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-- DIY Raspberry Pi CPU Cooler --
 Assembled.png)
1) Assembled  Bottom ring.png)
2) Bottom ring  Mount.png)
3) Mount  Layer.png)
4) Layer  Cap.png)
5) Cap  Complete.jpg)
6) Complete  Bottom.jpg)
7) Bottom |
While working on my raspberry pi powered radial clock, I found that its cpu was thermal throttling almost constantly. This was an unsurprising considering its age (it’s a 3B+), so I went about seeing where I could get a passive cooler. Buying one seemed too easy, so I decided to use something else: pennies. Pennies are small, consist of copper, and extremely common which makes them a prime candidate for use for thermal disappation. After some trial and error, I created a simple stack of pennies that are held together by a modular 3d-printed frame and thermal paste. While I haven’t taken the time to run some official stress tests, I have noticed improved performance (no thermal throttling or freezing) and and fairly consistent temperatures over prolonged periods of time. Of course, it wasn’t until after I completed my design that I learned that nickels actually have a higher compositon of copper in whatever alloy is used for their production, so that may be a future project. Downloads for the cooler components can be found here. |
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