Worklog: Massively (Update #65, 29th Nov – Final Pics + Aussie copper pipe fittings!)

Haha thanks Yeah there's no point to obsessing if others don't think it's unusual and peculiar

Yeah definitely knew it'd be annoying from the start, that's the fun! The tough part will be the last 10% I think, will be too tempting to tell myself its never fully finished so have to stick to the vision. Had a read through your worklog, interesting! We're definitely kindred in first time modding targets eh? What were the biggest learnings you took away from the process?

 

Small update today before a longer one tomorrow. Wanted to share how crazy the traffic on this thread has been so put a few pictures from my iPad together showing the amount of views in the last week:



So while I slept there were 39,000 views! Then in the last week another 25,000 - not bad considering what's to come! Couple of pics to share:

The silver shining pump housing for my PMP-450S, so photogenic!



The batwing fans attached to the Black Ice SR1 480 - it was an absolute prick getting these all on there! Didnt matter what order I attached them by the time three were on the space was too tight and the housing on the third/fourth would always be a few mm too close.

I ended up getting the fourth one on by attaching the first screw with the housing at an angle (eg not square with the other fan) then swivelling it into the square position. Is this kind of tight fit common or just a peculiarity of some fan/rad combinations?



My favourite shot of the build so far



Next up I'll post about the 'copper fiasco' so far and where things are at with procuring the copper pipe

 

Loving it, top work. Cant wait for the next update Off topic, what camera are you using?

 

My guess is this one

 

Thanks Most of the shots in the thread, up to the reservoirs appearing, were with my old Canon IXUS 80. Used a friends Canon IXUS 230 HS (the one in the pic Moptimus replied with) for the reservoir shots and then upgraded to that model for the pics since.

Only a point and shoot, but as I'm learning you can still take decent shots if you pay attention to light levels etc

 

Awesome build so far!

Just another idea for that copper pipe if you cant get 12 mm OD pipe.

I have a bit of experience with working with copper, and you can get away with some crazy stuff if you are careful.

With that pipe, what you can do is actually compress it down to 12 mm od without cutting it. It will actually make it a bit longer.

You need to test this to see if it will work on tube this small, ( i did it on 1 inch tube)

You anneal the end of the tube up about 15 mm.
You do that by heating it to red hot on a flame, then plunging it into cold water.
It then becomes very soft. You clean it with some 1200 grit sandpaper to get it nice and shiny.

Then comes the fun bit. You need a bit of aluminium about 10 mm thick.

You drill about 10 holes that are 10 mm.
But the trick is the first one, you bend the drill bit around to "widen" the hole.
Starting at nice big movements at hole 1, and down to nothing at hole 10, your holes start out larger then go down to the proper size.
Make sure the holes are deburred.
Then using soap as a lubricant, just force your tube into each hole.
By the 10th hole, you will have 10mm OD!!

Clean with 1200-2000 grit, and you have a 10mm od pipe.

That sounds like a lot of effort, but takes around half an hour to do.

If the copper suddenly becomes harder to force it, its work hardened, and you just anneal it again.
Dont try to force it in, because work hardened copper cracks.

 

If you want to see OTT on power cords and plugs search 'audiophile IEC plug' on ebay. There are probably AU mains ends too.

In the absence of being sure they meet local standards and having an electrician build a cord though, I would not be using them. As to whether a super mains plug can improve audio quality....

 

Thanks for sharing the technique! Good to know there's other ways to accomplish the 12mm size - having never worked with copper or heat before I'd only end up horribly burning myself I imagine I'll keep it in mind though if I run out of options and need to find an expert to do something like that!

Have been using my 12.7mm stuff to practice bending the pipe recently to test how different loops might look. Its interesting learning how to calculate how much of the pipe is used up by bends of different angles etc - I can see that taking a bit of time and effort if I want everything to be perfect. Any tips on calculating that stuff? Also any recommendations on cleaning product for the pipe after I shine it up with 1000 grit?

Wow, definitely OTT! I had no idea the mains plug could have an impact on audio, or is that really just a tenuous notion anyway? Is the idea that the 'super' cable has wires that are better insulated from each other/outside interference?

Mainly just sleeved my 240V cable to see if I could

 

Manufactures claim that the mains cable can effect sound quality. I cannot imagine how, I mean what about the cable in your walls? That said, the audiophile stuff looks cool.

 

Awesome work log mate!

 

To your question re working the bend radius and the tube length, i would expect that this would be a fairly complex process, I would look working your bend as a specific distance from one finished end, and then cutting and finishing the other end, post bend.

 

I'd be mad (and frustrated to no end) not to do it that way, definitely agree! I'm just very interested in learning how its calculated for the sake of knowledge and curiosity.

Thanks to Bastard Child's amazing [2D Design With Solid Edge] tutorial I've been using Solid Edge to draft up my top secret midplate design. He goes into bending allowance calculations (link) which are pretty fascinating so I plan on reading up as much as I can just for the hell of it. Can't hurt

 

Clean the pipe with brasso once you finish your work on it, that will get it to mirror finish, then once its all finished, get a can of copper varnish from your local paint supplier, otherwise it will tarnish.

 

Been following this thread with great enthusiasm... but I have one criticism... just one...

MORE pictures! I can't wait to see the actual project taking shape!

 

We've passed 70,000 views on the worklog! Thanks to Agg for linking the worklog on the frontpage and to the Reddit crowd - the comments have been fantastic and very encouraging for a first time modder, also got a few laughs out of some of the comments so worth a read if you're curious. (link, link and link).

A few of my favourite comments:

There was also some talk in the Reddit comments about what kind of cards I'd need to play the latest games at native 7680x1440 res. I thought I'd share some of the in-game screenshots from my WoW days showing what the world looks like in 7680x1440 using my SLI'd 460 cards which handled it pretty well. Granted it's an old game but probably pegged well toward my future endeavours just the same










Let's get to the update eh?

480MM RADIATOR UPDATE

The tape used is a low adhesive tape intended for painting. It should help prevent unnecessary scratching on the rest of the case when using the dremel. It should be noted that after taping the case up like this I was pretty nervous about making the first cuts into the metal. I had zero experience cutting metal and my dremel was still pretty new, shiny and foreign to me. Did I REALLY want to modify the case to fit that silly 480mm radiator? What if I stuffed it up and ruined the case? Needless to say it took me a good week or so of continuing to delay it before I started in.





Front cover removed along with the front USB panel, although I've got the USB 3 upgrade kit for this I still didnt want to accidently cut any of those cables.


The belly of the beast, front cover removed from the 800D and looking inside. I like this shot, mainly because later on it'll remind me how much I've removed!


First cuts! I was relieved to be finally starting in but still pretty nervous, I remember being pretty surprised at how long it took to cut through the metal.




Nearly there!





Huzzah!! the top comes free





Straight away I know I like it. The 480mm radiator will soon occupy the space, but the feeling of openness is a good one and gives me ideas for the rest of the build.



Bitspower 480mm radguard in place to get some measurements (read: make sure I didnt screw up).





I think that should just about cover it for today More next time!

 

Same 480 Grill as I used
But a better cut than we did

 

I know you said that you are pretty fixed on copper, but have you considered aluminium? You could get it anodised any colour you want. Plus if you sand blast it before you anodise it it gets a very cool matt finish.

 

I am so sorry, but

No, Al is not suited to watercooling, whilst it was originally used frequently the issues with galvanic corrosion make it a definite to avoid it.

 

Yeah i was gonna say the same thing, but i got a question.
If your using copper pipes wouldn't it be better to make sure your blocks are copper or is this some crazy superstition?

 

I would have thought good quality annodising or chemical conversion would be a way around this. But I'm definatly no wc expert and I'm not going to argue with you.




Great work by the way.