I'm thinking about cooling a non-flat surface; specifically a cylinder. The item in question gets too hot for simple air-based heat-sinking to be sufficient, so I'm toying with the idea of using a Peltier device to force-cool it. However, all the Peltier thermocooling units I've seen are essentially wafers.

 

Are they ever found in other shapes? How simple would it be for me to construct one? (The materials, I mean, not the matter of machining it.)

 

Thanks..

I'm guessing that because you need junctions of dissimilar metals and thermal insulation between the two sides, that flexibility is not trivial to come by. The cross-sections of TECs I've seen look like corrugation, which makes them pretty sturdy.

 

However, there's this

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/EP1981095.html

 

Generally, the flexible Peltier module can be mounted to different structures without the requirement of the base surface being even. Because of the flexibility of the Peltier module, an all-over contact with the respective base surface or heat sink device is made. This means that the Peltier module has a good adaptability to different topographies. This causes a good heat transmission.

 

But a patent doesn't mean that the item is being produced anywhere.