casting waterblocks?
 

Is it possible to cast a waterblock and have it perform well?

Yes. Casting can actually make a very good block, but it is more difficult than most people think. There is the mold to make, the shrinkage factors, the heating of the material, the PROPER cooling time, etc.... There was a fellow doing cast copper waterblocks, but I haven't heard much from him recently.

Why? Do you do metal castings?

Thanks BigBen2k! You got the link that I was too lazy to paste into the thread. :D

i have done some metal casting pewter brass and a little bronze

i want to make my own block but i dont have a mill. so i think i am gona try this


thanks all

The main problem here is that casting in pure copper is a mongrel to do. For any of the copper/iron alloys, casting works well, but pure copper is one of those notoriously difficult metals to work with as it captures air-bubbles and doesn't flow well. A design with fairly large channels like a Maze 3 could be cast without an awful lot of trouble, but fine channel designs are nearly impossible to do without resorting to very expensive centrifugal vacuum based casting techniques.

I was watching that casting thread with a great deal of interest as I didn't think that the design that was being proposed would be possible with the casting techniques used. As it turns out, it sounds like it wasn't. I didn't want to say anything just in case he got it to work, but he didn't, and sadly even a free visit to an experienced casting foundry would've revealed that. I visited a number of copper casting foundries when exploring ways to make my block. Most of them said it simply wasn't possible. One said maybe. Not a big vote of confidence there...

A quick search through google on casting techniques will also reveal the broader limitations involved with the process. Basically it's great for simple and/or large objects, but not for intricate fine objects.

Yeah... we're past the bronze age!;)

My dad got a 3x3cm unit cast out of silver - beat the pants off the copper beasts I've been producing :rolleyes:

Milling fine structures may be easier than casting, but it's still a royal pain. Broken bits are very easy when they are that small. Plus, what you really want is a structure not limited to purely vertical channels. Maximizing surface area means having horizontal structures protruding into the channel area. I was hoping that casting could solve that issue. Complex shaped bits (like those seen in bits used in wood routers) might be an alternative. Sound interesting to anyone?

Perhaps a combination of the two techniques would be in order: mill copper, and cast a silver plug, to fit over the core area.

Heck, you could probably offer that service!