Engineers Garage

  • Electronic Projects & Tutorials
    • Electronic Projects
      • Arduino Projects
      • AVR
      • Raspberry pi
      • ESP8266
      • BeagleBone
      • 8051 Microcontroller
      • ARM
      • PIC Microcontroller
      • STM32
    • Tutorials
      • Audio Electronics
      • Battery Management
      • Brainwave
      • Electric Vehicles
      • EMI/EMC/RFI
      • Hardware Filters
      • IoT tutorials
      • Power Tutorials
      • Python
      • Sensors
      • USB
      • VHDL
    • Circuit Design
    • Project Videos
    • Components
  • Articles
    • Tech Articles
    • Insight
    • Invention Stories
    • How to
    • What Is
  • News
    • Electronic Product News
    • Business News
    • Company/Start-up News
    • DIY Reviews
    • Guest Post
  • Forums
    • EDABoard.com
    • Electro-Tech-Online
    • EG Forum Archive
  • DigiKey Store
    • Cables, Wires
    • Connectors, Interconnect
    • Discrete
    • Electromechanical
    • Embedded Computers
    • Enclosures, Hardware, Office
    • Integrated Circuits (ICs)
    • Isolators
    • LED/Optoelectronics
    • Passive
    • Power, Circuit Protection
    • Programmers
    • RF, Wireless
    • Semiconductors
    • Sensors, Transducers
    • Test Products
    • Tools
  • Learn
    • eBooks/Tech Tips
    • Design Guides
    • Learning Center
    • Tech Toolboxes
    • Webinars & Digital Events
  • Resources
    • Digital Issues
    • EE Training Days
    • LEAP Awards
    • Podcasts
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • White Papers
    • Engineering Diversity & Inclusion
    • DesignFast
  • Guest Post Guidelines
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Insight – How Laptop Cooling Pad works

By Ashutosh Bhatt July 10, 2012

With time and usage, many laptops face a common problem of overheating. It not only reduces efficiency of the laptop but can also cause damage to laptop peripherals such as hard disks or microprocessor. In order to assist laptop cooling fans, USB powered cooling pads have caught the fancy of computer enthusiasts and are widely in demand all over. Light weighted and economic, cooling pads boast of keeping the laptops temperatures within tolerable limits even during prolonged spells of extensive usage. Let’s have a look at a typical laptop cooling pad.
 
Laptop Cooling Pad
 
Fig. 1: Laptop Cooling Pad
 
USB-Powered Cooling Fan.jpg
 
Fig. 2: USB-Powered Cooling Fan

Shape

Cooling pads are generally made of lightweight plastic or aluminum mesh or a combination of both. This makes them a portable accessory. The structure is strong enough to bear the load of the laptop. Depending on the manufacturer and the size of the laptop, number of fans and dimensions of the cooling pad may vary.
 
Tilted structure of cooling pad
 
Fig. 3: Tilted structure of cooling pad

Rear Structure & Fan

Cooling pads usually come in many shapes but most designs sport slight tilting to supplement the ergonomic usage of the laptop. The laptops are placed with the tilted side facing the user so that they can have easy access to keyboard. The laptop is held on the tilt structure through the rubber sponge pads that are placed at the edges of the cooling pad.
 
Thin Plastic Blades
 
Fig. 4: Thin Plastic Blades
The rear of the pad houses a fan made of thin plastic blades. Usage of thin plastic blades avoids any chances of user getting hurt or any laptop peripheral getting damaged. More number of blades enhances the centrifugal operation of the fan.
 
The Fan in Operation
 
Fig. 5: The Fan in Operation

A laptop generates tremendous amounts of heat when CPU is subjected to large computational loads, such as, during HD video gaming. The main task of the cooling pad is to assist the internal fans of the laptop in ejecting the air, thus they act as exhaust. This is the why laptop cooling pads are generally considered an accessory for gaming laptops.

Fan Sans Plastic Stand
 
Fig. 6: Fan Sans Plastic Stand

Brushless D.C. Motor

Without the plastic stand, the fan loses its identity of a laptop cooling pad. As shown above, it looks like a simple USB powered fan that any user can plug in to get some respite from heat.
 
Brushless DC Motor
 
Fig. 7: Brushless DC Motor
 
After the blades are removed the brushless DC motor is seen.  The motor is the basis of the cooling pad and derives its power from the laptop through the USB port. The motor used in pad has a permanent magnet and can provide speeds from 600RPM to 2300RPM and more.
 
Connection Settings of DC Motor with PCB
 
Fig. 8: Connection Settings of DC Motor with PCB
 
The coils of the motor are connected to a PCB upon which the USB wire connections and the LEDs are mounted. 
 
LEDs lit by Laptop USB
 
Fig. 9: LEDs lit by Laptop USB
 
The image above shows the LEDs giving response to the USB power even when the fan and its peripherals are taken off.

The major factor that decides the quality of a cooling pad is the material used and the ratings of the motor used in it. The speed and quality of the motors used often dictate the price of the laptop cooling pads with the expensive pads using better motors with higher RPM capabilities. The pads having fans with a higher RPM require a better support to hold and hence need to have higher quality.

Filed Under: Insight
Tagged With: computer, cooling pad, dc motor, laptop cooling pad
 

Next Article

← Previous Article
Next Article →

Questions related to this article?
👉Ask and discuss on Electro-Tech-Online.com and EDAboard.com forums.



Tell Us What You Think!! Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

EE TECH TOOLBOX

“ee
Tech Toolbox: 5G Technology
This Tech Toolbox covers the basics of 5G technology plus a story about how engineers designed and built a prototype DSL router mostly from old cellphone parts. Download this first 5G/wired/wireless communications Tech Toolbox to learn more!

EE Learning Center

EE Learning Center
“engineers
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, tools and strategies for EE professionals.

HAVE A QUESTION?

Have a technical question about an article or other engineering questions? Check out our engineering forums EDABoard.com and Electro-Tech-Online.com where you can get those questions asked and answered by your peers!


RSS EDABOARD.com Discussions

  • Snooping Around is All
  • mosfet driver problem in regeneration mode
  • Industrial Relay Board Design for Motorcycle Use
  • connector model question
  • ADEM III ECM — No CAN Signal & Power Supply Issue

RSS Electro-Tech-Online.com Discussions

  • Sump pit water alarm - Kicad 9
  • Pic18f25q10 osccon1 settings swordfish basic
  • Anyone jumped from Easyeda std to Easyeda pro?
  • turbo jet fan - feedback appreciated.
  • More fun with ws2812 this time XC8 and CLC

Featured – LoRa/LoRaWan Series

  • What is the LoRaWAN network and how does it work?
  • Understanding LoRa architecture: nodes, gateways, and servers
  • Revolutionizing RF: LoRa applications and advantages
  • How to build a LoRa gateway using Raspberry Pi
  • How LoRa enables long-range communication
  • How communication works between two LoRa end-node devices

Recent Articles

  • How IoT network topologies work
  • The top five AI startups to watch in 2025
  • STMicroelectronics unveils SoC based on secure MCU
  • Nexperia’s 48 V ESD diodes support higher data rates with ultra-low capacitance design
  • Taoglas releases Patriot antenna with 18 integrated elements covering 600 to 6000 MHz

EE ENGINEERING TRAINING DAYS

engineering

Submit a Guest Post

submit a guest post
Engineers Garage
  • Analog IC TIps
  • Connector Tips
  • Battery Power Tips
  • DesignFast
  • EDABoard Forums
  • EE World Online
  • Electro-Tech-Online Forums
  • EV Engineering
  • Microcontroller Tips
  • Power Electronic Tips
  • Sensor Tips
  • Test and Measurement Tips
  • 5G Technology World
  • Subscribe to our newsletter
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy

Search Engineers Garage

  • Electronic Projects & Tutorials
    • Electronic Projects
      • Arduino Projects
      • AVR
      • Raspberry pi
      • ESP8266
      • BeagleBone
      • 8051 Microcontroller
      • ARM
      • PIC Microcontroller
      • STM32
    • Tutorials
      • Audio Electronics
      • Battery Management
      • Brainwave
      • Electric Vehicles
      • EMI/EMC/RFI
      • Hardware Filters
      • IoT tutorials
      • Power Tutorials
      • Python
      • Sensors
      • USB
      • VHDL
    • Circuit Design
    • Project Videos
    • Components
  • Articles
    • Tech Articles
    • Insight
    • Invention Stories
    • How to
    • What Is
  • News
    • Electronic Product News
    • Business News
    • Company/Start-up News
    • DIY Reviews
    • Guest Post
  • Forums
    • EDABoard.com
    • Electro-Tech-Online
    • EG Forum Archive
  • DigiKey Store
    • Cables, Wires
    • Connectors, Interconnect
    • Discrete
    • Electromechanical
    • Embedded Computers
    • Enclosures, Hardware, Office
    • Integrated Circuits (ICs)
    • Isolators
    • LED/Optoelectronics
    • Passive
    • Power, Circuit Protection
    • Programmers
    • RF, Wireless
    • Semiconductors
    • Sensors, Transducers
    • Test Products
    • Tools
  • Learn
    • eBooks/Tech Tips
    • Design Guides
    • Learning Center
    • Tech Toolboxes
    • Webinars & Digital Events
  • Resources
    • Digital Issues
    • EE Training Days
    • LEAP Awards
    • Podcasts
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • White Papers
    • Engineering Diversity & Inclusion
    • DesignFast
  • Guest Post Guidelines
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe