I've had a thread going for a while in the team lounge, but now that this project is 99.5% complete, I figured I would make a nice little project log for those who haven't been able to follow, or haven't been reading along.
Back Story
For those who don't know, I'm 18 and still in high school (not for long!). I took a class this year which allowed me to basically make any project I wanted, and the best part was that I would have access to a Lathe, 3-Axis Mill, 3-Axis CNC and an Extrusion 3D Printer. I knew pretty early in the year that I wanted to make a GPU pot, and my goal was to save money, while still getting Tek-9-esque performance.
Process
I spent a lot of time simply working on the design of this project, and finding possible metals for the Gpu pot. I settled on what I called the "Clover Pot."
I ordered the materials, and began working with the Aluminum top (which was MUCH cheaper, but more on that later).
I made the mating surface of the Aluminum half.
Then moved on to hollow out the middle.
Next was the Copper half. A MUCH more expensive piece, I knew there would be no re-do's here...
Onto the inside!
Now here is where time and tools became a constraint. My last day of school is May 31st, and I still had brackets to make, holes to tap, etc. I was running out of time, and the base design is what shows that the most.
The middle two slots remained almost unchanged, but the namesake of the pot has really changed. No more can I call this the Clover Pot. :rain:
I didn't take very many pictures of the insulation steps, but I basically followed Buckeye's guide here: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...gpu+insulation. I doubt he will see this, but a big thanks for the write up!
Final Product
This section will take a few more days to fill in completely since I still have one more bracket sitting in the CNC at school, but that's the only part left.
The Outside (with a bracket mounted, and the 58mm holes filled in (GTX580 maybe? :sn: ).
And the inside. It got a lot darker because I tried my best to braze the two pieces together yesterday. The Aluminum took the material, but the Copper just would not get hot enough to flow. I covered the whole gap with aquarium grade silicone (as per Bobnova's advice) and called it a day.
Cost
Since the whole point of this project was to save money, I figure I should make a list of what went into it. :thup:
Competitor's Pot:
You get: 1x Tek9 Fat, 3x mounting Brackets, 1x Set of hardware
Cost: $235 USD + Shipping
My Pot:
You get: 1x Chance Edition GPU pot, 2x Mounting brackets (with all the same holes), 1x set of hardware, 1x Insulation for the whole thing, 1x K-type Thermocouple already installed
Cost: ????
So I decided I would break it down. I pulled out my receipts and tallied it up.
1x 2x4x4 C110 Copper - $105.06
1x 2x4x4 T6 6061 Aluminum - $15.14
2x 2.75x2.75x.1875 Aluminum - $2.63
4x 4-40x - .25'' Machine Screws - $1
4x 4-40x - 1'' Machine Screws - $3
10x Brass Knurled Nuts - $5
1x K-type Thermocouple - $4.88
1x Tube of DAP Silicone - $5
1x 30' Roll of Armaflex Insulation - $8
1x 8-pcs Alumiweld Brazing rods - $16
Total man hours(during school) - 100+
Total Cost: $165.71
Total Savings: AT LEAST $70 USD
Looking back at the numbers, I would say the project was definitely worth it. I learned quite a bit, had a good time working on the project, some not so good times troubleshooting and breaking bits, etc. But I'll forget all of that once I strap it onto a Gpu for the first time and go sub-zero.
Hope you enjoyed reading!
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