diy passive cooling?

I've gotten into the bad habit of just working with my laptop straight in my lap. This is bad for a number of reasons, one of them being that my laptop does not cool as well as it should. I'm about to get a new laptop and I'm taking advantage of the switch to change my bad habits. I'd like to find a passive cooling solution that I could use to put between my laptop and my lap.

Since I'm sure some people will go "what the heck?", here's a QA session to clarify some things.

Q. Why passive?

A. Because I think active is sometimes overkill. I'm not saying I'll never want fans but I'd rather try a passive solution before an active one.

Q. Why not buy a ready made solution?

A. Because I think there may be a way to do something good for cheaper than ready made. Because I like ingenious diy solutions. Because ready made solutions sometimes work very well with a specific brand of laptop but not with another. I've read some reviews on Newegg (of active solutions) where some people reported great results with a specific solution and others said that same solution was worthless. If I build my own solution, I can decide how to build it.

Q. Pffft! What a lamer! Can't you just take a piece of plywood from the pile you have in your basement, cut it and call it a day?

A. Yes I can but I'm hoping I'll get more elegant ideas if I put the question to the forum.

Ok, that's it for QA. Here's a commercial solution that I think looks good and is a source of inspiration as I think about this problem:

http://www.xpad4laptop.com/design.html

Here's also a diy idea that I think could also serve as a source of inspiration. The guy only wanted to have a stand for his laptop but that's already the start of a solution to my problem:

http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/2007/06/need-laptop-desk-diy-your-own-stand.html

I'm not sure I would want something with legs however but the principle of taking something ready made and fairly cheap and hacking it is a good one. Looks more stylish than a piece of plywood too. I could see myself adding some risers on top of that to come to something close to the xpad.

Other ideas?

 

More sources of inspiration. Some of these are not about passive cooling but could be adapted. Here's one where the author shows what can be done with plexiglass:

http://www.instructables.com/id/ETMEFK1GGQEP286QIN/?ALLSTEPS

Here's a page with people discussing a laptop stand:

http://lifehacker.com/software/diy/make-your-own-laptop-stand-260245.php

The thing I found interesting there was the people talking about using a kitchen glass board. We have some in our kitchen so I grabbed one. Works fine as a board and could be the basis for a full solution with raising pads and all and it does not look like crap. Some people there also talk about using a binder but I find that solution too ugly for my tastes.

Here are little magnetic balls that can be used as risers. Not quite what I'm looking for but neat anyway:

http://www.pwx.cc/

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And here are very good examples of what I don't want to do, yuck:

http://www.instructables.com/id/E6VTQZ6UT0EP287AXP/?ALLSTEPS
http://brainfag.com/writing/203/

My eyes!!! Another one I'm not fond of (scroll down the page):

http://homemadelaptopcooler.blogspot.com/

 

I used a glass cutting board for a while, until I got my G1s, where that wasn't enough and I had to get a fan based cooler. I still used the glass board with my old laptop, its very comfortable(and cool) when you want to use it in your lap.

 

Thanks for the feedback, nightfox. I've been using using a glass cutting board since yesterday. Works okay but I'm also considering different materials. For one thing the cutting board is 2lbs which is okay for something I won't carry but if I want a portable solution that's too heavy. I'm looking into other kind of materials to form the body of the board.

I've also thought about how I could make anti-skid raisers. There are some very cheap mousepads out there that have an anti-skid surface underneath. I could take one of those, cut it to fit the shape I need and then glue it to whatever kind of board I want to use.

 

I would suggest using aluminum as your main material, as it will dissipate heat better. Maybe even have holes in the aluminum, and raise the back end somehow with anti-skid raisers.

 

Sorry to double post, but check out the design of this. It may give you some design ideas:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3748
http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/lapworks_aluminum_desktop_stand
http://www.virtual-hideout.net/reviews/Lapworks_Aluminum_Stand/index.shtml
^This one seems to have the best pics.

 

Thanks. I thought about the aluminum but that would work for a laptop sitting on a desk. One thing I want to do is have a cooling solution for when the laptop is in my lap. I'm concerned that with aluminum I might end up transferring the heat from my laptop to myself. Or maybe I could have a two-layered approach: aluminum on top and a thermal insulation at the bottom. If I make the aluminum bigger than the laptop, it could be used as some sort of radiator.

Thanks for the links.

 

I am at a loss of ideas Good luck with the cooler and please post some pics when you finish! I am very interested in having something like you are describing.

 

I made my own portable cooling solution, it worked ok. I will try to dig it out and post some pictures sometime. My advice from it is that unless you are really good with it, avoid metal, as it is very difficult to produce a pleasing result without lots and lots of work and experience. If you are good with it, by all means, but any other coolers I do (I have made 3 so far) will be from wood exclusively (except for the fasteners).

 

My friend uses dices to jack the notebook up... I use a small box.

 

Yep. I'm not planing to try anything sophisticated with metal by myself. I found a shop on the internet that sells sheets of aluminum pre-cut to specified dimensions:

http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=8051&step=4&showunits=inches

I'm going to inquire for machine shops around where I live to investigate what possibilities exist to get someone to work my metal for me. I have a relative who can probably point me in the right direction.

And yes, please post pictures if you can.

 

Check out the iLap's design http://www.raindesigninc.com/ilap.html They use a passive cooling system with aluminum on a stand... maybe something along the lines of their design might fit your needs.

 

Things are moving along slowly...

Anyway, as part of my experiments, I've bought a roll of non-adhesive shelf liner. Those liners have nice anti-skid properties. I've put some between my laptop and the glass cutting board I'm using as a temporary solution. The rubber feet of the laptop on the glass were not bad but with the shelf liner, the laptop is definitely not moving.

 

I'm just wondering what you were searching for to find a web site called 'brainfag'. On second thought, no, I don't want to know!

 

I was googling for "laptop stand" or "laptop cooling" or something like that. I couldn't care less what the site is called.

 

That was a joke. You know, as in humor? See here (might want to bookmark this): http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/humor

 

http://calebschmerge.googlepages.com/coolingpadpage

 

Here is another alternative if you need a passive cooling solution: http://www.bluelounge.com/coolfeet.php

 

Thanks for the link mayk.

I'm planing to make risers with some old mousepads.

 

This is interesting. I too use my laptop on my lap and we both seem to get rather warm in the process.

It never occurred to me to put something 'passive' between us.

I shall venture forth immediately into the garage and the shed and see what we got. (My husband is a horder. We MUST have something that will do. I have ordered a 'fan cooler' off EBay, but it hasn't arrived yet.)

 

A glass cutting board like I use right now is a form of passive cooling insofar as it creates a barrier between you and the laptop and insofar as having a flat surface to put the laptop on (rather than a lap) helps keep the fans unobstructed and the laptop cooler than if it sits straight on your lap.

However, what I'm aiming for is really to have risers to create distance between the board and the laptop. I've been planning to sacrifice some mousepads (graciously donated by my wife) for that experiment but I have not had the time to do it yet. (Ph.D. studies taking priority.)

Oh, and I got the glass cutting board from my wife but she did not like it that much anyway. That gave her an excuse to buy a nicer one.

 

I often use a couch pillow. It props up the comp while at the same time I feel no heat

 

On my current laptop and the one I had just before my current one, a pillow would block the vents on the bottom of the laptop. Not good if you want to keep the internal components of the laptop cool.

 

Ahh, well the computer I use on my lap has no vents on the bottom. Heh.

 

Great idea if you want your notebook to overheat either almost, or to the point of destroying it.

Hmm, I used to use little 2"x 4"x 6mm pieces of aluminum that were bent to in a Z shape, with a type of double sided tape that leaves no residue binding it to the notebook. It raised it about 1/2 of an inch and kept it cool.

Eventually I purchased an expensive X shaped passive cooler pad, which worked pretty good, but cost $60.