Lightweight MIM pin fincooling for compact automotive power modules

Metal Injection Molding for Power Electronis

#1 → Type 3

AME manufactures copper MIM pin fin coolers that combine high thermal performance with material and weight savings. Thin baseplates, dense and variable pin fields, and three-dimensional pin geometries allow you to get more cooling performance into less space.

Reduce baseplate thickness and weight while shaping pin geometry (height, spacing, shape) exactly to your flow and hotspot requirements.

Thinner copper baseplates
Pin spacing < 1 mm
Square to round pin shapes
Variable pin heights in one part
#2 → Type 4

What AME MIM pin fin cooling enables for your design

Our copper MIM process is tailored for highly loaded power electronics in vehicles. It gives you freedom to save material and weight, shape the flow field, and concentrate cooling where your losses are highest.

Material & weight

Thinner baseplates, less copper

By moving more functionality into the pin field we can reduce the thickness of the copper baseplate while maintaining thermal performance. Less copper means lower weight – a direct benefit for vehicle efficiency and packaging.

Pin spacing

High-density pin arrays (< 1 mm)

Our MIM process supports small pin spacing, down to below 1 mm. This allows dense pin fields under high-loss components and a fine resolution when matching your pin layout to the semiconductor pattern and flow field.

Pin geometry

From sharp-edged to round pins

Pins can be designed square, rectangular, rounded or transitional. You can tune the pin shape for turbulence generation, pressure drop, and manufacturability – and combine several geometries within the same component.

3D shaping

Variable pin heights on one plate

Pin height does not need to be constant. We can vary height across the plate to follow your loss map, adapt to flow distribution or respect local packaging restrictions, all in a single molded copper part.

Flow integration

Flow-guiding features built in

Inlet areas, flow turns and distribution zones can be integrated directly into the copper component. Instead of adding separate parts, the cooling structure becomes part of the functional copper base.

Packaging

More cooling in less height

Thinner baseplates and smart pin height maps help you to stay within tight height limits while keeping sufficient cooling margins. Useful for stacked modules and compact e-drive units.

#3 → Type 1

We treat the pin field as a design space, not a pattern

 

With AME MIM you are not limited to a regular grid of identical pins. We co-design the pin field with you so that every region contributes to thermal performance, flow distribution and weight reduction.

Typical ways we use this freedom in customer projects:

  • Increase pin density and height directly under known hotspots, reduce where loads are lower.
  • Change pin shape along the flow path, e.g. from more turbulent upstream to smoother downstream.
  • Use thinner baseplates where module mechanics and lifetime still allow it, to remove unnecessary copper.
  • Embed flow guiding features around the pin field to equalize coolant distribution without additional parts.
Pin spacing < 1 mm
Variable pin heights
Square / round / hybrid pins
Thinner Cu baseplates
#4 → Type 2

Design parameters we can tune together

In a joint design session we typically vary the following parameters to match your thermal and hydraulic constraints:

  • Baseplate thickness: define minimum thickness for mechanical integrity and lifetime, then remove excess material.
  • Pin height map: assign pin heights per region or cell, driven by loss distribution, flow velocity and local restrictions.
  • Pin spacing: move from standard spacing down to < 1 mm where high heat flux requires dense pins.
  • Pin shape: choose between square, rectangular, round or mixed shapes to balance turbulence and pressure drop.
  • Flow channels & guides: integrate flow turns, entries and exits as copper features around or within the pin field.
  • Component outline: adapt the plate to your module footprint and mounting concept while keeping manufacturability in mind.

You provide targets; we provide a manufacturable MIM-ready design with realistic boundaries on pin size, spacing and baseplate thickness.

#5 → Type 4

Where AME MIM pin fin cooling creates value

 

From traction inverters to on-board chargers, AME MIM pin fin plates help you combine aggressive power densities with tight packaging and weight targets.

Core automotive use cases

  • Traction inverter baseplates with pin fields tailored to chip layout and busbar routing.
  • On-board chargers (OBC) with highly integrated cooling paths and compact, low-height pin structures.
  • DC/DC converters with localized high-density pins under inductors or high-loss components.

Beyond the vehicle

  • Industrial power converters and drives where footprint and height are limited.
  • High-density power supplies and cooling blocks in confined enclosures.

How we typically work with you

  1. Joint review of your thermal targets, loss map and packaging constraints.
  2. Initial AME MIM pin fin concept focusing on weight and flow optimization.
  3. Iterative refinement with simulation (flow / thermal) and design-for-manufacturing checks.
  4. Tooling, prototypes and validation samples for your test bench.
  5. Preparation for series production and quality approval.

Ideally, you involve us while the cooling concept is still open – this is where the additional design freedom of AME MIM pin fins has the greatest impact.

#6 → Type 4

Discuss your cooling and weight targets with AME


Send us a short description of your application, including estimated power loss, coolant type, flow rate, pressure drop limits and allowed baseplate thickness. We will respond with an initial view on how an AME MIM pin fin design could look. 

Useful information also is: power level, loss distribution, target temperature limits, coolant specification, space constraints (especially height), and expected annual volume.

#7 → Type 7
! must be placed inside a type-7 area

You may use the contact form below or write us directly to:

contact@am-extrusion.com

By submitting the following below you allow us to contact you regarding AME MIM pin fin cooling solutions for your project.

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