This is how heatsinks for PCs and electronic devices are made

Computers, consoles, and other electronic devices that we use every day have something in common: shiny and pointed copper or aluminum fins whose job is to dissipate all the heat from the internal chips.

Radiators, as this component is called, have a very curious shape. They are usually large, copper or silver in color. (depending on the material used) and is formed by dozens of thin plates arranged one after another.

And despite the fact that everyone knows how radiators work, very few have seen how they are made and how the characteristic shape is achieved. Luckily, a video on Twitter clears things up.

REMEMBER that many heatsinks are made using a process called “sanding”, which basically means “scraping” the fins out of the base material. I always thought they were milled or extruded! Original video: https://t.co/7Z2STDt5Tk pic.twitter.com/yVyQfbxpg7

— rombik_su (@rombik_su) April 13, 2022

The conventional wisdom is that the heatsinks were milled one at a time, laser-cut into fanciful shapes to fit each PC or electrical component. But no, it’s a simple process that makes a lot of sense and reduces the cost.

Apparentlymany heatsinks are made using a process known as grinding, in which a giant machine literally scratches ultra-thin layers of copper onto form the fins and then fold them over before starting on the next row.

The workers put a large piece of copper into the machine, turn on the cold water faucet and turn it on. The machine then cuts the copper like Swiss cheese and produces large heatsinks in minutes.

henceforth, the whole block of copper fins goes to another machine, where it is cut into individual blocks of ideal size for each specific application.

So the next time you’re playing hard on PS5 or PC and wondering what keeps your machine cool and running at peak performance, consider this video.