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.
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How Customization Affects Copper Heat Pipes

The data for the thermal conductivity that is published ranges from ten thousand to one hundred thousand W/m.K. This figure is between 250 and 500 times solid copper or aluminum thermal conductivity. 

These numbers are not reliable for most electronic applications. The conductivity of copper heat pipes varies greatly with the length of the heatpipes and to some degree with evaporator and condenser sizes, and the amount of transported power.

Heatpipes that are approximately 100 mm in length can achieve 10,000 W/m.K of thermal conductivity. A 200 mm length yields less than 33 percent of the 100,000 W/m.K thermal maximum that is typically published.

The calculation of the effective lengths of heatpipes is a function of the adiabatic condenser and evaporator lengths. The specified performance data for heatpipes is adequate for most standard applications but is limited for specific use.

The customization of heatpipes markedly affects performance and operational characteristics. Changing the internal structure of heatpipes, such as their wick thickness and porosity, allows tuning of heatpipes to meet specific performance features and operating parameters.

When the given heatpipe diameter needs to operate against gravity or at a higher power load, there needs to be an increase in the wick's capillary pressure. Higher power handling capacities require a larger pore radius.

To effectively work against gravity requires a smaller pore radius or increased wick thickness. Suppliers who specialize in the customization of heatpipes frequently use formulated copper powders or individual mandrels to meet the requirements of the product application.

Size is generally the most important factor with heatpipes. However, outward design changes such as bending or flattening degrade the performance of heatpipes. Gravity also has an influence. Copper heat pipes are capable of being flattened between 30 to 60 percent of their diameter.

The two significant performance limits for the application of heatpipes is the vapor limit and the wick limit. Flattening heatpipes alone does not degrade performance. Performance depends on the amount of excess vapor space available before heatpipes are flattened.

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The Need for LED Heatsinks

Not producing heat is frequently an advantage listed by LED users. That statement is only partially correct. A LED  feels cool to the touch because it does not produce infrared radiation (IR) heat. Without IR, a LED can be placed in areas that other heat sources would be problematic such as illuminating food, reef tank lights, and grow lights.

Though a LED feels cool to the touch, there is unwanted heat within the device. Inefficient semiconductors generate light and heat. Sixty to 95 percent of the power output is lost as heat. What is the solution to the excess internal heat?

LED Junction Temperature Management

It is crucial to use efficient thermal management to remove heat from high-power LEDs. Without good heatsinks, the internal temperature of LED junctions rises. The increased temperature causes the LED characteristics to go from good to bad. 

As junction temperature increases the lumen output and forward voltage decrease. Not only is the efficiency and brightness of a LED decreased, but the junction temperature affects the lifespan of a LED.  Catastrophic failure is not the usual outcome, but it can be.

Typically, the LED lumen output decreases over time. A higher junction temperature leads to faster deterioration. For that reason, LED junction temperature must be kept low. Using more current than rated drives the temperature high enough to cause permanent damage.

Heatsinks are necessary to LED lighting because they provide a path for heat to travel from a light source to an element on the outside. Heatsinks dissipate power in three ways.

Radiation - Heat is transferred from two bodies, having different temperatures, via thermal radiation.

Convection – Heat is transferred from a solid to a fluid that is moving, usually air.

Conduction – A solid to solid heat transfer occurs.

Materials Used for LED Heatsinks 

The thermal conductivity of LED heatsinks directly affects the heat dissipation efficiency. The price point of copper makes it a good choice. Aluminum is more widely used than copper. The majority of LED heatsinks are made of aluminum. Smaller LEDs can use thermoplastic heatsinks because the heat dissipation requirements are lower.

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