– Copied from customer email –
In analyzing intermittent communication failures in one of our products, I tested the GigaStax Rugged switches we use in that design. They appear to dissipate about 3 watts almost regardless of the amount of traffic being handled. The small heat sink on the switch chip ended up with about a 70°C rise above ambient in still air, which precludes its use in a warm environment without either forced air or a different heat sink.
We found that the Ohmite BGAH150-125E and BGAH150-075E fit nicely on the chip and greatly improved the cooling, especially with even a minimal air flow over them. We are now using the former where it will fit (being 12.5mm tall) and the latter otherwise (7.5mm tall). In one product, we are looking into adding a thermal post to the device cover with a thermal interface pad to conduct the heat directly to the metal housing.
Just thought you might want to know.
Having beat the living daylights out of the switch (and the GigaBlox Rugged) to verify their reliable operation under the heaviest possible loads over temperature, I am delighted (and not surprised) with their performance. I’ve also run across the Hackaday articles about your earlier designs and again, along with your patient and excellent support we’ve had from you, am glad we use them in our products.