Project: Water Cooling Turbine

[rendermandan]

Hi everybody!

My water cooling kit came in today.

Here are my ideas for the setup to house the radiator, fans and Resevoir.

My cooling system: the Swiftech H20-120 Premium Kit

Fans: Thermaltake A1926 120mm Blue LED Case Fan

Resevoir: XSPC Passive 250mm Reservoir - SILVER

Basically it will look like this:

Back exhaust:

Front looking down tube:

Here is a section cut from the top:

The unit will sit ontop of my computer and, the large tube will house the radiator in the center and air will flow over it to help cooling, then the tube will taper to meet the entering fan and be pushed thru the radiator. I'm going to add a second fan on the back side to help also.
Obviously I did not add any colors to anyting.
It will mostly be silver and black with Blue lights
I'm not sure how to "Dress up" the outside of it yet. but I"m working on it.

I have to order the resevoir yet, but I thought I'd see what you guys thought before I get too far into this.

So... What do you guys think?

[rendermandan]

wow, I'm really getting sucked into this. I just ordered the resevoir, some tubing clamps some steel blue non-conductive coolant and some EL wire. -I'm going to integrate that into the outside of the tube. Man the gears have really started turning on this. not to mention my pocket book is getting thinner by the minute!

[rendermandan]

ok, Here is what I got done over the weekend.

Here's a shot of the parts and the tube I purchased:

I started by laying out where to cut the tube so the radiator and fans will slide down into it from the top:

here are the holes i had to cut:

And here is the radiator assembly in the tube:

Next I cut a section of board to form the backing for the back of the tube.
I then cut the hole out of the middle for air.

this piece will help me to mold and shape the exit of the tube.

And here it is glued into place:

Thats it for now.

[rendermandan]

Hmmm... here are the specs posted on NewEggs website.
Model
Brand Thermaltake
Series Thunderblade
Model A1926
Spec
Type Case Fan
Compatibility Case
Fan Size 120mm
Bearing Type Sleeve
RPM 2000 RPM
Air Flow 78 CFM
Noise Level 21 dBA
Power Connector 4 Pin
Color Transparent
LED Blue


21 db doesn't seem that loud to me.
especially for 78 CFM. Most of the ones I've seen in that CFM range are around 30 db or more.

[rendermandan]

Here's my next update:

I left off with just one round form on the rear, so I made another for the front:

Then added some bondo:

and some more bondo:

after some sanding I added some spot putty:

here is the finished end.

Up next was the front part. I first had to make a template to help shape the bondo as access to this area was kind of tight.

Here is my first attempt. I think it turned out pretty good.

and here is a shot after adding spot putty:

While that was drying, I turned my attention to the base. I cut some plastic panel to shape:

then I beveled the edges of the sides so they will fit better to the tube:

Thats it. Next up is to cut a design in the sides of the bottoms, and sand the inside of the tube.

FYI, my resevoir, coolant and glow wire should be delivered tomorrow. YEAH!
Later!

[rendermandan]

Ask and ye shall receive:

Here is all the stuff I got from FrozenCpu:

The resevoir next to a 12" ruler:

The end. -Notice the small scratches, I could not see them untill the flash.

The end with the cap off.

The cap itself:


I got just a small amout done yesterday. I was way to busy with parties and family.

I laid out a pattern on the side of the bottom frame.

Then I taped the two sides together

I have to go get my scroll saw from my Dads workshop to cut them out.

Later.

[rendermandan]

maybe you guys can help me decide on what shape hole to cut into the tube. here are some options I came up with:

Option 1: Just a large rectangular hole.

Option 2: One small hole:

Option 3: Two larger holes:

Option 4: Irregular, geometric shape cut into tube:

FYI the bottom panels will not have the holes on them as shown in the pictures. -This one actually matches the design of the bottom and panels that will be applied to the tube. so it fits the best with the overall design. but does it look good? this is what the bottom panels look like

Please any comments are welcome!

[rendermandan]

Here is an updated 3d model.

[rendermandan]

I made it out to my dad's tonight.

here is a shot of how much sawdust was on my scroll saw. I haven't used it in a long time!

First i drilled the 1/2" hole for the tubing. and small holes for the blade to go through.

Then cut out around the 1/2" hole

Then proceded to cut out the rest:

Here is the finished cuts:

obviously I have some filing and sanding to do, but it turned out pretty good.

[rendermandan]

Tonight I sat down and filed the plastic cutouts.

Now I have 2 identical, mirror image pieces. Isn't that lovely?