The high conductivity of copper makes it an attractive material for thermal management. However, 3D-printing copper design in laser-based processes is challenging. A custom microchannel design that meets 3D printing manufacturing requirements requires a sophisticated solution. These problems limit the freedom to manufacture and design cooling/thermal management devices. Generative design through topology optimization, taking DfAM (Design for Addictive Manufacturing) rules into account, offers the solution.

• How to use a generative design to optimize the performance of a CPU cooler with minimal human input or interaction while taking into account the manufacturability
• A fully three-dimensional solid and fluid domain model and an interface heat transfer model are presented for the CPU cooler modeling.
• The challenges of a copper 3D printing heatsink and how Amnovis solved it with Laser-Absorptive Cooper Powders
• A case study demonstrated that the generative CPU cooler heatsink design reveals a 55% improvement in thermal resistance compared to a traditional skived fin heatsink.

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