Machining my own blocks?

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Blazestorm

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Jan 17, 2007
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I've been thinking of doing water-cooling... but never got around to it :p

There's a machine I have access too... I don't think it's 3-axis... but I don't know if I would need that...

Any thoughts?

I'll look into it more... but I think it could be possible... and be pretty decent...
 
I wouldn't even consider machining my own waterblocks if I've never done anything similar before. Too much of a risk.

But hey, if you leak test thoroughly before installation, why not?
 
I wouldn't mind owning a one-of-a-kind CPU block. But knowing how ghetto it would look if I myself made it, i wouldn't proceed with it unless I wasn't investing money into copper.


How skilled are you with this machine?
 
Not skilled?

Haha... but... you design the model in auto-cad or Rhino I believe... and it does the work for you.

We're figuring it out... obviously I'd test it a bit beforehand... and I have a friend who's pretty good with machining... he'd help out.

does anyone have any diagrams so I can look at the best way to design the inside of the block?

I assume there's 2 plates... and then a rubber seal between the two pieces...
 
So you have access to a CNC mill? Tooling will be your biggest expense if you don't have tools already available to cut the features you want (which may be the case, if you want micro-channels or something of the sort).

As far as diagrams go, what kind of block are you wanting to make? There are tons of pictures out there, but good luck if you're asking for a technical drawing or CAD file or CNC program.

Blazestorm said:
Not skilled?

Haha... but... you design the model in auto-cad or Rhino I believe... and it does the work for you.

We're figuring it out... obviously I'd test it a bit beforehand... and I have a friend who's pretty good with machining... he'd help out.

does anyone have any diagrams so I can look at the best way to design the inside of the block?

I assume there's 2 plates... and then a rubber seal between the two pieces...
Click to expand...
 
Haha not looking for a technical drawing... I could easily re-create it...

I was just looking for layouts/designs

CPU Block and 8800 GPU..

I think I saw the koollance 8800 block...
 
I'm sure your intentions are good, but in the long run it's going to be much cheaper to buy commercial blocks.

The easiest thing to do would be to cut an s-channel through the middle of the block. It would probably do the trick, but it won't provide optimal cooling. To create a "pin" type layout which would drastically increase the surface area in contact with your coolant, I'll bet you'd need a tool for the CNC. Block makers get to amortize this expense over several thousand blocks; it would be quite a smack to the wallet for a one-off. Plus, at least a working knowledge of fluid dynamics would be good so you have a basic understanding of how the coolant will flow through your block (i.e. where vortices form, if back pressure will be an issue, etc).

It's a good thought, but are you sure you want to tackle this?
 
I'm bored. :)

I don't understand fluid dynamics as much... which is why I wanted to take a block that was already built and copy it... and it'd be cool to do it myself... another kid is working on parts for a water-pump on a car... engine swap and stuff... they actually don't make the part anymore so he's trying to do it himself.

Either way... it's something to do/try
 
Think about using a piece of cast acrylic for the top, this will allow you to use less (very) expensive copper.

You probally will want to use this.
Alloy 145 Machinable Electrically Conductive Copper

as other alloys of copper are very difficult to machine or are too soft.
 
Here's a guy over at XS that's putting together his own block. Should give you a pretty good idea of what's involved. His design looks pretty damn good and lots of peeps are waiting to see how it turns out.
 
Guys in my city are stealing the copper wire from lighting at schools... 40-50,000$ worth... haha

But no... I realize it's going to cost more than buying one... and probably perform worse...

But it's cooler to say "I designed and machined that" versus... "I got that off xoxide.com"

:)

I'll talk to the guy who knows more about it... it's pretty old...has a Daewoo monitor on the computer...
 
Blazestorm said:
I'm bored. :) I wanted to take a block that was already built and copy it... and it'd be cool to do it myself... Either way... it's something to do/try
Click to expand...

Copy the STORM (G5) design, make it out of silver, and I'll be the first in line to buy it from you... but it has be <$200

I'm sure if you visit the manufacturer's sites, you will be able to see some of the designs they are using for some ideas.... but if YOU can duplicate the STORM.... hell.... you could even modify it a little and call it the BLAZE storm. ;)
 
I think the machining equipment to make the Storm is... a bit expensive :p
 
In the room next to the one with the CNC... we play with molten glass as well as make sterling silver items...

Wonder if it'd be easier to make a mold using the CNC... like with wax/plastic... then pour the molten silver/copper into the mold...

Never know :)
 
Good luck pouring molten metal into a wax or plastic mold ;)

Blazestorm said:
In the room next to the one with the CNC... we play with molten glass as well as make sterling silver items...

Wonder if it'd be easier to make a mold using the CNC... like with wax/plastic... then pour the molten silver/copper into the mold...

Never know :)
Click to expand...
 
'Bout 8 years ago I actually did my own waterblocks before buying commercially (or even looking at what was commercially available.) The danger involved is pretty small if you thoroughly leak test before installing it in your machine. I had the blocks welded at a metal shop, and they did pressure tests on it to make sure the welds were solid, as well as the tapping and fixtures that I had made were decently sealed.
 
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