Topic: DYI Mini Heatskinks for micro controler, ASIC and other projects (Read 620 times)

thats a pretty cool idea  i was once thinking of buying (rectangle) profiles with fins on the sides and cut them into pieces. Never thought of an old psu.. 

 I noticed quite a few miners are dabbling with cooling down some of the little things that matter.such as a raspberry pi,  beaglebone, USB Stick miner etc. I've seen some pretty narly jerry rig setups, heatsinks larger then the device just teetering.  Legos and heatsinks fuck you name it it's done.

Sick part is some of the ones who are modding are spending way more money then need be spent on smaller heatsinks and fans that can be found free in certain situations. I scrap my old dead hardware anyway so basically for me I'm just useing already on hand parts.

Heatsinks are super easy to file, cut,  grind and smooth.  With a little stick time with your machine or hand tool of choice you can be cooling down the whole operation in no time. Along side dead mother board heatsinks or other. You will also find PSU's give you a sweet block of metal to work with.



These are two examples of what you will find.  The one next to the dime is a fantastic way to start. You can cut through the metal with a hand saw.  Or use dremel or alternate cutting tools.  To size them down you can cut,  buff at speed or saw.  You will be needing a strong but not heavy grit sand paper to be tidy

That heatsink will make about 14 smaller heatsinks.  Adafruit is selling smaller heatsinks for up to $3.00. 


Now the bottom heatsink in the photo is another story. You can work with them to make your own custom job.  These I've always found in older or smaller wattage psus. So if you are in a hurry to get something attached quickly.  This is a no.