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The Powerful Pretty Pink Processor (aka, "The PPPP")


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I'll definitely show off some mock-up pictures of the SSD's in some different locations. But on to more cabling pictures for today.....

 

Working on cabling for the fans on this radiator. Way too nice of a morning to stay inside....so......

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Radiator%20Cabling/0001-_MG_2346.jpg

 

 

 

Similar to the approach I took on the last radiator....I created a branching wire that lets me plug all 5 of these fans into one Aquaero channel....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Radiator%20Cabling/0002-_MG_2342.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Radiator%20Cabling/0003-_MG_2343.jpg

 

 

 

Female connector on one end.....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Radiator%20Cabling/0004-_MG_2344.jpg

 

 

 

...and male connectors on the other 5 ends.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Radiator%20Cabling/0005-_MG_2345.jpg

 

 

 

Plug the male connectors into each of these fans, and then run the female end to the Aquaero. Minimal wiring.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Radiator%20Cabling/0006-_MG_2347.jpg

 

 

 

Viola! More soon!

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Yesterday I finished up more of the Aquaero cabling.

 

First up....I present to you....the world's longest Aquabus cable! Measuring in at almost 4 feet....sleeved in beautiful black Lutro0 Telios! I contacted Guiness but apparently they don't keep official records on longest Aquabus cables. But since they didn't threaten to sue me....I'm going to claim the title. World Record baby! Until you provide proof of your own Aquabus cable that is longer.....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Aquaero%20Cabling/0001-_MG_2348.jpg

 

 

 

Naturally it has black female connectors on both ends, with some heatshrink. It will connect my AQ6 in the flex bays with the AQ5 in the rear of the build. To keep the wire somewhat hidden, it has to take a long path from the front to the back. I"m going to run master/slave mode this time instead of two independent Aquaeros. I'll show some pictures of both Aquaero's, and how they are connected, coming up soon. By the way, that's Tebow in the top picture and Taylor in this one. They're siblings. I love these dogs.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Aquaero%20Cabling/0002-_MG_2349.jpg

 

 

 

Next, I need to run some power cabling to the second Aquaero. So I measured out my desired cable run, and cut four lengths of wire, and put a female molex pin on one end, and a female ATX pin on the other. Cut some more of the Lutro0 Telios sleeving......

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Aquaero%20Cabling/0003-_MG_2351.jpg

 

 

 

...and then melted the sleeve onto the pin on the ATX end....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Aquaero%20Cabling/0004-_MG_2353.jpg

 

 

 

....melted the sleeve onto the pin on the molex end....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Aquaero%20Cabling/0005-_MG_2354.jpg

 

 

 

....slid the pins into the connectors, and....BOOM! Sorry. :o I'm still on my BOOM kick, and it's tough to stop once you start. Anyway, I can now check off power cabling for the Aquaero's, since I've done both of them.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Aquaero%20Cabling/0006-_MG_2355.jpg

 

 

 

But I also need a USB cable for the AQ6. Now, of course they come with USB cables, and AC actually sleeves these for you. But....as you can see in the picture below, their idea of sleeving a cable isn't the same as mine. It's an improvement over bear wire....but come on Aquacomputer! If you're going to do it....do it right! The picture below is the USB cable that came with the units....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Aquaero%20Cabling/0007-_MG_2356.jpg

 

 

 

I replaced the sleeving with some more Telios, and then used some heatshrink to cover the ends. Much better.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Aquaero%20Cabling/0008-_MG_2358.jpg

 

 

OK. That's all the basic Aquaero cabling. There will be some temp sensors that need sleeving eventually, but I won't know for sure where those are going until after the plumbing is done. The only cabling I have left is one more bank of radiator fans, and a couple of solo fans on the back side. Plus the pumps still need some work on the cables. But that's not much....and then I'm ready to start blocking everything and bending some hard tubing. Can't wait!

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Radiator cabling work last night. This finishes up all the fans!

 

I start with doing a rough layout of how the wires should connect. Then I strip insulation at each "join" point, and open up the middle of the wire and wrap the joining wire around it.....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Radiator%20Cabling%202/0001-_MG_2359.jpg

 

 

 

Then each join gets some solder. I'm notoriously bad with the solder iron....but have improved somewhat from my last build....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Radiator%20Cabling%202/0002-_MG_2360.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Radiator%20Cabling%202/0003-_MG_2361.jpg

 

 

 

Then each solder join needs protection so it won't be touching the other wires underneath the sleeve. I use this tiny little heatshrink from Bitspower that barely goes over the cable. Very tight fit. I forget exactly what size this was....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Radiator%20Cabling%202/0004-_MG_2362.jpg

 

 

 

But here it is compared with some normal heatshrink. You can see it's much smaller.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Radiator%20Cabling%202/0005-_MG_2363.jpg

 

 

 

Here's what it looks like once it's shrunk on the wire....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Radiator%20Cabling%202/0006-_MG_2364.jpg

 

 

 

Couldn't resist a shot of a perfectly crimped Lutro0 male fan pin on the Lutro0 wire with the Lutro0 crimper. His tools really work well together.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Radiator%20Cabling%202/0007-_MG_2365.jpg

 

 

 

Skipped a few picture opportunities along the way....but here is the finished radiator cabling. This is the front flex bay area 240. Minimal wiring. Nice and clean.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Radiator%20Cabling%202/0008-_MG_2366.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Radiator%20Cabling%202/0009-_MG_2367.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Radiator%20Cabling%202/0010-_MG_2368.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Radiator%20Cabling%202/0011-_MG_2369.jpg

 

 

 

Ready to move on to the pumps!

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Time to finish up showing the Aquaero's in the build. I already showed the back of the Aquaero 6 in the build, and the black waterblock, and all the wiring work I've done, but I haven't shown the 2nd Aquaero 5 LT that I'm running....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/2nd%20Aquaero/0001-_MG_2324.jpg

 

 

 

I'm going to use these in master/slave mode, instead of running them independently like I did in the BBBB. Mounting this second one became more of a challenge, since I'm completely out of flex bay slots already. It was going to require a little creativity. So....I got my drill....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/2nd%20Aquaero/0002-_MG_2380.jpg

 

 

 

....and some more of my FAB-U-LOUS tape, and stuck this controller right above the PSU on the back panel of the case. It tucks away pretty nicely there....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/2nd%20Aquaero/0003-_MG_2383.jpg

 

 

 

BOOM!

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/2nd%20Aquaero/0004-_MG_2372.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/2nd%20Aquaero/0005-_MG_2373.jpg

 

 

 

This is what the front of the case looks like, without the panel, but with all of the faceplates (Lamptron, Aquaero and card reader) powder coated in the same pink as the rest of the case. BOOM!

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/2nd%20Aquaero/0006-_MG_2374.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/2nd%20Aquaero/0007-_MG_2375.jpg

 

 

 

....and with the panel on. BOOM!

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/2nd%20Aquaero/0008-_MG_2376.jpg

 

 

 

In this shot of the back of the case, you can see the 4 screws above the PSU that are holding the Aquaero to the back panel. Some standoffs on the other side of the back panel create plenty of space between the AQ and the panel.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/2nd%20Aquaero/0009-_MG_2377.jpg

 

 

 

I'm not usually a fan of pass through cables....but I actually really like the way these came out. The cables are clean and sleeved, and the pass through bracket itself blends right in with the powder coat treatment that CaseLabs gave it for me. This build will not be in a spot where it will be handy to access the back panel, so it was important to me to bring as many USB ports to the front as I could....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/2nd%20Aquaero/0010-_MG_2378.jpg

 

 

 

Just got another nice size package from ASUS also! Can't wait to get it out and play with it. More soon!

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Last night I parked myself in front of the TV with Game of Thrones playing, lots of sandpaper close by, all my waterblocks and pump tops, and some water and towels. Just a normal Sunday night, right?

 

The kind folks at EK have equipped me well. But I'm itching to polish up these blocks before I put them on. So I gathered them all together....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Polishing%20Pump%20Tops/0001-_MG_2384.jpg

 

 

 

Started with some 320 grit. Wet sanding....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Polishing%20Pump%20Tops/0002-_MG_2385.jpg

 

 

 

The pump tops are such large and thick pieces of acrylic, that I really wanted to start with them first. Out of the box they were pretty clear and smooth on top.....but were still kind of frosted on the sides, and had lots of machining marks on the underside. I used a heat gun to warm up the glue under the EK badge, and lifted that off.

 

After the first pass with 320, they looked frosted all over...

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Polishing%20Pump%20Tops/0003-_MG_2387.jpg

 

 

 

Next....600....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Polishing%20Pump%20Tops/0004-_MG_2388.jpg

 

 

 

Frosted......but smoother.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Polishing%20Pump%20Tops/0005-_MG_2389.jpg

 

 

 

Then 1200.....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Polishing%20Pump%20Tops/0006-_MG_2390.jpg

 

 

 

Even smoother....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Polishing%20Pump%20Tops/0007-_MG_2391.jpg

 

 

 

Then 2000....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Polishing%20Pump%20Tops/0008-_MG_2392.jpg

 

 

 

Even smoother....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Polishing%20Pump%20Tops/0009-_MG_2393.jpg

 

 

 

Then comes the plastic polish....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Polishing%20Pump%20Tops/0010-_MG_2394.jpg

 

 

 

BOOM! After you get to this step....the blocks just gleam. Like a solid chunk of highly polished glass. These pictures don't' even really do them justice, since I have such poor lighting down here. I'll get them up in the studio with some pink coolant next.....but I'm pumped with how they came out.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Polishing%20Pump%20Tops/0011-_MG_2395.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Polishing%20Pump%20Tops/0012-_MG_2396.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Polishing%20Pump%20Tops/0013-_MG_2397.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Polishing%20Pump%20Tops/0014-_MG_2398.jpg

 

 

These are going to look amazing stacked on top of each other in the 3d printed pump stand. More soon!

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Couple of quick pics on polishing progress before I head to the Pearl Jam concert tonight. Looking forward to it. With Eddie Vedder, ....you're never quite sure exactly what he's saying....but you know it must be important. :rolleyes:

 

Worked on the GPU's and CPU yesterday. And yes....that means more GoT. Not enough of the dragon girl in the last episode. She's my favorite. Anyway....here is what the block looked like to start...

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20and%20CPU%20Polishing/0001-_MG_2402.jpg

 

 

 

Disassembled it....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20and%20CPU%20Polishing/0002-_MG_2401.jpg

 

 

 

This is a before polish picture. The face of the block was already very smooth. But you see all those machining marks in the water channel? Those have to go....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20and%20CPU%20Polishing/0003-_MG_2403.jpg

 

 

 

....and.....they're gone. :D

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20and%20CPU%20Polishing/0004-_MG_2405.jpg

 

 

 

The CPU block came out like glass. Crystal clear. The Supremacy EVO is an amazing looking block. The design of it is really nice also. I polished up the plastic innards also.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20and%20CPU%20Polishing/0005-_MG_2399.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20and%20CPU%20Polishing/0006-_MG_2400.jpg

 

 

 

These are going to look AMAZING with the pink coolant. Soon. Very soon.

 

Now....I'm off to hear Eddie mumble.....

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got the board blocked up. BOOM!

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20-%20Blocks%20on%20Board/0001-_MG_2418.jpg

 

 

 

She's a pretty lil' lthing. Pretty and powerful. And Pink. And it processes. Yeah.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20-%20Blocks%20on%20Board/0002-_MG_2409.jpg

 

 

 

I wanted to keep the I/O cover....cuz it looks boss. So I dremelled off the pipe that led to it from the VRM Heatsink.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20-%20Blocks%20on%20Board/0003-_MG_2408.jpg

 

 

 

Man....EK blocks really dress up a board.....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20-%20Blocks%20on%20Board/0004-_MG_2413.jpg

 

 

 

Love this shot.....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20-%20Blocks%20on%20Board/0005-_MG_2420.jpg

 

 

 

The EK Supremacy EVO. This block is what had the black van outside my house for days while it was still under NDA. :)

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20-%20Blocks%20on%20Board/0006-_MG_2415.jpg

 

 

 

Mmmmmm....the southbridge block for the RIVE BE is sexy.....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20-%20Blocks%20on%20Board/0007-_MG_2421.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20-%20Blocks%20on%20Board/0008-_MG_2416.jpg

 

 

 

Sponsor shot! ASUS, EK and Corsair all well represented in this shot. Thanks for the support guys!

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20-%20Blocks%20on%20Board/0009-_MG_2417.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20-%20Blocks%20on%20Board/0010-_MG_2423.jpg

 

 

 

Got some more pictures coming soon......having some fun with the EK Nickel. :D

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Got the EK blocks on the ASUS DirectCUII 780Ti's!

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20Blocks/0001-_MG_2440.jpg

 

 

 

ASUS + EK = <3

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20Blocks/0002-_MG_2441.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20Blocks/0003-_MG_2439.jpg

 

 

 

The EK backplates are also sexy as hell....and fit my theme perfectly....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20Blocks/0004-_MG_2447.jpg

 

 

 

Again I say......ASUS + EK = <3

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20Blocks/0005-_MG_2443.jpg

 

 

 

The board is starting to take shape. It will be processing the latest Pinterest pins before you know it....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20Blocks/0006-_MG_2446.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20Blocks/0007-_MG_2436.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20Blocks/0008-_MG_2435.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20Blocks/0009-_MG_2437.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20Blocks/0010-_MG_2449.jpg

 

 

 

I swapped out the black terminals for some of the new'ish clear terminals. They look amazing and I can't wait to see some pink fluid flowing through here....

 

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20Blocks/0011-_MG_2454.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20Blocks/0012-_MG_2438.jpg

 

 

 

Still lovin' my custom black and pink Dominator Plats....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20Blocks/0013-_MG_2442.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20Blocks/0014-_MG_2450.jpg

 

 

 

With the cards in slots #1 and #5 positions, you can still get a great view of the southbridge block right between the GPU's.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20Blocks/0015-_MG_2451.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20Blocks/0016-_MG_2452.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/GPU%20Blocks/0017-_MG_2453.jpg

 

 

 

More soon!

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Fitting shots are almost obligatory these days.....so here goes....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Fittings/0001-_MG_2455.jpg

 

 

 

Probably a good time to thank EK again for being such a fantastic supporter of this build. Blocks, rads, pumps, pumptops, tubing, fittings, backplates......EK has been a great partner. Thanks!

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Fittings/0002-_MG_2458.jpg

 

 

 

Crazy kitty.....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Fittings/0003-_MG_2456.jpg

 

 

 

I fell in love with these EK fittings back when PCModderMike used these in his last build. I just think they are fantastic looking fittings...and a refreshing change from the usual.....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Fittings/0004-_MG_2457.jpg

 

 

 

B-Neg's latest photo set inspired me to see if I could put a little color of my own in the fittings. On my first couple of attempts (the 45 degree fittings) I was using an exacto knife to scrape paint remants off the fitting. You can see the scratches this left. My last attempt was the 90 degree fitting shown below....and it was virtually scratch free. For this one, I just painted a glob of paint into the recessed logo....and then used a straight block of wood to scrape across the top of the fittings....leaving a pool of the paint inside the fittings. I let this dry and then q-tipped the paint that was left on the face of the fitting with some acetone.

 

I think I could do the remainder of them, if I choose, with this method and no scratches.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Fittings/0005-_MG_2459.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Fittings/0006-_MG_2460.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Fittings/0007-_MG_2461.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Fittings/0008-_MG_2462.jpg

 

 

 

What do you guys think? Make the logos pink? Or leave them black? Or randomly do just some of them for a touch of pink....

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 2 months later...
Okay... So I stumbled across this threat at around 4 pm and have spent the last 4 hours admiring your art post by post. You are a true artist... But why have there been no updates since November?!?! Where is the rest?!?!

 

Agreed! What gives? This thread is inspiring...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hard to know exactly where to jump back in here. I'm out of practice. :o I was greatly amused at the rumors of my possible incapacitation. And even more amused as some theorized that I must be busy doing taxes. Truth be told....there have been no accidents or illness that has sidelined me. Yes, work is busy....but no more so than for most of you. I am a CPA, but I don't do public accounting anymore, so it has nothing to do with year-end or tax season. What it really comes down to....is that I took a break. I never intended it to be this long....but it's easy to sink into different routines, habits and hobbies....and hard to change once you are there.

 

The break started when I had hit a sort of wall. Most of you will remember the supremely cool 3-d printing that I had gotten my hooks into. I have a friend that is in a 3-d print club, which gave me access to this groovy technology. I had quickly learned Google SketchUp and designed a pump stand for my dual pumps, and had even morphed it into a reservoir holder also. It was fun...and I loved the creativity that this new arena allowed. Well during the test fitting of my version 2 of the pump stand, it became clear that I had not allowed for enough space for the fittings that need to come out of the pump tops. The fittings hit the case window on the left side of the case. The pumpstand had to move from the position I had designed it for to allow room for the fittings....and this made it so that the reservoir was no longer centered in the front window of the case. Unacceptable! I started with design tweaks and intended to have a 3rd version of the pump stand printed....but encountered issues with getting it printed timely. My print takes between 30 and 45 hours to print...depending on the fill % used. Since I'm not an actual member of this club....I have to wait for periods of time when none of the members have prints running. That delayed me....and then the 3d printer itself was out of commission for awhile while a new extruder head was ordered. Anyway....I let this down time unfocus my efforts on this build.

 

But I'm back and ready to get this finished up. 3d printer is available once again. I was close to being done before my break......so my hope is this won't take long. I really only have to finish the plumbing, lighting, and window etching. Everything was running already....and the wiring/cabling was 95% done. This will be my first time bending acrylic tubing, but that will just make it more interesting for me.

 

I've already sent my latest model of the pump stand to the queue for the 3d printer, and it has been started. So I hope to have it back in a day or two. So.....to start this build thread going again....tonight I'll post some of images of version 3 of the pump stand. If you compare it with the pics of version 2...you'll easily see that the pumps themselves have had to shift back (to the right) so that more room is available between the left window and the pump tops.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/3d%20Pump%20Final%20Renderings/pump%20bracket%20test3-1.jpg

 

 

 

Those little plates that say "The PPPP" are not attached to the pump stand at all. There was some extra room within the print envelope, so I thought....what the heck. I may use them to label a radiator....or harddrive....or something like that. We'll see.....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/3d%20Pump%20Final%20Renderings/pump%20bracket%20test3-2.jpg

 

 

 

The notch in the base in the picture below is to hold and secure the GPU cabling that goes back down through the midplate.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/3d%20Pump%20Final%20Renderings/pump%20bracket%20test3-3.jpg

 

 

 

In the picture below you'll see I had to counter sink the holes for the reservoir mount screws, since they reside right to the side of the pump tops now.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/3d%20Pump%20Final%20Renderings/pump%20bracket%20test3-4.jpg

 

 

I also expanded the legs in front just a bit....to make sure there was room for the cold cathode inverter(s) that will sit right in front of the pump stand.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/3d%20Pump%20Final%20Renderings/pump%20bracket%20test3-5.jpg

 

 

 

I should have the finished pump stand back soon....and I'll have pictures of it up quickly after that. While I wait....I'm going to finish painting the EK logo on those beautiful fittings. I had played around with doing that before....but now I need to finish them. Pictures of that tomorrow!

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Ok. I've got my helper, my paint, and my fittings. It's time to finish these up.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0001-_MG_3287.jpg

 

 

 

For those of you who haven't played with these EK fittings, they have a recessed EK logo on the circle portion. It's recessed enough so that you can get some paint down in there, and still have it all below the surface so that it doesn't get nicked up easily. It's almost like EK is begging me to put some pink in there! I'll oblige.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0002-_MG_3291.jpg

 

 

 

In my prevoius attempt, I was successful, but scraped up the face of the fittings way too much using an exacto knife to clean up the paint around the logo. I've experimented with a few approaches, and have one that works pretty well. I'm using a heavy body paint from Liquitex. Liquitex is awesome because they offer their full range of colors in all sorts of paints. I can use this same color in a soft body, medium body, heavy body, ink, spray paint, etc. For what I'm doing here today, the heavy body paint works best.

 

Get a little brush, and put a nice glob of paint all over the logo. Use the brush to ensure you've pushed paint down into the entire logo.....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0003-_MG_3297.jpg

 

 

 

Just a nice thick blob of paint over the logo. That's what you're after here....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0004-_MG_3299.jpg

 

 

 

Then, while it's still wet.....use a straightblade with a napkin or paper towel pulled tight around it....and scrape the blade over the top of the fitting. I'm using a ruler here....with a napkin pulled tight around it.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0005-_MG_3300.jpg

 

 

 

Since the logo is recessed, the ruler will wipe the paint off the fitting....while leaving a pool of it down inside the logo. It will look messy, but that is fine for now. You'll be tempted to try and wipe the blade back over the fitting again to get even more paint off. Don't. Every single time I tried this it would then start grabbing at some of the paint in the logo. Wipe it once....and set it down.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0006-_MG_3301.jpg

 

 

 

Let the paint dry completely like this.....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0007-_MG_3302.jpg

 

 

 

Here is my entire batch.....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0008-_MG_3303.jpg

 

 

 

Once the paint has dried completely....you'll notice that it has contracted just a little and pulled away from the logo edge and down inside the recessed portion. This is perfect.....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0009-_MG_3304.jpg

 

 

 

Now....get you some Q-tips and a bowl of Paint Thinner and a bowl of water.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0010-_MG_3420.jpg

 

 

 

Go to work by rubbing the Q-tips dipped in paint thinner around the face of the fitting. Just takes a little effort and you'll have removed all of the remaining paint of the face of the fitting......

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0011-_MG_3305.jpg

 

 

 

Viola!

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0012-_MG_3306.jpg

 

 

 

And the whole batch is done. Didn't take that long.....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0013-_MG_3418.jpg

 

 

 

Now....time for some fun up in the faux studio.....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0014-_MG_3455.jpg

 

 

 

It's an easy and fun mod to do with these EK fittings. Perfect way to add your accent color to your build if you are using these fittings.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0015-_MG_3456.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0016-_MG_3457.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0017-_MG_3458.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0018-_MG_3459.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0019-_MG_3460.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0020-_MG_3461.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/EK%20Painted%20Fittings/0021-_MG_3462.jpg

 

 

 

I've got the 3d printed pump stand back from the printer! I'll show that off next......

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3D printed pump stand pictures!

 

Printing time was 36 hours for this version. The outside face is rougher than it was in the last two versions....but the bottom is absolutely flat this time with no warping. It was printed at 100% fill.....so this is one solid piece of plastic. It was printed in PLA....not ABS. Quite heavy. Here are some pictures from different angles...

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0001-_MG_3464.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0002-_MG_3465.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0003-_MG_3466.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0004-_MG_3467.jpg

 

 

 

In this closeup, you can see how the face of the pump stand looks. I may spend some time sanding some of the rougher edges....after I see what still shows once the pumps/tops/reservoir are mounted.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0005-_MG_3463.jpg

 

 

 

Now...to attach everything to the stand, I'll need some screws. The approach I've taken with my last few projects is to cut down my screws to size. It was hard for me to find the black socket head screws that I love so much....in every size that I might need. So instead, I bought about a thousand of these 30mm M4 Black Socket Head screws....and I just cut them down to whatever size is needed when I'm using them....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0006-_MG_3473.jpg

 

 

 

I just clamp then down in this little vise at the appropriate distance.....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0007-_MG_3476.jpg

 

 

 

...and then use the edge of the vise as a guide for the Dremmel to run across. Only takes about 10 seconds for a screw. Those little puppies sure do get hot in 10 seconds though....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0008-_MG_3477.jpg

 

 

 

Here are a couple of the freshly cut screws next to an original size screw, so you can see how much I was trimming to make these the perfect size for my recessed holes for the reservoir attachment. The edges usually are pretty rough....

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0009-_MG_3479.jpg

 

 

 

....but they are smooth after running them along a file a few times. Those little rubber washers are what I'm going to add to help decouple the pumps and reservoir even further....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0010-_MG_3483.jpg

 

 

 

Here are a couple of shots of how the EK reservoir clamps fit onto the 3d printed pump stand. You can see that I designed recessed holes in the back of the pump stand for the nuts...because the pump tops would interfere if they stuck out at all....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0011-_MG_3480.jpg

 

 

 

Nice and flush.....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0012-_MG_3481.jpg

 

 

 

I decided to go ahead and test fit the entire thing.....so I cut some more screws, and mounted the pumps and reservoir to the 3d printed stand. Everything fit great! Here are some pictures from all angles.....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0013-_MG_3537.jpg

 

 

 

It is shockingly beautiful in person....the pump tops just look like huge chunks of glass. Everything fits together perfectly with no wasted space. There is a cutout that will allow for the cold cathode inverter, as well as a cutout for the GPU cables that was necessary to allow the stand to be snugged up closer to the motherboard.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0014-_MG_3536.jpg

 

 

 

The EK X3 reservoir is super high quality....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0015-_MG_3538.jpg

 

 

 

I brushed some pink paint on "The PPPP" raised lettering I designed in the pump stand....

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0016-_MG_3539.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0017-_MG_3541.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0018-_MG_3542.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0019-_MG_3543.jpg

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0020-_MG_3545.jpg

 

 

 

It really came out as good as I was hoping. It's tight, compact, and beautiful. And it situates the pump tops at the perfect viewing angle for the left side window....and positions the reservoir at the perfect spot to be centered in the front window. I couldn't have done this with any pre-made stand. It really needed to be custom designed to pull this off. I love 3d printing.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0021-_MG_3544.jpg

 

 

 

I also brushed some paint on those badges that I had 3d printed. These could be used anyhwere....but I'm picturing them on the SSD's and/or radiators.

 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r622/cpachris/Final%20Pump%20Stand/0022-_MG_3547.jpg

 

 

Next step is to drill some holes in the case midplate and bolt this baby in. Pictures soon!

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