Method of fabricating a heat sink

Abstract: In fabricating a heat sink from a blank comprising a base plate portion, and a fin-forming portion to be cut and provided on at least one side of the base plate portion by cutting the fin-forming portion to a raised form to make a plurality of fins, an object of the invention is to reduce the likelihood of producing burrs which are difficult to remove when the base plate portion is drilled while assuring the base plate portion of suitable machinability to render the heat sink less costly to manufacture. In a heat sink 1 having a plurality of fins 3 and fabricated from a blank 11 comprising a base plate portion 12, and a fin-forming portion 13 to be cut and provided on at least one side of the base plate portion 12 by cutting the fin-forming portion 13 to a raised form to make the fins 3, the above object can be fulfilled by using as the heat sink blank 11 an aluminum or aluminum alloy extrudate having a Vickers hardness of 40 to 65.

Description: The present invention relates to a method of fabricating heat sinks according to the preamble of claim 1. Heat sinks are generally used in recent years as devices for dissipating the heat released by heat-generating electronic components, such as semiconductors, incorporated in electronic devices, into the atmosphere outside the device. Such heat sinks already known comprise a base plate, and a plurality of fins formed on at least one surface of the base plate by cutting to a raised form (see JP-A-62 203 630). In fabricating the heat sink from a blank comprising a base plate portion, and a fin-forming portion to be cut and formed on at least one side of the base plate portion, the fin-forming portion of the blank is cut to a raised form to make the fins. Bolt holes or screw holes are also formed in the base plate portion for use in attaching the heat sink to an electronic device or the like. The problem involved with this previous method consists in that it is difficult to perform the cutting procedure in such way, that the fins have a uniform height. Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of producing a heat sink of the above mentioned kind in which variations are less likely to occur in the height of the resulting fins. According to the present invention this object is solved by the characterizing features of claim 1. . FIG. 4 shows the relationships of the hardness (Vickers hardness) of the heat sink blank with the machinability of the blank (ease of cutting of the fin-forming portion) and with the properties of burrs produced. FIG. 4 indicates the machinability by a broken line (A), the properties of burrs by a chain line (B) and the sum of the two items by a solid line (A)+(B). FIG. 4 reveals that both the machinability and the properties of burrs produced are in a suitable range when the hardness Hv of the heat sink blank is in the range of 40 to 65. With the heat sink of the present invention, the blank can be easily cut to form the raised fins and drilled without producing burrs having such properties that they require removal work or are difficult to remove, whereby a rise in manufacturing cost can be suppressed. The extrudate for use in fabricating the heat sink of the invention preferably has an aluminum alloy composition comprising 0.2 to 0.6 wt. % of Si, 0.45 to 0.9 wt. % of Mg, and the balance A1 and inevitable impurities. If the Si content is less than 0.2 wt. % and the Mg content, less than 0.45 wt. %, the extrudate fails to have sufficient strength as the material, whereas if the Si content is over 0.6 wt. %, with the Mg content in excess of 0.9 wt. %, reduced productivity will result due to an increased load involved in extrusion. Further if in an amount of more than 0.9 wt. %, Mg forms a solid solution in aluminum, causing the distortion of the lattice structure of aluminum and impeding the passage of free electrons to result in lower thermal conductivity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heat sink embodying the invention; FIG. 2 illustrates a step included in the method of fabricating the heat sink of the invention and is a perspective view showing the heat sink blank to be used; FIG. 3 is a side elevation showing another step included in the method of fabrication, i.e., the step of cutting a fin-forming portion of the heat sink blank to a raised form; and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationships of the hardness of the heat sink blank with the machinability of the blank and the properties of burrs produced. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGS. 1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 1 showing a heat sink of the invention, the heat sink 1 comprises a base plate 2, and a plurality of parallel fins 3 formed on the upper surface of the base plate 2 except the peripheral portion thereof. Each fin 3 is in the form of a circular-arc plate elongated transversely of the base plate 2 and slightly bulging rearward in cross section. The fin 3 has two slits 31 extending vertically from its upper edge as if dividing the fin into three portions as arranged transversely of the base plate 2. A bolt hole 4 is formed in each of the four corners of the base plate 2 for inserting a bolt therethrough to attach the heat sink 1 to an electronic component. Next, a method of fabricating the heat sink 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. Prepared first is a heat sink blank 11 as shown in FIG. 2. The blank 11 comprises a base plate portion 12, and a fin-forming portion 13 to be cut and provided on the upper side of the base plate portion 12. The fin-forming portion 13 has a slightly smaller width than the base plate portion 12 and two grooves 131 spaced apart by a predetermined distance and extending longitudinally of the base plate portion 12. These grooves 131 serve to form the slits 31 in the fins 3 to be obtained. The grooves 131 also serve to hold therein the cutting oil to be supplied when the fin-forming portion 13 is cut to a raised form as will be described below, whereby the portion 13 can be cut smoothly. The heat sink blank 11 is made of an aluminum alloy extrudate having a Vickers hardness Hv of 50 and comprising 0.6 wt. % of Si, 0.5 wt. % of Mg, and the balance A1 and inevitable impurities. The hardness was adjusted by aging the extrudate (at 230° C for 5 hours) after the extrusion. The arrow A shown in FIG. 2 indicates the direction of extrusion. The fin-forming portion 13 of the blank 11 is then cut to a raised form by using a cutting tool 5 or the like as shown in FIG. 3, whereby the fins 3 are formed. The portion 13 is cut in the same direction B as the direction of extrusion A. The fins 3 can be formed by this step very smoothly with high precision because the heat sink blank 11 is made of an aluminum alloy extrudate having the foregoing hardness and composition and also because the fin-forming portion 13 is cut toward the same direction B as the extrusion direction A. Finally, the base plate portion 12 of the blank 11 is drilled at its four corners as by a drill or press machine to form the bolt holes 4 (see FIG. 1). The inner peripheries of the base plate portion 12 which define the bolt holes 4 thus formed are free from burrs having such properties that they require deburring work or are difficult to remove since the aluminum alloy extrudate providing the blank 11 was adjusted to the aforementioned hardness.

Claims: A method of fabricating a heat sink (1) comprising a base plate (2) and a plurality of parallel fins (3) from a heat sink blank (11), which comprises a base plate portion (12) and a fin-forming portion (13) that is provided on at least one side of the base plate portion (12), wherein the heat sink blank (11) is made of an aluminum material and the fin-forming portion (13) is cut to a raised form to make the fins (3), characterized in that the heat sink blank (11) is made of an aluminum or aluminum alloy extrudate having a Vickers hardness (Hv) of 40 to 65, and the fin-forming portion (13) of said extrudate is cut in the same direction as the direction of extrusion (A) of the extrudate to form the fins (3). The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the extrudate has an aluminum alloy composition comprising 0,2 to 0,6 wt. % of Si, 0,45 to 0,9 wt % of Mg, and the balance A1 and inevitable impurities.

Inventors: OHTA KEIICHIRO, OHTA, KEIICHIRO
Applicants: SHOWA DENKO KK, SHOWA DENKO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 2000
Main classification: H01L21
IPC codes: H01L23, B23P15