If you want black that's easier as can laminate two layers, one with the cavity cut through. 3D bevels won't work though. Why can't you just design everything in 2D!
Distribution plates/reservoirs
- Thread starter LuckyBenski
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- custom distribution reservoirs
If you want black that's easier as can laminate two layers, one with the cavity cut through. 3D bevels won't work though. Why can't you just design everything in 2D!
The sketches are 2D
Soldato
Yeah that's ideal actually, was probably in too much of a hurry to make something this weekend. There's other experiments I can doWill trust you my address.
On it's way.
Ace, got the template!On it's way.
Couple of questions - is there a good way to position the internal ports right? You've drawn some arrows so I presume that's the direction the internal ports are, relative to the external holes?
I think I'll have to make the rear panel from thicker acrylic to allow me to drill and tap holes for mounting in the 80mm fan spacing. So I guess 5mm saying black on the inside of the case, then 10mm clear in the middle, then 6+mm facing the back of the case?
I've bought M3 and M4 taps so if we're lucky I can make it this weekend
Soldato
Perfect.
Oh my bad with the arrows, please ignore them. Also, I think the 2 little holes for fixing should be enough which is why I didn't add the other 2.
The internal ports:
- The one for the GPU - place it anywhere you like as I will need to take a tube from the GPU outlet and link to it anyway, so best making it easier for you.
- The port for the reservoir - I think I wrote a little note with the height on it? Again, I'm having to tube to this so you're not too restricted, if you make it the height approximately and try to keep it closer to the front of the case as that'll help me with the 90 bend I need to do.
Cheers
No problem, can bias the pump feed towards the front. How do I define the height? You've written "Pump inlet to reservoir approx 50mm to centre". Does that mean the centre of the fan mounting holes maybe?Perfect.
Oh my bad with the arrows, please ignore them. Also, I think the 2 little holes for fixing should be enough which is why I didn't add the other 2.
The internal ports:
Does that make sense? Post back if you're in any doubt about anything.
- The one for the GPU - place it anywhere you like as I will need to take a tube from the GPU outlet and link to it anyway, so best making it easier for you.
- The port for the reservoir - I think I wrote a little note with the height on it? Again, I'm having to tube to this so you're not too restricted, if you make it the height approximately and try to keep it closer to the front of the case as that'll help me with the 90 bend I need to do.
Cheers
Other than that i think I'm pretty clear
Unless the note was loose in the envelope - thankfully haven't recycled it yet!
Soldato
The height should be approx. 50mm from the base of the block to the centre of the reservoir outlet (to pump).
How's this for placement? Nearer the front, 50mm off the bottom of the unit. I separated the two ports to give air a chance to escape into the res, and hopefully create some in/outflow in the reservoir.
Soldato
Looks perfect.
Right, looks like the taps all work great! It's surprisingly easy, I assumed it was trickier when being shown how at college etc. New tools FTW!
@String I've drawn up the plans, just need glue and 5mm black perspex to arrive. Do you have a preference for M3 or M4 threads? I probably have some suitable black Allen bolts lying around if you don't...
Haven't made any allowances for LEDs yet but can drill a hole or two if you like
@String I've drawn up the plans, just need glue and 5mm black perspex to arrive. Do you have a preference for M3 or M4 threads? I probably have some suitable black Allen bolts lying around if you don't...
Haven't made any allowances for LEDs yet but can drill a hole or two if you like
Soldato
@LuckyBenski if you can match the bolts then go for any size you like. I'll get a test loop put together shortly.
Looking forward to this!
Looking forward to this!
Finally got to do some cutting last night. There's a bit of a laser focusing issue causing reflection at high power, but generally pretty happy! I tested tapping G1/4 threads in 3mm acrylic and it seems pretty sturdy - I can't see any unused thread sticking out the back side of the sheet. With my spare EK fittings anyway. So this means I can make the first reservoir out of 6-10-3mm acrylic sheets and glue them. Almost there! You can see a little of the focus distortion along the right side of vertical cuts but it's just a little surface marring. I think I will glue over this rather than sand the entire sheet flat - I plan on finding a glue that can handle small gaps.
I've also been wrestling with different glues to try as everything seems to have a drawback or two. The best glue is UV-cure, the easiest glue causes cracking, etc... I tried a new glue from my girlfriend's workshop which she uses to glue acrylic and metal together. E6000 - pretty popular but I thought it'd be too messy, not clear, and maybe too weak. My test piece is pretty good though! Good spread and just a little gap visible in the corners. I can't separate it using hand-strength and fingernails so far. I think I'll use this on the Mk.1 reservoir and see how it goes.
Next up, drilling and tapping followed by glue! I've noticed it's tricky to get the G1/4 tap started perfectly square which creates a leak risk against the fitting/o-ring there. I'll probably use a drill press to get everything lined up nicely.
I've also been wrestling with different glues to try as everything seems to have a drawback or two. The best glue is UV-cure, the easiest glue causes cracking, etc... I tried a new glue from my girlfriend's workshop which she uses to glue acrylic and metal together. E6000 - pretty popular but I thought it'd be too messy, not clear, and maybe too weak. My test piece is pretty good though! Good spread and just a little gap visible in the corners. I can't separate it using hand-strength and fingernails so far. I think I'll use this on the Mk.1 reservoir and see how it goes.
Next up, drilling and tapping followed by glue! I've noticed it's tricky to get the G1/4 tap started perfectly square which creates a leak risk against the fitting/o-ring there. I'll probably use a drill press to get everything lined up nicely.
Soldato
That's shaping up really nicely.
Time for an update as it's been far too long! I had a pretty low period with my mental health, just very unmotivated and down. Then I spent ages researching glues as I wasn't happy with ones I've tried so far! I reckon I've got two options that are in the running now:
- Epoxy (I use ZAP Z-poxy 30 minute stuff as I know it well from guitar repair) - this looks OK and is really nice to work with. Slow drying, so can take my time to remove air bubbles etc.
- Tensol 70/Anglosol 700/RS AB-2 - spectacularly clear, quite easy to work with and really grabs the acrylic as it's solvent-based. Will post up some glued samples later. A little fiddly to get smooth and bubble free.
My worries are that the epoxy might not be suitable for permanent submersion - I've emailed the manufacturer to confirm if this is the case. People use it for waterproofing model boats so I'm hopeful. And the Tensol 70 has created a lot of stress cracking along the edge of my acrylic pieces. I'm pretty sure these are cast acrylic not extruded so I'm a little bit miffed. Doesn't affect thicker pieces as badly so we'll see how it goes.
I'll probably use the Tensol 70 type stuff for now as I'm confident if I really wet both pieces with glue, it's basically welded together.
- Epoxy (I use ZAP Z-poxy 30 minute stuff as I know it well from guitar repair) - this looks OK and is really nice to work with. Slow drying, so can take my time to remove air bubbles etc.
- Tensol 70/Anglosol 700/RS AB-2 - spectacularly clear, quite easy to work with and really grabs the acrylic as it's solvent-based. Will post up some glued samples later. A little fiddly to get smooth and bubble free.
My worries are that the epoxy might not be suitable for permanent submersion - I've emailed the manufacturer to confirm if this is the case. People use it for waterproofing model boats so I'm hopeful. And the Tensol 70 has created a lot of stress cracking along the edge of my acrylic pieces. I'm pretty sure these are cast acrylic not extruded so I'm a little bit miffed. Doesn't affect thicker pieces as badly so we'll see how it goes.
I'll probably use the Tensol 70 type stuff for now as I'm confident if I really wet both pieces with glue, it's basically welded together.
Soldato
Good to see you back on track, and I hope you're well. My next rebuild will be around the release of the 3700x - so plenty of time as far as I am concerned.
Cheers
So I've been experimenting lots with the Tensol/Anglosol type glue. It's pretty good to work with so I'll aim to glue the reservoir together later tonight. It stays wet long enough to spread out and get a good solid film on both pieces, this seems to create the best finish. The big blob method gives AMAZING optical transparency but you sometimes don't quite reach the edges. That, or you end up with massive squeeze-out which will be unsightly. I'm less worried about stress cracking in thicker sheets as it seems to affect the thinner stuff most.
I stress-tested a join on one of the 10mm cylinders and regretted it. The piece pinged off and took a decent chunk out of my thumb! Stress test passed
A few air bubbles after spreading glue out onto both pieces:
Foreground test was pre-spread onto one piece, the rear I think was spread onto both more thickly and is almost perfect:
Perfick!
Hopefully will have an update soon!
So I've been experimenting lots with the Tensol/Anglosol type glue. It's pretty good to work with so I'll aim to glue the reservoir together later tonight. It stays wet long enough to spread out and get a good solid film on both pieces, this seems to create the best finish. The big blob method gives AMAZING optical transparency but you sometimes don't quite reach the edges. That, or you end up with massive squeeze-out which will be unsightly. I'm less worried about stress cracking in thicker sheets as it seems to affect the thinner stuff most.
I stress-tested a join on one of the 10mm cylinders and regretted it. The piece pinged off and took a decent chunk out of my thumb! Stress test passed
A few air bubbles after spreading glue out onto both pieces:
Foreground test was pre-spread onto one piece, the rear I think was spread onto both more thickly and is almost perfect:
Perfick!
Hopefully will have an update soon!
Can you heat the glue once applied slightly with a hair dryer? Some glues you will see the bubbles just vanish as it the liquid flattens, if you could manage this after it’s been spread then join it might get a better finish.
That or it explodes.
That or it explodes.
Unfortunately while gluing up last night I had a pretty patchy contact area as it was already drying before I assembled. I let paranoia get the better of me and ran a bead of glue along all the joins between pieces. Looks like **** but I didn't want to risk a slow leak creeping through the plates.
I haven't tried a hair dryer although once it's on the acrylic, the glue starts to melt in pretty fast and then set. It's almost like placing it on the acrylic catalyses it.
I think an area this big is too difficult to spread properly, so I'll change my tack next time. I think I'll get a syringe and apply a large continuous bead of glue to both pieces. It won't look as good, but it will guarantee a proper seal.
All this is just learning experience anyway, I think it's fairly obvious that CNC machining would produce better-looking, more watertight results!
Indeed, the fumes are pretty potent with this glue! I've taken to leaving it in the basement to dry because it was making my entire kitchen smell.
I haven't tried a hair dryer although once it's on the acrylic, the glue starts to melt in pretty fast and then set. It's almost like placing it on the acrylic catalyses it.
I think an area this big is too difficult to spread properly, so I'll change my tack next time. I think I'll get a syringe and apply a large continuous bead of glue to both pieces. It won't look as good, but it will guarantee a proper seal.
All this is just learning experience anyway, I think it's fairly obvious that CNC machining would produce better-looking, more watertight results!
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Lucky... i think you should try this. For science.
I was very tempted to see about this with leftover glue but realised it's basically liquid acrylic and that would be unwise... Ever seen celluloid ignite? You can't put it out until it's burned through all the plastic!