When it comes to tube bending, we always
recommend that you stick to a single
90-degree bend per length of tube. In fact,
take a look at any of our custom liquid-
cooled builds that we’ve done over the last
two years, and you’ll notice almost all of
the runs feature single 90-degree bends.
Secondly, always, always, always cut off
more than you think you need. You can
always reduce the length of tubing, but it’s
impossible to increase it without leaning
on extension fittings, and that can look
ugly. So, where do you begin?
Well, you’re going to need a heatgun
that can be placed on its back with the
nozzle pointing up, a silicon tube insert
that matches the ID (inner diameter)
dimensions of your tubing, a hacksaw
specifically designed to cut acrylic, a
deburring tool to chamfer down the edges
(sanding paper also works), and a vice
grip to cut your tubing lengths with. Most
of these you can buy as a kit from a liquid-
cooling manufacturer.
Once you’ve gathered all that together,
wet the silicon insert (having a bowl of
water to hand helps here), and insert it
into the tube. Then set your heatgun on
a medium setting, and carefully hold the
tube above it in the middle, three to four
inches from the tip of the gun. Rotate the
tube while moving it back and for th across
the heat. This heats the entire area and
Tu b e T ip s
The issue with soft tubing is less to do
with the process of fitting it, and more to
do with identifying how to run a length
of it. It’s all to do with bend tolerances.
The shorter the length, and the tighter
the bend you want, the more likely you
are to kink it. If it kinks, coolant can’t
flow around the loop, temperatures sky-
rocket, pressure can build up, and it can
damage the components within the loop.
This is why it’s useful to plan the loop
out beforehand, and even include a few
90-degree extension fittings here and
there. A clean soft-tube build typically
requires quite a few angled fittings.
That aside, how do you actually do it?
First, attach your soft-tubing compression
fittings to the two components you want to
How to Use
Soft Tubing
connect. Then remove the compression
caps from both fittings, revealing the barb
underneath. Now take your coil of soft
tubing, and run a length of it between the
two fittings. Make sure you measure from
the bottom of the barbs when you do this.
Next, cut off slightly more tubing than you
think you need. You can always shorten a
length of soft tubing later.
Now you’re going to take the
compression cap and slide it along thehelps prevent kinks forming in the tube
when you perform your bend.
This next step varies depending on
whether you’re using PETG or acrylic, but
over time, you’ll notice the tube becomes
more malleable where you’re heating it.
Once it becomes flexible enough, slowly
and carefully bend it into a 90-degree
angle. To do this, you can line it up with the
corner of a table, a case, anything. Once
you’ve got the angle just right, carefully
lower the heated tube into your bowl ofwater to cool it down, then remove the
silicon insert.
To fit it, remove the compression cap
from the fitting—being careful not to lose
the o-ring—pop the cap on the length of
tube, followed by its o-ring, then push
it into the compression fitting, past the
two internal o-rings. Once done, move
the external o-ring down to the thread,
bring the cap down, and secure it in place.
Repeat this process at the other end, and
your first tubing run is complete.tube, making sure it’s in the correct
orientation to secure itself back on to the
fitting. Next, take a pair of needle-nose
pliers, insert them into the end of the tube,
and then carefully stretch out the bottom
of the tubing in both directions. Now you
can wiggle that stretched part of the tube
on to the barb and past the lip of the fitting.
Finally, secure the compression cap back
on to the fitting, and repeat the process at
the other end.It’s always smart to keep heating the outside edge while you perform the bend.Tu b e B e n d i n g
You can usually cut soft tubing with a good pair of scissors.maximumpc.com MAY 2020 MAXIMUM PC 29