The components recommended for heat-sinking are indicated by red square outlines in the images below.
Component 1:
This is the main switch chip which resides on the bottom side of the board.
Note that this part cannot be heat-sinked from the top side of the board because the CPU is in the way. See the image below.
Below are a few recommendations on how to heat-sink this part:
Recommendation 1-1:
If the 8MS-OEM board is mounted directly to a metal surface then use a thermal pad (such as Bergquist Gap-pad) between the chip and the metal surface. Here are some general guidelines for optimizing the heat transfer:
• The thinner the gap-pad the better. The thickness usually depends on the standoff height.
• Use a combination of gap-pads or sil-pads and aluminum plates to minimize the thickness of the gap pads. For example, use a thin sil-pad (or thermal grease) between an aluminum block and the mounting surface. Then use a gap-pad between the aluminum block and the chip.
• Make the mounting surface aluminum as opposed to steel for the best heat transfer. Aluminum transfers heat 3 to 5 times better than steel.
• The thicker the metal of the mounting surface the better its ability to absorb and draw the heat away from the chip.
Recommendation 1-2:
If the 8MS-OEM board is mounted to another board then there are two main possibilities for heat-sinking:
Option 1-2A:
Put a hole in the mating board as shown in the image below. Note: The hole does not need to be as big as shown. Then use thermal gap-pads and/or aluminum blocks to heatsink the chip to the mounting surface as described in recommendation 1.
Option 1-2B:
Put a copper pad on the mating board directly below the switch chip. This copper pad should be on the top and bottom of the mating board and connected with lots of thru-hole vias. Then use gap-pads and/or aluminum blocks between the chip and the mating board, and between the mating board and the mounting surface. This will allow the heat to transfer from the chip to the mounting surface.
Component 2:
If 5V version of the 8MS-OEM is used then it is recommended to also heat-sink the power supply components indicated in the image below.
These can be heat-sinked from the top side or the bottom side of the board using thermal gap-pads, aluminum blocks or traditional finned heat sinks.
Disclaimer
It is the customer's responsibility to review the advice provided herein and its applicability to the system. Red Lion makes no representation about specific knowledge of the customer's system or the specific performance of the system. Red Lion is not responsible for any damage to equipment or connected systems. The use of this document is at your own risk. Red Lion standard product warranty applies.
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