Mechanical
Mounting is normally envisioned using the 4 m2.5 flathead machine screws that are used to mount the heat spreader to the COMX module. The length of these screws can vary depending on the chassis material. A “sandwich is created that consists of the chassis, a thermal pad, the heat spreader, the COMX module and finally the Piconium board.
It is important to consider the material and area of the chassis with regard to heat dissipation. Anodized aluminum is the best material followed by non-anodized aluminum, followed by steel. The COMX module can generate anywhere between 4 watts and 24 watts of power depending of processor load, cores activated, GPU utilization. Please provide enough surface area of the chassis to keep the average temperature of the COMX module below 70-75 degrees C under normal loads. Keeping temperature below 85 degrees C is necessary to prevent the COMX module from going into thermal trip mode.
It is beyond the scope of this document to describe how to dissipate the heat generated. However, Embedded Now is happy to assist our customers.
Dimensions are shown above for the Embedded Now heat spreader.
If the Adlink Heat Spreader or other manufacturer's heat spreader is used, please refer to the manufacturers user manual for details of mounting.