My attempt at a DIY water distro block

Zeeflyboy

Zeeflyboy

Zeeflyboy

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So I have plans to do a fancy new build for my new 3900x based PC... I decided I wanted some of that lovely water distribution block love for my EvolvX but wanted to do something a little more personalised.

So here's the design I came up with (designed with fusion360 - look into it if you are interested in making stuff, they have a free license for hobbyists). This is what we are hoping to end up with!

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Machining the bottom part from black acrylic (I really need to get my vac boot back on lol):

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Top plate from clear acrylic:

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And both parts done, o-rings made from 2mm nitrile cord, spilced with flexible super gluee

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Painted the machined area orange (Ryzen theme after all!) and leak tested overnight:

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Next, cutting the 0.5mm CF plate cover:

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Got some nice offcuts of American walnut which I'll use in various places in the build as accent pieces.This one I filled with orange dyed acrylic resin:

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After a couple of days I sanded the resin back, and applied a coat of Osmo satin oil... here is the almost finished part. Just need to sort out the LED lighting behind it.

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Made a few boo boos along the way but it was a fun process! Looking forward to doing the rest of the build soon.


edit - finished the LED stuff, see post #31
 
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Very impressive, hats off to you. I have always wanted to have a go at building my own blocks but don't have any access to a CNC machine.
 
i was going to say that was mighty impressive but it's not - it's ******* awesome! the american walnut looks brilliant. lovely work and well done. as one of the posters above said, i'd love a go at something like this but don't have access to a cnc/milling machine. and i can imagine the reaction from her indoors if i bought one!!
 
No access to cnc, laser cutter etc
Came up a few times recently
Look for a local maker space

Beautiful job mate
Mind if I ask
If I could do that myself
I would do both an inner and outer
O ring
Ie 2 O rings just for extra safety
Is there a reason people making
Their own don't?
And coloured O rings to match
The build was my other
Thought
I assume you can get the O ring
Stuff other than in black?
 
Epic work! This is miles better than my attempts with a laser cutter. Tip to all those interested: laser cutter isn't the right tool for this, CNC router is. I'm permanently on the fence about getting one!

Mcnumpty2323 said:
If I could do that myself
I would do both an inner and outer
O ring
Ie 2 O rings just for extra safety
Is there a reason people making
Their own don't?
Click to expand...
Probably because of space really, clearances around screws etc need to be considered. And you'd need extra pressure to compress both gaskets - acrylic cracks easily in these plates. Best to get it right, once :)
 
cheers guys, fairly happy with how it has turned out so far. I can definitely recommend looking up any local maker spaces, it’s a good alternative to getting your own machine.


Mcnumpty2323 said:
No access to cnc, laser cutter etc
Came up a few times recently
Look for a local maker space

Beautiful job mate
Mind if I ask
If I could do that myself
I would do both an inner and outer
O ring
Ie 2 O rings just for extra safety
Is there a reason people making
Their own don't?
And coloured O rings to match
The build was my other
Thought
I assume you can get the O ring
Stuff other than in black?
Click to expand...

I think space is the problem more than anything else, but it’s certainly possible to do... better to make sure your o-rings just don’t leak in the first place though methinks.

you can get other colour o-ring cords, but I’ve only ever seen nitrile rubber in black. Other materials may be difficult to glue reliably, which could ruin your day. I tried orange silicone cord but it was difficult to join reliably. If you design to existing o-ring sizes then you could remove that issue by using compete o-rings rather than splicing cord.

Finners said:
Nice work, what are the specs of the the machine you used? Is it a hobby machine or industrial?
Click to expand...

just a hobby machine. A lightly upgraded X6 2200L which I’ve had for a few years now... I’m actually in the process of building my own significantly better machine but like most of my projects it takes some time lol (that’s a bit of an understatement!).
 
why cant the big companies do beautiful work like this ? EK keeps churning out the same lookin turds for 10 years now...
This is just 10 times better.
 
oldbanana said:
why cant the big companies do beautiful work like this ? EK keeps churning out the same lookin turds for 10 years now...
This is just 10 times better.
Click to expand...
The cost of it
Just a plain acrylic distro is
Northwards of a hundred quid
Wouldn't like to think
What they would charge for
Something that nice
 
Cheers again chaps, glad you guys like it!

LuckyBenski said:
Epic work! This is miles better than my attempts with a laser cutter. Tip to all those interested: laser cutter isn't the right tool for this, CNC router is. I'm permanently on the fence about getting one
Click to expand...

Have you thought about making it from 3 plates? you could have solid front and back plates, cut all the way through the middle plate. You could cut a thin gasket from laser rubber (rather than o-rings) that gets sandwiched between the plates or probably what I would do is just permanently chemically bond them (you have no real need to ever disassemble). You could finish the edges once bonded to make it almost like a single block. I'm sure it'd work and be pretty unique! The challenge would be to avoid getting any chemical bond on the clear water channel part - perhaps you could use a dissolvable masking tape that could be washed out afterwards.

oldbanana said:
why cant the big companies do beautiful work like this ? EK keeps churning out the same lookin turds for 10 years now...
This is just 10 times better.
Click to expand...

Then I wouldn't have stuff to make :D
 
Thanks for the
O ring answers
Here's another for you lol
Would polycarbonate be suitable
For this?
I know it costs more
And not suitable if got uv leds
But it's less brittle than acrylic
So screws/drilling screw holes near
The edges would be safer
And yeah you would have a
Huge queue if
Were taking orders
But time to make these would
Probably make it cost
A few hundred quid would be
My guess
 
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