Good water block design?

[shuRe]

Im moving into water cooling soon and dont want to buy a new water block because of the high price over here in the UK.

I have a big block of copper, and thought of this design for the water flow:

http://img74.echo.cx/img74/4373/waterblock7pb.th.jpg (http://img74.echo.cx/my.php?image=waterblock7pb.jpg)

It ends up with a 2mm thick layer of copper between the cpu and the bottom of the groves, covering the whole width of the cpu (from the inside edges of the circles), and covering 30mm of the 40mm height of the cpu.

Any feedback of how to improve it would be appreciated

(p.s. didnt put the screw holes in just yet as dont know the exact measurement on mobo)

[Cathar]

http://www.dangerdenstore.com/home.php?cat=20

~20 British pounds equivalent.

[shuRe]

if only, its £40 over here not including shipping

[shuRe]

if i do decide to machine this, would it not perform well because the chambers where the water goes through go from a small width, to a larger width, then smaller?

[ls7corvete]

IMHO, go with a thicker base. Hard to tell scale there though...

[jamesavery22]

if i do decide to machine this, would it not perform well because the chambers where the water goes through go from a small width, to a larger width, then smaller?

if you have small channels you'll have a lot of restriction. That doesnt mean it wont perform well though. A lot of restriction can be a good thing, namely lots of turbulance in the right spots.

If you are going to make a block why not try to make a cascade whitewater? Better design, would be easier to machine than those gradually changing in width channels. The WW would just be a few straight channels. You just have to get the distance between the fins and the fin thickness correct. Something like 1.5 to 1 ratio. I definitely dont know though. Go over to the waterblock construction forum at proforums, that stuff seems to be common knowledge there where I barely know any of it.

http://forums.procooling.com/vbb/forumdisplay.php?f=37

[shuRe]

thanks james.

Here is a new design, its has a 2/8" depth, with the chamber being 6/32".

Or in mm (which is what we use over here) 6mm depth with the chamber being 4mm depth. The fins to fin gap ratio is 1:1.5 as that looked like what most people used.

http://img143.echo.cx/img143/1151/whitewaterblock1md.th.jpg (http://img143.echo.cx/my.php?image=whitewaterblock1md.jpg)

p.s. did you know Uncle Phil from Fresh Prince of Bel Air has the completely same name as you? :) )

[jamesavery22]

thanks james.

...
p.s. did you know Uncle Phil from Fresh Prince of Bel Air has the completely same name as you? :) )

Lol thats where I got the name. Its a nickname. You are probably the 2nd person in like 5 yrs to point that out.

As for the design it looks like a pretty kool base. Do you have a design for the top plate? Just barbs at either end? Or maybe an inlet right over the middle (seems to be pretty popular and very effective).

[shuRe]

now you mention it ill have a thich acrylic top with a inlet barb in the middle, and 2 outlets on the left and right. what size inlet and outlets should i have?

[jamesavery22]

now you mention it ill have a thich acrylic top with a inlet barb in the middle, and 2 outlets on the left and right.


Sounds nice. Maybe you can try to get a hold of some acetal/delrin? I just got a large piece on ebay for cheap. Acrylic will crack over time. And if you do the inlet in the middle design Id ask some of the other WB builders about channel design. The channels towards the edge of the block might just be wasted.

[shuRe]

i was thinking that, but i cant see why if i left them there it wouldnt hurt, it should give the heat a larger surface area to dispate out of.

Ill ask some pro's never the less

[LabRat23]

I will say from personal expirience, that making your own waterblock is not cheaper than buying one, unless you are willing to live with much less performance. The blocks you are designing look like they would perform well, but it will take cnc machining to make those shapes. I.E. it will cost you a good amount.

One thing I must point out is that with the fin density that you have shown in the last block, the inner fins will cool the block down enough that the outer fins contribute very little to the cooling. You might want to consider reducing the number of channels such that the flow is more concentrated on the inner fins that are doing the work.

Another problem is the fact that the channels will need to be cut with a milling cutter. (saw) You might have a hard time finding a shop with a cnc machine willing to do that.

Anyway, I don't mean to bring doom and gloom. If you plan on doing the machining yourself, then it should be a little fun and maybe cheaper depending on if you already have the tooling or not. Good luck.

[shuRe]

thanks for the heads up, my dad has a cnc machine at his work (the mastermill 6000 or somin) which will do the trick with hardened 1mm drill bit. I can get hold of some copper through his contacts for cheap.

The only problem is tranfering the drawing from pro desktop to be compatible with the anilam system.

I will change the design, but i dont know what barbs i should use, 1/2" tube to 1/2" or 1/2" tube to 3/8

Please advise.

[mysterfix]

1/2" to 3/8" will work good as long as you keep it all 1/2" ID but don't quote me on that. Maybe check around to see what the guys at Danger den or d-tek are using or the guys at procooling.

[LabRat23]

The best combination in my opinion is 1/2 inch barbs with 7/16 inch hose. Most of the backpressure in the tubing is caused by the water striking the lip of the barb. Using 7/16 inch hose allows for a smooth transition from hose to waterblock, thereby giving less backpressure than from 1/2 inch hose.

[itchy5]

The best combination in my opinion is 1/2 inch barbs with 7/16 inch hose. Most of the backpressure in the tubing is caused by the water striking the lip of the barb. Using 7/16 inch hose allows for a smooth transition from hose to waterblock, thereby giving less backpressure than from 1/2 inch hose.

can you get good 7/16 on mcmaster? o and for you water block design, if your doing channels focus them to the center and have a exel. plate to force the water through w/ a 3 barb design :) 1 inlet 2 outlet

[LabRat23]

Page 82 of the McMaster Catalog. Go for the 3/32 wall thickness.

[itchy5]

Page 82 of the McMaster Catalog. Go for the 3/32 wall thickness.

found it, dirt cheap too ;)

[whitebloodcell]

Can 7/16" Tubing fit over 3/8" Barbs comfortably? Gonna be using a Swiftech MPC350 Pump, which is the only 3/8" thing in my loops. If only they made a 1/2" version.

[Ardneh42]

Can 7/16" Tubing fit over 3/8" Barbs comfortably? Gonna be using a Swiftech MPC350 Pump, which is the only 3/8" thing in my loops. If only they made a 1/2" version.

7/16" is larger than 3/8" because 3/8"=6/16" so the tubing will be slightly larget than your barb.

[Susquehannock]

FYI - Good waterblock discussions in the ProCooling forums :

http://forums.procooling.com/vbb/forumdisplay.php?f=37