The 7 Year Itch

Around 7 years ago I built a water rig (peusdo log can be seen at http://www.ocmojo.com/zzyzxx/waterrig/ - some of the links are broke, deal with it. Yes that's a blue orb on the NB). This machine ran a AXIA production run AMD 1.2ghz at 1.7ghz permanently, with only occasional (every 2-4 days) topping off of the water. It was an open loop (just pop the cap off the big white thing on the top, add water, load up UT and pwn). This was before there were easily accessable kits, etc. If there was a sponser, it would have to have been Home Depot.

Stats: 7f at idle, around 50f full load. It was a pelt cooled, and used a seperate 15v power supply for the pelt/fans/pump.

Anyways enough of that. I finally got the bug to do something again, I wanted to do something relatively simple - my current PC is loud. it's a Q6600, 8g memory, BFG 280OC with a 8800GT to split up the video duties.

Goals? Fairly simple. I'm not an eye candy guy - I just want it functional and clean.

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Initial thoughts?

- No external radiators. Think sleek, not mad max.
- Full tower, a mans gotta have his playground.
- I'm not spending $300 on a damn case. (yes I know in retrospect I'm spending much more, but building it myself absolves me for this sin)
- 2 loops, 1 for cpu, 1 for video. 3x120 for cpu, 2x120 for video. Imagine variable T=Temp. I never understood going from cpu (T+5) to NB (T+2) to SB (T+1) to V1 (T+5) to V2 (T+5). You're cooling your second video card with water that's 17 degrees hotter than what was initially going over your cpu? My numbers are without a doubt off base and not verified in any way, but with each component, your water is without a doubt getting hotter. Even in my first project, the front radiator was intended to cool the water in between the cpu and the video card.
- Futureproofing. All standard, no whacky stuff. I may pelt cool again which brings me to the next point....
- Dual PS, in the spirit of futureproofing, who knows how much power this thing is going to need.
- Clean. Nice big backplate for hiding wiring.
- **disclaimer** - I'm going against the grain here, but I'm not a fan of flexible plastic tubing (see first project link listed above for the genesis of this opinion). Flexible tubing isn't used except for to components that may require movement. All "long haul" liquid delivery will be with acrylic tubing.

Result? No cases found that meet my requirements. A few issues I ran into were sufficient case depth, and lack of a top that wasn't completely covered in crap (fans, bumps, plastic doodads that were there for nothing but cosmetics).

The closest thing I found was http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811233002 - lack of space for a second PS spoiled the plans.

Never being one to let lack of options bring me down, I finally decided...

I'm building my own case!!

Now I have no limits. This opened up some options here. What have I always wanted to do? Acrylic. Quiet. Clean.

The writing of this worklog begins being short on pictures, as I've been already working on this for about 4 weeks.

Design was in 1:1 scale on craft board from an arts and crafts store (I'm too old school for doin this via CAD).

All bolts will be 8-32 button head hex screws.

Dimensions:

30h x 9.5w x 21d, main structures are 1/16x
3/4 bracket aluminum lengths. All external surface areas are 1/4" acrylic.

Internal features:

100% hidden wiring "pocket" - fake backplane for all wiring. Built with 1/8" acrylic sheeting, 1/2" pocket, enough to hide connectors if needed, but shouldn't be.

Drive enclosure, enough for 6 drives, acrylic. Active Cooling.

7 5.25" external bays available.

I'll get some pictures up in the next few days.

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Current progress? The following is purchased/completed:

2x120 grill (Acryan), 3x120 grill(Acryan), 3x120mm radiator(Swiftech), 2x120mm radiator(Swiftech), Screws and mnuts ordered, OTW. 40 piece tapping set ordered, OTW.
Acrylic drive external enclosure cut and bent to shape.
All of the 30" and 9.5" length supports have been cut. 21" pieces will be cut once I recieve the main acrylic peices (once you see the pictures you'll see why this was a pain in the ass).
30x9.5, 30x21 and 21x9.5 pieces ordered, OTW. Found a place that cuts to order for $3.10/sq foot if anyone is interested.

Wow these pics are huge... will resize tomorrow...



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I'll be sacrificing some of the material I have in the next few weeks for putting together a "acrylic forming how to"

- Stay tuned. Constructive criticism welcome.

Finally got some new goodies!! All I'm waiting on now is the tap.

Finally got the cut to order 1/4 Plexi. Gotta admit these guys really did a kickass job. These aren't "roundabout" the measurements I asked for - they're dead on!



And the TUBES!!!

Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Got my taps tonight, so I could finally start working on the hole for the top radiator and attaching the supports to the first panel.

Ordered the remainder of the fans, 5 more evercool aluminum fans, and 7 grills.

I cut the 21" lengths and the bevels (I hadn't cut these yet), made the template for the top radiator grill and mounting points. I recieved the 8-32 hex button head screws the other day.

I tested the tap out on a spare piece of the 1/4 plexi and it held just fine - I'd heard horror stories about plexi cracking when tapped.

Here's the results of tonights efforts - I think the interior of the hole needs a little touching up but that's a task for another day. At least this proves proof of concept that everything fits together as planned.

Top Interior - 9 3/4" x 21"



Top Exterior

Here's some eye candy for upcoming updates... here's the start of the plexi 6 drive cage. It will have an intake and an exhaust fan, but don't want to give up too much information yet.

Went shopping today, picked up various items, some more aluminum to that'll end up outlining the 2 doors (left and right). Also picked up some 6-32 screws for doing some mock up until I get the 6-32 screws that'll be used in the final product.

Started assembling some of the other panels, completed the bottom panel assembly, having done more than a few of these, they're fitting together much better than when I started.

Unfortunately I did notice there is 1 crack in a peice of the plexi - I haven't decided if I'm going to re make that panel, due to the fact that all this is held together by screws, an individual panel can be replaced easily.

Anyways, here's the results of todays work. It's mocked together to make sure all the corners match - those that don't are "finessed" into place with some trimming with the Dremel.

First is the mock up... I should have put something inside for reference, but it's 30" tall.



This is the top panel, with the radiator put in place with 2 temporary 6-32 screws.



... and from the bottom



stay tuned.

Didn't really have anything more productive to do the remainder of that night, so I continued assembling/threading/matching up corners. Ended up with this....

I'm very pleased, I'm starting on the internals now, the sheet thats installed currently is the back sheet for the hidden pocket for all the wires. It will not go all the way to the top.

Looking good so far. Keep it up!

Looks nice! And tall. Can't wait to see where you go with this. Keep up the good work.

this is a great build so far. who did you get the sheets and the tubes from??

Picked up the sheets from an online distributor that cuts to size, they charged me something like $3.25/sq foot (local dealer was charging over $9/sq foot with a minimum of 3 sq ft/sheet..).

http://www.jfreeman.com/ - shoot them a mail, I mentioned the tubing, they happened to have it in stock.

Yes, it's freakin huge - 30" tall, 9.5" wide 21" deep. All in all it looks about like a full tower case from 10 years ago that has a little more girth.

edit: got my Aluminum fans tonight, and grills - goddamn fans did NOT want to match up with the radiators... lot of cutting/trimming... suffice to say the warranty is kaput on the fans.

Looking good. Be nice to see an original design on the tubing instead of just flex.

Watching. Curious.

Work is whoopin my ass - that being said I'm also waiting on the replacement for my Dremel. It was a brand new XPR400 I'd had only 3 weeks. I have very little patience with halfass products (the most challenging material I'd used the dremel on was 1/4" plexi...). I researched a bit and decided to go with a hanging grinder, surprisingly enough, it's the standard Dremels are based on, typically are more powerful and for gods sake better last longer (cheaper BTW if you shop around). In addition, all the accessories and bits you get for dremels? Crazy cheaper. My $.02 only, your mileage may vary, buyer beware.

/rant off.

OK this project is going on hold - I got a bug up my butt looking around for tools, included into that is my birthday coming up and I've been a good good boy.

Screw it... I bought a mini mill

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47158

There's so much stuff I can do with this... I may have to redesign some components now...

^^^
Okay, I feel stupid, but what's the difference between that and a drill press? Some kind of stop system so it can be more precise?

The base of a drill press isn't mobile - the base of a mill press moves forward and back, side to side in very precise increments so you can "mill" material in a very precise manner.

Take another look at the product, you'll see the control wheels at the front and left wide of the support surface.

Another difference is the lateral rigidity of a mill press is significantly higher due to the side to side forces being exerted, as opposed to a drill press which is only designed to have pressure exerted in a vertical plane.

I want one!

Rody said:

I want one!

Click to expand...

I know that would come in handy in my garage....

Good lord - go go Harbor Freight - ordered yesterday, estimated delivery - This FRIDAY - shipping weight, 103lbs - shipping+handling costs, $11 <-- WTF.. hey don't look a gift horse in the mouth right?

I would have pics but I am goddamn tired from setting up the milling machine.. ended up driving to 4 different hardware joints for various parts.

Those of you interested in a milling machine for modding, my from the hip recommendations are the following...

A: Do it - they're worth it. The precision capabilities are incredible.
B: Once you get the machine, prepare to dump another 50% of the cash you spent on the milling machine on chucks, collets, end mill bits, raw material for making your own clamping/hold down hardware, etc...
C: This shit is ADDICTIVE. For every new thing I manage to get into place I think up another 2 things that would be AWESOME. Nothing is stopping you from making anything - because you HAVE YOUR OWN MILLING MACHINE!!
D: Don't suck at research. The accessories for these things aren't sold at home depot - hell the guys at home depot don't know where the accessories for these things are sold at.

Anyways, I changed my mind - and dug up some pics of the (extremely small) progress I've made.

Both doors will have the hinges as embedded into the door structure as possible (believe it or not, the idea to get a milling machine started from this idealogy, a 1"x1/16"x1/2" cutout)

I decided to cut the aluminum to length first and then cut the plexi to size, as there are small variances.

After mocking up 1 hinge, here's what I have. There will be 3 hinges per side.






The machine as it stands.. more additions inc...



Enjoy, stay tuned...

got some new toys on the way, should get them on friday - should make for a good weekend of progress.

Update, case is no longer just mocked up.

So far so good, this project might turn out to be quite a big/decent mod. Curious.

OK did my first work with the mill tonight, I made some pockets for the hinges to reside in, in between the angle aluminum and the plexi, this leaves the door completely flush with the external supports.

I know I suck at the "how do you do that" pics...

Results, this is the door - I peeled back some of the protective covering to show give a better view.



Close up...

I finally have some visible worth of the mill - all of the angle aluminum for the left door were milled using a jig I created to a perfect 45 degree angle.

Look at the corners of the door compared to the outer support exo skeleton. There's significant improvement in accuracy.

Stay tuned..



I went ahead and removed the protective coating from the door inside and out, as this part is more or less complete, and will only be disassembled 1 more time for visually treating the aluminum (either swirl brushing or sanding..).

This is the external.



And a shot from the inside - as previously stated, there are no nuts used here. The 8-32 screws are directly tapped into the plexi.

Currently on standby for a replacement flexshaft for the hanging grinder. I would be working on the backplane, but need to pick up another sheet of plexi.

Hopefully some updates by this weekend.

Stay tuned.

where did u get that mill and how much?

nice!

You're cooling your second video card with water that's 17 degrees hotter than what was initially going over your cpu? My numbers are without a doubt off base and not verified in any way, but with each component, your water is without a doubt getting hotter. Even in my first project, the front radiator was intended to cool the water in between the cpu and the video card.

Click to expand...

When you're running a loop, all the water gradually heats up together. For example, on a CPU block, the water doesn't come in cold and come out warm. Think of how long it takes for water to heat up on your stove. It's not instantaneous. With high flow loops, the water just doesn't have enough time to experience a significant change in temperature when it is touches a heating element. Yes, the water is a little hotter coming out of whatever component you're cooling than is was coming in, but only by a very, very small amount. This is why running everything in 1 loop is not a problem.

2uantuM said:

When you're running a loop, all the water gradually heats up together. For example, on a CPU block, the water doesn't come in cold and come out warm. Think of how long it takes for water to heat up on your stove. It's not instantaneous. With high flow loops, the water just doesn't have enough time to experience a significant change in temperature when it is touches a heating element. Yes, the water is a little hotter coming out of whatever component you're cooling than is was coming in, but only by a very, very small amount. This is why running everything in 1 loop is not a problem.

Click to expand...

Correct, but in my first system I was pelt cooling - the temps of the water was significantly higher than if I was only using ambient air to cool.

Either way, 2 loops have a higher awesomeness factor than 1 loop.

UPDATES!!

OK picked up a lathe (which I"m going to use for the locking mechanisms for both doors).



Doing the mitres with the mill is incredibly precise (overly so) but takes way too long.

Solution? A 9" bandsaw. It's a cheap ryobi, I replaced the blade with one specific for cutting metal. I've already used it for long plexi cuts - a handy bonus of the metal cutting blade is it makes some very nice clean cuts on plexi.



OK anyways - on to the good stuff, I started assembling the backplane tonight.

If anyones thinking "WTF is he talking about "false backplane" nonsense" hopefully this will explain. The MB will be mounted to the inner piece of plexi. Both the inner and outer will be painted black, all cabling will go in between these 2 sheets of plexi.

A picture is worth a thousand words, and I'm no writer.. this is what I'm talking about.



YES!! One of the standoffs is off. That's by design, it will be hidden behind the upper power supply.

Still don't get it? Here's a semi side view, once painted all cabling that's ran in between in this pocket will be completely hidden, from both the front and back.



Stay Tuned!! Should make some interesting progress this weekend.

added..looking like a great system in the works..please cond

Can't wait to see this when it's finished.

Looks good. Keep it up.

Pretty sweet looking so far.

I have the false backplane painted, along with the second door completed.

I've fabricated some door "stops" so they don't swing to the inside of the case.

I'll get some pictures up tonight.

Hope your motherboard doesn't crack the plexi...

You probably shoulda went with polycarbonate.

I have 3/4" flat aluminum bars that will spread out the load on the backplane.

Sorry for the delays, RL been keeping me busy.

The primary updates - right door is completed, I've installed doorstops on both sides, they need a little cleaning up. I'm still pondering the best way for metallic treatment (sanding, buffing, minor grinding?), but these additions aren't very visible.

The upper grill is installed (as well as the radiator) - The grill and the radiator do NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT match up, I've had to widen the grill holes, the tapped holes in the radiator accepted all the screws, but up close and personal inspection isn't pretty. Luckily you have to be within 12 inches to notice.

Anyways - on to the pics...

The doorstops - These make the doors look AWESOME when closed.





The door - looks a lot like the other side, eventually I'm going to replace the support bar that has the hinges because I screwed it up, but at this time I don't have the raw material for it's replacement, and it's only about 2 hours of work at some time in the future - it's currently doing it's job as a supporting element.



Onto the grill, not the best shot, but I think we've seen plenty of these installed around here... you know what they look like.



The backplane!!! I'm very proud if this, the paint used dissolves the plastic, becomes part of the material. These shots don't duplicate the actual mirror finish after being painted. I've been working on tooling for making very precise cuts for the holes for the wiring - as well as mounting brackets for this within the case. I'm very upbeat about how this is going to work out.





Stay tuned... more coming up this weekend.

i love what youre doing with this thing. brilliant! i wish i could afford some of that stuff. any of it. right now i really want some clikos and cliko pliers. so nice for fitting stuff together and not having your holes misaligned. i consider myself extremely lucky in that i go to a university and am in mechanical engineering so i have access to a cnc mill, cnc lathe, sandblaster, etc. the shop master is starting to get peeved at me for always freeloading. well, enjoy your new toys! they look like a lot of fun.