Tag Archives: heat sinks

This Fixed Cost Plan for Cooling Hot PCBs Saves Money, Simplifies Ordering

Posted on March 27, 2012 by | Leave a comment

For one fixed cost, a QoolPCB plan includes the full set of ATS heat sinks,  attachment devices and all other parts required for the effective thermal management of a PCBs components. There are no additional costs for the thermal engineering, performance testing, procurement or shipping. The heat sinks and hardware are kitted and provided for the full volume of boards requiring cooling.

Pricing for a QoolPCB solutions is based on the number of heat sinks that a specific PCB requires for efficient thermal management. For example, if thermal analysis and testing show that a PCB needs 10 heat sinks to operate safely, the fixed price for the heat sinks and hardware for a production volume of that PCB would be just $50 per board. For larger boards, or those with many hot components, the unit cost per heat sink is reduced.

Whether the solutions are for off-the-shelf heat sinks, custom designed, or a combination of both, the QoolPCB program from ATS provides it at fixed cost. QoolPCB eliminates separate costs for design, tooling, samples, verification and supply chain management. The program offers multiple benefits for companies looking to reduce their product development costs, speed time-to-market and ensure thermal reliability.

To participate, PCB developers simply provide 3D CAD models of their board layout, along with the technical specifications, including power dissipation of all board components. ATS performs a full thermal analysis of the PCB and develops a comprehensive cooling solution for each component on the board. Where possible, ATS engineers will specify existing heat sinks from a portfolio of more than 3000 off-the-shelf and application-specific designs and with in-stock attachment systems.

If any custom heat sinks are required to bring certain components within their manufacturer-designated running temperatures, ATS assumes all tooling charges and sample production costs, including any customized heat sink attachment hardware. In addition, ATS will perform all physical testing at its Thermal Characterization Laboratory, which features advanced open loop and closed loop wind tunnels, temperature and velocity measurement sensors and other analysis instrumentation, to verify the cooling design. All designs and performance reports are provided to customers, who can perform their own thermal analyses and verification studies using the ATS characterization lab and samples of the actual heat sink solutions at no extra cost.

More information about the QoolPCB thermal management program from ATS is available at: http://www.qats.com/Services/QoolPCB—PCB-Cooling-At-Fixed-Cost/57.aspx

 

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Posted in Cabinet, heat sink, Heat Sinks, PCB, Thermal, thermal engineering, thermal management

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EE Times Features ATS Article, “Heat Removal with Microchannel Heat Sinks”

Posted on August 25, 2011 by | Leave a comment

We’d like to note to our followers here of our blog that ATS’ own Dr. Bahman Tavassoli has had an article published in EE Times entitled, “Heat Removal with Microchannel Heat Sinks”. Here’s a snippet so  you know what Dr. Tavassoli is covering:

For high performance CPUs, graphics cards, power amplifiers and other devices, air-cooling has proven ineffective at dissipating high heat fluxes. Heat transfer methods such as heat pipes, vapor chambers, nanomaterials, liquid cooling and miniature refrigeration systems have been attracting more interest.

The rest of our article covers the “whys” and “hows”. If your considering liquid cooling, then this article on microchannel heat sinks is a must read!

You can reach the article at EE Times here: “Heat Removal with Microchannel Heat Sinks“

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Posted in heat sink, Liquid Cooling, micro-channel heat sink, Microchannels

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How to Select a Heat Sink: Why Thermal Management is a Challenge

Posted on May 12, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Today we are kicking off a series of articles on how to select a heat sink for an OEM project. The principles are the same for overclockers building their own systems with one difference. In OEM projects, mechanical engineers usually (but not always) have a chance to simulate the design before hand and suggest changes to chassis and layout to help with airflow.

So, let’s get started with some basics. First, why is thermal management a challenge? There’s a few reasons and many of these are only getting worse if you consider them from the world of thermal engineering.

First on our list is higher frequency circuits. The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors notes that, “projected power density and junction-to-ambient thermal resistance for high-performance chips at the 14 nm generation are >100 W/cm2 and <0.2°C/W, respectively.” In other words, semiconductors are simply getting hotter as their clock speeds are increased.

Second, generally, semiconductors are being assembled into smaller packages. The packages are smaller, the circuits are denser and this combination means that they are warmer.

Third on our list of why thermal management is a (growing) challenge is low acoustic noise requirements. End users don’t want to be deaf just for using electronics. The result is many specifications that set a reasonable acoustic range for their equipment, often in the 100LFM to 400LFM range. This relatively low airflow is great for end users but creates a real challenge for mechanical engineers and systems integrators trying to create a solid system that meets end users needs and still operates at its optimal levels.

Fourth, circuit designers determine component placement. On the surface of this, this is how it should be. Electrical engineers have alot of pressure on them to reduce board latency and design for performance. While they often consider the thermal needs of the systems and circuits, it’s not their primary design point. For mechanical engineers that is what we do and so our challenge is the balancing act of working with EE’s to insure great placement, but also great airflow.

Fifth and finally, thermal management is a challenge because EMI shielding. Higher frequency components require better shielding and that shielding can restrict airflow.

When we pick this topic up next, we’ll cover why temperature is so important to manage. If you have any questions in the mean time about heat sinks or thermal management, contact us and lets see how can make your next project a success! Email us at ATS thermal [email protected] , call us at 781-769-2800 or visit our heat sink catalog at qats.com

 

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Posted in heat sink, heat sink clip, Heat Sinks, Heat Spreaders, How to Select a Heat Sink

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OEM cuts project costs, improves MTBF using ATS heat sink solution: An ATS Thermal Labs Case Study

Posted on November 5, 2010 by | Leave a comment

A California based optical networking company asked ATS for thermal management services to manage excess heat in a telecom cabinet.

The OEM’s optical transport board employed 16 heat sinks, two of which were ATS maxiFLOWTM heat sinks. These were attached to hot processors using the ATS maxiGRIPTM clip system. The other heat sinks were all 15mm x 15mm straight fin designs attached to various semiconductors using a thermally conductive epoxy. The thermal epoxy was meant to provide a secure, mechanical bond for mounting the heat sinks to the ICs on their circuit board. But the results were not as expected. The epoxy-attached heat sinks began falling off the PCBs in both field and lab deployments.

The customer’s team considered alternative approaches, including thermal adhesive tape but were unable to find a suitable solution. ATS was brought onto the team to find the problems root cause and provide a suitable solution that met the OEMs technical requirements and cost constraints.

ATS analyzed the customer’s circuit boards, heat sinks, and the thermal epoxy, and completed thermal modeling and analysis of the application. Following this approach, ATS recommended using the originally designed-in heat sinks. The thermal analysis showed their performance was satisfactory, with margin, for this application. ATS recommended a heat sink clip be used instead of thermal epoxy. The ATS superGRIPTM heat sink clip and a phase change thermal interface material were then introduced.

ATS supplied early samples of a standard superGRIP and 15mm x 15mm straight fin heat sink. After physical testing, both thermal teams came to the conclusion that the new solution would improve both the mechanical attachment and thermal performance. However, the standard off the shelf superGRIP was not the right dimensions for a best fit; critical to it’s mechanical attachment and capability to apply the right amount of pressure for phase change material to be effective. That correct amount of pressure is critical to phase change material so it can give the best heat transfer from the semiconductor to the heat sink.

ATS developed a custom superGRIP for the application, and upon further testing found the combination of straight fin heat sink, superGRIP, and phase change interface to meet the design requirements.

The result of this partnering work between ATS and their customer were:

  • Reduced cost of production as epoxy required more training to use and had a shelf life
  • Passing of NEBS shock and vibration testing
  • Increased product MTBF and reliability
  • The OEM was able to ship their product to gain sales

If your team is facing a similar dilemma, contact us at ATS ; Phone: 781-769-2800, email: [email protected] or visit our web site at http://www.qats.com. You can also click to ATS’s You Tube Channel to see a demo of our superGRIP heat sink clip

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Posted in Case Studies, Thermal Analysis, thermal management

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Advanced Thermal Solutions ATS-X53190P-C1-R0 Straight Fin Heat Sink with superGRIP heat sink clip has 24.3 C/W Thermal Resistance at 200LFM

Posted on November 4, 2010 by | Leave a comment

ATS straight fin heat sink with superGRIP heat sink clip Advanced Thermal Solutions ATS-X53190P-C1-R0 Straight Fin Heat Sink with superGRIP attachment has 24.3 C/W Thermal Resistance at 200LFM. Probably one of the best things about this heat sink “system” is the fact that you can use phase change thermal interface material (TIM) with it. Phase change TIM, under the right amount of pressure, can improve your thermal performance from 10% to 20% in a given application.

Speaking of thermal interface material for heat sinks, Jeff McCutcheon, senior technical specialist at 3M, has written a very good article and resources on choosing TIM. You can get a copy at EP&T Magazine: Higher frequencies leading to rising power and EMI in traditionally low power electronic devices

To see a video demo of ATS’s heat sink clip, superGRIP, see below:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MqyNReoo10]

For more information, talk to one of our application engineers or to purchase you may contact us at T: 781-769-2800, email us at [email protected] or visit our web site at http://www.qats.com

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Posted in Heat Sink Attach, Heat Sinks, Product Highlights

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