1. What Are Skived Heat Sinks

Skived heat sinks are made by cutting thin fins out of a solid piece of metal.

Thin slices are cut from the bottom of the material.

These slices stay connected to the bottom plate.

So skived heat sinks have the fins and bottom as one continuous material.

This allows for very thin fins with small spacing.

Which means you can get more surface area for heat transfer out of a smaller area.

Skived heat sinks are usually made with copper or aluminium.

Copper is used because it conducts heat better.

Aluminium is lighter and easier to work with.

You can also add heat pipes or other heat transfer methods to skived heat sinks.

Learn More About 【Heat Sink Types】 And 【Industrial Heat Sink】

2. How Skived Heat Sinks Work

Skived heat sinks work the same way as any other heatsink with fins.

Heat is applied to the heatsink.

Heat travels through the metal base.

Heat is then conducted to the fins.

And the fins dissipate the heat away from the object.

Because there is more surface area the fins can dissipate more heat.

Also since the base and fins are the same piece of metal heat can travel directly to them.

So they can dissipate heat very effectively.

You can also force air over the fins to cool them down faster.

Just make sure your fin spacing matches your airflow.

Too small of a gap will create more drag.

So be sure to consider the full fin setup when designing.

3. Benefits Of Using Skiving For Your Heat Sink

There are many benefits to using the skiving method for your heat sink.

Can Get Very Thin Fins

Since you can make very thin fins.

You can pack more fins into your heat sink without adding too much material.

Small Fin Spacing

Allows for very small fin spacing which gives you more surface area to transfer heat.

Same Material As Base

Since the fins come off the base of the heat sink you dont have to worry about heat transfer to another material.

Better Heat Dissipation

When you have thin fins that are closely packed together you can dissipate more heat from your device.

Fin Profile Can Be Changed

You can change how tall your fins are as well as the thickness and spacing.

Great For Devices That Need To Be Cooled

Skived heat sinks are great for devices that need to stay cool.

4. Skived Heat Sink Design

When designing your skived heat sink you want to make sure you consider the following.

4.1 Base

The base of your heat sink should be able to handle the amount of heat being transferred to it.

Make sure it’s thick enough to dissipate the heat but not too thick to where your wasting material.

4.2 Fin Thickness

How thick you want your fins to be will determine how many you can fit on your heat sink.

If you want to get as much surface area as possible make your fins as thin as you can.

But if they’re to thin they may be hard to manufacture or may break.

4.3 Fin Height

You can make your fins as tall as you need them to be.

But remember if your using air flow to cool the device you want to make sure you don’t block too much air flow.

4.4 Fin Spacing

Make sure your fin spacing is big enough to allow air flow if your using a fan to cool the device.

But not too far apart that your not getting the surface area you need.

4.5 Fin Direction

Make sure your fins are facing the direction of your air flow.

Especially if your using forced air flow.

4.6 Base Size

Make sure the base is the right size for whatever your trying to cool.

If your cooling something that generates heat across a wide area you want the base to be big enough to spread that heat out.

5. What Material Should I Use For My Skived Heat Sink

You have a few options when it comes to what material to use for your skived heat sink.

5.1 Copper Skived Heat Sink

If you need something that will conduct heat really fast then copper is your best option.

You can use copper skived heat sinks on

• Gpu’s
• Cpu’s
• Power Electronics
• Lasers
• Hpc
• Telcom

The only down side to copper is that it’s heavier.

Learn More About 【Copper Heatsinks】

5.2 Aluminium Skived Heat Sink

Aluminium is a great option if you don’t need as fast heat transfer.

It’s also lighter and cheaper.

Learn More About 【Aluminium Heat Sink Material】 

5.3 Copper And Aluminium

You can always combine the two materials to get the best of both worlds.

Use copper for the bottom to conduct heat and aluminium for the fins to keep it light.

6. Skived Heat Sink Manufacturing Process

Here is a general outline of how skived heat sinks are manufactured.

You will have to change some steps depending on what material your using and what type of product your making.

l Cut Material To Size

You will start with a block of copper or aluminium that you will make your heat sink out of.

l Machin Base If Needed

Depending on your product you may need to machin the base to get your desired dimensions.

l Skive The Fins

A special type of knife is used to cut thin layers of metal off the block.

Once the layer is cut it bends up and forms a fin.

The process is repeated until you have as many fins as you want.

l Form The Fins

Once the fins are cut you can form them to your liking.

l Machin Base

If needed you can use a cnc machine to drill holes and machin any other details into your heat sink.

Learn More About 【Heat Sink CNC Machining】

l Surface Treatments

Depending on what your heat sink will be used for you may need to anodize or plate it.

l Clean Your Heat Sink

Clean all particles and debris from the heat sink.

l Inspect Heat Sink

Make sure all of your dimensions are correct and your heat sink looks good.

l Assemble Any Other Parts

If your using heat pipes or any other parts to help with heat transfer assemble them onto your heat sink.

l Test Heat Sink

Once everything is assembled test your heat sink to make sure it meets your requirements.

Learn More About 【Heat Sink Manufacturing Process】

7. Skived Heat Sinks Vs Extruded Heat Sinks

Here is a quick comparison between the two methods.

Extruded heat sinks are great if your trying to make something long.

Skived heat sinks are better if you need thin fins and want to pack them closer together.

Learn More About 【Extruded Heat Sink】 And 【Heat Sink Extrusion Profiles】

8. Skived Heat Sinks Vs Bonded Fin Heat Sinks

Both of these methods can give you high density fin heat sinks.

The difference is how they are made.

Skived heat sinks have their fins cut directly off the base.

Bonded fin heat sinks have separate fins that are bonded onto a base.

So you can have more freedom with what material your fins are made out of and how they look.

Learn More About 【Bonded Fin Heat Sink】

9. Applications

There are many applications that you can use skived heat sinks for.

9.1 Gpu

If you need to cool a gpu then a skived heat sink is a great option.

Especially if your using copper you can spread and dissipate heat very fast.

You can also add things like vapor chambers to help with heat transfer.

Learn More About 【Vapor Chamber for GPU Cooling】

9.2 Cpu

Similar to gpus you can use skived heat sinks to cool cpu’s.

If you pack your fins close together you can get a lot of surface area to help cool your cpu.

9.3 Power Electronics

Many power electronics will need heat sinks to help keep them cool.

• Igbts
• Mosfets
• Inverters
• Power Supplies
• Motors
• Etc

By using skived heat sinks you can fit more fins into a small area to help cool these devices.

9.4 Telcom

Many telcom devices run 24/7 so they will need to be kept cool at all times.

Skived heat sinks can help keep these devices running at optimal temperatures.

9.5 Lasers

Laser’s can get very hot and will need heat to be dissipated away from the device.

Using copper skived heat sinks will allow you to do this.

9.6 Industrial

Skived heat sinks can also be used on industrial applications that need to be kept cool.

You can custom make them to fit any size you need.

10. Advantages To Using Skived Heat Sinks

You can fit more fins on your heat sink

By skiving you can make your fins thinner and put more on your heat sink.

Thinner Fins

Which will help dissipate more heat.

No Extra Interface

Since your fins and base are the same material you don’t have to worry about heat transferring to another material.

Can Customize Your Fins

You can make your fins any height thickness and spacing that you need.

Great For Copper

Since you can skive copper you can make heat sinks that will cool very fast.

Takes Up Less Space

Because you can make your fins thinner and fit more on your heat sink.

11. Disadvantages Of Skived Heat Sinks

You need special equipment to make them

Skived heat sinks require a machine that can skive the metal.

More Steps In The Manufacturing Process

You will need to control how thin your fins are and how far apart they are.

Different Materials Require Different Machines

Depending on what material your using you will need to make adjustments to your machine.

More Expensive For Some Applications

If your trying to make something that doesn’t require a lot of cooling then maybe skiving isn’t for you.

You can always just use an extruded heat sink and save money.

12. Things To Consider When Choosing A Skived Heat Sink

How much heat are you trying to dissipate

If your device generates a lot of heat you may want to use copper and have your fins very close together.

l How much space do you have

Make sure you measure the length width and height that you have to work with.

If you have a small space you will want to use a skived heat sink.

l Will you be using air flow

If your going to blow air over your heat sink you want to make sure your fins are facing that direction.

l What material do you want to use

If you need to cool something down fast then you will want to use copper.

If you don’t need to cool it down as fast then you can use aluminium.

l How do you want your fins to look

Decide how tall you want your fins to be how thick and how far apart.

All of these things will play a role in how fast you can dissipate heat.

l Do you need any mounting holes

If so you can have them drilled into your heat sink.

l How many are you going to need

If your making a large quantity of heat sinks you may want to automate your process.

13. Equipment Used To Manufacture Skived Heat Sinks

There are many pieces of equipment that can be used to make skived heat sinks.

Some examples would be.

• Skiving Machine
• Auto Cut Off Machine
• CNC Machine
• Fin Forming Machine
• Cleaning Machine
• Surface Treatment Machine
• Heat Pipe Assembly Machine
• Inspection Machine
• Thermal Test Machine

The skiving machine will be used to make the fins on your heat sink.

You can then use a cnc machine to drill holes and add any other details to your heat sink.

If your using heat pipes in your design you will need equipment to assemble those as well.

Then you can test your heat sink to make sure it meets your specifications.

Learn More About 【Heat Sink Manufacturing Line】

14. Why Bangwin Machine

If your looking to make skived heat sinks you will need the proper equipment to do so.

That’s where Bangwin Machine can help.

We offer thermal machines and custom built production lines.

Bangwin Machine Thermal Machinery

We can help you with any of your heat sink needs.

Whether your making heat sinks heat pipes or vapor chambers we can help.

From analyzing your product to building your production line we can assist you every step of the way.

We can analyze your product and help you figure out the best way to manufacture it.

Then we can select the right machines to build your production line.

After that we will build install and commission your production line.

We can also test your production line and provide technical support after your line is up and running.

Home

15. Frequently Asked Questions

l What are skived heat sinks?

Skived heat sinks are made by skiving thin fins off of a piece of metal.

The fins are connected to the base of the heat sink.

This allows for better heat transfer.

l What materials can I use to make skived heat sinks?

You can make skived heat sinks out of copper or aluminium.

Copper will conduct heat faster and aluminium is lighter and easier to work with.

l Why are skived heat sinks so good?

Because you can make thin fins and space them closer together you can get more surface area to dissipate heat.

l Are skived heat sinks better than extruded heat sinks?

It depends on your application.

If you need thin fins and want to space them close together then skived heat sinks are better.

If your making something long then extruded heat sinks may be a better option.

l Can I make copper skived heat sinks?

Yes you can make copper skived heat sinks.

They will dissipate heat very fast.

l Can I add heat pipes to my skived heat sink?

Yes you can add heat pipes to your skived heat sink.

This will help with heat transfer from a point source.

l Can I customize my skived heat sink?

Yes you can make your skived heat sink however you want.

You can change the fin height thickness spacing base size and more.

l What kind of equipment do I need to make skived heat sinks?

You will need a skiving machine to make your heat sink.

You can also use a cnc machine auto cut off machine cleaning machine and more.

l Can I mass produce skived heat sinks?

Yes if your able to automate your process you can mass produce skived heat sinks.

It all depends on what type of product your making and how many you want to make.

l Does Bangwin Machine offer equipment to make skived heat sinks?

Yes we offer many different machines and production lines that can help you make skived heat sinks.

16. Final Thoughts

Skived heat sinks can be used for many applications.

They are made by skiving thin fins off of a piece of metal.

This allows you to make thin fins that are spaced closely together.

Which means you can dissipate more heat from your device.

Copper is a great material to use if you need to cool something down fast.

Aluminium is a good option if you want something lighter.

Skived heat sinks can be used on many different types of devices.

From gpu’s to cpu’s to power electronics.

If your looking to manufacture skived heat sinks you will need the proper equipment to do so.

You will need to be able to control how thin your fins are and how far apart they are.

As well as how tall they are and how they are formed.

You will also need to be able to clean your heat sinks and test them.

If your interested in learning more about how to manufacture skived heat sinks check out our machines and production lines.