HOW TO

How to: Cut and bend hardline tubing for your Hydro X series cooler

When building your custom cooling system with hardline tubing, you may have to cut and bend the tubing to better fit into your system. This article has a video and instructions on how to cut and bend hardline tubing.

 

Required tools

You will need the following tools, which you can buy as a kit from our Webstore:

  • Tube cutting jig
  • Hand saw
  • Deburring tool
  • Silicon bending insert
  • Bending mandrel

 

You will also need the following, which are not sold as part of the kit:

  • Heat gun
  • Bowl of warm water
  • Distilled water

 

Cutting and bending the tubes

 

 

First, you want to cut the tube into your desired size:

  1. Secure the tube in the tube cutting jig.
  2. Use the hand saw to saw straight down the tube.
    • Make sure to avoid excessive force when sawing.
  3. Use the deburring tool to remove any sharp edges from the cut.

 

If you want to bend the tubing:

  1. Wet the silicon bending insert in a bowl of warm water.
  2. Insert the silicon into the tube you want to bend.
    • NOTE: Make sure you do not completely insert the silicon into the tube.
  3. Place the heat gun on your work area and power it on.
  4. Hold the tube with the silicon insert about 10 cm. above the heat gun and then slowly move it side to side while rotating the tube.
    • The heat intensity and the time needed to heat up will depend on your heat gun model.
  5. Once you have heated the tube, insert it into the bending mandrel.
  6. Bend the tube in using a smooth motion and hold it for around 60 seconds.
    • NOTE: Avoid repeatedly bending the tube as it cools, and do NOT use water to cool the tube.

 

To finish up:

  1. Cut the tube to its final length.
  2. Use the deburring tool to remove any sharp edges from the cut.
  3. Use distilled water to flush the tubes and remove any debris inside.
  4. Your tube is now ready to be installed into your cooling system.

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