Cost of aluminium heatsink?

[grizedale]

hello

we use aluminium bar 3cm by 3cm by 10cm to mount leds on.

How much is this likely to cost us?

 

[goldsmith]

Dear grizedale
Hi
Are you talking about price ??
Best Wishes
Goldsmith

 

[rajudp]

you mean 3cm thick?

 

[grizedale]

yes 3cm thick, i wish to know price....say for 1000 pieces.

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yes 3cm thick, i wish to know price....say for 1000 pieces.

 

[Kral]

Try https://www.aavid.com

 

[grizedale]

i spoke to Aavid last week.

they do expensive custom solutions.
Why require a cheap block of aluminium so wouldnt go to a specialist liek them..............we need a metal basher, not a metal specialist.

 

[rajudp]

3cm thick rod is not easy to get, for led applications 3mm will do best , it is available in most of aluminum dealers (or bus body building suppliers) if you want 1000 pcs you can as them to cut for you (i think it is coming in 12 feet rod)

 

[grizedale]

i cannot have 3mm rod......we have leds pointing north est south and west from each face of the 3cm thick bar.

anyway, is aluminium dirt cheap or fairly expennsive, or are we talking copper prices?

 

[ahsan_i_h]

You can try with aluminium casting (sand die cast) and machining (using shaper machine), and then divide the work among several suppliers.

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copper is much more expensive

 

[keith1200rs]

Aluminium is around $2000 per ton, copper around $7500 per ton. A ton of aluminium is around three and a half times the size of the same weight of copper so aluminium is relatively cheap although unless you need it to be solid for some reason you would normally make a shape that used less material even if that was simply a hollow extruded shape.

Keith

 

[godfreyl]

Hollow extruded square section would have the added advantage that you could run the wiring internally, instead of around the outside.

 

[grizedale]

thanks, extruded square section sounds ideal, but the working of the aluminium to get it like that will have high labour costs.

 

[godfreyl]

The idea is to buy the square section, not make it. Aluminium extrusions are mass produced and fairly inexpensive.

To save some time, I went to the glass shop across the road and got a quote. They did not have 30mm*30mm, but both 25mm*25mm (1 inch square) and 38mm*38mm (1.5 inch square) are available. Both sizes are available in 6m lengths with 2mm wall thickness.

Prices are as follows:
25mm*25mm * 6m : ZAR250.00 (USD $30.00)
38mm*38mm * 6m : ZAR390.00 (USD $46.00)

After being cut into 10cm lengths, that works out to less than $1.00 per heatsink. Solid bar would cost much more, because of all the extra metal.

Bear in mind this is the price I would pay here in a small rural South African town. I'm sure you could get a lower price where you are.

 

[grizedale]

godfreyl

thanks, what you are saying is of great interest, because ideally we would have a hollow square bar and mount the leds on the outside of that.............but you said "glass" shop.......is "glass" slang for aluminium?

I am extremely intrigued that extruded hollow square aluminium bar could be as cheap as "solid bar" aluminium.

We really want the hollow type.....if its just the same price then bingo!

but is it?

 

[godfreyl]

....but you said "glass" shop.......is "glass" slang for aluminium?

No, but aluminium extrusions are widely used for window frames and glass sliding doors. So glass and aluminium often go together. I asked first at the hardware store and they refererred me to the glass place.

I am extremely intrigued that extruded hollow square aluminium bar could be as cheap as "solid bar" aluminium.

Hollow bar is much cheaper than solid bar. The manufacturing costs are similar but the solid bar uses much more metal.