Fans for BBAI-64.

[usva.techdev]

I’m buying a BBAI-64. I want to know how to properly provide a fan to cool the board.

I found the following suggestions on the forum. I wonder if there is something newer to this information that I should take into account before buying any fan… One of the suggestions says “the fan is resting on top of heat sink” so I guess this means there is no way to fix/attach the fan to the heat sink…

Fan as pwm connection to BBAI64

On the BBAI-64, Does the Fan Connector Work?

Hello, Does the fan on the BBAI-64 work? I saw there was a fan connector… Is this 5v or is it some other voltage that needs to be allocated to it? Seth

[BBAI-64] PWM FAN is not working after boot

Hello all, I’m new to BBAI-64, I updated application and connected PWM FAN to FAN connector(J1). FAN would spin during boot but after it would stop. And in between HDMI display would flash and at that time FAN would rotate for short duration. I’m new to linux and this is my first SBC, any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance. Tejo

Some people recommending fans:
1.- From @benedict.hewson 40x40x10mm and a 60x60x25mm Noctua 4 pin 5V fan.

BBAI-64 thermals

What is the fan you’re using? I was thinking something along the lines of a constant-slow-rpm big-diameter one. I was wondering if anybody has recommendations for such a contraption.

2.- From @silver2row Anvision 5v USB fan

BBAI-64 thermals

Hello, It gets hot. The processor is an automotive processor (supposedly). Anyway, I suggest a fan or fans (plural). I know it is a big deal w/ this being a new board but I think all the kinks have not been addressed by the .org for now. Anyway, to stay on the safe side of things, fans. Seth P.S. W/ a tiny USB fan, my sink and board are now cool. I feel your warranted call. I was afraid at first for the processor b/c of its heat dissipation or lack thereof. Fans.

BBAI-64 thermals

I have used a 40x40x10mm and a 60x60x25mm Noctua 4 pin 5V fan. Just resting the fan on top of the heatsink currently, blowing air down. Running the fans at 50% duty cycle keeps the temperature to around 40C (25C ambient) I have not had time to do some stress testing on my board yet though.

3.- From @blu “80x25mm Noctua 2200 RPM, which might have been an overkill as the AI-64 now sits at 33-36C”

BBAI-64 thermals

Thank you @bbAI01 I already got myself a 80x25mm Noctua 2200 RPM, which might have been an overkill as the AI-64 now sits at 33-36C. Time to see what this TI chip can actually do.

Short question is: should I follow any of this recommendations for buying a fan or is there anything else newer and better that the community knows about it?

Thanks

Ulises

[foxsquirrel]

@usva.techdev

or is there anything else newer and better that the community knows about it?

A fan is not needed.

Did not test it in high ambient, normal room temperature when it was subjected to stressng.
We have an ai64 server with NVMe in production without a fan. It is mounted in a metal case and the cooling fins are on the top. It has operated flawlessly for a year or longer and it is still working fine, it hangs with the metal box dells 24-7.

A cooling fan on any device turns into trouble if it is located in less than a clean room environment. Ours is manufacturing/machining environment so anything without a fan is less to keep clean.

[usva.techdev]

Thank you for you answer !!!

[chronma]

I would consider having a fan even if “it doesn’t need one” The card gets very warm… hot even. the heatsink and the peripheral connectors. I am using a cheap usb WIFI dongle, over the first few days working over codeserver, i kept getting erratic connection behavior. It dawned on me that the dongle might not like the heat.

I screwed a small (tiny) 5vdc fan connected to the incoming power supply for the card to the heat sink and the temperature dropped dramatically. Wifi has been good ever since.

With a few I2c / uart sensors attached and powered by the board, the BBAI64 with the wifi dongle is consuming about 11 watts, so not much cooling is required, but the heatsink and card don’t seem to passively cool that well.

[usva.techdev]

thanks for your reply @chronma … I guess I’ll buy one to be on the safe zone…

[chronma]

Good Luck,
Here are some pictures of the mount I made.

It uses a 40mm 5VDC fan, and kinda ducts it through the heat sink. It is working well.

[usva.techdev]

Thank you for your reply @chronma the fan I bought does not fit naturally/with connector in to the header fan… two questions:
1.- how did you connect the fan to the board connector? did you solder it? or did you buy a fan with a connector? did you buy a separate connector?
1.- do you have the link to the fan you bought for your beagleboard?

Thanks.

Ulises Vega

[kevinacahalan]

The fan looks connected to the 5V and ground in-between pins P8_46 and P9_42

[chronma]

The fan (2-wire) is wired in to the incoming 5vdc power supply. To use the boards fan header requires a connector and a 3-4 wire fan and i believe you have to load the BONE-Fan overlay (I’m not sure about this though)
The fan is a cheap 2 wire 40mm fan which is relatively quiet.