vortex05

Today I went out and bought some heatsink compound. I built alot fo computers so I know to keep the compound spread thin.

After doing the main motors which was what i was after, I proceeded to do the tail motor after mounting the tail I realized there's a significant air gap in the tail motor heat sink.

I guess there's no real solution to this they are all like this aren't they?

Heli Jim

Yes, pretty much.

If you got the compound under the heat sinks, I think you did
as much as you could.

Lister

Heatsink compound is actually a very poor heat conductor. It is only better than air.

Try filling the gap with a thin copper sheet. You can find suitable pieces in discarded electronics such as an old digital camera.

The copper needs of course to be coated both sides with the compound. Even though there are now fourcontact surfaces instead of two, the better conductivity of copper (compared to the compound) will more than make up for that.

Also make sure to remove any insulated coatings that might be on the copper sheet. Use a multimeter to check conductivity to ensure there is no coating.

vortex05

Actually my dual tail setup it just so happens the dual tail fin is made out of PCB which means one side is copper. This side is mounted to the twin motors with some thermal compound effectively making the entire fin surface a heatsink.

So really leaving the small heatsinks on is somewhat overkill I'm pretty sure the size of the fin more than dissapates enough heat that I can survive without the heat sinks on each of the dual tails.

Why do I still heat sink my dual tails?

Well I find it easier to control in a piro when the tail is heavier and less likely to be blown by the wind. it's a total of 2g but it seems like alot when you test the with sinks and without sinks configs.

I know I'll get questions about the setup so here's a picture.