How do they make heatsinks?

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pinoy

Limp Gawd
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Dec 8, 2010
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Anyone know of a video on how they assemble heatsinks with heatpipes? I'm trying to get an idea how they do it so I can replicate the process.
 
I'm guessing they use automated machines - I doubt you can do the same thing in your basement. Or are you setting up some kind of machine shop to do it?
 
They stamp the fins into shape with cutouts, and use an automated brake to bend the pieces for the louvering (the parts that support the fins and keep them a certain distance apart).

Heatpipes are then attached to a base hot plate, the fin assembly is then likely pressed onto the heatpipe plate in the appropriate orientation.
 
If there's any soldering for the heatpipes to join them to the heatsink, they do the soldering prior to filling the heatpipes.
 
Arcygenical has it pretty much right. The heatpipes are usually purchased from a different supplier, and there are a couple of different types and sizes depending on your use. Most heatpipes use a copper housing, a near vacuum inside, a small amount of liquid (usually water), and a wick structure of some type to bring the cool water back down.

Functionally as they absorb heat, the copper transmits it into the water which vaporizes at a low temp due to the vacuum, then the gas is cooled as the fins outside the heatpipe absorb the heat, and the vapor condenses back into water and is brought towards the heatpipe by the wick structure. This part is insanely hard to manufacture, so you'd need to buy them, and probably you'd want to buy them pre-bent, as any bending you do has a good chance of rupturing the housing and letting air in or water out, which ruins the effectiveness completely.

Assuming you get the heatpipes purchased in the size/shape you want, then brazing or soldering them to the coldplate is the next step. This is critical as the better your bond is, the more efficient your heat transfer will be. Even "great" aftermarket heatsinks have a difference in build quality, we've tested 20 versions the exact same model of aircooler, and had temp swings of 3-4C just due to differences in assembly.

The fins are the easy part - stamped out aluminum fins, with holes for heatpipes, typically press-fit, as the assembly cost/time of brazing/soldering each one to the heatpipe is kind of absurd for the minimal performance gain.

A heatsink at home is possible, a modern heatpipe-based one like an NH-D14 or something would be nearly impossible without the right supplies, tools, and manufacturing techniques.

It looks simple enough, but it's not quite that easy.
 
Redbeard said:
Arcygenical has it pretty much right. The heatpipes are usually purchased from a different supplier, and there are a couple of different types and sizes depending on your use. Most heatpipes use a copper housing, a near vacuum inside, a small amount of liquid (usually water), and a wick structure of some type to bring the cool water back down.

Functionally as they absorb heat, the copper transmits it into the water which vaporizes at a low temp due to the vacuum, then the gas is cooled as the fins outside the heatpipe absorb the heat, and the vapor condenses back into water and is brought towards the heatpipe by the wick structure. This part is insanely hard to manufacture, so you'd need to buy them, and probably you'd want to buy them pre-bent, as any bending you do has a good chance of rupturing the housing and letting air in or water out, which ruins the effectiveness completely.

Assuming you get the heatpipes purchased in the size/shape you want, then brazing or soldering them to the coldplate is the next step. This is critical as the better your bond is, the more efficient your heat transfer will be. Even "great" aftermarket heatsinks have a difference in build quality, we've tested 20 versions the exact same model of aircooler, and had temp swings of 3-4C just due to differences in assembly.

The fins are the easy part - stamped out aluminum fins, with holes for heatpipes, typically press-fit, as the assembly cost/time of brazing/soldering each one to the heatpipe is kind of absurd for the minimal performance gain.

A heatsink at home is possible, a modern heatpipe-based one like an NH-D14 or something would be nearly impossible without the right supplies, tools, and manufacturing techniques.

It looks simple enough, but it's not quite that easy.
Click to expand...


Would JB weld work just as well in place of braising or soldering? I know someone who JB welded their heatsink to the CPU and that worked well for them.
 
Shadohh said:
Would JB weld work just as well in place of braising or soldering? I know someone who JB welded their heatsink to the CPU and that worked well for them.
Click to expand...

...thank you for making me spit amp all over my laptop... you're not serious, are you? did they use JB Weld as TIM?!!!
 
My concern is what type of solder do they use? I dismantled the heatsink of a Geforce GTX 295. I found the solder melted around 150°C. I'll be putting it all back together but I'm afraid I will need a hotter temperature since I will be adding more 63/37 tin/lead solder because I don't think there was enough originally. I'm afraid the heatpipes would burst due to the higher temperature.
 
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