Cooling for Servo Drives and VFDs

Requirement

Servo drives and VFDs are mounted densely in control cabinets with little space and small gaps between units. Their thermal problem is not single-unit efficiency but what happens side by side — fins shield each other’s airflow, hot air recirculates and the whole cabinet warms up.

Our approach

Confirm cabinet airflow direction and unit spacing first, then set fin height and pitch: dense fins when space is tight, with a slight tip taper so neighbours do not scrape; thicker bases to carry screw preload; and aligned inlet and outlet directions so adjacent units share one flow instead of blowing at each other.

The hidden loss of side-by-side mounting

Put two units too close and inlet flow is blocked, so real area is far below the catalogue value. Tip taper and spacing are cheap countermeasures.

The cost of dense fins

Pushing pitch to 1.5 mm buys area but is more dust sensitive. In dusty plants pair it with a duct or filter and schedule cleaning.

Base and mounting

Base thickness must carry screw depth, and the mounting face must be machined so contact resistance does not eat the gain.