I just received uConsole CM4 versioin.
It came with 4mm thick thermal pad. It was too thick. I think that thermal pad is for A-04/06 or R-01.
Does anyone have any suggestion about how thick the thermal pad for CM4 should be ?
I thought they were squishy?
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They are squishy. The thickness is fine IMO. it seems too thick at first but after you get the back panel lined up and screwed down it is perfectly fine.
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I thought so at first. but when I put the lid, it feels like I might break cm4 adapter board. So I just bought thinner pads
I put 1.5mm thick one, and it fits nicely.
Agreed. When using the CM4 adapter board, the default pad is just way too thick.
Caused the backshell to deform and have gaps. 1.5mm works fine and makes good contact indeed.
But sure, if no alternatives are at hand, hammering the default pad flat would also work.
Rather than start a new topic, I figured I’d put this here since it’s related…
Does anyone know of a good replacement for the CM4 uConsole thermal pad?
My device had an issue with the way the main body was produced (it was too thin on one side), and that has been resolved thanks to Alex sending me a new main body and back cover. My old thermal pad could be reused, in theory, but I had to make it so thin that now I need to fold it back onto itself to make it thicker to use it as intended, after scraping it off the old back cover. I’m not sure if this will affect its ability to transfer heat though. Though the old case parts had a gap on the side, the thermal pad was working well, and I’d like to find something suitable to replace it.
Questions:
- does anyone know what type of material was used for the official thermal pad that ships for the CM4 uConsole?
- does anyone have suggestions for something equivalent, or even better?
I’m assuming a replacement should be “squishy” since the actual size needed would be hard to figure out. But the material probably matters too, right, since it needs to conduct heat to the metal back cover? And of course the size and depth is important to make contact. I’ve done some research, but it seems like a lot of thermal pads are thin or custom designed for a specific purpose. I’m just kind of looking for related search terms or links to equivalent thermal pads, if you’ve got them. (Cheap is good too, but I want it to actually work.) Thanks!
Thanks but that link didn’t work for me (in US). I searched and found similar Thermal Grizzly pads. Problem with all those is they are only about a millimeter thick.
I ended up just reusing the thermal pad that came with the uConsole for now. It’s not pretty, but hopefully it will work well enough. Maybe what comes with the uConsole is a custom thing. Seems like the widely available stuff online is either paste or liquid putty, which looks impractical, or pads that are very thin and don’t look like they’d work even if folded or layered multiple times. This grey thermal stuff for the uConsole is almost like some kind of thermal putty, but the closest thing I could find isn’t advertised to be used for thermal transfer. Might be comparable material though. But I’d rather go with something that’s known to work.
sorry, didn’t copy enough of the link. 
I’m planning on using copper shim and thermal paste, Explaining Computers on Youtube recently tested this on an SBC and found the thermals were vastly improved with copper shim and paste over what the manufacturer shipped as foam.
Pretty sure they use the silicone foam because the parts move.
I think the reason it is too thick might be that they shipped the same for the CM3 devices and just stuck with the same pad. Also even though I had the same feeling forcing the lid on the first time, once opened again the pad is crushed so much I actually worry more about that with multiple back removals it will start to loose it’s heat transferring properties.
All of this said it would be good with replacements, and the information about what these pads are made of and how they work.
The Grizzly ones are very expensive, specially when thick enough! Also: “Due to the consistency only one-time use is recommended”.
Can clockwork link to where we can buy thinner ones that work with constant delidding?
Edit: Ok, it’s only the extreme versions that are expensive… found some called " Thermal Grizzly Minus Pad 8" yolo:ing and lets hope they are “soft”…
Hardness: 60 Shore 00 whatever that means? What is 'Shore' hardness? – Totally Seals So then the pads we get from clockwork is more 10 - 30 Shore 00
My final conclusion is if you want to use harder pads you better get the height exactly right so better get 0.5mm and paste them together!?
So I finally ordered one of each:
Thermal Grizzly Minus Pad 8 - 20x120x1,0 mm (4-8W/mK, 60 Shore)
Thermal Grizzly Minus Pad Extreme - 120x20x0,5 mm (40+W/mK, 65 Shore)
That way I can play around and see what works best…
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I have a selection of pads from amazon, waiting for the day I might get mine.
I just checked the situation. The standoffs below the CM4 adapter make it almost impossible for the thermal pad to damage anything by pushing the adapter/CM4 down. You would need extreme pressure and probably then the mainboard PCB would crack first.