Client: Apple

Project Objectives:
Provide a single, integrated thermal solution that

• Generates minimal noise (at most one fan)
• Does not detract from the industrial design of the product
• Adequately cools all of the key system components including the CPU, hard drive, optical drive, power supply, and CRT

Achievements:
The thermal design of the first generation iMac was performed entirely with simulation, allowing Apple to get the product to market before the Christmas season. Only one 80 mm fan was used, pulling cold air over the CPU and drives and exhausting it over the power supply and monitor components (which could handle the preheat). Applied Thermal was also able to demonstrate the feasibility of cooling the second generation iMac without a fan, making it the first commercial silent PC.

Client: Apple

Project Objectives:
Find a thermal solution for the CPU, HD, and graphics chip that

• Fits within the thin form factor of laptop base
• Does not add significantly to the weight of the product
• Generates minimal, if any, noise

Achievements:
Several types thin heat spreaders were investigated to eliminate the hot spots caused by the individual components. Although it was demonstrated that a carbon fiber spreader was best in terms of weight reduction and thermal performance, an aluminum spreader with heat pipe was used due to manufacturability issues. Due to the power density of the system, it was shown that a fan was necessary to help cool the system. Using both simulations and experiments on prototypes, Applied Thermal identified a control scheme for the fan to minimize noise, depending on how hard the system was working.

• Infocus LP330 Dragonfly projector
• WebTV (msnTV) Console
• Apple LCD and CRT Displays
• Systems from Toshiba
• SGI
• many others