Home > Products > Heat sink Technologies > Extruded aluminum Heat sink
The performance of an extruded heat sink is primarily determined by the following factors:
· Heat dissipation area: The number, height, and total surface area of fins directly determine the heat exchange capacity with air. A larger surface area yields better heat dissipation potential.
· Fin thickness and spacing: While maximizing fin count (reducing spacing) to enhance structural strength is desirable, it must be balanced with air pressure and airflow efficiency. Overcrowded fins impede airflow, diminishing efficiency.
· Base plate thickness: Sufficient thickness acts as a “thermal reservoir,” absorbing sudden heat surges and distributing heat more evenly across all fins via lateral thermal conductivity.
· Material: Most commonly uses aluminum alloy 6063. A few high-end or specialized applications employ pure aluminum or copper for superior thermal conductivity, though copper is significantly more challenging to extrude and costly.
· Surface Treatment: The most common surface treatment is anodizing. It not only creates various colors (such as the common black) but also increases surface hardness, corrosion resistance, and provides some enhancement to radiative heat dissipation.
Primary Applications
Extruded heat sinks are ubiquitous, covering nearly all mid-to-low power density electronic devices:
1. Computing Applications
· CPU Coolers: The vast majority of stock coolers and entry-level third-party air coolers are extruded aluminum heat sinks.
· Motherboard Power Module Heatsinks: Small heatsinks on motherboard MOSFETs and chipsets.
· Graphics card cooling: Used in some entry-level cards or as auxiliary heat sinks for mid-to-high-end cards.
· Airflow guide fins in chassis cooling ducts.
2. LED Lighting
· Heat sinks for LED chips: A massive market for extruded heat sinks. LED luminous efficiency and lifespan are highly temperature-sensitive, making extruded aluminum heat sinks the most cost-effective solution.
3. Power Supply Equipment
· Heat dissipation for MOSFETs and rectifier bridges in switching power supplies.
4. Industrial Control & Automotive Electronics
· Heat dissipation for power components in inverters, motor drivers, automotive power supplies, etc.
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