I have a wifi module and ethernet module and that are going hot. I want to use these modules for years. I think i have to stick a small heatsink on chip. Can I use thermal paste and stick it with hot glue? What do you suggest?
What are the actual chip temperatures?
Are you using the correct supply voltages?
For IC chips that aren't normally spec'd to need a heatsink, you can just use double sided thermal tape. It's neater than using thermal epoxy/glue.
jremington:
What are the actual chip temperatures?Are you using the correct supply voltages?
Yes I use correct power supply. It is hot but it doesn't burn I want to ensure long life time..
INTP:
For IC chips that aren't normally spec'd to need a heatsink, you can just use double sided thermal tape. It's neater than using thermal epoxy/glue.
Yes I was thinking about that.. but I don't know if this tape is strong enough to keep horizontally heat sink for years..
I use a curing heatsink paste. Once it sets, the heatsink is sort of permanently stuck to the chip. I do the same for putting heatsinks on raspberry pi's ICs etc. google this : "heatsink plaster" - "STARS-922". It's a small white coloured tube, like a toothpaste tube, with a yellow label on the front. It costs like a dollar or so on ebay.
I first take my mini-heatsink and then use acetone to remove the sticky tape from the underside of the heatsink. That's if the heatsink comes with sticky adhesive. I apply the heatsink paste to the top of the chip.... don't over-do it though. And then put the heatsink on the chip.....and then move the heatsink around a little with firm downward pressure, which basically smears the paste around the surfaces of both the chip and heatsink. Then allow a day or so to dry (cure). Once cured, it's best to not try remove the heatsink ever again, since the bond is quite strong.
dpiralis:
but I don't know if this tape is strong enough to keep horizontally heat sink for years..
No one can give you an answer. So I guess you can scrap the tape idea since you only want guarantees.
I use high temperature liquid steel glue/epoxy.
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Don't use hot melt glue, it just melts when the chip gets hot! I've used superglue (cyanoacrylate)
since it forms only a very thin layer and is quick and convenient to do, but I don't think its a good
way as it doesn't stick well to metal heatsinks.
The best approach is using a chip on a package designed for heat dissipation, for instance the L298
comes in a tabbed version, and a lot of modern SMT chips have thermal pads on their underside
to spread heat to the copper on the PCB.
Hello,
Thermal epoxy is probably the best, but thin layers of anything work not so bad either.
I did an experiment once with higher power LED's. One i glued onto a heat sink with thermal paste, the other i glued on with high temperature epoxy (Farenheit 11 i think it was) and it worked just as good. It has to be in a thin layer though.
I would not use any standard glue of any kind though unless i looked up the specs. That's because glue that is not made for high temperatures may not hold up well over time with constant thermal cycling. That's one reason why i would not use super glue unless it is a type spec'd for higher temperatures (there are different brands).
You could solder wire straps across the heatsink
MarkT:
And a lot of modern SMT chips have thermal pads on their underside
to spread heat to the copper on the PCB.
Maybe that is why PCB of ESP8266 is more hot than the chip.
Google 'Arctic-Silver', then go rob a bank......
arctic silver and arctic alumina (same company - ones slightly cheaper) are both available as 2-part epoxy.
Holding the heatsink on some other way and using thermal grease is always better than epoxy, in terms of heat transfer, but that isn't always a large portion of the effective thermal resistance.
stars-922, ebay for 1 dollar. But make sure to store it in some place that doesn't have much air (ie. seal it properly), since even if you put the cap back on firmly, the paste can cure inside its container tube after a period of time (resulting in a rock-hard tube of wasted material). But this issue is common for air-curing products contained in tooth-paste variety tubes.