Molded Heat Spreaders with Insert Molding for Precision
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat spreader manufacturing techniques limit the precision, complexity, and size of designs, inhibiting the development of new integrated circuit (IC) package designs due to high tonnage presses being expensive and constrained by large manufacturing tolerances, and alternative methods like welding or brazing are costly and lack precision.
Innovation Solution
The use of molded heat spreaders fabricated through insert-molding technology, allowing for larger and more complex designs with higher precision and lower costs, achieved by placing inserts in a mold and injecting a molding material that sets to form a unitary heat spreader with cavities and inserts, enabling thermal management and mechanical stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If stamping a simple shape into a metal blank is used, then manufacturing is simple, but manufacturing precision and design complexity are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The heat spreader is divided into a base layer and multiple insert components that can be independently manufactured and then assembled. The inserts are placed into cavities in the base during molding, allowing complex features to be created through assembly rather than single-step stamping, thereby improving precision while managing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Inserts are pre-formed separately and then placed into the mold cavities before the final molding process. This preliminary preparation of components allows for higher precision manufacturing of individual parts that are subsequently assembled into the final complex heat spreader design.
2Manufacturing precision
If high tonnage presses are used for stamping, then manufacturing capability is achieved, but cost increases and manufacturing tolerances are large
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the heat spreader into a base and separate inserts, the manufacturing process avoids the need for high-tonnage presses required for single-step stamping of complex shapes. Each component can be manufactured using lower-tonnage, more precise processes, and then assembled together, reducing both cost and improving tolerances.
Solution Approach 2:
The manufacturing approach changes from high-pressure stamping to a molding process with insert placement. This parameter change in the manufacturing method enables achieving tighter tolerances at lower cost by using mold cavities to define precise geometries rather than relying on press force and tooling wear.
3Manufacturing precision
If welding or brazing is used to create complex designs, then design complexity is achieved, but cost increases and precision is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple components (base and inserts) are merged into a single unitary structure through the molding process. The inserts are permanently embedded in the base material during molding, creating an integrated assembly that eliminates the need for separate welding or brazing operations, thereby maintaining precision and reducing cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The molding material acts as an intermediary that bonds the inserts to the base. Instead of using thermal processes like welding or brazing, the molding material flows around and secures the inserts in place, providing precise positioning and strong attachment without the heat-affected zones and tolerances associated with joining processes.
4Area of stationary object
If traditional stamping is used, then manufacturing is simple, but heat spreader size and footprint are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The heat spreader design is segmented into a base and multiple inserts, allowing the overall footprint to be expanded without proportionally increasing manufacturing complexity. Inserts can be placed in specific locations to create large-area heat spreaders with localized functional features, maintaining manufacturing simplicity while increasing size.
Solution Approach 2:
Complexity is moved from the two-dimensional stamping process to the three-dimensional arrangement of inserts within mold cavities. This allows for larger footprints and more intricate designs by utilizing vertical placement and complex cavity geometries in the molding process rather than attempting to stamp complex 2D shapes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables the production of heat spreaders with larger footprints and more intricate designs, providing enhanced thermal management and mechanical stability, reducing production costs and improving manufacturing throughput, while maintaining precision and reducing weight for improved reliability.
Implementation Method 1
a molding material disposed between the first and second inserts and coupled with the first side and the second side, the molding material forming at least a portion of a side wall of the first cavity and at least a portion of a side wall of the second cavity
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present disclosure describe techniques and configurations for molded heat spreaders. In some embodiments, a heat spreader includes a first insert having a first face and a first side, the first face positioned to form a bottom surface of a first cavity, and a second insert having a second face and a second side, the second face positioned to form a bottom surface of a second cavity. The second cavity may have a depth that is different from a depth of the first cavity. The heat spreader may further include a molding material disposed between the first and second inserts and coupled with the first side and the second side, the molding material forming at least a portion of a side wall of the first cavity and at least a portion of a side wall of the second cavity. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.