Machining10 min read
Heat sink mounting and flatness: making contact
A flat sink, a clean pad and the right screw torque still fail if the pressure is in the wrong place. Contact is a system property.
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Topic hub
Machining, castings and heat sinks
Machined, cast and extruded parts are chosen for geometry, strength and thermal performance. These guides cover process selection, tolerances, finishes, casting defects and the thermal path from a die to the air.
Guides in this topic, page 2
Machining9 min read
Heat sinks for data centre equipment: high density and liquid cooling
Where air cooling stops being practical, how cold plates change the heat sink design, and the flatness and pressure calls that decide whether a liquid loop works.
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Machining10 min read
Machined brass fittings and inserts: threads, seals and design
Thread standards, sealing methods and the wall thickness that decides whether a brass fitting holds pressure or strips at assembly.
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Machining9 min read
Passivation for machined copper and brass: what it protects and what it costs
The word passivation means different things on copper and brass. Here is how to specify a finish that protects the surface without turning a conductive part into an insulator.
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Machining10 min read
Aluminium die casting: the process and the design rules that follow from it
How a die casting is filled, solidified and ejected, and the wall, draft, fillet and boss rules that come directly from those steps.
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Machining10 min read
Bonded fin vs extruded vs skived heat sinks
Three ways to put fins on a base, three different limits. The choice is usually set by fin aspect ratio, volume and the joint you are willing to inspect.
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Machining9 min read
Deburring machined parts: methods, edge specs and cost
Manual, vibratory and thermal deburring solve different problems. A practical guide to choosing the method, writing the edge call and keeping the cost out of the wrong place.
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Machining9 min read
Heat sinks for LED lighting: natural convection and aesthetics
How luminaire shape, fin orientation and visible surfaces decide the heat sink, and where die casting earns its place over extrusion.
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Machining9 min read
Machined copper surface finish: Ra, contact resistance and plating
Why an Ra number on its own does not describe a copper contact face, and how lay, waviness and oxide decide the joint.
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Machining10 min read
DFM for machined, cast and extruded parts: one checklist, three routes
A single design review that works across machining, casting and extrusion, with the questions that change by process and the ones that never change.
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Machining10 min read
Heat sink material: aluminium vs copper
Copper conducts almost twice as well, and weighs more than three times as much. The right choice depends on where the bottleneck sits in the thermal path.
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Machining9 min read
Heat sink surface finish and anodising: corrosion, emissivity and contact
What anodising does to a heat sink, when black beats clear, and why the oxide layer must be kept away from the thermal interface.
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