Drilling through an aluminum heat sink?

[Mordoff]

Im about to start my first LED project but I was wondering how I go about drilling through my heat sink? Do I need a special drill or a special drill bit?

[sammy113]

just a wood/metal drill bit and some lube (WD40, cutting lube, 3in1 oil, etc) Press drill is best for this but you can use a hand held drill as well

[evanski]

just a wood/metal drill bit and some lube (WD40, cutting lube, 3in1 oil, etc) Press drill is best for this but you can use a hand held drill as well

+1 to drill press. Precision is key here, and having perfectly vertical holes is important for tapping and insuring optimal contact of the LED with the heat sink with a minimum of Arctic Silver for best heat transfer.

 

E

[sae647]

+1 to drill press. Precision is key here, and having perfectly vertical holes is important for tapping and insuring optimal contact of the LED with the heat sink with a minimum of Arctic Silver for best heat transfer.

 

E

 

a drill press is ideal but if you've used a drill before, have confidence that you will be able to do it well enough by hand. it does not need to be perfect.

[cptbjorn]

for heat sink bases I make sure none of the holes will hit fins, then spot the holes with a center drill and finish with a #43 machine screw length bit. then I tap with 2-flute spiral point tap in a cordless drill.

 

the straight point taps they sell at hardware stores are garbage if you want to tap through holes in aluminum in any quantity.

[doctaq]

i dont think straightness is too big of a deal unless you are way off, i drill plenty of smaller heatsinks freehand

[Byrdman]

Drill press would be ideal but by hand will work fine. For the size hole you are drilling you should be fine but when drilling aluminum the bit guads up if it gets too hot. I forgot to mention you want to get what is called a starter tap. These are designed to help you get the tap lined up straight in the hole.