Paper clips as TO-220 heat sinks

jwb · 10th June 2009, 03:42 AM

These are definitely my people

http://tangentsoft.net/elec/diy-hs.html

Bottom line: the paper clip beats the coins.

Nrik · 10th June 2009, 07:11 AM

Amazing

cbdb · 10th June 2009, 06:24 PM

Ever try pieces of aluminum beer cans? You can cut (with siccors) and bend them to custom sizes and shapes.

jwb · 10th June 2009, 06:35 PM

Usually I use cut-off bits of right-angle aluminum extrusions like these

HighTec · 10th June 2009, 06:51 PM

Hmm..

are you sure that those are aluminium extrusions? They look a bit ...rusty. Steel perhaps?

jacco vermeulen · 10th June 2009, 07:02 PM

Gee, i never knew aluminum angles were hot rolled.
Nice round edges, they even have a corroded hot roll skin.

The academic dime article is fun though.

jwb · 10th June 2009, 08:11 PM

No those are obviously steel, but when you search Google for "angle iron" that's what you're likely to get.

wwenze · 10th June 2009, 11:30 PM

The paper clip idea is effective though, because it is "self adhering".

Read this before but forgot totally about it. It just solved my resister cooling problem. Thanks.

taj · 11th June 2009, 02:50 AM

Yes, the beauty of the paperclip idea is that you can use a choice of clip sizes and bend the "fins" in whatever direction is convenient. I love it. Just make sure you have great thermal contact with the device.

I've used "fast-on" connectors wrapped around TO-92 transistors as heatsinks (to reduce thermal variation). Add a [solid] copper wire link between 2 of them for differential pairs, to keep them them [somewhat] thermally 'synchronized'.

I wonder what other household commodities we can use for DIY Audio applications that perform nicely as compared to commercial products.

..Todd

tinitus · 11th June 2009, 04:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jwb

Bottom line: the paper clip beats the coins.

How do you tell

Its hard to imagine with that little contact surface of the paper clips

The copper coins seems nice, but have to be grinded smooth to work

With the coins tho Im thinking that the insufficient cooling surface might just make heating issues worse, as its just holding back the heat, and dont remove it
Might be why paper clips seem to work better, as they still allow the heat to get away

It says, "naked transistor not yet tested", which to me makes conclusion pointless

Very easy to do a nice effective finger heatsink with any kind of metal sheet, be it alu, copper or what ever
As long as its stable enough to make proper contact
A proper heatsink still seems far more effective, so I really dont see the point, other than its fun

Seems to me he made the same conclusion, or maybe I dont understand it right ?

10th June 2009, 03:42 AM	#1
jwb diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: San Francisco, USA	Paper clips as TO-220 heat sinks These are definitely my people http://tangentsoft.net/elec/diy-hs.html Bottom line: the paper clip beats the coins.

10th June 2009, 07:11 AM	#2
Nrik diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Copenhagen	Amazing __________________ STOP - Hammertime!

10th June 2009, 07:02 PM	#6
jacco vermeulen diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: At the sea front, Rotterdam or Curaçao	Gee, i never knew aluminum angles were hot rolled. Nice round edges, they even have a corroded hot roll skin. The academic dime article is fun though. __________________ Not so much,.......if it says "ZM" in the corner.

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10th June 2009, 06:24 PM	#3
cbdb diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Vancouver	Ever try pieces of aluminum beer cans? You can cut (with siccors) and bend them to custom sizes and shapes.

10th June 2009, 06:35 PM	#4
jwb diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: San Francisco, USA	Usually I use cut-off bits of right-angle aluminum extrusions like these

10th June 2009, 06:51 PM	#5
HighTec diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Sibenik, Croatia	Hmm.. are you sure that those are aluminium extrusions? They look a bit ...rusty. Steel perhaps?

10th June 2009, 08:11 PM	#7
jwb diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: San Francisco, USA	No those are obviously steel, but when you search Google for "angle iron" that's what you're likely to get.

10th June 2009, 11:30 PM	#8
wwenze diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2008	The paper clip idea is effective though, because it is "self adhering". Read this before but forgot totally about it. It just solved my resister cooling problem. Thanks.

11th June 2009, 02:50 AM	#9
taj diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2005	Yes, the beauty of the paperclip idea is that you can use a choice of clip sizes and bend the "fins" in whatever direction is convenient. I love it. Just make sure you have great thermal contact with the device. I've used "fast-on" connectors wrapped around TO-92 transistors as heatsinks (to reduce thermal variation). Add a [solid] copper wire link between 2 of them for differential pairs, to keep them them [somewhat] thermally 'synchronized'. I wonder what other household commodities we can use for DIY Audio applications that perform nicely as compared to commercial products. ..Todd

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