The mainstream DIY process in CPU radiator – aluminum profile (aluminum extrusion) process

Aluminum extrusion technology is a relatively mature technology in the production process of CPU heat sinks. It is mainly used for the processing of aluminum alloy materials because aluminum alloy materials have relatively low density and strong plasticity. It is suitable for extrusion technology. However, with the continuous increase of CPU main frequency, the continuous development of CPU manufacturing technology, the improvement of integration, and the increase in heat generation, in order to achieve better heat dissipation effect, the volume of heat sinks using extrusion technology has been continuously increased, which has brought many problems to the installation of heat sinks. In addition, the effective heat dissipation area of heat sinks made by this process is limited. In order to achieve better heat dissipation effect, the fan air volume must be increased, and increasing the fan air volume will generate greater noise. Therefore, the aluminum profile copper inlay technology process was produced, which is what we often call the copper plugging process.

The process is to mill a hole at the bottom of the aluminum extruded heat sink with a diameter of D, then heat it, and then put a copper column with a diameter slightly larger than D into the hole of the aluminum heat sink (because of thermal expansion and contraction, the copper column can be put in after heating), and finally cool the whole thing, so that the copper column is tightly clamped by the aluminum heat sink, relying on mechanical stress to achieve a better combination between copper and aluminum. The copper inlay process improves the performance of aluminum extruded heat sinks, but also increases the complexity of the process and processing costs.