[Klondike] Case design thread for K16

[Bicknellski]

I really don't think this is the "venturi" layout you're looking for. There is no significant reduction in cross section, just a hell of a lot of turbulent flow. I really think that even with a middle row of fans you'd struggle to remove that crazy amount of heat from there.

It is smooth not very turbulent through the fins it is basically less turbulent than the Avalon design given the proximate distance to the fins and as the fans are face mounted this will provide a much more stable and direct airflow across the fins even without baffles. Unless you have a simulator shows airflow I suspect you are speculating just as much as I am?

Testing this will not be an issue since the modular design of the boards means break down and re-configuring is simple. So I will be testing it with and without baffles to see what happens and get temp readings. Having a larger opening (volume) at the front and smaller space (volume) at the back along with having 2 banks of fans I don't think there will be any issues given this is based right off other server designs with a lot more obstruction of the airflow. I don't see this being an issue at all but again I will test it out and provide feed back. If it works I'll throw up the SketchUp plans so people can modify them for KICAD or what not be keen to see others work on this as well.

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[Bicknellski]

which 3d modeling program did you use?

SketchUp 8. I will post up some models in a few days when I get time.

http://www.sketchup.com/
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/

[kosmokramer]

You guys have some great case ideas! I have several hundred chips on order which are destined to be K16's and I can't wait to pick a beautiful home for them

[marto74]

Trying to fit 512 into a rack mounted server... wish me luck.

Looks good.
Appears to be 2 or 3U.
Possible to fit it all in 1u?

I think the PSU is not gonna take full length space, if thats so then ample room for some embedded computer to control these suckers...

2U it has to be I think for 512 and possibly 768... 1U for 256. Hard to find PSU to get the +1200 W that fits 1U and be able to power boards and arranged in 40x40cm (even if 1 layer design) 2 layers of 4 x K64. Depending on the heat sink size it might be possible to jam 512 in a 1U and I am trying to get a venturi effect to push that air hard through the tunnel I am creating I think it might be possible. The left over space could house controller... depending on what is used in front of the PSU on the corner next to the front fan bank.

Not much head room on top there... not sure that you'd want to put anything on top wires ok but nothing else going to be pretty warm there. I was thinking that the top of the case and bottom will need venting slats.

Front View:

Hi ,
Just small remark
I do not see the power connector in your 3D

[Bicknellski]

Ya I didn't add that to the model... I was using an older BKKCoin design... need to add that for the next one. Also parts are not to scale just eyeballed except the QFN48 size. Just wanted something that I can mock up fast not too detailed. But yes need that has to be added just so that cabling can be assessed. Problem with the design as well boards are not oriented to the KLego design that BKKCoins specified. Just trying to fit the boards into the space and orient the heat sinks along the axis flow of the air.

[dvolosk]

Re: the rackmount chassis -- excellent design, great work. How long is that design? It'd be nice if there was some extra room for some sort of controller -- maybe we could cram a raspberry pi in there?

[lowlevel]

Trying to fit 512 into a rack mounted server... wish me luck.

I think you're going to have too much heat near the rear of that... Maybe a second row of fans in the middle to help move the air?
I think the higher velocity fans are about twice as thick as those too...

[tosku]

That 512 chip monster would be pulling more than 1kW. That's a lot of heat. Yes, the rear will be very hot.

I'm working on my own design for four K16 boards in Sketchup now, will post it later tonight.

[Bicknellski]

I am working on the idea of a 1U for 256+ chips the 512 would need to be at least 2U to fit 50mm fans. Search online for the specs as there are number of different configurations.

As for heat there are two banks of fans push and pull so there won't be too much of an issue with that given some of the server designs I have seen that utilize this same design even with more restricted airflow and generate as much or more heat given the PSUs they use as I stated above the GPU servers are much hotter. Have to remember the design is spread out over a much wider surface area and fans blowing over the entire area so heat should not be such an issue given the CFM is proabably more than sufficient. Anyhow having looked at various cases the max in a 1U could be a K256 with only 512W so no heat issue then.

I will post some new mock ups for that tomorrow.

Need something to fit in the case?  http://cubieboard.org/

[KS]

Need something to fit in the case?  http://cubieboard.org/

beagleboard? coinninja looks to have a nice anubis + cgminer cum mobile phone distro.

[tosku]

Here's an idea I had. It's not really feasible since the heat sinks aren't readily available and would be crazy stupid to custom make. It was fun to put it together in Sketchup though.

What if you could make a heatsink like this?


They would fit together with the Klondike 16 board on the back, like this:

Notice how the pin placement is more dense towards one end of the heat sink.

When you put four together, they create a tunnel:


Less dense end. This is where you blow air in:


Dense end. This is where you want the air to come out:


Now, since there are more pins towards one end of the tunnel, more heat will be given off in the denser end. Thus, the board temperature is the same in both ends.

So, make a case of plexiglass boards and some screws/rods:


Put some fans and feet on, and you are good to go:


Those are two 140mm fans, which will ensure good airflow both inside the heat sink tunnel and over the top of the boards. Air is sucked in at the bottom, and pushed out on top, working with the natural flow of hot air.

Voilla! The K64 cube.

So, the heatsink I made up for this design is, as I said, not feasible. However, it would be possible to use the same tunnel design with a normal heatsink - but the chips towards the top of the cube would get a little warmer than the chips on the bottom.

The cubes could be arranged in a square at least 2x2 for a 256W space heater.

[Rakessh]

Nice! That's genius

[Bicknellski]

Revised 1U Rack Mount




Love the K64 CUBE... stacking them and placing them in a room you can save on heating costs or use them in greenhouses. I am imagining them in cylinders.
Those heat sinks might be very expensive but in a cold climate you could certainly use that extra heat. Might want to see if there are some off the shelf heat sinks that can do the same thing or can be extruded. Change the angle of the heat sinks and get penta, hex, hepta and octogonal shapes.

You can cut existing heat sinks on a bevel... and I bet you can even have that design in an extruded version without having to cut it. It definitely would not be as pretty but it could be done and it would look a bit more utilitarian but would work very well.

[Bicknellski]

http://www.supermicro.com.tw/products/system/1u/6015/sys-6015x-8.cfm  <---- Casing for the 1U design. http://www.mkl.co.id/ <--- can get them in Indonesia here.

So can a Raspberry Pi, Arduino or BeagleBone run this server or the K64 Cube can you put it somewhere in your modular design?

[tosku]

So can a Raspberry Pi, Arduino or BeagleBone run this server or the K64 Cube can you put it somewhere in your modular design?

An Arduino won't cut it, at least not a regular Uno or Due. There is an Arduino board that also has a Linux PC on board that might work, but a regular mini PC like a Raspberry Pi is way cheaper than that board. The cheapest mining-capable embedded Linux system that I know of is the TP-LINK TL-WR703N router. It can be had for ~30 EUR. It's used in the Avalon miners.

[Bicknellski]

So can a Raspberry Pi, Arduino or BeagleBone run this server or the K64 Cube can you put it somewhere in your modular design?

An Arduino won't cut it, at least not a regular Uno or Due. There is an Arduino board that also has a Linux PC on board that might work, but a regular mini PC like a Raspberry Pi is way cheaper than that board. The cheapest mining-capable embedded Linux system that I know of is the TP-LINK TL-WR703N router. It can be had for ~30 EUR. It's used in the Avalon miners.

So Tosku... with your K64 Cube... where does the controller go? Interested to see that fit in the design and power supply.

[tosku]

So Tosku... with your K64 Cube... where does the controller go? Interested to see that fit in the design and power supply.

It doesn't go anywhere. I designed the case thinking the controller and PSU would be modular, external units. If you wanted to, you could fasten a simple controller on the side of the cube.

[Bicknellski]

There are definitely extrusions for your K64 Cube! This one is inside out Tosku.

Mod note: Caution when clicking the below link as per the google safe browsing recommendation on reports for this url http://safebrowsing.clients.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coolinnovations.com%2Fincludes%2Fimages%2Fcomponents%2Fslideshow%2Fthumbs%2FFlared_III_Large.jpg&client=googlechrome&hl=en-US

Url in question: http://www.coolinnovations.com/products/heatsinks/natural-convection/overview

[Bicknellski]

Might be good to consolidate all our various extra Klondike threads to one.

1. Casings
2. Controllers
3. PSUs and cabling
4. Firmware  / Mining Software
5. Miscellaneous
6. DIY Build information
7. Pricing and sourcing of PCB, BOM, etc.
8. Heat sinks and cooling

[turtle83]

There are definitely extrusions for your K64 Cube! This one is inside out Tosku.

http://www.coolinnovations.com/products/heatsinks/natural-convection/overview

http://www.coolinnovations.com/includes/images/components/slideshow/thumbs/Flared_III_Large.jpg

Google tells me
http://safebrowsing.clients.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coolinnovations.com%2Fincludes%2Fimages%2Fcomponents%2Fslideshow%2Fthumbs%2FFlared_III_Large.jpg&client=googlechrome&hl=en-US

I think better to remove link to them.