Another update: Utabintarbo and I have been discussing some minor items.
1-I haven't specified a mount. I intend to go with a bolt mount. However, I believe that if the block is kept to the size of the socket, that an Innovatech type hold-down could be used, but that's not where I'm headed.
2-See
http://forums.procooling.com/vbb/sho...&threadid=4324 . Paul Vodrazka has some interesting thoughts about the O-ring. We'll go with a 1/16 o-ring. I have to admit, the Swiftech gasket looks appealing...
3-(ref #2) I've asked Utabintarbo to make the top secured with 8 bolts, instead of 4.
4-Minor mods to the top (outlets). I figured that the outer channel would be "turned", where Utabintarbo saw it milled with a ball end endmill. I figured that the outside channel would have a radius of 5 mm. The outlets should be at the top of that curve. Since the outlet tube is now 1 1/2 ID, the top will be slightly modified. No effect on flow, but the fin pattern is going back to a 30 mm diameter.
We both agree about one thing: the top is part of the structural support, in addition to the fins themselves. I wouldn't want the baseplate to start caving in, even by a fraction of a mm, but neither of us is a mechanical engineer, so we just don't know for sure if an acrylic top would be sufficient, or if a copper one would be required, and in either case, at what thickness. Anyone?
Here's the latest render: