Problem: maximizing heat dissipation and reduce weight from heat sink of light fixture
Design Solution: a fin pattern that maximizes heat transfer at regions where there is maximum thermal increase
For: Lighting Company
What are the variables this design aims to control?
Maximizing surface area for convection cooling from the air, while minimizing fixture volume to reduce weight
What is a proposed approach?
Surface area is typically increased using fins, which removes the need for a large amount of added material
Should the fin pattern vary across?
Yes. To make it more efficient and avoid adding unnecessary material, the fin pattern will be larger on the regions where thermal increase is concentrated
Challenges & lessons learned developing this?
The greatest challenge was finding an iteration process to determine optimum thermal dissipation fin design. Through this process I learned design studies driven by thermal modeling, which allowed the company to make a decision with this product’s heat sink.
Design Thought Process
Final Product – two fin pattern proposals, maximizing heat dissipation and minimizing weight
Diego Rivas 