Thermal paste & adhesives

Exeter354

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 28, 2012
Messages
351
I've tried to search, but I can't seem to find exactly the info I need. I'm building a pretty standard LE...I have a copper heatsink, I have a pretty standard triple LED on MCPCB and a pretty standard driver. I want to be able to remove the electronics and re-use the heatsink if I ever decide to upgrade. At that point, I'm not so much concerned about the parts being destroyed in the process, however, I'd prefer that not to happen if possible and to be able to remove the LED and driver without too much drama. But I certainly don't want them to fall off the heatsink either.

So, having said all that...what would you use to mount the LED and driver to the heatsink? And would you use the same thing for both LED board and driver board? Any recommendations on compounds?

Thanks very much!
 
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DrafterDan

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 28, 2013
Messages
1,317
Location
Phoenix, AZ
Re: Can someone please give me a short education in thermal paste & adhesives?

For those who may be curious (I am, E 354, what did you end up using?), here's what I have found works well for both my computer mods as well as torches.

The adhesive I like is the Arctic Silver, #AATA-5G

For non-critical, or where I feel I may need to remove, I use the Antec Nano Diamond thermal grease
 

Exeter354

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 28, 2012
Messages
351
Re: Can someone please give me a short education in thermal paste & adhesives?

I just went with Fujik Heatsink Compound. Seems like it will provide enough adhesion with removability. If I was going the permanent route, I'd probably have used the Arctic Silver instead.
 

mahoney

Enlightened
Joined
Jan 7, 2002
Messages
603
Re: Can someone please give me a short education in thermal paste & adhesives?

It's pretty easy to heat a heatsink up enough with a heat gun to loosen the bond of Arctic Silver epoxy. LEDs or electronics may not survive though...YMMV
 
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