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I need to control 10 12VDC motors at ~25Amps, so I decided to make my own mosfet H bridges to control it ( with 2 n chan et 2 p chan ). I will need 10 H-Bridge, so 40 Mosfets. ( 20 n chan and 20 p chan ) The mosfets which I'd like to buy:

These mosfets have 62.5 degrees per watt thermal resistance to ambient, and the N-channel one has 0.045 ohm maximum resistance drain to source. The p-channel has 0.07 ohm

So I will have 0.045*25*25 = ~28 watts for N-channel and 0.07*25*25 = ~43 watts for p-channel

43 * 62.5 is a very big value so I was asking myself if a heatsink would be enough to absorb this heat ?

I've found these heatsinks: http://www.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-IC-Aluminum-Heat-Sink-With-Needle-fit-for-TO-220-Mosfet-Transistors-HM-/181411561757

I'm gonna have 40 of these, knowing that I will use 8 mosfets maximum at the same time ( 2 motors max at the same time ) if I put all of the 40 heatsinks in contact the 8 mosfets would be able to dissipate on the 40 heatsinks. ( which makes one very big heatsink )

I could also put 1 or 2 cooler fans.

would this be possible ?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I don't need to do PWM with it, I can keep at 100% all the time. But if it's possible I'd like to try PWM, is the rise of dissipation will be really important due to switching rate ? I'am going to change my mosfets to more powerful ones (under 10mOhm) like Mike suggested. \$\endgroup\$
    – thp9
    Commented Nov 2, 2014 at 18:01

2 Answers 2

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I would suggest using a beefier mosfet, like one of these for example: IRLB8748 or IRFB7546, these mosfets have very low Rds(on) of under 10mOhm.

I would also suggest using only N channel mosfets, this makes driving the high side harder but N channel mosfets have lower Rds(on).

With a 10mOhm mosfet you dissipate 6.25W at 25A, which is easy with a proper heatsink and there's no need for active cooling (a fan).

The heatsink you've linked on ebay doesn't specify it's thermal resistance so it may or may not be enough.

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If my numbers are right, you need a heatsink with a thermal resistance of 1.49C/W.

These numbers were pulled from the FQP30N06L datasheet in the link you provided.

$$ P_d = 28W $$ $$ \theta_{jc} = 1.90C/W $$

$$ T_{amb} = 30 $$

Assuming a junction temperature of 125C and using those numbers the required thermal resistance is 1.49C/W or better (lower is better).

To get an idea of what kind of heatsinks you should looking at, have a look at these I found from digikey. Compare their size, and the number of fins with your ebay page. It should give you a rough idea how well they will be.

If you have forced air flow, then the required heatsink size decreases so you can get away with a smaller heatsink IF you have good air flow.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Note that picking a better mosfet would be more cost effective and would take less space. \$\endgroup\$
    – Mike
    Commented Nov 2, 2014 at 11:48
  • \$\begingroup\$ I agree with you \$\endgroup\$
    – efox29
    Commented Nov 2, 2014 at 21:43

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