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Normally, we connect an IC to the other side of a heatsink than shown here:

enter image description here

Is it bad to place the IC on the 'unusual' side of the heatsink (and if so, why?) or are both sides each equally functional? In the end I will place the heatsink upside down in the case, so with the ICs on top of the heatsink.

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Better crop and scale down your image a bit before Olin sees it ;o) – jippie Feb 20 at 12:41
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Also you probably need to show how it fits in the final enclosure, otherwise that arrangement could go from far better to far worse so there's no generic answer. – PeterJ Feb 20 at 12:46
Agree with @PeterJ. The performance for a heat sink can highly depend on its orientation (due to air flow). – jippie Feb 20 at 12:47
Thanks, I changed it - please ask more information if you need it :-) – Camil Staps Feb 20 at 12:49
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"Is the style in the image bad?" - YES, but mainly because of the horrific soldering and mass of uninsulated contacts. Whatever you are doing, you're not doing it very well (and I mean "well" in terms of care, neatness, quality, reliability, safety...) – John U Feb 20 at 16:02
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1 Answer

up vote 3 down vote accepted

The job of a heatsink is to move heat away from some component that would otherwise get too hot and dissipate that heat into the air. This means the surfaces of the heatsink needs to be open to free air. Putting anything other than the part that produces the heat onto a heatsink will decrease its effectiveness. Putting something that produces its own heat there makes it even worse. Then there is also the additional issue of whether the extra part can handle the temperature. So, the short answer it that this is not a good idea.

However, this does not meant it is guaranteed to fail. If everything isn't running at its thermal limit, then the heatsink has extra capacity, and some degradation of that capacity can be tolerated. Still, this is not something I'd do except as a last resort, and then with some careful analisys to make sure everything is OK.

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It's not clear that the question proposes to put parts on both faces of the heatsink, I'm reading it more about asking if one face is better than the other. My gut instinct would be that the side away from the fins could actually be a tiny bit better, since the package itself wouldn't be in the pocket of hot air between them - on the other hand, if there cooling air aimed at the fin side, then that side might be better. – Chris Stratton Feb 20 at 19:19
That's more what I meant, yes. Sorry for any misunderstanding and Olin: thanks for your explanation which was sure very useful! @ChrisStratton, can you make this an answer? – Camil Staps Feb 23 at 9:04
In particular, in this picture the electrolytic caps are going to be at almost the same temperature as the ICs. It's not kind to electrolytics to cook them like this. – markrages♦ Feb 25 at 22:01
@markrages good point. I'll change it asap. – Camil Staps Feb 26 at 7:05

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