Acrylic Tubing Upgrade: First time bending.

CertifiedDan

CertifiedDan

CertifiedDan

Associate
Joined
27 Oct 2013
Posts
136
Location
Sheffield
Hi,

I thought I would share with you my recent upgrade to acrylic tubing from standard flexi pipe. This is my first time using acrylic and am not sure what to expect. I will also be upgrading my PSU from a Corsair TX650 - RM1000 as I will be upgrading my Gpu to 2x 780ti's shortly.
Equipment:
Monsoon Hardline Pro Bending Kit 13mm
PrimoChill 13mm Clear Acrylic tube
Primochill Revolver Black Nickel Compression Fittings:





This PC is also my very first ever PC build, my first attempt at watercooling and overclocking.

Current Hardware:
NZXT Phantom V2 Orange/Black Case
i5 4670k OC @ 4.5ghz 1.18vcore
Gigabyte Z87-OCX Mobo
8Gb G.Skill Ares RAM 2133Mhz
Evga 780ti Superclocked
Corsair RM1000 PSU
120Gb Samsung Evo 840
60gb Corsair Force 3
2tb Seagate Barracuda
I also have 2 x 200mm, 2 x 120mm & 1x 140mm Case Fans (not including rad fans)

Watercooling Consists of:
XSPC Raystorm block w/ Orange LED
XSPC AX120mm Rad
XSPC Photon 170 Res
EK 2.2 Pump
2x Corsair HP Fans
Primochill Revolver Black Nickel Fittings
Primochill 13mm Tubing


So this is currently what my PC is looking like on this inside



So the tubing has been bugging me for awhile now. The above photo was taken soon after I first filled it, the coolant has turned a dark orange and the tubing has started to get stained. I have always wanted to do acrylic but haven't wanted to risk it without proper tools, so when I found the bending kit here on OC I snapped one up.

Anyway, first to drain the loop.


As you can see from this picture the coolant has changed colour quite abit and looks rather dirty in comparison to the fresh liquid next to it.


Removing the tubing (very carefully) as I have had afew close shaves with coolant and components.


Inspecting the waterblock after I had removed the fittings revealed a shave of plastic that has been stuck there for over 6 months. Lucky it didn't get loose and clog the pump up.


Also gave the graphics card a clean and a new dollop of thermal paste.



Time to fully strip out my PC and get some compressed air in there to get rid of all that dust thats gathered in the nooks and crannies. I will also be adding a new fan to the back of my rad as they are currently mis-matched.



After much wrestling getting the old PSU wires out (I swear I will never buy a non modular psu again) and getting all the new cables back in finally had the new psu installed.







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Part 2.

So onward with the bending, I really have no exact clue here and only having a few youtube videos for a guide I'm learning as I go. And trust me there were a lot of mistakes.

New fittings added



Rad re-installed with 2 Corsair High Pressure fans on instead of the one like before.


Laying the tools out for the job


First bend went really smoothly, The kit really does make it effortless so long as you get your markings right.


After trimming one side down I used 2 mandrels to get the 45 degree angle to get the pipe from the rad to the cpu block.
You can see how the 180degree holds the tube steady and in the correct position so the 45 degree doesn't go astray.



After some cutting and shaving with the rounding tool the piece fits perfectly.



Using the rulers and angle brackets makes it really easy to plan out the perfect length of the loop and where the bends should be.



This piece required a double 45 degree bend to get the pipe up and straight, I could have used 2 90 degree angles but it think the 45s fit with the general layout of my bends.


Bending round & down to the Reservoir.







Abit more cutting and shaving and another perfect fit :D



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The Final part was the hardest for me, it required 2 of the lengths to be within about 5mm of the right length to fit.







Next to last Bend,


Little bit of a squeeze, but manged to get the final piece in.






Time for the Refill, The new liquid is so much brighter than the stuff I pulled out. Makes all the difference imo.
(Yea i don't actually own a funnel, improvising is always fun :P)
 
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After a quick 2 hour leak test, I was already to fire up again.

Really loving the look of the acrylic, it looks so much more tidy than the bulky tubes and the bending kit made it so much easier.

Here it is in its finished glory :D:D:D








All there to do now is wait for one of my 780ti's to arrive tomorrow and get that up and running.

Hope you enjoyed my upgrade log. Let me know what you think.

Dan
 
Very nice job Bud, Kinda annoyed I missed the bending kit, spotted the post figured I'd order it when I got home from work then they were all gone :(
 
That bending job is sick!
Looks beautiful :)
Love the orange the rig looks so much better!
How was the rad to the top of the res done?
Are those also measuring equipment you get to?
 
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nice work with the tubes, im still using rubber but going to try do a better job like yours at some point :)

yours is so much better now
 
AWESOME. That's the first step by step guide I've seen on bending and fitting Acrylic tube, and I must say you'd made it look a lot easier than I thought it'd be, GREAT GUIDE and that's a sweet rig that mate.
What's happening to ya Matrix card when you get your 780Ti? I've got the same card and love it :-)
 
GiraffePencils said:
They're EOL now :(
So sad I didn't pick one up now
you have to get it in parts which is more expensive
Click to expand...
yeah they pretty much sold out instantly didn't they?

rjkoneill said:
once our bundle software is updated and works again, i will offer it in a bundle form which will make it cheaper than the full kits were.
Click to expand...

that's great news! will it have all the same parts?
 
jimbaw said:
yeah they pretty much sold out instantly didn't they?



that's great news! will it have all the same parts?
Click to expand...

pretty much yeah, they had been on pre order for ages though so its not like people didnt have the opportunity to grab them

i had to buy my own personal ones from the bits rather than as a kit.

the bundle will include all the stuff you need and be the same as what you get in the kit for sure.



lets get the post back on topic.

OP, looks like you have done a very good job there. I am planning on using revolvers too, did you find they grip the tubing well?
 
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