Difference between revisions of "Heatsinks"

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==Theory==
 
==Theory==
 
===Poor TO-220 Heatsinking===
 
===Poor TO-220 Heatsinking===
 +
I repaired an audiophile power supply, with loose to-220's underneath the board. They were loosely hanging over a sil pad and then not really making contact with the bottom of the chassis. This is of course, the wrong way to heatsink TO-220's. Given that the majority of the power was to go through these transistors, this was a bad design choice. While there are stand up heatsinks, which you see most of the time, there are also board mount heatsinks, where you will bend the TO-220 90 degrees, and then screw it into a heatsink, and into the board (optionally with sil pad). See the photos.
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
 
File:Boardmount heatsink.jpg|These heatsinks can have the TO-220 bended on them, and the heatsink bolted to the board. It's also possible to get a top cover for these (a separate piece of metal, or connected to the original as a type of clamp). Some of these, will apply a bit of pressure (on the top half) to make good contact. Essentially sandwiching the case to the heatsink.
 
File:Boardmount heatsink.jpg|These heatsinks can have the TO-220 bended on them, and the heatsink bolted to the board. It's also possible to get a top cover for these (a separate piece of metal, or connected to the original as a type of clamp). Some of these, will apply a bit of pressure (on the top half) to make good contact. Essentially sandwiching the case to the heatsink.
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File:Boardmount heatsink2.jpg|Here is an example of the clamping type of heatsink, though there are others where the two pieces are separate.
 
File:Boardmount heatsink2.jpg|Here is an example of the clamping type of heatsink, though there are others where the two pieces are separate.
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
I repaired an audiophile power supply, with loose to-220's underneath the board. They were loosely hanging over a sil pad and then not really making contact with the bottom of the chassis. This is of course, the wrong way to heatsink TO-220's. Given that the majority of the power was to go through these transistors, this was a bad design choice. While there are stand up heatsinks, which you see most of the time, there are also board mount heatsinks, where you will bend the TO-220 90 degrees, and then screw it into a heatsink, and into the board (optionally with sil pad). See the photos.
 
  
 
==Tips/Techniques==
 
==Tips/Techniques==

Revision as of 06:22, 11 August 2026

Heatsinks are easily reused components. They are also easy to DIY, if you have a mill.

List

Theory

Poor TO-220 Heatsinking

I repaired an audiophile power supply, with loose to-220's underneath the board. They were loosely hanging over a sil pad and then not really making contact with the bottom of the chassis. This is of course, the wrong way to heatsink TO-220's. Given that the majority of the power was to go through these transistors, this was a bad design choice. While there are stand up heatsinks, which you see most of the time, there are also board mount heatsinks, where you will bend the TO-220 90 degrees, and then screw it into a heatsink, and into the board (optionally with sil pad). See the photos.

Tips/Techniques

Submerging a PCB in Oil As a Heatsink

I have seen this at an expo. I've already fried (no pun intended) an RPI by not paying attention to ESD though, so I don't want to inadvertently break one by putting it in an oil bath.