The Heat Problem Is Scaling Faster Than Ever
Every generation of connectivity gets hotter. A 5G AAU (active antenna unit) consumes three to four times the power of its 4G equivalent, and AI servers now push 1-2 kW of heat per rack. Cooling is no longer an afterthought – it decides system reliability, lifespan and energy cost.
Where Extruded Aluminium Does the Work
The big consumers of heat sink profiles today: 5G AAU and small-cell heatsinks (large surface area in a compact outdoor box), data center server CPU/GPU heatsinks, cold plates for liquid cooling loops, and high-power optical modules. Most are extruded 6063-T5, often black anodised to add radiation.
Extrusion Beats Stamped and Die-Cast
For fins over 20 mm tall, stamping is out of the question and die-casting adds porosity and tooling cost. Extrusion delivers tall, thin fins in one pass with tight tolerances – and cold plates start as extruded slabs before CNC machining. That is why the industry standard is still the extruded profile.
A Quiet Growth Curve for Suppliers
Telecom and data center hardware runs on multi-year product cycles with big batch sizes and strict consistency requirements. For buyers, a supplier with dedicated extrusion capacity and anodising in-house shortens lead times and protects quality. That is exactly the setup we run at Siken Aluminum – send us your thermal design and we will quote the extrusion.