Stalled Walrus mk01: a 3D-printed brickless 5.0~5.5L fully watercooled case

[morj]

Idk if this sounds stupid or not considering youre 3d printing it. But if you were to cnc it you could route the tube on top of the case with copper tubing and fitting and it could act as a handle, but im not sure of the rigidity. Ive also contemplated of a similar build but i lack the modeling knowledge. What if you rotate the radiator 90 degrees and use thick 25mm fans, granted youd lose airflow in the case. Not sure how much air circulation mobo, vram requires. Would also help with the tubing inside case.

Case looks sick tho ,definetly on my follow list

Thanks for the appreciation!

I have a version in mind where the rad is turned sideways in case I want to support full length GPUs, but I don't see how it can help with the tubing, because the radiator outlets will be on one side, so either motherboard or GPU will now need 2 tubes to get from the other side.

Once I get the current layout printed, I will play with the actual components in order to check the possible tube routes. Maybe I will have an option to downsize back, but currently I'm at about 5.5L (not counting case feet).

 

[Ezzoud]

You could have an x flow radiator that has more inlets, with 1 fan pushing air through, and the other fan on the other side but on the upper side pulling air through. Maybe im just visualising something that doesnt work. You can also install fan grilles to the radiator in its original set up so fins dont get mushed.

 

[morj]

You could have an x flow radiator that has more inlets, with 1 fan pushing air through, and the other fan on the other side but on the upper side pulling air through. Maybe im just visualising something that doesnt work. You can also install fan grilles to the radiator in its original set up so fins dont get mushed.

I get what you are visualizing, but I haven't found any dual 92mm x-flow radiator model. Besides, in general the x-flow radiators perform worse than normal flow in the same size. But, again, I'm happy to experiment if the hardware is actually available.

 

[morj]

Small update:

I'm still printing the outer panels, decided to show off a render demonstrating the way an additional intake fan can be mounted:

 

[owliwar]

you are exhausting at the front?
experience from other people tells me that exhaust usually helps a bit better than intake, in such small cases.
as in, prevent heating buildup more than forcing airflow in. but its something worth testing, as its a very case by case situation
looking good! cant wait to see the finished build

 

[morj]

you are exhausting at the front?
experience from other people tells me that exhaust usually helps a bit better than intake, in such small cases.
as in, prevent heating buildup more than forcing airflow in. but its something worth testing, as its a very case by case situation
looking good! cant wait to see the finished build

Yep, exhausting at the front is the plan, both fans pushing air into the radiator and out of the case. The intake fan is only the top one, but it's optional. I don't own 3 fans like this at the moment, only two Will buy later down the road if needed when the side panels are complete, then the thermal testing.

 

[pesta]

Nice project!

But how are you planning to connect everything with the GPU connectors facing the motherboard?

Or am I getting it wrong and that's not your plan?

 

[owliwar]

Nice project!

But how are you planning to connect everything with the GPU connectors facing the motherboard?

Or am I getting it wrong and that's not your plan?

probably by using soft tubing. but I agree it will not be the easiest to maintain, also visibility to gpu block is non-existant, to theres that as well.
the main benefit is this allows for shorter pci riser and a few mm of clearance from the riser not having to go on the back of the gpu / orver the psu as well

 

[morj]

Nice project!

But how are you planning to connect everything with the GPU connectors facing the motherboard?

Or am I getting it wrong and that's not your plan?

You can see my GPU in the first post of this thread. The connectors (G1/4 outlets for coolant) are not facing the motherboard, they are facing upwards.

Concerning the visibility of the waterblock: it's not RGB or anything. Besides, it has a really nice-looking matching backplate:

This is what will be visible from outside.

 

[morj]

But how are you planning to connect everything with the GPU connectors facing the motherboard?

I did a little exercise to get acquainted with pipes in Fusion 360 for a bit, not great at it yet, but here is the quick look at how the coolant plumbing might look on the GPU side:

Some part of this might be fittings, some part just soft tubes (I'm using the ones with 13mm outer diameter).

 

[BCGA.tech]

The design is phenomenal. I really enjoyed it. Do you intend to produce for sale?

 

[morj]

The design is phenomenal. I really enjoyed it. Do you intend to produce for sale?

As I mentioned above, this is more of a design study. I posted my thoughts on what should be changed earlier in the thread in order to aim for mass production, let me quote it here:

The more I work with 3D-printed plastic, the more I feel that load-bearing metal parts can be done so much cleaner if I designed them from the ground up without the ability to 3D-print in mind. I think the 3D-printed layout will serve as a "design study" to verify components placement and thermals. If it will be successful, there are some major changes to be made in order to make this design at least somewhat feasible for production:

• air-cooled "ITX" GPU support without the need of changing the GPU port cover
• possibly, ability to mount GPU like I did, but also the other way around (for better cooling of air-cooled GPUs, but it might also work in current layout "as is" just like the CPU fan in the current Intel NUC 9 Pro)
• motherboard shroud support (particularly for motherboards with integrated I/O shroud)
• support for more than one 2x92mm radiator model (to include similar Alphacool rad, not only Black Ice)

All this, but also quite steep price of CNC machining is making the potential production pretty far ahead.

 

[morj]

Update!

I've finished printing the latest prototype. If my PSU will clear the customs and will arrive in working condition, I can start putting some PC components inside on Monday or Tuesday.

 

[robbee]

Looking good! Perhaps if you printed the corner pieces standing, the finish on the outside would be better.
Also is the wall thickness enough? It looks a bit flimsy, especially the back and the top. Perhaps you could use your sidepanels to support the top panel in the middle. I've printed a case with 4mm thick walls and even there i get sag on the top after a while without proper support.

 

[morj]

Looking good! Perhaps if you printed the corner pieces standing, the finish on the outside would be better.
Also is the wall thickness enough? It looks a bit flimsy, especially the back and the top. Perhaps you could use your sidepanels to support the top panel in the middle. I've printed a case with 4mm thick walls and even there i get sag on the top after a while without proper support.

I can't print the corners standing because of the way the part is designed. Apart from that, the rear top corner was printed without any support (my bad), that's why it's so ugly. I will re-print some of the ugly parts after the fitment is verified. Maybe with dissolvable supports printed with the second extruder.

The thin (2mm) panels are mostly not load-bearing. The top panel is even thinner, but is just for looks. Eventually it will be supported by the fan and maybe by some additional struts. Below it is actually a 8x8mm beam alongside the motherboard tray (14mm lower to be precise). In the final version I will print 2 or 3 such beams under the top panel (see the most recent render, the outermost beam is clearly visible while I currently omitted them to save some plastic).

When grabbing the case by the rear top corner it feels very sturdy!

Only the rear panel is sort of structural, but I will reinforce it with some bevels after I fit the components (particularly the GPU). Also note that the rear panel is already tied to the motherboard tray in the top 2/3, also the motherboard tray is slotted in it, giving a sturdy assembly.

My approach is to take iterations and re-print parts when needed without re-doing everything. There are definitely places where there is space for extra reinforcement without increasing the total volume, I will use it gradually if needed.

 

[CC Ricers]

By the way, haven't seen your MT5 thread, probably that was the rounded corner case you were referring to. Will study your thread for inspiration. Some of your versions look really similar to my current prototype.

Glad to know that was an inspiration. After seeing the results of your printed case I see now how differently you managed to put the pieces together. In my own case, most of the case was printed as two larger halves of the "sandwich" and they fit together via interlocking teeth and some hex nuts with holes to place them in and mate on both sides. That's how I was able to accomplish printing the round corners with a better finish. Your vent design would make this more difficult to pull off unless you make a dividing area without vents which will break the pattern.

 

[morj]

After seeing the results of your printed case I see now how differently you managed to put the pieces together.

Yep, I basically have added panels with rounded corners outside and around a rectangular structural frame you can see in my earlier prints. So the rounded version is an increment over it, not a total redesign. The only thing that was thrown away was the back cover. I needed to get creative with it because the working area of the printer I'm using is only 20x20 centimeters.

 

[morj]

I did it!

It works! Thermal tests, flexing panel fixes, etc, are to be done after I'm away for 2.5 weeks.

 

[morj]

The plumbing on the GPU side is just insane, had to do several takes to get it right.

 

[Gman3850]

following, what changes would have to be done to be able to use a zotac 2070 super