Further (final?) thermal improvement:
20230618-Netgate 6100-Thermals-Tilted Laptop Cooler.png
The ambient temperature has increased over the period of testing, so the actual improvement is probably slightly better than shown above.
I added extended feet to the front of the small laptop cooler so the front is slightly higher by 1º. With the ports on the 6100 at the front this raises the exposed part of the heatsink fins above the more enclosed (LED) end.
The added airflow and removal of the air trapped behind the plastic case made quite a difference to the performance of the heatsink. Silicom should have trimmed the plastic cover on the LED-side of the heatsink in the same way as the port-equipped side.
Compilation graph of the various orientations, elevations and now the tilt:
20230618-Netgate 6100-Thermals-Fused Graph.png
Of course, in any orientation it wasn't close to bursting into flames or anything.
☕️