Whichever way you go, remember that you can never have too much heatsink (from a thermal standpoint). Also, from a wiring standpoint, the more of the circuitry that you can mount directly to the heat sink the better. It not only keeps the critical interconnects short and minimizes wiring to other areas in the box, it also eases build and checkout if you have one module that contains all of the critical circuitry.
This reminds me of Dan D’Agostino's recent work - beautiful but probably not the best cooling to mass ratio!
What a tank. Looks like a futuristic engine block.
Boulder has an interesting lineup thats for sure
I’m sure that would work, just not as efficient as the traditional vertical fins with an air gap underneath like in typical equipment.
Mass is your friend, and surface area of course.
What if the finned elements were to cover nearly the entire top?
If you’re machining from chunks, then you can easily make it thicker. Can also purchase the heat sinks and fasten them to your own plates, using heat sink paste.
Mass is your friend, and surface area of course.
What if the finned elements were to cover nearly the entire top?
If you’re machining from chunks, then you can easily make it thicker. Can also purchase the heat sinks and fasten them to your own plates, using heat sink paste.
You could couple the top plate with copper bars to the other panels, increasing the efficiency of the whole cooling scheme.
You’ll be fine.
Not quite there yet but this is my idea for cooling and top accessibility.
Heatsinks are not connected to top plate, they are supported by brackets attached to the faceplate. With this the top plate can be removed leaving the heatsinks suspended in the case. Id like to find a solution in that the audio boards can be accessed more easily than illustrated. Probably could get to them if a side panel was taken off but Eh, not good enough.
Cooling issues addressed by fans channeling air up through the top plate and between the fins of the heatsink. Im thinking a low rpm noctua. They are quiet and push quite a lot of air at those low speeds. Its possible it could cause some whistling noise when air meets the heatsink, foam inside this channel could possibly help diffuse the air hitting the fins. It may also help to equally disperse air across the fins.
Heatsinks are not connected to top plate, they are supported by brackets attached to the faceplate. With this the top plate can be removed leaving the heatsinks suspended in the case. Id like to find a solution in that the audio boards can be accessed more easily than illustrated. Probably could get to them if a side panel was taken off but Eh, not good enough.
Cooling issues addressed by fans channeling air up through the top plate and between the fins of the heatsink. Im thinking a low rpm noctua. They are quiet and push quite a lot of air at those low speeds. Its possible it could cause some whistling noise when air meets the heatsink, foam inside this channel could possibly help diffuse the air hitting the fins. It may also help to equally disperse air across the fins.
NORTH4
Very interesting concept! Still beautiful! Are the fans bolted to the top cover? I probably should be able to tell from your beautiful drawings, but I am slow today. If so, they will have to be connectorized, of course, but that shouldn't be a big deal.
I would be surprised if you can find a foam that would distribute the air without blocking too much of it. Perhaps fins in the channel? I am not a fluids expert. There may be some M.E.s here who are. Before you get too married to any particular design, I suggest you get one of the candidate fans and play with it before cutting metal. You could determine how it reacts to the planned loading by a rough mock-up, perhaps made of wood.
Bruce
Very interesting concept! Still beautiful! Are the fans bolted to the top cover? I probably should be able to tell from your beautiful drawings, but I am slow today. If so, they will have to be connectorized, of course, but that shouldn't be a big deal.
I would be surprised if you can find a foam that would distribute the air without blocking too much of it. Perhaps fins in the channel? I am not a fluids expert. There may be some M.E.s here who are. Before you get too married to any particular design, I suggest you get one of the candidate fans and play with it before cutting metal. You could determine how it reacts to the planned loading by a rough mock-up, perhaps made of wood.
Bruce
Thank you very much! The fans are bolted to a plate, then that plate is bolted to the top cover. The reason i did that was a CNC mill would not be able to create that enclosed area. Also good for cleaning if there's any dust stuck up in there. I didn't illustrate any of the holes for mounting the plate/fan assembly to the top cover.
Fins are a good idea for spreading the air equally. I had another drawing that ended up getting more complicated and beyond my knowledge of
air flow practices. To many organic shapes haha. The layout pictured should be able to easily use a fin feature inside the channel.
That would be smart. I will definitely be making a model in the shop before committing to an aluminum version.