What the part has to do
- Move heat from a component into air that is mostly propeller wash.
- Present a contact face flat enough that the interface material is thin.
- Weigh as little as the thermal path allows.
- Sometimes carry structural load at the same time.
Material and finish
6061-T6, which conducts heat noticeably better than 7075 and machines faster. Copper only as a small spreader directly under a hot component, because it weighs three times as much.
Black type II anodise on the fins is broadly neutral to slightly helpful. The component contact face is masked, because anodise is an insulator exactly where the heat has to cross.
The features that decide it
Tolerance these. Let everything else on the drawing run to the general tolerance, because it costs money and changes nothing.
Contact face flatness and finish
The interface, not the fin field, is usually the biggest resistance in the path.
Base thickness
The base is the spreader. Starve it and the fins are decoration.
Fin thickness and gap
The cutter has to fit and clear chips, so geometry decides whether the part is cheap or slow.
Fin orientation
Fins across the downwash are a weight penalty with a nice finish.
What we hold
| Feature | Held |
|---|---|
| Contact face flatness | 0.02 to 0.05 mm |
| Contact face finish | Ra 1.6 or better |
| Fin thickness | ±0.1 mm |
| Channel dimensions, cold plate | ±0.1 mm |
Normal production figures for this shop, not a best case. Full tolerance reference.
What we need to quote it
- Power to dissipate, in watts
- Maximum ambient and allowed component temperature
- Airflow, natural convection or propeller wash, and its direction
- Interface material you intend to use
- For a cold plate: coolant, flow rate, port thread and test pressure
Send what you have. A STEP file and a quantity are enough to start, and the rest sharpens the number.
Read before you draw it
Tools for this part
Run your part through them and send the answers with the model. It makes the quote sharper and the questions fewer.
Questions about heat sinks and cold plates
Machined fins or extrusion?
Extrusion is cheaper at volume for a constant cross section. Machining wins when the part is also structural, when the fin field works around other hardware, or at the quantities most UAV programmes actually run.
Can you weld or braze a cold plate lid?
Welding and brazing are placed with a partner and said to be placed. We machine the plate and the lid, manage the process and inspect the part when it returns.
Quote this part
Send the model and the quantity. Price, lead time and any question that would cost you money if we guessed come back within 24 business hours, EXW, in USD.
Need the full form with tolerances, finish and documents? Open the RFQ page.
Other parts we cut
Arm and boom clamps
The joint that holds the arm on. It has to grip a tube that is never the diameter the catalogue says, without crushing it, and come off again after a season in the weather.
OpenMotor mounts and bells
A plate with four holes that decides whether a motor runs cool and whether the replacement one sits the same way the first did.
OpenGimbal brackets and yokes
A small part with a hard job. The camera has to point where the controller says it is pointing, through vibration, while weighing as little as possible.
OpenEnclosures and housings
The parts that keep water, dust and spray away from electronics, and the place where most ingress ratings are lost before the gasket is even chosen.
Open