The posts that attach to the heat sink are like watching dry paint: dull, but it’s a necessity. What’s the point of it? Just put your heat sink in place and go. It’s going to require as much research as deciding your New England Patriots to win the Superbowl this year!
However, this type of strategy can be detrimental to an essential component of your thermal management system. The attachment is crucial and can increase the efficiency of your heat sink up to 20. This translates to the important aspects of improved reliability of the system, less expensive associated with the heat management software and optimum system performance because it operates at the correct speed.
Also check– Heatsink Rack Mount enclosure with Handles
In this first part, we’ll go over thermal tape as well as epoxy and wire form”z-clips”. In the next part, we’ll discuss clippings, push pins, and stand-offs. We’ll also have an offer specifically for readers to receive all the information they need in a convenient download. Let’s begin with this.
There are several ways you can apply them:
Let’s discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each and also provide some pictures in case you’re unfamiliar with them, you will know what they look like and how they function.
Thermal Tape: It’s an adhesive tape that is pressure sensitive typically made of acrylic. The advantages are that it’s simple to apply and cost-effective. It’s also the most affordable option to attach the heat sink in aluminum. But there are disadvantages. For larger heat sinks thermal tape isn’t able to fix a heat source securely.
This same drawback could affect those who go through the NEBS test tape typically have difficulties securing a sink in these environments. Additionally, you must make sure the surfaces of the heat sink as well as the chip are both clear to ensure that the tape bonds properly and is able to fulfill its dual purpose in affixing a heater securely to the chip and serving as an interface for thermal heat. In terms of thermal interface tape is usually thought of as an intermediate to low thermal conductor.
Thermal Epoxy: It is a substance that is either a dual or single-part mixed adhesive, with fillers that are thermally conductive such as silver. It is a remarkable mechanical adhesive that copper heat sinks aren’t able to move away from the semiconductors that they’re connected to (or any other surface when you put the heat sink containing epoxy on the bench due to some reason). It’s also relatively inexpensive, costing slightly more than tape.
There are some disadvantages. It must first be refrigerated. The second thing is that it requires the skill to apply it in a way that you don’t apply too much or to little because it is used both to protect your heat sink as well as serve as a thermal interface to conduct heat generated by the semiconductors you use to heat your sink.
The second requirement is that all surfaces should be spotless, as using thermal tape. Also, try to ensure that you never need to rebuild your board since epoxy is difficult to remove and frequently can cause damage to the boards. It’s true. It’s glue! A way to loosen the glue up is to heat it with a heat gun or thermal welding device (Kamweld, our company that is our sister, offers some great ones).
Wire Form “Z-Clips”: Basically this is a simple mechanical attachment method that is often effective. A stainless steel wire-formed clip is used to make the heat sink more compact on the chip, and also to secure it in place. Key?
What are the benefits of using Z-Clip instead of Z-Clip? It is for one reason that it offers an extremely secure and reliable mechanical attachment.
In the case of vibration and shock, this kind of strong mechanical attachment is essential. Furthermore, this type of attachment is simple to put on and simple to remove, and it’s not destructive to semiconductors, unlike tape or epoxy. Additionally, it puts an additional preload to the TIM. This preload can improve thermal performance. In all, there are some drawbacks. It is the first one that needs engineering to create and then use, and this will add costs to your development budget. It can also take just a few steps of assembly which can increase time to assembly.
The latest developments in this field can be seen in our partners with Alpha Novatech with their “Quick Set” series. In essence, Quick Set requires a small number of mounting pins to be put on the PCB. The mounting pins need only 1.8mm[.071 inch] holes on the PCB.
Then , a heat sink may be attached to the board, creating an incredibly secure connection that takes only the minimum amount of space. It is also believed that it can handle heat sinks that are too large which is a huge benefit with huge footprint semiconductors.