How to attach heat sink to stepper motor? Thermal glue?

[Gian Pablo Villamil]

I'm interested in attaching some 40mm heatsinks to the back of a stepper motor. 

Any thoughts on the best way to do this? Thermal glue?

[Ryan Carlyle]

You can get silicone adhesive pads designed for attaching heat sinks to computer components and the like. Thermal epoxy will probably work better though. Just have to commit to the permanent attachment...

[Jetguy]

For a semi-permanent install, I use thermal epoxy
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0087X725S/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

[Jetguy]

If you had to take the heatsink off it will come off even with that epoxy- maybe a little help from a heatgun.

Just saying, it's not "permanent" AKA never, ever get it off. My concern is tape never seems to hold forever and a heatsink attached to the back of an extruder motor might fall off at the worst moment given usage.

[Mikk Kiilaspää]

Wouldn't hurt to reinforce with for example zip ties to make sure they never fall off randomly.

[GRB352]

Super glue works for me.. I know, I know, the temp rating isn't as good. But I usually use old CPU and video heatsinks with fans, and I guess they no longer get hot enough to worry about super glue heat issue point.

[GRB352]

Though, I do have to admit, all my extruders are pretty ugly. The glue does hold the ugly on though.

[mechw4arrior]

On my current printer I use 3M Thermal tape.  I bought it from Adafruit in an 80mmx80mm square, so one sheet will cover 4 stepper motors.  It is $4.50 a sheet and the adhesion and heat transfer properties are excellent.  I tried superglue and it seems to work better, at least in my case.

http://www.adafruit.com/products/1468

The number one key to success is to lap the back end of the stepper motor flat using some sandpaper glued to a flat surface like a sheet of glass.  This removes the paint or other finish that is applied to the back of the stepper and prepares a bare aluminum surface which is very easy to bond to.  It also helps with flatness, which in my opinion isn't super important since the tape can fill decently sized gaps.  Below is a picture of my setup: