Hardline workshop

[B NEGATIVE]

This thread is a brief how to on bending acrylic pipe and the basic use of a former.

First up is the basic kit we need.....(Magoo optional)



We have a heatgun,tube,silicone fuel line that has an OD matches the ID of the tube you wish to bend and a former....the square is for checking the 90 bends on the former.

So,the former,in this case a 2" wide piece of sheet alu rolled over a deodarant can to get a radius,you can select anything with a diameter of 40mm or over,thick walled tube will need a larger radius to prevent kinks.



The line is the bend start,this will become clear in a minute

The beauty of this is that you can form any specific angle you like and bend tube to it.
For instance: You have 2 ports you wish to join on the same plane,you can form the pathing from the inner measurement between the ports and bend a former to suit. Measure the closest points between the fittings from the actual tube insert point,bend the former so the 2 faces on the 90s match the gap and Bob is indeed your uncle

The silicone fuel line.



This needs to be around .5mm smaller that the ID of the tube you are bending



Normally used for RC cars,chosen for its high melt point and great flexibility.

The small cut line round the tube is placed at the start of you bend and is the reference point for another way of doing point to point bending.
Remember the pencil line on the former? Well,put the cut line  of the silicone tube on that ref point when doing the bend and you will get consistent bend radius measurement.

Like this.



For example: I want to tube 2 ports 150mm away,inlet to inlet on the inner points,I know that a bend will have a measurement of 20mm from that mark in the fuel line to the inner wall of the radius. Knowing that,we can make the first bend using the ref point on the former,insert the tube with the mark 130mm away from the inner wall of first 90,make the bend using the ref point on the former and both inner walls will be 150mm away from each other.

The bend.



You cant see the fuel line mark but its ion line with the former ref point,this is  the distance you will need to heat up ,around 100mm with the bend start 2/3 its length .

This creates a very even bend.



Hold the tube around 70mm above the heat gun on high.
IMPORTANT: Keep the tube moving,rotate constantly,do not let the heat sit in any one place.

Soon the tube will not be able to hold its own weight,this is the critical moment,too long and it will create visual anomalies and start to burn.



Now i dont have pics for the next bit as i only have one pair of hands ...

When the tube starts sag,quickly transfer to the former,matching the 2 ref points up and slowly 'form' round the radiused section,dont force it,take your time. If it starts to stiffen then re heat as required.

When you are happy with your bend then let it cool naturally,when cool you can twist the fuel line straight out with no fuss.

You should be left with this



I will be adding more on the former when Magoo finds a human lackey to do the pics.

As always,heatguns are awesome but burn stuff,be careful.

 

Fittings and Tube:

EK & E22 acrylic tubes come in 10mm ID and 12mm OD sizes. Both EK and Bitspower have non-compression fittings for the 10/12mm acrylic tubes.
EK and Bitspower C47 fittings are double O-Ring fittings.
Bitspower C48 fittings are skinnier and use a single O-Ring.
EK & Bitspower fittings grip really tight and you need to ensure you camber the edge of the tubes at an angle else (eg: 45deg), else you will tear your O-Rings when you put in your tubes. It helps to coat the tip of your tube in silicone grease,a thin smear will do,prior to inserting into the fittings.
You'll need to ensure your tube is seated all the way to the end and past the 2nd O-Ring.
The “seating depth” of the tube on C47 fittings is 8mm.
The “seating depth” of the tube on C48 is 4mm.
The “seating depth” of the tube on EK fittings is 9mm.

The PrimoChill acrylic tubes comes in
Inner Diameter: 3/8in.
Outer Diameter: 1/2in.
Wall Thickness: 1/16in.. This means that PrimoChill acrylic tubes and fittings are NOT compatible with EK, E22, & Bitspower tubes and fittings.

ITDiva has done some testing of other former materials and found that Buna N cord has nice properties for this method,it swells slightly when warm and shrinks when cold.
A nice alternative to the silicone currently used. As always,a former OD of 1mm less then the acrylic ID applies.


Monsoon have come to the game with a new mandrel set with everything you need with the basic technique shown above but with purpose built mandrels/formers and a new range of fittings with a novel locking technique.

The Monsoon hardline kit videos:

http://geno.boxgods.com/Hardline_Premium_Fittings.mp4

http://geno.boxgods.com/Hardline_Tools_Heatgun_Kit.mp4

http://geno.boxgods.com/Hardline_Tools_mandrels_and_Measure.mp4

http://geno.boxgods.com/Hardline_Tools_mandrels_and_Measure_2.mp4

http://geno.boxgods.com/Hardline_Cutting_Kit.mp4

Monsoon Kit.









The bend quality is excellent! A slight pulling motion round the mandrel makes the bend flow very well.

[Titanicium]

Awesome tutorial man

And btw: Welcome to the forum and may you enjoy it as much as we do!

[B NEGATIVE]

And as a bonus!

 

I have been asked a few times now how i bent my pipe for my SR 2 build,so i decided to do a little walk thru.

The tools you will need are these:



A Cup of Tea...mine was a milky number to get the juices flowing.
A set of benders...these are for half-hard pipe,not annealed pipe as annealed is thin walled and should be bent by hand.
A Cutter for the chosen OD of your tube
A Ruler
Some tape.

I recommend Rothenberger benders,these are high quality and are worth the extra.
Otherwise,you may have to 'mod' the benders..like this:

The top guide was poorly aligned and needed a bit of work before use.
Poorly aligned guides can distort the tube and put creases down the length of the bend.

So..take a bit of tape to make a base mark.


Place the base mark on the 0 point of the bender.



Line up the guide with the 0 mark.



Make the bend using constant pressure,dont snatch at it,use nice firm and even pressure.



Once you have made your bend,measure the distance from the 0 mark and the outer wall of the bend.



This is the radius measurement,in this case 28mm,remember this as it will allow you to make accurate 90-90 bends to go 180 like this.



To cut the tube to length,use the cutter,rotating the the direction indicated on the tool.
Try to keep everything straight when cutting,the cutter can spiral if its not held 90 to the pipe.



This a basic guide,for any specific info,please comment below.

[B NEGATIVE]

Awesome tutorial man

And btw: Welcome to the forum and may you enjoy as much as we do!

 

 

Thanks! More tuts to come!

[nickpc]

nice job

[Titanicium]

Thanks! More tuts to come!

 

Sounds sweet

 

Are you going to do anything outside of Watercooling?

 

Voted this topic 5 stars btw Well deserved

[B NEGATIVE]

Sounds sweet

 

Are you going to do anything outside of Watercooling?

 

Voted this topic 5 stars btw Well deserved

 

Watercooling and modding is my thing,I have a acrylic sheet bending and flame polishing tut also if you want it?

 

Also a few build logs to bring over too.

[Titanicium]

Watercooling and modding is my thing,I have a acrylic sheet bending and flame polishing tut also if you want it?

 

Also a few build logs to bring over too.

 

Bring us everything you can I am a serious noob to watercooling myself so the more good tutorials there is the bether it is

 

Build logs is always cool and always welcome so if you want you could post them in the sub forum "Build logs" so that we can all enjoy it and you get feedback on it

 

Also if you need any help on anything with the forum just send me or another member a PM

[airdeano]

This thread is a brief how to on bending acrylic pipe and the basic use of a former.

 

thanks B Negative and Magoo.. awesome information for our members..

do appreciate the help and guides you lend to this and other communities.

 

airdeano

[B NEGATIVE]

thanks B Negative and Magoo.. awesome information for our members..

do appreciate the help and guides you lend to this and other communities.

 

airdeano

 

Deano you old dog!!

 

How you been man??

[airdeano]

Deano you old dog!!

 

How you been man??

 

errrr, woof!

 

hey man.. trying to keep the place respectable... LOLs

 

airdeano

[B NEGATIVE]

Well,had a bit of a result,Monsoon are sending me a Pro-kit for acrylic tube and some more info in what to expect from them

The Pro Benders Kit is really four distinct tool kits all in one big box so that virtually everything a builder needs is included.

    There is a special Layout and Planning tool kit that has a very simple to use yet accurate center line plotting and measurement system.  The Mandrels themselves also have center line capabilities built in so the layout and planning tools mesh seamlessly with the Mandrels.  All hardware and screws are included.
    The mandrels are machined from solid aluminum, polished, anodized, and laser etched for maximum durability and surface quality on tube contact surfaces.  They feature relevant degrees etched on in 1 degree increments.  As previously mentioned they also have center line capabilities built in, and the 45, 90, and 180 all feature extended support legs.  This makes sure the tube is not only easily held at the exact angle, but is also held exactly "on plane" with zero deformation or twist etc..  They also feature dual pass through holes for M4 (over sized for fine adjustment) that allow for flat mounting on your bending board.  Also included are metal 90 degree clips that allow the mandrels to be mounted upright (perpendicular) to your building board so that builders can easily bend and fixture in two or more directions AND on two or more planes at the same time.
    The cutting kit features a miter box (I am including an image below for you--you can post if you like), the saw with extra blades, and a combination inner/outer reamer to clean up the edges after a cut.  The miter box is also designed to work within the center line system making locating cuts exactly where you need them very easy.
    The heat gun kit includes a dual setting heat gun, diffuser, and cotton gloves for handling hot tube.

All screws, clips, and other hardware are included--all a builder needs to add is a 24" x 24" x 1/2" particle board work surface--typically available at big box home improvement stores for $7 - $10.

There are some very cool things being done behind the scenes as well,which im keen to share but its something for someone else to announce

All i can say is that it is an exciting time for Hardliners soon!

When it arrives,pics will be forthcoming in abundance.

[Random_her0]

This post makes me exceedingly happy, great advice! 

 

Quick question, for cutting the acrylic tubing did you find the hack saw to be sufficient? I've heard that people have had issues with the tubing cracking when using a hand held saw.

 

Cheers!

 

Edit: just saw THIS. Pretty much answers my question regarding the efficiency of the hack saw!!    CANNOT WAIT to give this a go, shame it won't be for a while  <_<

[B NEGATIVE]

OP updated

[Ghost]

OP updated

Their video is loading very slowly but this does look great. I think this is probably even more secure than flexible tubing.

 

The best thing about it imo is that you can easily switch from compression to hard-line tubing fittings and you can mix and match without loosing consistency in the theme. Now that is an incentive to go to hard-line.

[B NEGATIVE]

OP updated.

[Hikaru12]

OP updated.

 

@B NEGATIVE - As you recall, I have asked you many questions over on OCN on your copper bending thread. I have the same username over there. My question is what's the likelihood of a brass tubing WC loop to leak as opposed to copper? Your copper builds don't seem to leak and I know not everyone here on these forums who have tried it have had the same luck. I want to try something new and do a brass tubing run and I'm planning on annealing it with a MAPP torch but even with the those Aquatuning push fittings you use I'm scared that it will spring a leak. Any tips/advice? 

[B NEGATIVE]

Your main concern would be the hardness of the tube for bending,annealing brass is not in my skill set so i cant comment on the likelihood for that working.

However,if you can do the bends, the rest is no different in regards to the fittings. They will work as intended.

 

The main reason for leaking is damaged o-rings or scored tube,you must dress the tube end so as not to damage the o-ring,a small chamfer is required but this is normally done by the autocut as its cutting.

[Hikaru12]

Your main concern would be the hardness of the tube for bending,annealing brass is not in my skill set so i cant comment on the likelihood for that working.

However,if you can do the bends, the rest is no different in regards to the fittings. They will work as intended.

 

The main reason for leaking is damaged o-rings or scored tube,you must dress the tube end so as not to damage the o-ring,a small chamfer is required but this is normally done by the autocut as its cutting.

 

Should I sand or prime the edge in any way to ensure the o-rings do not get damaged? Annealing brass is easy. You just heat it up to melting point and quench it quickly. It will then be soft enough to bend by hand - in which case I'll have to use something to prevent it from kinking as well. 

 

How would I add a chamfer myself?

 

If I can ensure a leak free fit then I'm seriously going to consider doing this.

[TheNinjaNextDor]

Awesome tutorial. It helps because im about to order my acrylic and heat gun

Any advice?

[kassem]

And as a bonus!

 

I have been asked a few times now how i bent my pipe for my SR 2 build,so i decided to do a little walk thru.

The tools you will need are these:

A Cup of Tea...mine was a milky number to get the juices flowing.

A set of benders...these are for half-hard pipe,not annealed pipe as annealed is thin walled and should be bent by hand.

A Cutter for the chosen OD of your tube

A Ruler

Some tape.

I recommend Rothenberger benders,these are high quality and are worth the extra.

Otherwise,you may have to 'mod' the benders..like this:

The top guide was poorly aligned and needed a bit of work before use.

Poorly aligned guides can distort the tube and put creases down the length of the bend.

So..take a bit of tape to make a base mark.

Place the base mark on the 0 point of the bender.

Line up the guide with the 0 mark.

Make the bend using constant pressure,dont snatch at it,use nice firm and even pressure.

Once you have made your bend,measure the distance from the 0 mark and the outer wall of the bend.

This is the radius measurement,in this case 28mm,remember this as it will allow you to make accurate 90-90 bends to go 180 like this.

To cut the tube to length,use the cutter,rotating the the direction indicated on the tool.

Try to keep everything straight when cutting,the cutter can spiral if its not held 90 to the pipe.

This a basic guide,for any specific info,please comment below.

What kind of fittings did you use for the pipe? Thanks

[VulsaviiK]

That bending kit, come end of this year, when I build my loop (I need components worth cooling by then, new GPUs, memory and PSU) I am so using hard tubing. I've seen too many builds which look a little too awesome to opt out of it. Luckily for me I have a team of engineers/computer guys to help out.

 

Any advice on measuring it out, or is it mostly trial and error?

[Alexdaman]

amazing great guide!

[bloX1337]

Is it worth it to buy the monsoon kit if I was only going to use it once or twice?

[The_Edster]

This will work for PETG tubing right?