Yesdog
Well-Known Member
So, I've been fumbling around with this new COB project for a bit, slowly collecting pieces here and there.
I've got a bunch of CXB3590s with mounting and reflectors, have been lazily trying to figure out mounting and stuff (with basically 0 tools for working with metal).
I eventually found some cheap $8 intel CPU coolers (sink and fan) on Amazon, bought one to see how it would look for mounting. I took a gamble and went ahead and thermal glued the chip and holder to the back of the heatsink (again, no metal working tools lol). Was extremely surprised to see that the clearance on the Ideal COB holders matched perfectly with the clearing under the heatsink! This actually gave me a compression fit with the COB and holder when mounted.
The Ideal holder itself has what looks like less than -1mm of clearance, giving it a nice (but not too tight) compression fit. No idea if you could get away with this with mounting on metal, but I think you should be able to. The holder itself has a little bit of flex (the heat sink is raised in the middle, about 2" diameter, so the holder kinda hangs over the edge), plus the plastic mounting legs on the cooler also have some flex.
I assumed I'd have to cut out some of the space for the holder itself in the plastic container, but this works even better- all I need to do is drill the 1.5" circle (marked in the picture, less than the size of the holder, so it keeps its compression fits where the plastic connectors are), and I already found some clear glass circles ill just glue over the hole, then the reflectors glued to that. Should be able to get a 100% thermal barrier there, then the plastic container itself I have duct fittings for, so should be able to stay totally sealed and just vent it like my existing cool tube.
The cpu fans are also awesome for what im using them for- there will be a Raspberry Pi in here for controlling light intensity, fan speed (all based on temp), and potentially air exchange.
Anyways, project is far from done, just wanted to share on here about the mounting clearance for standard Intel cooling options! Maybe something to consider.
I've got a bunch of CXB3590s with mounting and reflectors, have been lazily trying to figure out mounting and stuff (with basically 0 tools for working with metal).
I eventually found some cheap $8 intel CPU coolers (sink and fan) on Amazon, bought one to see how it would look for mounting. I took a gamble and went ahead and thermal glued the chip and holder to the back of the heatsink (again, no metal working tools lol). Was extremely surprised to see that the clearance on the Ideal COB holders matched perfectly with the clearing under the heatsink! This actually gave me a compression fit with the COB and holder when mounted.
The Ideal holder itself has what looks like less than -1mm of clearance, giving it a nice (but not too tight) compression fit. No idea if you could get away with this with mounting on metal, but I think you should be able to. The holder itself has a little bit of flex (the heat sink is raised in the middle, about 2" diameter, so the holder kinda hangs over the edge), plus the plastic mounting legs on the cooler also have some flex.
I assumed I'd have to cut out some of the space for the holder itself in the plastic container, but this works even better- all I need to do is drill the 1.5" circle (marked in the picture, less than the size of the holder, so it keeps its compression fits where the plastic connectors are), and I already found some clear glass circles ill just glue over the hole, then the reflectors glued to that. Should be able to get a 100% thermal barrier there, then the plastic container itself I have duct fittings for, so should be able to stay totally sealed and just vent it like my existing cool tube.
The cpu fans are also awesome for what im using them for- there will be a Raspberry Pi in here for controlling light intensity, fan speed (all based on temp), and potentially air exchange.
Anyways, project is far from done, just wanted to share on here about the mounting clearance for standard Intel cooling options! Maybe something to consider.
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