February 4, 2019

All About Bonded Fin and Folded Fin Heat Sink Design

There are types of heat sinks that are commonly used for thermal management solutions. However two specific designs, bonded fin heat sinks and folded fin heat sinks stand out as unique and worth exploring in detail.

Design of Folded Fin Heat Sinks

Aluminum sheeting is bent into a fan or fin shape to create a folded fin heat sink. This results in heat sinks with aspect ratios and thinner fins compared to those produced by aluminum heatsinks. These folded fin heat sinks can be soldered onto a base of aluminum or copper. Used alongside heat pipes that transfer the heat to the folded fin sink, for dissipation. In cases folded fin heat sinks are paired with fans or other mechanisms that facilitate airflow around the sink area.

Folded Fin Heat Sink Design

Folded fin heat sinks are usually lighter than extruded heat sinks because they can have thin fins while still having a larger surface area to control the heat generated. These heat sinks are frequently used for consumer electronics, automotive and aircraft components, and in equipment where product weight is an issue.

Bonded Fin Heat Sink Design

Typically used for forced convection cooling, bonded fin heatsinks can dissipate more heat than standard extruded heatsinks because they use different fin densities and heights to expand the cooling area. They achieve this by bonding stamped or prefabricated fins with a thermally conductive epoxy to a heatsink base plate. In certain situations, friction stir welding is used to increase thermal efficiency.

Bonded fin heat sinks are used in large applications or spaces where high performance is not necessary. Electric welding applications and DC-DC converters, such as buck, boost, or buck-boost converters, are a few examples of these kinds of applications. Using components like inductors or capacitors, these converters transform energy from a load into energy storage. Thus, DC-to-DC converters are essential parts of numerous applications, including heaters, power amplifiers, DC motor drives, battery power systems, and adaptive controls, to mention a few.

Get Custom Heat Sink Design from Getec Industries

Getec Industries is a top-notch company specializing in creating heat sinks for management. Whether you require aluminum heatsinks, customized heat pipe bending, or unique bonded or folded fin heat sinks we have all your needs covered. You can reach out to us by giving us a call at 888-999-8499 or contacting us online or sending an email to sales@getecna.com to speak with one of our experts in heat sink design today.