The Thought Process Behind Cooling Source BGA Heat Sinks

The aim of designing heatsinks is twofold. The heatsinks need to provide thermal conduction inside and thermal convection on the surface. Evolutionary methods have optimized heatsinks for specific tasks that make efficient use of material and energy.

Nature is a source of inspiration when developing new products. Think about the branched systems of leaf venation and human blood circulation. Both systems take in and transport matter while conserving materials and structural stability. Designs vary based on effects in the environment.

Many successful heat sink designs are based on the same principle. They transport and dissipate heat energy. The result is an efficient solution for the required task. Shapes and processes are in harmonic balance. The technical function of heat dissipation connects intrinsic design of the device for which it is used.

Cooling Source offers a wide selection of BGA heat sinks. Our specialty is providing mechanical attach solutions where heatsinks are connected to the chip without holes or adhesives in the printed circuit board (PCB). The attachment solutions are used for high-reliability applications.

Customers choose Cooling Source when they need reliable, cost-effective cooling solutions. Our BGA heatsinks are made from high-conductivity aluminum. They handle the most demanding applications. We have a variety of attachment options, shapes, and sizes from which to choose.

If a standard option does not meet the customer's needs, we have a custom design service that will. Some of the BGA heat sinks we carry include:

 Elliptical Fin BGA Heat Sinks

 Pin Fin BGA Heat Sinks

Straight Fin BGA Heat Sinks

 Elliptical Fin Heatsinks

Elliptical fin heatsinks are aluminum BGA heat sinks that are highly efficient cooling devices ideal for environments with linear airflow. They are an improvement on cross cut heatsinks that were simply plated fin heatsinks with extra cuts across the fin length. The aerodynamic fins of the elliptical shape make airflow efficiency easier. They are ideal when airflow is limited.

Pin Fin Heatsinks

Cooling Source offers pin fin heatsinks that are well-suited for applications where airflow comes from the top. Precision forged pin fin heatsinks come in passive and active versions. The pin fin heatsinks can be forged of copper or aluminum.

Straight Fin Heatsinks

These heatsinks have many base dimensions and heights up to 15 mm They are ultra-performance heatsinks that have a high aspect ratio. The design of the straight fin heatsinks is optimal for applications with adequate airflow. They offer excellent cooling solutions for PCB layouts that are spatially constrained.

The high-performance ensures a reliable life of the product at a cost lower than other extruded heatsinks. The extruded aluminum keeps costs down, reduces weight, and minimizes thermal resistance. Cooling Source has or makes all of these heatsinks and more. Call us at 925-292-1293.

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Creating Larger Aluminum Heat Sink Extrusions

With continued advancement in consumer electronics and rapid growing LED lighting options, new products require increased energy demands with a smaller footprint. Increased power can cause heat that is detrimental to electronics.

Dealing with that heat presents a thermal management challenge. The most common technology for electronic modules is extruded aluminum heatsinks. There are two categories of extruded aluminum heatsinks – high ratio and low fin.

The fin ratio compares the fin height to the width between the fins. Typically, extruded aluminum heatsinks have a ratio of 6:1. That ratio does not meet most power electronics requirements. The typical ratio needed ranges from 12:1 to 19:1.

A greater fin ratio indicates greater surface area. Greater surface areas mean larger amounts of heat can be removed. Specific technology and experience are required for heat sink extrusions with higher ratios. It's hard to find heat sink extrusions that are more than 24 inches wide.

Heat sink extrusions are thermal devices made of a solid piece of aluminum. Insulators are eliminated and make the heat sink extrusions more thermally efficient. Most heat sink extrusion applications use natural convection, eliminating the need for fans.

Bonded fin heat sinks that have a higher aspect ratio are common means to overcome the heat sink extrusion ratio limitations when higher ratios are required. Friction stir welding (FSW) offers a different approach.

It is eight percent more efficient and has more options. Combining FSW and the extrusion process, heat sink ratios that exceed 40:1 are possible. The combination allows for

Maximum flexibility regarding fin geometry and ratio

 The heat sink extrusions footprint

 Production of large scale heatsinks

 The custom extruded aluminum heatsinks replace bonded fin heatsink coil aspects. FSW is also used for liquid cold plates to seal them efficiently while allowing other features to be added to base plates at a lower cost.

TO know more about heat sink extrusions please visit our website.

Copper Heat Sinks

Heat pipes are among the most efficient ways to move thermal energy or heat from one location to another. The typical uses of the two-phase systems are for cooling areas or materials. Heatpipes were first used in energy conversion systems to supply heat or remove heat waste. Today heatpipes are used in cooling and heat transfer in satellites, cell phones, and computer systems.

Copper heat pipes are designed for applications having gravity present thermal challenges or high heat loads. They are used when long life and reliability are critical. The rugged heatpipes have a sintered copper powder wick structure that withstands temperature and numerous freeze-thaw cycles ranging from -55° C to 180° C. 

Copper heat pipes operate flawlessly against gravity. Water is used as the working fluid in these heatpipes. The heatpipes move heat from its source to the point where it is managed more efficiently through liquid or air dissipation or radiated to space.

Copper heat pipes are typically incorporated into custom thermal solutions. They are integrated into customized metal cold plates or heat sinks to improve efficiency and effective conductivity. The integration allows thermal designers to improve the overall performance of a system.

The heatpipes can be integrated into extended surfaces, cold plates, and heat sinks through mechanical interference, solder, or epoxy. Copper heat pipes will last more than 20 years. Manufacturers have thermal solution calculator tools that help accurately predict and project how thermal solutions will perform. 

The calculators

Determine k-Core APG heat spread

Evaluate heatpipes for performance and sizing

Evaluate heat spread improvement for vapor chambers

Identify enclosure cooling options to meet target cabinet temperatures

The calculators easily and quickly determine the dimensions needed for the orientation and type of cooling fluid. The calculator helps achieve optimum performance from passive heatpipes for any application. They are used to determine the heatpipe size needed to attain a targeted thermal spread and conductivity in W/mK.

Technological Aspects of Pin Fin and Bonded Fin Heat Sinks

Pin fin heat sinks are part of a performance-oriented technology. They generate low drop pressure and exceptional cooling power. The omnidirectional system allows air streams to enter the array of pins from all directions.

Pin fin heat sinks are a flexible approach. The parts can be modified to fit specific requirements of an application. Characteristics of pin fin heat sinks include:

• Round pins that present minimal incoming air resistance
• Omnidirectional feature allows air streams to enter from any direction
• Extensive air turbulence generated by round pins
• Large surface area per volume
• Highly conductive alloy composition

The pin fin heat sinks are manufactured with a cold forging process. They are made out of copper and aluminum. Profiles for pin fin heat sinks can be square, rectangular, or round. They are RoHS compliant. Designs configurations include:

• Moderate
• Flared
• Splayed
• Sparse

Pin fin heat sinks are designed to maximize the surface area and for turbulent air flow induction near the pin fins.

Bonded Fin Heatsinks 

When the box gets too small, or things get too hot, bonded fin heatsinks increase the surface area without an increase in volume. Thermal resistance is reduced by a third to a half. Bonded fin heatsinks provide cooling for forced convection with 100 W of power or more.
Augmented surface bonded fin heatsinks reduce the overall thermal resistance by 15 to 25 percent. The option increases the air flow turbulence at the same time that multiple, short air channels are substantially increasing heat removal.

There are many benefits for thermal design engineers who choose bonded fin heatsinks over conventionally extruded aluminum heatsinks. The tightly controlled assembly technique increased the fin count which allows the manufacturing process to be independent of the base extrusion.
The process removes the limitation of conventional fin extrusion ratios dictated by the extrusion dies' steel strength. Bonded fin heatsink parts offer the highest possible fin ratios. They can be 30 to one or greater.

For more info about pin fin heat sinks and bonded fin heatsinks so please visit my website.

Cooling Source Knows that Extruded Aluminum Heatsinks Are the Up and Coming Trend in Heat Sink Extrusions

Cooling Source continues to meet and exceed the expectations of its customers by delivering the highest quality heat sink extrusions at competitive prices. The superior engineering solutions are responsive to the needs of their clients.

They aggressively pursue improvement opportunities throughout the company's organization so that they can offer manufacturing expertise to all customers regardless of their size. The hope is to develop long-lasting relationships with their clientele.

Cooling Source supplies extruded aluminum heatsinks for a diverse set of industries. A few of the industries are:

• Automotive suppliers
• Military contractors
• Lighting component manufacturers
• Durable package goods providers

The commitment to quality assures each valued customer realizes the same level of customer satisfaction. Every effort is made to eliminate non-conformance in their process and promptly deliver every product order.

Extruded aluminum heatsinks are quickly becoming the new generation choice for aircraft and automobile components. They are in demand for ordnance products and many industrial and commercial can-shaped designs.

Cooling Source is well positioned for growth in the future. As the company continues to meet fabrication needs, it challenges the members of the organization to do more, faster and better. They know improvement leads to success for customers and strengthens relationships.

The dedicated staff of engineers assists in the development of an optimal design. Heat sink extrusions have a range of secondary operations. Cooling Source is striving to reduce the number of supply chain vendors required by their clients.

Formula for Success 

The depth of resources for extruded aluminum heatsinks is impressive. The highly qualified staff carefully cultivates business alliances with the use of CNC machining and in-house design and development tooling.

Cooling Source is proud of its past accomplishments. The company recognizes history is not a guarantee of future success. Attempts are made to anticipate market trends and formulate plans to meet implied needs.

The focus is on continuous improvement. Cooling Source continuously re-evaluates their processes to achieve technology advantages. They strive simultaneously to enhance quality and reduce costs that can be passed on to customers.

What Distinguishes Cooling Source from Its Competition

• Improvement of the manufacturing and overall prototype designs of extruded aluminum heatsinks
• Replacement of inefficient processes with techniques better suited for mass production
• Meeting challenging time-to-market requirements and deadlines
• Reduction in scrap that requires secondary machining
• Increase in the customers' profit margin

Types of clients they serve are companies outsourcing production of established items, companies exploring cost reduction design possibilities, and start-up companies. Call Cooling Source at 925-292-1293 for heat sink extrusion services and manufacturing capabilities.

For more info about heat sink extrusions and extruded aluminum heatsinks so please visit my website.

Extruded Aluminum Heatsinks from Cooling Source Are the Ultimate in Heat Sink Extrusions

It would be great to have someone walk into your place of business and meet all of your extruded aluminum heatsink needs. Cooling Source is the next best option. We have an extensive inventory of heat sink extrusions.

Any order can be fulfilled quickly. We offer both standard and custom extruded aluminum heatsinks. On our website, you can browse through our catalog of heat sink extrusions we have in stock. We have an online form for customers to use to request a quote with or without an existing heat sink. A customer representative will respond quickly.

Custom Heat Sink Extrusions

Benefits of custom heat sink extrusions include:

• Keeping tooling costs low
• Achieving a low per piece cost
• Little or no secondary machining

Heat sink extrusions are made in a variety of shapes. Each is designed to fulfill a particular need. Our Cooling Source experts can explain the benefits of a process and help determine which of our extruded aluminum heatsinks best fits your needs.

The advantages of extruded aluminum heatsinks are:

• Improved cooling performance provided by high fin density
• Lighter in weight than copper
• Work more efficiently than stamped heatsinks
• Cost less than machined assemblies
• Wide variety of customized designs
• Useful flat backs for power module components
• Geared unique shapes for electronic power assembly use

Time associated with the machination of an equivalent block aluminum form is eliminated

Extruded Aluminum Heatsink Finishes

Cooling Source offers finishes that protect heat sink extrusion parts against hazardous environments. For extruded aluminum heatsinks, we use an anodizing finish and chromate finishing. Anodizing is an electrolytic passivation process that increases the surface's natural oxide layer.

The finish is made of aluminum oxide. It is a sturdy finish that has excellent emissivity. Hard anodizing is implemented for high-temperature applications. The finish is electrically non-conductive. It is a low-cost option that is available in custom colors upon request.

A chromate finish is a conversion coating option that passivates aluminum. Chromate finishes are corrosion inhibitors. They prevent the extruded aluminum heatsinks from tarnishing. A chromate finish is electrically conductive. It is also a low-cost option that is available in yellow or clear.

We have earned the trust of our customers by offering service, reliability, and quality products. The world class customer service, extensive inventory, and the latest technology and engineering solutions are what we use to maintain excellence. Call us at 925-292-1293 for your in-stock or custom heat sink extrusions.

To know more about heat sink extrusions and extruded aluminum heatsinks please visit the website.

Uses for Heatpipe-Assembly

Heatpipe-assembly offers solutions for thermal performance, help in the control of energy costs, and maximize the reliability and life of a system even under conditions that are harsh. When space is limited, a heatpipe-assembly is a compact thermal solution for cost-effective cooling.

A variety of heatpipe-assembly systems can be used to accomplish the task. The heat technology gives an effective means of moving heat for remote dissipation. Low thermal resistance heat spreads from isolated cooling or concentrated heat sources to protect applications such as:

• Military systems
• Transportation control systems
• Consumer electronic devices
• Computer components

When a system design makes it difficult to place a heating device adjacent to a critical component for essential cooling, remote dissipation thermal management is a solution.
Application Constraints that Benefit from Heatpipe-Assembly

• Space constrained by footprint or height – The height over an electronic module may be insufficient in the amount of space provide direct cooling at the location. Remote heatpipe assemblies can be effective solutions. When where is not enough room to increase the footprint or height of an existing heat sink, vapor or embedded chamber assembly may be the solution. When there is no restriction above the heat sink, vapor tower technology can be used. 

• Zero or limited electrical power construction – Natural convection cooling improves reliability and eliminates fan noise. A heat pipe will produce less noise than a large fan system when volume constraints limit natural convection cooling solutions. 
• Low maintenance – Electromechanical devices such as fans require maintenance and have a finite life. A heatpipe-assembly has no moving parts to fail. Maintenance requirements are reduced or eliminated. 
• Cooling in sealed enclosures – Electronics are sometimes sealed in an enclosure as protection from the environment. Heat needs to be dispelled to the outside of the housing. A heatpipe-assembly provides a thermal path to the wall of the enclosure. 

Any of the above constraints merit the use of a heatpipe-assembly.
To know more about copper heat pipes and heatpipes please visit the website.