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Managing Heat in Your PCBs
July 11, 2018 | CML PCBEstimated reading time: Less than a minute
Electronics are designed and built to be sustainable, but where there is light there must be shadow and this shadow is called "heat" in electronics.
So how can we reduce the thermal stress on components to secure the safety and reliability of electronics?
In order to prevent the components from overheating, it is necessary to get rid of unwanted heat and cool them down. Thermal management is key for high powered components which generate a lot of heat such as: LED applications, voltage regulators or electronic motor controls.
One option of thermal management is to assemble a heat sink directly on components to absorb excessive heat. Overall, this procedure would mean additional effort during assembly.
Alternatively the PCB itself can be a cooling solution, for example by using laminates with high thermal conductivity (1−5 W/mK compared to 0,3 W/mK on standard FR-4).
About CML
CML offers various PCB solutions including aluminum substrate, copper substrate; flex on aluminium or copper, post bonded heatsinks, copper inlay, aluminium nitride inlay, thermal vias/microvias (drilled/lasered); heavy copper.
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