Conformal cold plate for 3D printed PCB (Printed Circuit Board)

Abstract

The embodiment of the utility model provides a shape follow-up cold plate for a 3D printed PCB, and the cold plate comprises a cold plate main body which is provided with a liquid inlet, a liquid outlet, and an internal flow channel communicated with the liquid inlet and the liquid outlet. The cold plate body is provided with a plurality of receding cavities used for covering all electronic devices of the PCB, and the internal flow channel is located above all the receding cavities and flows through all the receding cavities to cool all the electronic devices of the PCB. The cold plate body is integrally formed through 3D printing, the quality is high, and the high-precision conformal cold plate matched with the PCB can be obtained; according to the cold plate, the plurality of receding cavities are integrally formed in the cold plate main body and are used for adapting to the height of each electronic device on the PCB, so that the heat dissipation requirements of the electronic devices with different heights on the PCB can be better met, and the cold plate can be more flexibly adapted to different application scenes; a plurality of single cold plates do not need to be manufactured independently, manufacturing cost is reduced, and maintenance difficulty is lowered.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of chip heat dissipation technology, specifically to a conformal cold plate for 3D printed PCB boards. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of high-performance computing, a typical heat dissipation solution is to use liquid cooling plates to dissipate heat from high-performance chips, while using air cooling to dissipate heat from other components on the server motherboard. However, in some high-density servers, due to limited ventilation, components such as memory, network chips, storage chips, and power supply bricks may not be able to achieve efficient heat dissipation, thereby affecting the stability of server operation.

[0003] Currently, the mainstream heat dissipation solutions in the industry include: hybrid heat dissipation solutions of liquid cooling plates and fan modules, split liquid cooling plate heat dissipation solutions, and liquid cooling plate and heat dissipation module assembly heat dissipation solutions. However, for PCB circuit boards with a large number of components of different heights, the hybrid heat dissipation solution of liquid cooling plates and fan modules is difficult to deploy in the confined space of high-density servers. As for the split liquid cooling plate heat dissipation solution and the liquid cooling plate and heat dissipation assembly heat dissipation solution, if liquid cooling is to be achieved for components of different heights at the same time, a large number of individual cold plates or heat dissipation assemblies of different specifications need to be designed. The overall solution has high design complexity, high manufacturing cost, high maintenance difficulty, and relatively low overall heat dissipation efficiency. Utility Model Content

[0004] This application provides a 3D-printed conformal cold plate for PCB boards to solve the problems of existing liquid cooling solutions requiring a large number of individual cold plates of different specifications, resulting in high manufacturing costs and difficult maintenance when dissipating heat from PCB circuit boards of components of different heights.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following technical solution:

[0006] A conformal cold plate for 3D printed PCBs, comprising:

[0007] The cold plate body is provided with a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet, as well as an internal flow channel communicating with the liquid inlet and the liquid outlet;

[0008] The main body of the cold plate is provided with several clearance cavities for covering the electronic components of the PCB board. The internal flow channel is located above all the clearance cavities and flows through each of the clearance cavities to cool the electronic components of the PCB board.

[0009] Optionally, the internal flow channel includes:

[0010] The system includes an inlet channel, an outlet channel, and a parallel channel. The inlet channel is connected to the inlet port, the outlet channel is connected to the outlet port, the inlet end of the parallel channel is connected to the inlet channel, and the outlet end of the parallel channel is connected to the outlet channel.

[0011] Optionally, the relief cavity includes:

[0012] The system comprises a first storage module cavity, a first computing chip cavity, a first memory module cavity, a first communication expansion module cavity, a second storage module cavity, a second computing chip cavity, a second memory module cavity, a second communication expansion module cavity, a motherboard chipset cavity, a management chip cavity, and a power supply module cavity.

[0013] Optionally, the first storage module cavity, the first computing chip cavity, the first memory module cavity, and the first communication expansion module cavity are located on the first transverse side of the cold plate body;

[0014] The second storage module cavity, the second computing chip cavity, and the second communication expansion module cavity are located on the second transverse side of the cold plate body;

[0015] The second memory module cavity, the motherboard chipset cavity, the management chip cavity, and the power supply module cavity are located in the middle of the cold plate body.

[0016] Optionally, the parallel flow channel includes:

[0017] The first branch channel and the second branch channel flow sequentially through the first storage module cavity, the first computing chip cavity, the first memory module cavity, the first communication expansion module cavity, the power supply module and the second communication expansion module cavity.

[0018] The second branch flows sequentially through the second memory module cavity, the motherboard chipset cavity, the second computing chip cavity, and the second communication expansion module cavity; the second branch extends via a heat pipe to the corresponding management chip cavity.

[0019] Optionally, the first branch channel, the second branch channel, and the liquid outlet channel converge above the cavity of the second communication expansion module.

[0020] Optionally, the liquid outlet channel flows through the second storage module cavity.

[0021] Optionally, a thermally conductive silicone grease layer is provided at the top of the cavity of each of the relief cavities.

[0022] Optionally, the first storage module cavity, the first memory module cavity, and the first communication expansion module cavity are arranged sequentially along the longitudinal direction of the cold plate body, and the first storage module cavity is located close to the liquid inlet.

[0023] Optionally, the second storage module cavity, the second computing chip cavity, and the second communication expansion module cavity are arranged sequentially along the longitudinal direction of the cold plate body, and the second storage module cavity is located close to the liquid outlet;

[0024] And / or, the second memory module cavity, the motherboard chipset cavity, the management chip cavity, and the power supply module cavity are arranged sequentially along the longitudinal direction of the cold plate body, and the second memory module cavity is located near the liquid inlet.

[0025] The conformal cold plate for 3D printed PCBs provided in this application includes: a cold plate body, which has an inlet and an outlet, and an internal flow channel communicating with the inlet and outlet; the cold plate body has several clearance cavities for covering the electronic components of the PCB, and the internal flow channel is located above all the clearance cavities and flows through each clearance cavity to cool the electronic components of the PCB.

[0026] The conformal cold plate for PCB boards produced by 3D printing, as provided in this application embodiment, has the following technical advantages compared to the prior art:

[0027] The main body of the cold plate is 3D printed in one piece, resulting in a high-precision conformal cold plate that fits the PCB board. Several clearance cavities are integrally formed on the main body of the cold plate to accommodate the height of various electronic components on the PCB board, which can better meet the heat dissipation requirements of electronic components of different heights on the PCB board and more flexibly adapt to different application scenarios. It eliminates the need to manufacture several individual cold plates separately, reducing manufacturing costs and maintenance difficulty. Attached Figure Description

[0028] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of this application and form part of this application, illustrate exemplary embodiments and are used to explain this application, but do not constitute an undue limitation of this application. In the drawings:

[0029] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a conformal cold plate for a PCB board provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0030] Figure 2 A left view of a conformal cold plate for a PCB board provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0031] Figure 3 A front view of a conformal cold plate for a PCB board provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0032] Figure 4 This is a rear view of a conformal cold plate for a PCB board provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0033] The following labels are shown in the attached diagram:

[0034] 100mm conformal cold-rolled steel plate;

[0035] The components include: a cold plate body 1, a liquid inlet 2, a liquid outlet 3, a liquid inlet channel 4, a liquid outlet channel 5, a first branch channel 61, a second branch channel 62, a first storage module cavity 7, a first computing chip cavity 8, a first memory module cavity 9, a first communication expansion module cavity 10, a second memory module cavity 11, a motherboard chipset cavity 12, a management chip cavity 13, a power supply module cavity 14, a second storage module cavity 15, a second computing chip cavity 16, a second communication expansion module cavity 17, a thermal grease layer 18, and a heat pipe 19. Detailed Implementation

[0036] This utility model discloses a 3D-printed conformal cold plate for PCB boards, which solves the problems of existing liquid cooling solutions requiring a large number of individual cold plates of different specifications, resulting in high manufacturing costs and difficult maintenance when dissipating heat from PCB boards of components of different heights.

[0037] To make the technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of this application clearer, the exemplary embodiments of this application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not an exhaustive list of all embodiments. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of this application can be combined with each other.

[0038] Please see Figure 1-4 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a conformal cold plate for a PCB board provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 2 A left view of a conformal cold plate for a PCB board provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 A front view of a conformal cold plate for a PCB board provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 4 This is a rear view of a conformal cold plate for a PCB board provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0039] In one specific embodiment, the conformal cold plate 100 for 3D printed PCB boards provided in this application includes a cold plate body 1, on which liquid inlet 2 and liquid outlet 3 are respectively provided, as well as an internal flow channel communicating with the liquid inlet 2 and liquid outlet 3; the cold plate body 1 is provided with a plurality of clearance cavities for covering the various electronic components of the PCB board, and the internal flow channel is located above all the clearance cavities and flows through each clearance cavity to cool the various electronic components of the PCB board.

[0040] The cold plate body 1 has a liquid inlet 2, a liquid outlet 3, and an internal flow channel. The two ends of the internal flow channel are connected to the liquid inlet 2 and the liquid outlet 3, respectively. The liquid inlet 2 and the liquid outlet 3 are connected to an external cold source, and the internal heat of the cold plate body 1 is carried away through the internal flow channel. The liquid inlet 2 and the liquid outlet 3 are preferably located on the same side of the cold plate body 1 to optimize the structure of the cold plate body 1 and facilitate manufacturing. The internal flow channel is located above all the clearance cavities, and preferably at the same thickness layer as the cold plate body 1, to facilitate the flow of coolant within the cold plate body 1. The clearance cavities are 3D printed according to the height and shape of the various electronic components on the PCB board, and can be set as rectangular or cylindrical cavities, depending on the requirements; further details are omitted here.

[0041] The main body of the cold plate 1 is 3D printed in one piece, resulting in a high-precision conformal cold plate 100 that fits the PCB board. Several clearance cavities are integrally formed on the main body of the cold plate 1 to accommodate the height of various electronic components on the PCB board, which can better meet the heat dissipation requirements of electronic components of different heights on the PCB board and more flexibly adapt to different application scenarios. It eliminates the need to manufacture several individual cold plates separately, reducing manufacturing costs and maintenance difficulty.

[0042] Specifically, the internal flow channels include an inlet flow channel 4, an outlet flow channel 5, and parallel flow channels. The inlet flow channel 4 is connected to the inlet port 2, the outlet flow channel 5 is connected to the outlet port 3, the inlet end of the parallel flow channels is connected to the inlet flow channel 4, and the outlet end of the parallel flow channels is connected to the outlet flow channel 5. This configuration allows for appropriate flow channel settings based on the location of each electronic component, ensuring synchronous cooling of all components and further improving cooling efficiency.

[0043] In this embodiment, the clearance cavity includes a first storage module cavity 7, a first computing chip cavity 8, a first memory module cavity 9, a first communication expansion module cavity 10, a second storage module cavity 15, a second computing chip cavity 16, a second memory module cavity 11, a second communication expansion module cavity 17, a motherboard chipset cavity 12, a management chip cavity 13, and a power supply module cavity 14. It can be understood that the PCB board is provided with a first storage module, a first computing chip, a first memory module, a first communication expansion module, a second storage module, a second computing chip, a second memory module, a second communication expansion module, a motherboard chipset, a management chip, and a power supply module; correspondingly, the clearance cavity is provided with a cavity corresponding to the above electronic components. The specific location and number of clearance cavities can be set according to the actual location and number of electronic components on the PCB board.

[0044] Furthermore, the first storage module cavity 7, the first computing chip cavity 8, the first memory module cavity 9, and the first communication expansion module cavity 10 are located on the first horizontal side of the cold plate body 1; the second storage module cavity 15, the second computing chip cavity 16, and the second communication expansion module cavity 17 are located on the second horizontal side of the cold plate body 1; the second memory module cavity 11, the motherboard chipset cavity 12, the management chip cavity 13, and the power supply module cavity 14 are located in the middle horizontal side of the cold plate body 1.

[0045] On the one hand, the first storage module cavity 7, the first computing chip cavity 8, the first memory module cavity 9 and the first communication expansion module cavity 10 are arranged sequentially along the longitudinal direction of the cold plate body 1, and the first storage module cavity 7 is located close to the liquid inlet 2.

[0046] On the other hand, the second storage module cavity 15, the second computing chip cavity 16, and the second communication expansion module cavity 17 are arranged sequentially along the longitudinal direction of the cold plate body 1, and the second storage module cavity 15 is located near the liquid outlet 3.

[0047] And / or, the second memory module cavity 11, the motherboard chipset cavity 12, the management chip cavity 13 and the power supply module cavity 14 are arranged sequentially along the longitudinal direction of the cold plate body 1, and the second memory module cavity 11 is located near the liquid inlet 2.

[0048] Each set of clearance cavities is arranged longitudinally in sequence, namely, the first storage module cavity 7, the first computing chip cavity 8, the first memory module cavity 9, and the first communication expansion module cavity 10 are arranged longitudinally in sequence, the second storage module cavity 15, the second computing chip cavity 16, and the second communication expansion module cavity 17 are arranged longitudinally in sequence, and the second memory module cavity 11, the motherboard chipset cavity 12, the management chip cavity 13, and the power supply module cavity 14 are arranged longitudinally in sequence; optionally, the first storage module cavity 7 is located near the liquid inlet 2, the second storage module cavity 15 is located near the liquid outlet 3, and the second memory module cavity 11 is located near the liquid inlet 2.

[0049] The main body of the cold plate 1 is tightly connected to the outer shell of the device by a thermally conductive silicone grease layer 18, which improves the heat exchange efficiency through the external environment; at the same time, the inner top of each clearance cavity is provided with a thermally conductive silicone grease layer 18 to further facilitate heat exchange and improve the heat exchange efficiency.

[0050] Furthermore, the parallel flow channel includes a first branch flow channel 61 and a second branch flow channel 62. The first branch flow channel 61 flows sequentially through the first storage module cavity 7, the first computing chip cavity 8, the first memory module cavity 9, the first communication expansion module cavity 10, the power supply module, and the second communication expansion module cavity 17.

[0051] The second branch channel 62 flows sequentially through the second memory module cavity 11, the motherboard chipset cavity 12, the second computing chip cavity 16, and the second communication expansion module cavity 17; the second branch channel 62 extends via the heat pipe 19 to the corresponding management chip cavity 13; this arrangement allows the parallel channels to flow through the center of the electronic components as much as possible, based on the placement of each electronic component on the PCB board, while maximizing the contact area with the electronic components and improving heat exchange efficiency; the flow channel arrangement is optimized, and the heat pipe 19 is used for heat exchange in the management chip cavity 13. The heat pipe 19 is connected to the second branch channel 62 to achieve heat exchange; the heat pipe 19 can be a metal pipe, which is not connected to the second branch channel 62 to ensure normal flow of coolant within the parallel channels.

[0052] In one alternative embodiment, the first branch channel 61, the second branch channel 62, and the liquid outlet channel 5 converge above the second communication expansion module cavity 17. When the cavity is far from the water inlet, the cooling efficiency of the second communication expansion module cavity is further improved by increasing the heat exchange area through the convergence of the pipelines.

[0053] In another embodiment, the liquid outlet channel 5 flows through the second storage module cavity 15 to cool the second storage module cavity 15 while facilitating pipeline installation.

[0054] In one specific implementation, the process includes: producing a high-performance computing PCB circuit board; scanning the entire PCB circuit board using laser scanning technology and generating a three-dimensional model in a computer; constructing a fully fitted integral cold plate (conformal cold plate 100) in the three-dimensional model; producing the conformal cold plate 100 using digital metal processing technology; and assembling the conformal cold plate 100 with the high-performance computing PCB circuit board.

[0055] The external system's low-temperature water enters through the inlet 2 of the conformal cooling plate 100. The low-temperature water exchanges heat with the heating elements on the PCB board through specific flow channels within the conformal cooling plate 100. The high-temperature water, after heat exchange, connects to the external system through the outlet 3, completing the cooling process of the PCB board. Simultaneously, the conformal cooling plate 100 is tightly connected to the machine casing using a thermal pad with silicone grease, improving heat exchange efficiency through the external environment. Laser scanning allows for the adaptation of any PCB board structure to a perfectly fitted, integrated liquid cooling plate.

[0056] Although preferred embodiments of this application have been described, those skilled in the art, upon learning the basic inventive concept, can make other changes and modifications to these embodiments. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments as well as all changes and modifications falling within the scope of this application.

[0057] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this application without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Therefore, if such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application also intends to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A conformal cold plate for 3D printed PCBs, characterized in that, The application relates to a cold plate body, which is provided with an inlet and an outlet and an internal flow channel communicated with the inlet and the outlet. The cold plate body is provided with a plurality of accommodation cavities for accommodating electronic devices of a PCB, and the internal flow channel is located above all the accommodation cavities and flows through each accommodation cavity to cool the electronic devices of the PCB. The internal flow channel comprises an inlet flow channel, an outlet flow channel and a parallel flow channel.

2. The conformal cold plate for 3D printed PCB boards according to claim 1, characterized in that, The parallel flow channel is communicated with the inlet flow channel at an inlet end and communicated with the outlet flow channel at an outlet end. The accommodation cavities comprise a first storage module cavity, a first computing chip cavity, a first memory module cavity, a first communication expansion module cavity, a second storage module cavity, a second computing chip cavity, a second memory module cavity, a second communication expansion module cavity, a mainboard chip set cavity, a management chip cavity and a power supply module cavity.

3. The cold plate as claimed in claim 2, wherein, The first storage module cavity, the first computing chip cavity, the first memory module cavity and the first communication expansion module cavity are located on a first lateral side of the cold plate body. The second storage module cavity, the second computing chip cavity and the second communication expansion module cavity are located on a second lateral side of the cold plate body.

4. The conformal cold plate for 3D printed PCB boards according to claim 3, characterized in that, The second memory module cavity, the mainboard chip set cavity, the management chip cavity and the power supply module cavity are located in the middle of the cold plate body in the transverse direction. The parallel flow channel comprises a first branch flow channel and a second branch flow channel. The first branch flow channel sequentially flows through the first storage module cavity, the first computing chip cavity, the first memory module cavity, the first communication expansion module cavity, the power supply module and the second communication expansion module cavity.

5. The conformal cold plate for 3D printed PCB boards according to claim 4, characterized in that, The second branch flow channel sequentially flows through the second memory module cavity, the mainboard chip set cavity, the second computing chip cavity and the second communication expansion module cavity. The first branch flow channel, the second branch flow channel and the outlet flow channel converge above the second communication expansion module cavity. The outlet flow channel flows through the second storage module cavity.

6. The conformal cold plate for 3D printed PCB boards according to claim 5, characterized in that, A heat-conducting silicone grease layer is arranged on the inner top of each accommodation cavity.

7. The conformal cold plate for 3D printed PCB boards according to claim 6, characterized in that, The first storage module cavity, the first memory module cavity and the first communication expansion module cavity are sequentially arranged in the longitudinal direction of the cold plate body, and the first storage module cavity is arranged close to the inlet.

8. The conformal cold plate for 3D printed PCB boards of claim 1, wherein, The second storage module cavity, the second computing chip cavity and the second communication expansion module cavity are sequentially arranged in the longitudinal direction of the cold plate body, and the second storage module cavity is arranged close to the outlet.

9. The conformal cold plate for 3D printed PCB boards of claim 3, wherein, And / or, the second memory module cavity, the mainboard chip set cavity, the management chip cavity and the power supply module cavity are sequentially arranged in the longitudinal direction of the cold plate body, and the second memory module cavity is arranged close to the inlet.

10. The conformal cold plate for 3D printed PCB boards of claim 9, wherein, ​ ​

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