Solar Minty Packing Material

[bemental]

What do we think of high-grade packing foam as a liner for custom projects, as displayed on this website http://www.casefoam.com/?

I wouldn't buy this stuff new, but I have some lying around from previous cases/projects.

Any risk from overheating and melting the foam if the bottom of circuitry/boards are wedged in custom cut niches in this sort of material? I've got a clear top Pelican-like case that I'm thinking of mounting the entire solar/minty project in and want it to be more rugged than not (for military abuse and use).


Thanks in advance for any input!

[adafruit_support_bill]

As long as the major heat dissipating components (boost converters, inductors etc.) have some free air circulation it shouldn't be a problem.

[bemental]

That's what I figured. My plan was to leave the tops of the boards in the open, while creating a divot in the foam for the board itself.

Specifically, do we think the bottom of the board gets hot enough that it needs much circulation? Not sure since it's just the solder joints.

[adafruit_support_bill]

Some heat will be dissipated through the bottom of the board, but most typically from the chip package itself. (There are some notable exceptions such as the L293D H-bridge chip which is designed to use the ground-plane as a heat sink). If you are concerned, there are glue-on heat-sinks for chips.

[bemental]

Thanks!

I've settled on using Sugru to permanently fix components inside a sturdy Tupperware container. Won't be able to run the whole setup enclosed since the heat coming off the components will most likely overheat but it should work nicely otherwise.


Many thanks.