What is a Heat Sink?

What Are Heat Sinks?

Heat sinks are passive cooling components that dissipate heat from electronic devices or systems that generate high heat loads, such as computers, servers, and industrial equipment. Main heat sink components include a base and a series of fins made from high thermal conductivity materials like aluminum or copper. By carrying heat to the surrounding air, heat sinks ensure high thermal performance and prevent system failure or damage.

Board-Level Stamped Cooling Solutions

Stamped Heat Sinks are a cost-effective solution that add surface area to increase heat transfer for board level products. These heat sinks are formed through progressive punching processes, where details and features are progressively added with each stamp of sheet metal going through the punching die. Stamped Heat Sinks are designed for specific electronic package types to ensure optimized fit and function. These heat sinks come in a variety of mounting methods, including solder tabs and pins, interference fit with the device through integrated clips or slide-on features, or through-hole hardware like screws and nuts. Most Stamped Heat Sinks are available with a finish to improve heat radiation and thermal performance for natural convection applications.

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Folded Fin Stock

Folded Fin Stock is manufactured in a progressive stamping process that folds sheet metals into fin stacks that increases surface area to improve cooling when used as heat transfer fins. Boyd varies heat transfer fin material, configuration, thickness, and density to boost the performance of other thermal management technologies including heat exchangers, heat sinks, and vacuum brazed cold plates. Our manufacturing flexibility and thermal innovation allows us to extend thermal performance of existing cooling technologies in an application, negating the need to transition to next level cooling technologies for increasing heat loads.

Solder Anchors

Solder Anchors are wire loops used to lock down heat sinks with spring clips, such as Z-Clips, to the printed circuit board (PCB). Solder Anchors are soldered directly into the PCB and enable secure mounting for rugged applications and easy maintenance rework. When used in conjunction with Z-Clips, Solder Anchors improve thermal contact between the heat sink and device, reduce thermal interface resistance, and minimize keep out areas.

Card Ejectors & Pullers

PCB card ejectors, pullers, and snap-on hardware aid safe card insertion and extraction. PCB cards, their components, and connectors are less frequently damaged during extraction from PC boards when using appropriate ejector, puller, and extractor hardware. Single piece snap-on PCB Ejectors and Pullers reduce assembly time and complexity and are excellent for retrofit applications.

Heat Shields

Boyd Heat Shields are a cost-efficient way to protect electronics and devices from environmental heat by absorbing, dissipating, or reflecting heat away from the application. Heat Shields are ideal to optimize applications that need to be lightweight and compact as they are extremely low profile, reliable, light weight and flexible. Heat shields are a low cost, high value integration to optimize thermal management systems.