self bent glass tubing

[Polyp]

Hey every one, I tried myself in bending borosilicate glass tubes for my loop. As you see some kinking is kind of unavoidable. I tried my best with blowing into the glass tube to avoid any further kinking. This can cause holes in the tube if done wrong. (see pictures below)

This should not yet be a tutorial or anything how I exactly did it. I just did not have time jet to do a document or edit a video for that. Maybe I have time in about two weeks. Just some impressions I want to share and see what you think and if there any interest. Please, be nice was hard work and not easy. I did every run in PETG first and every run I tried several times with the glass tubing.

Ah yes the reason why I did it: I liked to have as little of any kind of plastic in my loop. Also there should be no staining of the tubes now.

 

[SolarNova]

A valiant effort.

 

For your use however, for your 90 degree bends, u can buy them prebent.

As such i would sugest you buy the 90degree bends, and DIY the smaller bends if needed, you shouldnt run into kinking issues that way.

 

Nice job though, not many people would try this.

[manikyath]

Just now, Pangea2017 said:

 Flawless glass bend are the holy grail. I have only seen a few person capable of perfect 90° bends. Using 45° bends is simpler.

glass blowing is an art, if you can make perfect glass bends for a pc you should consider a job as a master artisan.

[Polyp]

On 8/23/2018 at 4:06 PM, SolarNova said:

A valiant effort.

 

For your use however, for your 90 degree bends, u can buy them prebent.

As such i would sugest you buy the 90degree bends, and DIY the smaller bends if needed, you shouldnt run into kinking issues that way.

 

Nice job though, not many people would try this.

Thanks appreciate that!

 

I know that but it was more about the journey and what can be done than anything. Also I thought I try to use as less 90 degree fittings as I can. Maybe the one form the small rad to the CPU block I could eliminate in the future. Also you get the strait tubes for about 1 Euro a piece if you do not by it overpriced at water cooling shops.

 

On 8/23/2018 at 4:14 PM, Pangea2017 said:

 Flawless glass bend are the holy grail. I have only seen a few person capable of perfect 90° bends. Using 45° bends is simpler.

Yes the 45° are easier. I am pretty proud of the 90° going from the GPU to the small rad.

On 8/23/2018 at 4:18 PM, manikyath said:

glass blowing is an art, if you can make perfect glass bends for a pc you should consider a job as a master artisan.

It is an art and I learned on my own. Doing only glass bends for pc's probably would not earn you enough.

[Enderman]

Is there not some rubber or other material rod that you can put inside while bending to prevent the kinks?

[Polyp]

1 minute ago, Enderman said:

Is there not some rubber or other material rod that you can put inside while bending to prevent the kinks?

I do not know maybe there is rubber that can withstand a Bunsen burner flame but if so I think it would not come cheap at all. I tried to fill the tubes with very fine sand but the whole thing shattered in to a thousand pieces before even the glass was hot enough for bending. I think the problem was that glass has e very low heat conductivity and the sand kept more heat where the glass already cooled of at one place therefore inflicting thermal stress.

[glenalz81]

Awesome effort fella!

 

How about inserting a spring rod?

 

Just need to find the right diameter.

 

[manikyath]

5 minutes ago, glenalz81 said:

Awesome effort fella!

 

How about inserting a spring rod?

 

Just need to find the right diameter.

 

-snip-

those make for an absolutely hideous looking bend.

28 minutes ago, Polyp said:

It is an art and I learned on my own. Doing only glass bends for pc's probably would not earn you enough.

if you can glass bend pc plumbing, you can glass bend neon signs.

[geo3]

Going with a slightly wider radius on your 90deg bends may help reduce kinks .

[Daniel644]

6 hours ago, Enderman said:

Is there not some rubber or other material rod that you can put inside while bending to prevent the kinks?

 

6 hours ago, Polyp said:

I do not know maybe there is rubber that can withstand a Bunsen burner flame but if so I think it would not come cheap at all. I tried to fill the tubes with very fine sand but the whole thing shattered in to a thousand pieces before even the glass was hot enough for bending. I think the problem was that glass has e very low heat conductivity and the sand kept more heat where the glass already cooled of at one place therefore inflicting thermal stress.

I was gonna say, I swear I remember seeing it somewhere, I know they have them for Acrylic tube bending, I think they work with glass too.

[Polyp]

On 8/23/2018 at 4:58 PM, glenalz81 said:

Awesome effort fella!

 

How about inserting a spring rod?

 

Just need to find the right diameter.

 

-snip-

Thank you! Maybe if I find one which is malleable enough I give it a try. My concerns are that metal conducts heat way better then glass which probably results in shattering the thing like it did with the sand inside. Also I do not know how easy it is to get that thing out again because glass has no flexibility at all and also the metal has less than rubber. Probably a rod with very thin wire would do.

On 8/23/2018 at 5:05 PM, manikyath said:

those make for an absolutely hideous looking bend.

if you can glass bend pc plumbing, you can glass bend neon signs.

haha could be but if it is consistend would be quiet a look.

 

Yes I got the inspiration from the neon signs. The thing is if I am not misstaken the glass they use has led in it which makes it easier to bend.

 

On 8/23/2018 at 5:06 PM, geo3 said:

Going with a slightly wider radius on your 90deg bends may help reduce kinks .

Thanks I could try that more. It is not so easy to get a consistent curvature this way.

 

On 8/23/2018 at 11:28 PM, Daniel644 said:

I was gonna say, I swear I remember seeing it somewhere, I know they have them for Acrylic tube bending, I think they work with glass too.

I would be happy if you have a link for that. You know Acrylic tubes can still be heated with a heat gun which is way less heat then with a Teclu burner (other kind of burner which gets slightly hotter than a Bunsen burner) which I used for the glass. To form glass you need temperatures above at least 600°C. For Acrylic glass which is a form of plastic the glass transition temperature (temperature where thermoplastics get soft) is about 105°C. That is about 6 times less.

[Daniel644]

52 minutes ago, Polyp said:

I would be happy if you have a link for that. You know Acrylic tubes can still be heated with a heat gun which is way less heat then with a Teclu burner (other kind of burner which gets slightly hotter than a Bunsen burner) which I used for the glass. To form glass you need temperatures above at least 600°C. For Acrylic glass which is a form of plastic the glass transition temperature (temperature where thermoplastics get soft) is about 105°C. That is about 6 times less.

here is a link for one of the acrylic tube inserts https://www.aquatuning.us/water-cooling/tools/acrylic-tube-tools/21463/alphacool-silicon-bending-insert-100cm-for-id-1/2/13mm-hard-tubes-blue

but in researching them they are made of silicon which seams to have a max operating temp around half what you list for the glass melting point.

[Polyp]

On 8/24/2018 at 4:15 AM, Daniel644 said:

here is a link for one of the acrylic tube inserts https://www.aquatuning.us/water-cooling/tools/acrylic-tube-tools/21463/alphacool-silicon-bending-insert-100cm-for-id-1/2/13mm-hard-tubes-blue

but in researching them they are made of silicon which seams to have a max operating temp around half what you list for the glass melting point.

Thank you. I have the same silicon insert from EKWB but as you said silicon goes to about maximum 300°C.

 

There are the exact numbers for the borosilikatglas:

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borosilikatglas

 

On 8/23/2018 at 5:05 PM, manikyath said:

those make for an absolutely hideous looking bend.

if you can glass bend pc plumbing, you can glass bend neon signs.

I tried again according to the post below.

On 8/23/2018 at 5:06 PM, geo3 said:

Going with a slightly wider radius on your 90deg bends may help reduce kinks .

It is getting better but making it wider radius adds difficulty to keep it an uniform bent. But it is very very close to perfect with some very light thinning at the top of the bend. What do you think?

 

 

[geo3]

1 hour ago, Polyp said:

It is getting better but making it wider radius adds difficulty to keep it an uniform bent. But it is very very close to perfect with some very light thinning at the top of the bend. What do you think?

Looks good. Maybe you can make a guide out of wood to get more consistency? I'm no glass working expert but I've seen enough of it to know they often use wood to work the glass. They may wet it a bit to keep it from burning, but I'm not sure.  

[Polyp]

On 25.8.2018 at 8:49 PM, geo3 said:

Looks good. Maybe you can make a guide out of wood to get more consistency? I'm no glass working expert but I've seen enough of it to know they often use wood to work the glass. They may wet it a bit to keep it from burning, but I'm not sure.  

Yes wood guides are often used you are correct. I though bought the monsoon hardline kit which has aluminium guides. My plan was to preheat them and then bend the glass around. Sadly though my Teclu burner does not heat the borosilicate glass hot enough. To do the bend in one go the glass has to be heated more and with borosilicate glass it only works with a propane and oxygen burner but these burners are a hell of a lot more expensive and you also need the oxygen bottle. That is what I found out now. Therefore I have to bend the glass tube when it is still inside the flame otherwise it cools out to fast.

[Polyp]

Short update: It looks like this now

Edited September 11, 2018 by Polyp
twice same picture

[Polyp]

Sorry it is now more then two weeks ago more like 2 months. But now I was able to cut together some footage of my work. I first intended to do it cause I thought everybody wants some proof that it is real glass anyway. Just be aware of it is an informative video and not really entertaining. Also it's quality is not the best cause I do not have the best equipment. So if your intressted:

 

 

[mayhems]

Just to help you. We use a hardwood jig that we put insulation around that way it doesn't ruin the jig. When finished lay the flat surface on an oven glove or something similar and slowly let it cool down. Hope this helps.

[Polyp]

On 2/13/2019 at 12:37 AM, mayhems said:

Just to help you. We use a hardwood jig that we put insulation around that way it doesn't ruin the jig. When finished lay the flat surface on an oven glove or something similar and slowly let it cool down. Hope this helps.

Hallo mayhems

 

Sorry for the late response.

 

I am not quite sure what you mean because I used the aluminium jigs from monsoon and they worked fine. The problem I experienced was that my burner was not hot enough to heat the glass to a temperature where it is still hot enough when transferred to the jigs. What kind of insulation do you use? Because on this temperature range not everything holds without sticking or burning. May you have some pictures, so it gets clearer what you mean? Would be helpful thanks!

 

Cheers

[Imbellis]

On 8/23/2018 at 11:28 PM, Daniel644 said:

 

I was gonna say, I swear I remember seeing it somewhere, I know they have them for Acrylic tube bending, I think they work with glass too.

This is the general type of thing you're talking about: (Silicon rod bending inserts)

I don't know if that's the exact name of it, but those are the right things (albeit maybe not of the best quality).

[Polyp]

10 hours ago, Imbellis said:

This is the general type of thing you're talking about: (Silicon rod bending inserts)

I don't know if that's the exact name of it, but those are the right things (albeit maybe not of the best quality).

You are right these are the ones, but they are enough for acryl glass tubes where you can use a heat gun. For the temperatures where you can bend glass this will melt when not even decompose. I already described it in the upper part.

[Mad-Ace]

Sorry to crash the party late.

Done a glass bending build in 2017.

is definitely doable. Done it using a gas stove.  

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C-leIZSYmf0

https://builds.gg/builds/enslaved-dragon-fire-bended-glass-tubes-inverted-30691

 

[Polyp]

On 3/26/2021 at 6:48 AM, Mad-Ace said:

Sorry to crash the party late.

Done a glass bending build in 2017.

is definitely doable. Done it using a gas stove.  

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C-leIZSYmf0

https://builds.gg/builds/enslaved-dragon-fire-bended-glass-tubes-inverted-30691

 

Nice one I think I saw that when I was preparing for mine

How did you finde this post 2 years later?