

A 90 won't hurt restriction nearly as much as radiator travel comparable to crossing Rhode Island.

 

Crossing Rhode island?! What is this?

c by Tom ., on Flickr

It's only ~120cm (x48 pipes in parallel) - it's actually quite low restriction; flow was surprising good when I tested I'll have you know! - 1.87gallons/minute with a 9w ddc comparable CPU block (XSPC edge) and 2m of 1/2" tubing. Will have an extra GPU block but ~1m only of 12mm ID tubing.

All the testing of pump tops with immediate 90 degree outlet restrictions I've seen had a pretty significant effect on flow&pressure drop so hopefully can avoid that (will mean the pump will need to run at a higher rpm).

 

Took a dremel to the I/O PCI card aluminium bracket to fit the vertical GPU bracket which is resting on it in this photo (those horizontal struts with the pressed grooves seen behind it had to be cut to fit it, 3 countersunk M4 holes drilled to attach it at the front, and 5 m3 holed redrilled and tapped as countersunk M4 instead at the side to attach the vertical GPU bracket.

PSX_20230429_181207 by Tom ., on Flickr

Vertical GPU bracket fitted:

20230429_152606~2 by Tom ., on Flickr

PSX_20230429_174845 by Tom ., on Flickr

PSX_20230429_175205 by Tom ., on Flickr

I drilled and tapped five 6-32 UNC holes to attach the vertical PSU bracket: This is the back of the case - the PSU will sit up and behind the case unseen (and not impede passive airflow in the case). The case needs some space around it for airflow from the bottom anyhow so mounting the PSU on the back won't really affect case footprint. It's not really seen behind the case, and the PSU is black, so may leave the PSU bracket as it is here rather than strip and polish it.

PSX_20230429_180058 by Tom ., on Flickr

PSX_20230429_175608 by Tom ., on Flickr

 

Made a jig (from a slightly sorry looking 10mm thick sheet of plexiglass) to keep the veneered backwall flat for sanding and coating with more coats of 'finishing oil' - the backwall is thin and fiddly and tricky to sand between coats and needs to be flat for applying the oil (and messy if this is done installed in the alumunium frame) without damaging the veneer edges otherwise. Just 22 countersunk m4 holes later :-( :

PSX_20230503_132224 by Tom ., on Flickr

PSX_20230503_132414 by Tom ., on Flickr

 

Sanded down the walnut veneered back-wall to 1500 grit on a sanding block, then rubbed out the gloss with a fine microfibre cloth. Ahem. The pits from the wood grain as you lay down layers of oil finish (which is tung oil and polyurethane mainly) on the wooden veneer surface is almost gone. Gloss finish looks lovely but when installed in the case with the lighting it was getting glare/reflections from the lighting so reducing the gloss should look better, though 1500 then scuffing is likely still too shiny, will have to see what's like installed.. Remembered I'd polished everything to a mirror shine.... Sanded the edges around the countersunk holes of the veneered backwall and sanded through to wood in places. Got frustrated and decided to stop and put the hardware in and do some therapeutic hard copper piping instead as a less frustrating option. This was an error.

The 14mm pipe bender I have is rubbish, and the 'half-hard' copper pipe I got won't bend - it snaps instead, and broke the 14mm pipe bender in the process. Sigh.

Got some prebent Barrow 14mm copper tubing instead - it has the benefit of a tighter bend radius of 30mm compared to ~36.5mm ish for the hand 14mm pipe bending tools.

Here's some photos of copper pipes not fitting properly yet! - the straight copper pipes here are the 'half-hard(very hard)' copper pipe to show clearance and possible loop routing.

Vertical GPU riser fitted (the motherboard tray's a bit dusty here)

PSX_20230510_134520 by Tom ., on Flickr


Ah, some non-aligned 45 degree fittings between GPU block and CPU block.

This may align with some different 45 degree fittings without the 10mm of knurled rotary section, and maybe using 7.5mm knurled male to female spacers if needed, but may well not...

I keep hearing all these adverts saying that with all of the rampant money printing of western countries and the consequent hyperinflation that it's time to invest in gold. Sadly I misinterpreted that as 'buy more gold compression fittings'. Can't find any in stock in the UK. They'll get here from aliexpress in 2 weeks.

PSX_20230510_135355 by Tom ., on Flickr

An alternative is to connect from the other side with a 90 degree fitting to 90 degree bent copper pipe. Looking horribly tight and that the compression fitting will clamp on the curve of the bend...

20230508_125244_HDR by Tom ., on Flickr

And even putting the copper tube in a pipe spring, 12mm soft silicone pipe bender inside and putting in a vice and hammering to tighten the bend hasn't worked as the compression fitting rides the angle of the bend at the end so haven't got it to fit so far.. I know hard tubing is supposed to be a PITA, but putting tubes in vices and hammering them to try and get them to fit might be a sign I'm doing it wrong! A replacement 90 degree fitting with the 14mm OD compression fitting integrated may give a few more vital mm and make it work; will have to see...

20230510_015804_HDR by Tom ., on Flickr

Those two horizontal copper pipes are possible routes for pump to gpu block - the bottom one could be a 90 degree bent copper pipe to the 90 degree fitting on the gpu block there, the top copper pipe there would just about fit a degree fitting from pump to the block with the gold ek pump housing sat just about on the pump wall. May still cut a 'slightly-larger-than--gold ek-d5-pump-housing' sized hole in the veneered backwall to sit the pump housing down through the wall and have the plexi d5 res top more flush, and mount in a vibration damping frame/box section hideen in the back of the case for a cleaner look, so the pump isn't taking space inside.

PSX_20230510_140954 by Tom ., on Flickr

PSX_20230510_141209 by Tom ., on Flickr

20230510_015915_HDR by Tom ., on Flickr

20230510_015804_HDR by Tom ., on Flickr

20230510_015729_HDR by Tom ., on Flickr

That's all for now, thanks for reading. TLDR: looks pretty but very frustrating and doesn't fit yet!

 

It's like you forgot a bunch of stuff because the project took so long.
You have to anneal the hard copper to bend it, and there are spring inserts made to keep the walls round during bending. I don't think silicone can work on metal bending.
You can't have a bend go into the fitting. It will be oblong and leak.
I feel like a jerk telling you that. I think you already know, and I'm sleep reading.
It looks like solder fittings are on the menu. Even then You might need to trim one end short so you have pipe for the comp fitting. I can't see you getting that bend without a complex ( ? ) shaped bend. It looks too tight for a 180 U bend too.

 

No worries, you're not being a jerk - that's perfectly reasonable advice. It's confusing, but there's some copper straight pipe in the pics just to show clearances/routes, that was sold as a softer grade than it is (I asked before buying) - turns out it's very hard and brittle and broke the low quality 14mm OD pipe bender (it was out of alignment for the pipe bending channels on arrival, needing spacer circlips to be inserted to align, and so weakened at the pivot pin from this). Those sections of hard copper pipe won't be bent.

The bent 14mm copper pipe in the pics is a Barrow prebent fairly soft copper pipe (though undoubedly work-hardened to an extent around the bend). Heating with a blowtorch and then pickling in vinegar+salt from my experience (having doing that recently on some 14mm copper pipe) isn't an easy fix, as it creates oxide scale that's quite persistent and difficult to remove with pipe cleaner brushes, and so risks getting into the loop/waterblock fins, so I really don't want to do that.

Clamping at the bend with the compression fittings is the issue atm, and something I'm trying to avoid! - where the compression fitting clamps is right at the border of curve to straight pipe so the lower o-ring is clamping on straight pipe and the upper just inside the bend by perhaps 2 or 3mm. The 'bending' I tried is with a silicone 12mm solid rod insert inside the tube and also with a tool steel 14mm ID bending spring outside the copper tube, to try and tighten the bend, and then using a 12mm steel rod inserted into the end (where the compression fittings clamp) to straighten the pipe at the end and stop it deforming/going oval. May need to abandon the idea, but it is only a few mm to straighten at the end. If it's not doable I'll have to try something else for that bit.

 

Mmmm copper tubes

 

Slow progress (as always!). Managed to bend the copper tube - Cheaps was right. Needed to blowtorch to anneal the copper to bend, and use a slight question mark shaped copper tubing run from the GPU outlet to CPU block inlet. Can either keep it like this, or instead use the low profile delrin alphacool gpu block terminal I've bought (this has 1 inlet, one outlet, facing up ( https://www.highflow.nl/images/wate...erminal_flat_straight_-_Acetal_1019459_02.jpg ) rather than 2 inlets, 2 outlets facing forwards and backwards with the plexi terminal in the following photos.

Here's some photos with a proper camera! (Click for full res versions)

PSX_20230606_094101 by Tom ., on Flickr

PSX_20230529_032227 by Tom ., on Flickr

PSX_20230528_013800 by Tom ., on Flickr

The eagle-eyed will have noticed there's some sag with the gpu block and motherboard tray.

The D5 with the EK FLT80 reservoir top is a bit bulky and didn't like how much space it took up inside the case, so the plan is to mount the pump behind the case, poking through a rounded square hole so only the plexi reservoir sits within the case. It'll be dampened and held within a piece of 4" x 4" x 1/4" thick walled aluminium box-section with some sorbothane vibration isolating hemispheres around the pump and some neoprene foam matt to keep the vibration hemispheres appropriately loaded and hold it in place. May be pointless trying to vibration damp it whilst using hard copper pipe, will have to see!

20230611_142816_HDR by Tom ., on Flickr

20230611_143008_HDR by Tom ., on Flickr

20230611_193756_HDR by Tom ., on Flickr

Picked up some aluminium z-section and dremelled to use in place at thw back of the case by the vertical gpu riser bracket, to have it bolt into it, and provide a vertical support for the pump dampened box to bolt to.

20230610_195019_HDR by Tom ., on Flickr

20230611_024732_HDR by Tom ., on Flickr

20230611_132132_HDR by Tom ., on Flickr

...and the z-section bit of aluminium isn't quite the right size for the gpu bracket (the sides are short by a few mm) for the bolts on the gpu bracket to bolt through. Doesn't come in the right size, so will have to cut down and use some aluminium angle instead. :-/