Mini Guide: Liquid Cold Plates

Liquid cold plates are one of the most common custom CNC-machined parts in high-performance electronics cooling, yet many engineers encounter the same avoidable design pitfalls when designing them for the first time. Our cold plate mini guide covers the key considerations for designing a CNC-machined cold plate: channel geometry and minimum dimensions, material selection, cover plate sealing methods, port and fitting placement, surface finish, and common post-processing options. Each recommendation includes a brief explanation of the reasoning behind it, so the guidelines are easier to apply to your specific design. It's intended as a practical starting point for engineers designing custom cold plates for data centers, AI accelerators, and power electronics — whether it's your first design or a revision of an existing one.