A defense contractor needed four variations on a fail-safe heat sink to regulate the heat energy of an environment surrounding sensitive electronic devices. Electronics generate heat, and tightly stacked electronics or poorly ventilated electronics have the potential to generate enough heat to damage or inhibit the function of the devices.
A heat sink uses a liquid medium to absorb waste heat energy and move it away from the electronics, where it can then be safely dissipated into the environment. Using dedicated heat sinks allows operators to monitor and control the operating temperature of equipment for optimal performance.
Project Challenges
As a defense contractor, this particular customer required that we maintain absolute confidentiality during the course of the project. We often work with government agencies and contractors who require sensitive record-keeping and other high security needs. Our NDA and security processes are constantly updated to ensure the utmost security. We carefully control physical documents in our facility and shred them after every project.
Tight tolerances were an additional challenge for this project. The heat sink components needed to meet very strict specifications while still offering a high degree of performance and controllability. This client’s volume demands for the heat sinks was also very high and all items needed to be laser marked.
The Outcome
For this particular heat sink, we were involved in the initial prototyping operation over the course of several months, which helped to expedite full production. Each prototype was tested, examined, and refined until a design was finalized that best fit our client’s needs.
We determined that our team should use wire EDM fabrication techniques to create the overall shape of the component. We also sourced third-party aluminum extrusions from one of our vetted and trusted vendors.
All of our production processes included in-process inspections, post-production inspections, and strict quality assurance procedures. Our engineering and QA teams reviewed every step of production to ensure that products remained within the tight tolerance requirements.
We also provided the following secondary services during the course of production:
- Laser marking
- Assembly
- Vertical machining
Our company was able to fabricate the heat sinks, hold them in our inventory, and deliver the products to meet quick turnaround orders at scale. We worked with high-production services to create bulk orders and lower the client’s per-unit costs. Production on the heat sink ran for more than 15 years, and the level of satisfaction we achieved caused the client to work with us on several other projects.
Why Choose South Shore Manufacturing?
At South Shore Manufacturing, our team prioritizes customer satisfaction with every project. Our facility can utilize 8–10 machines with multiple fixtures simultaneously to expedite high-volume orders faster than our competitors. Our wire EDM capabilities ensure that we can handle critical production aspects in-house during the design and prototyping phases. Our customer service team specializes in quick, high-quality service so you can feel confident about your order.
For more information about our military and defense capabilities or guidance on projects for your industry, please contact us today.