Conducting plastic cold plates
View Patent ↗Cold plates are described herein. In one example, a cold plate can include a thermally conductive plastic forming a coolant channel that includes a heat spreader formed into the thermally conductive plastic and an exterior surface of the thermally conductive plastic with a coupling location to couple a heat pipe to the exterior surface of the thermally conductive plastic.
1. A cold plate, comprising:
a thermally conductive plastic forming a coolant channel that includes a heat spreader formed into the thermally conductive plastic;
an exterior surface of the thermally conductive plastic with a coupling location to couple a flat heat pipe to the exterior surface of the thermally conductive plastic; and
a plurality of fins extending from the heat spreader into the coolant channel.
2. The cold plate of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of fins include a conductive material that is coupled to the heat spreader and extend into the coolant channel.
3. The cold plate of claim 1 , comprising a heat pipe support structure coupled to the flat heat pipe at the coupling location.
4. The cold plate of claim 3 , wherein the heat pipe support structure is positioned to maintain physical contact between the flat heat pipe and the exterior surface of the thermally conductive plastic.
5. The cold plate of claim 3 , wherein the heat pipe support structure includes an aperture to receive the flat heat pipe.
6. The cold plate of claim 3 , wherein the heat pipe support structure is coupled to the exterior surface of the thermally conductive plastic.
7. A computing device, comprising:
the cold plate of claim 1 .
8. The computing device of claim 7 , wherein the cooling channel is perpendicular to the flat heat pipe coupled to the cold plate.
9. A cooling system, comprising:
a plurality of flat heat pipes; and
a cold plate comprising:
a thermally conductive plastic to enclose a coolant channel;
a heat spreader that is formed into the thermally conductive plastic such that a portion of the heat spreader is exposed to an exterior of the cold plate; and
a coupling location on the exposed portion of the heat spreader to couple the plurality of flat heat pipes to the heat spreader.
10. The cooling system of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of flat heat pipes are soldered to a support plate coupled to the exposed portion of the heat spreader.
11. The cooling system of claim 9 , comprising a plurality of ribs coupled to the heat spreader.
12. The cooling system of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of ribs extend from a non-exposed portion of the heat spreader to the coolant channel.
13. The cooling system of claim 9 , wherein the coolant channel runs perpendicular to the plurality of flat heat pipes.
14. The cooling system of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of flat heat pipes are coupled to the heat spreader on non-flat portions of the plurality of flat heat pipes.