Heat sinks are integral part of the hardware and helps components to perform at an optimal level. Heat sinks machined is a new frontier and a challenge to the designer.

1. Heat Sinks Machined: A Challenge To The Heat Sink Designers
The heat sinks are standard material now. Various types of heat sinks are now
available for use. But, at times there is a need to design special quality heat sinks.
The new hardwaremay need some demanding newly designed heat sinks. So, the
heat sink designer must come up with absolutely new heat sinks machined.
But, machining a new heat sink is challenging. The designer must know the
function and utility of the newly designed component to understanding the
challenge. How much heat is required to be transported in how short time, what
will be the ambient temperature and what should be the threshold temperature.
All these parameters are important in machining a heat sink. Therefore, the
designer must work in close coordination with the client. The most important part
is the fin design. The client may want some unique array of fins for the
component, but there may be a better design or conceptual error. Therefore, it’s
a continuous learning process, and a field for innovation in machined heat sinks.
There are now companies doing this job professionally. They will undertake the
designing job and come up with a 2D or 3D drawing for the required heat sink and
if necessary with solid models to test the compatibility of the model with the
desired parameters. This is a highly skilled job done by experts with years of
experience in heat sinks machined.
The heat dissipation capacity of a heat sink is directly related to the fin height.
Because, increase in height means additional surface area, additional surface area
means greater dissipation. But, this may be an oversimplification. The addition of
fins increases the pressuredrop across the sink surface this will in turn reduce the
flow velocity over the sink area or increase the flow bypass over the sink surface.
In the sited case, the increase in heatsinks fins will be detrimental to the purpose
of the heat sink. Instead of giving a better heat dissipation the new heat sink will
increase the surface temperature. So, it’s dangerous to work with any
preconceived idea.