Homemade Heatsink

[madhorizons]

Anyone know of a safe & effective way to make a heatsink? I am trying to get my hilt "live" before Mar 29 and a heatsink is the last piece of my puzzle. The inner diameter is 1" and the hilt is made out of aluminum. I know that finned probably won't do a lot of good.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v694/madhorizons/My%20Nihilus/hilt4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v694/madhorizons/My%20Nihilus/hilt1.jpg

I also have to figure out how long of a screw I need to retain said heatsink. I will be using quick-change kit.

[grayven]

I saw somewhere someone make one out of stacked washers.

That's all I got

Grayven

[sekrogue1985]

what ultrasabers's uses on as their heatsink on the stunt saber line are easy to find just and nice and small perfect for sabers that have a specific size restraint. but yeah i've found them at various electronic places and online.

[Arm on Fire]

Madhorizons check your PM's

[ArkaiHalon]

I'm still working on that problem for my Jedi Dooku.
If ya don't mind, lemme know what you figure out. I've got about the same amount of area to play with.

[Novastar]

In general, since most sabers will NOT have a way to have "airflow" over the heatsink, it's true--fins are not needed.

Eandori was the one to really bat that one home for me... I mean, DUH... what was I *thinking* long ago, assuming fins were ideal (for this application)... but with no source of moving air over the sink... it doesn't matter.

SO... what is ideal in a situation where air is NOT really moving over/blowing onto the sink = more metal!

The bigger chunk of aluminum (or copper), the better.

Granted, it is also a question of that chunk being "too narrow/long" to be effective (at least in the last portion of the sink)... or for it being "too wide/thick".

Mostly, I think very few saber-makers will need to worry about a sink being overly-thick... but, it IS possible that making a 3/4" OD solid chunk that is (say) 4" long... well... the 4" long thing might be too much, and ineffective.

Personally, I think you'd get away with a nice solid chunk as such:
3/4" OD
Solid chunk (aluminum or copper)
2" length maximum, but could be shorter, depending on the LED
Top of sink "lapped" a bit (so, polished shiny)
thermal conductive paste/adhesive/whatever you like
good pressure keeping the LED pressed tight to sink

Finally--what would REALLY be incredible is a heatsink that is essentially THE ENTIRE EMITTER or top portion of the saber hilt. Would pretty much have to be all one piece, or at least a REALLY tight pressure fit in the long run. Tim's MHS parts essentially can act this way, but only to a point, since the heatsink is a separate part.

This is by no means a "scientific" outlook on heatsinks... just the general idea. Anyone would be safe to just trust Tim's awesome work, purchase the items, and go from there. If the heatsink is too wide, cutting it to size might still be ok.

[BhujangiJedi]

I put my MHS in a bag (cloth storage/carrying bag) and the switch got hit. I don't know how long it was on, but it was in the trunk of my car for a 2 hr drive. When I took it out, almost the entire hilt was too hot to hold - not too hot to pick up, but if you were to continuously hold it for more than 10-15 seconds, the heat would be painful.

Luckily, nothing got fried, but being on for a long time and being slightly insulated in the bag made it get hot. Why is it relevant to this thread... well, I think the distribution of heat throughout the hilt and blade-holder illustrate some fairly effective heatsinking action of all the MHS parts. The batteries (4xAA NiMh) were only warm when I pulled them out, not hot like the hilt, so all the heat was from the LED, and the heatsink and all the aluminum parts connected to it did a good job of distributing the heat.

[madhorizons]

Thanks all. Good info Novastar.