Category Archives: Thermal Interface Material

Mentor Grapics Webinar: Heat Sink 201 – Even More About Heatsink Design; 5/19 & 5/20 11AM taught by Dr. John Parry, CEng

Another great webinar is coming up on how to design a heat sink. This time it’s sponsored by Mentor Graphics and taught by Dr. John Parry. Entitled, “Heat Sink 201 – Even More About Heatsink Design” You can register to attend either on 5/19 or on 5/20 at 11AM.

Mentor provides a description of their course:

In this webinar we will discuss how manufacturer’s data is obtained, and why this may not be applicable for use in design by showing a simple example of how a heatsink interacts locally with the surrounding airflow.

We will illustrate why heatsinks are not as simple to use as they first appear, and why they should be designed for a particular application. We will also talk more about the myths surrounding heatsinks and their application, and give some practical advice concerning heatsink design and attachment. The presentation will conclude by looking at different optimization strategies for heatsink design.

At ATS we couldn’t agree more. This is a terrific topic. As we’ve noted in past posts here, such as our post, “The Fallacy of the Drop-In Replacement Heat Sink” a heat sink is not necessarily a heat sink. And the published data isn’t always accurate.

There are a number of vectors of influence in heat sink design and application. For example, the TIM (thermal interface material) and attachment method can have dramatic effects on the thermal efficiency. In our testing here in ATS’s Thermal Labs, we’ve found that a simple straight fin heat sink can have a significantly better thermal performance when a proper attachment method and phase change material TIM are used.

You can register for Mentor Graphics webinar at the following link: “Heat Sink 201 – even more about heat sink design“.

Should you find you need help designing your next generation heat sink or thermal management solution ATS’s world class design team, deep CFD capability and Tier 1 class thermal development lab can lend you a hand. Click through to learn more about ATS Thermal Management Design Consulting Services or tell us a bit about your project through our on-line project submission: Thermal Design On-Line Project Request.

Does thermal grease used for heat sinks have a long term reliability risk? An ATS Thermal Labs White Paper

Thermal Grease used as thermal interface material for heat sinks is perhaps the best material today. It’s relatively cost effective and just plain works. But, as in all thermal management products, it’s not perfect and there are drawbacks that have to be considered.

In ATS Thermal Labs latest white paper, we talk about those drawbacks an in particular if there are issues of long term reliability in using thermal grease as a thermal interface material. The implications are very important as they will affect your electronic equipments MTBF. You can get a copy by clicking to this link, “Long Term Thermal Grease Reliability

Terrific resource in EP&T to help you choose the right thermal interface material for your heat sink

EP&T (Electronic Products and Technology) magazine has a terrific little article on thermal interface material (TIM) and how to choose the right one. They’ve got some excellent slides as well that can help you systematically choose what you need. Well worth reading.

You can find the article and resources here at EP&T Magazine: “Higher frequencies leading to rising power and EMI in traditionally low power electronic devices

ATS has produced a white paper that makes a good companion to the EP&T Magazine Article. You can get your own copy by clicking to, “When to Use a Thermal Interface Material and What Type“.

Higher Speed Processors Force Other System IC’s to Speed Up Increasing Overall Thermal Problems: Here’s what to do

The increasing speed of expensive processors is forcing less expensive “associated board” or “dependant” devices to keep up. Consequently, thermal management and EMI are becoming issues for traditional lower frequency or power devices, such as ASIC, memory, power resistors, controller chips, LEDs, and other traditionally lower power devices that comprise 70 to 80 per cent of all devices. For many engineers, this is not only an expansive challenge but also a first-time issue with devices that once ran lower speeds and consumed less than 0.25 W but evolved to 0.50-20 W.

So what to do? One way to address this challenge is by way of the right thermal interface material. 3M’s Jeff McCutcheon has a great article on this topic at EP&T. You can have a read at EP&T by clicking to his article, “Higher frequencies leading to rising power and EMI in traditionally low power electronic devices“.

ATS’s did a few articles on this topic our readers will find helpful here on our blog.

Thermal Interface Material Good for Your Heats Sinks and a Good Distributor is Robert McKeowen Company

In yesterdays post, “Thermal Interface Material Resource Round-Up for your Heat Sinks and Thermal Engineering Design needs” we were remiss in not mentioning a good overall source for many of these materials.  Often time, a distributor can be a big help since they carry many products so they become a sort of one stop shop.    Robert McKeown is one distributor to go to for a varitey of thermal interface material for your heat sink needs.