Folded Aluminum Heatsink. Would it work?

[Hellcat]

I was thinking since I have access to aluminum sheets that I could just cut the sheet to length & width and then fold "fins", like an accordian and wrap that around the Aixiz module. So if you were to look at it from the front, it would be star shaped. Or I can just wrap the module until it's the same diameter as the inside of the Dorcy bezel. Would this work you think?

Ray

 

[yew.sir-name]

Something like...

 

[Kenom]

anything you use to remove the heat is going to work. I've tried the fin assembly above and it works for a laser show I've got.

 

[f22warzone]

Just remember to bend perpendicular to the grain and not with it.... found that out when I was making my electrolious pads..... Snapped one in half but the other worked went to look at and found that out : )..... And yes aluminum does have grain

 

[Hellcat]

That's exactly what I was talking about. Awesome! I was thinking more fins and maybe even bend them in a spiral pattern somewhat to get more surface area

 

[Greenie]

Well I made one for my DIY and it works GREAT!

 

[Kenom]

Greenies are nice.  bends them himself.  I cheated and bought mine.

First told me about the idea a few months back and has actually got one on his River rock.

 

[Hellcat]

Question, I also have some Zinc and Titanium sheets. How would this compare to Aluminum in dissipating the heat?

Greenie, do you have an image of yours installed?

Thanks

 

[Benm]

Aluminium doesnt work very well for this application, it's not flexible/springy enough to make stars with good mechanical contact.

The cooling stars as in the picture above are usually made from phosphor bronze, with a black power powder coat to aid in heat radiation.

These things must fit quite snugly and excert a lot of force on the module to work well.

 

[toked323]

any thoughts on aluminum foil as heatsink

 

[Benm]

Aluminium foil is worthless - just too thin. Even if you'd roll it around or fold it too thicker sheets, the airgaps and surface oxides between the layers would be so large little heat is conducted.

The only good way to use aluminium for heatsinks is to start with a solid piece (block or rod) and then cut out the fins, ridges or whatever shape you need. To mount a component to an aluminium heatsink, the only good way is to have a flat contact surface, or a hole that fits exactly.

Industrially, aluminium is sometimes cast into the desired shape from the molten metal, but that's not easy to do at home.

 

[Kenom]

One would figure that would be easy as hell given the low boiling point of aluminium

 

[Benm]

It's not a hard to cast metal indeed, but casting metals yourself is probably rather difficult anyways. Some people cast aluminium for a hobby (statuettes and stuff, i guess).

An additional problem is that such casts aren't usually exact enough to make components like heatsinks, so you have to machine the metal afterwards.

 

[JECS]

if i werent in an apartment i would be doing that already.

http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/

machining is a give in. the moulds are normally made of sand. you are rarely ever going to see a backyard caster making an injection mould unless they plan on mass producing something. theyre also going to need lots of money to do it, which defeats the purpose of casting your own metal