"bending" thermalright si-97 heatpipes?

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dan
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"bending" thermalright si-97 heatpipes?

Post by dan » Mon Feb 14, 2005 5:48 pm

is it possible to safely bend the thermalright si-97 heatpipes? i ask b/c i would like to install a thermalright si-97 heatpipe/fins in such a way, that it aligns with the 12-14cm PSU fans of a seasonic tornado or superflower or coolmax, so that the heatpipe/fins are cooled by PSU fan.

the aerocool ht-101 are almost aligned to the PSU fan in this way, however it is more expensive and more heavy.

curious
dan

tay
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Post by tay » Mon Feb 14, 2005 6:13 pm

No! If you by any chance caused a crack or leak at either end of the heatpipe your heatsink is going to suck. A company I used to work at bought thousands of heatpiped sinks that had corrosion (maybe because of a leak, i never found out) over a period of 18 months and caused cpu failures. I would be wary of causing a leak in the heatpipe, even if it is only small enough to allow air in which would likely cause corrosion.

HellDiver
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Post by HellDiver » Tue Feb 15, 2005 10:54 am

You should be fine if you're only bending it a matter of mm. Heatpipes are made out of copper, which is used because it's easy to bend.

JanW
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Post by JanW » Wed Mar 23, 2005 7:18 am

I think the OP was talking about bending the heatpipes by 90°. I would like to go even further, stretching the heatpipes of a SI-97 out fully, and twisting them. Of course, I would need to slide the heatpipes wrt each other through the fins (the ones attached to the lower part of the fins are shorter than the upper ones). Since heatpipes are likely manufactured straight, there obviously is a way to bend them. So how would I need to go about bending them back?

Pjotor
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Post by Pjotor » Wed Mar 23, 2005 11:31 am

Another reason for not bending heatpipes: The wick in some of them are not soft, but rather made of a hard, porous material ("sintered" may be the correct term). If you try to bend it, it will break and seriously decrease the heatpipe's performance. Check out the type of pipe before bending...

Tibors
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Post by Tibors » Wed Mar 23, 2005 3:02 pm

Maybe they bend them before they fill and seal them? Then it is possible to heat them while bending.

Mar.
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Post by Mar. » Wed Mar 23, 2005 6:58 pm

Umm.... have you actually seen an SI-97? There's no way those things are gonna bend without breaking.

JanW
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Post by JanW » Thu Mar 24, 2005 1:37 am

Ok, if I go along with the configuration I have in mind I might just get plain heatpipes and "roll my own". Thanks for all of the responses. I'm still curious to know what kind of tools it takes to safely bend heatpipes --- some places who sell them offer bending them to specification for a charge, so it can be done.

Chris.Day

Post by Chris.Day » Thu Mar 24, 2005 1:47 am

JanW wrote:Since heatpipes are likely manufactured straight, there obviously is a way to bend them. So how would I need to go about bending them back?
Maybe, but everytime you bend a piece of metal it weakens structurally (until it eventually snaps off if you do it enough times). The heatpipes may be spec'ed to allow for one bending at manufacture without affecting the integrity of the metal.

Mar.
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Post by Mar. » Thu Mar 24, 2005 8:04 am

I havent looked at mine recently but I think the pipes are bent with crush bends.... which means theres no way you're gonna be able to straighten them how you like....

Webfire
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Post by Webfire » Thu Mar 24, 2005 11:52 am

As far as I understood it from someone, who is selling heatpipes here in Germany, they bend them before they are filled.

okayfine
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Post by okayfine » Sun Mar 27, 2005 3:20 pm

Thanks for the reply guys. Hmm. The aerocool HSF seems promising.

What is the difference between the 101 and 101jr ? They have similar dimensions.

Tibors
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Post by Tibors » Sun Mar 27, 2005 3:29 pm

The 101 has copper fins. The 101jr. has aluminium fins that are tighter packed. In low airflow setups you are probably better of with the 101.

okayfine
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Post by okayfine » Sun Mar 27, 2005 3:47 pm

doh, I replied in the wrong thread. That's for the reply anyways.

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