Electronic Interconnect Technology Offers PCB Thermal Management Materials, Constructions
 Electronic Interconnect Technology (EI) now offers a wide range of printed circuit board materials, constructions and configurations for electronic assemblies requiring heat management characteristics (high-power devices, RF and wireless and lighting/LED boards). EI has been UL certified for metal-clad PCBs with a standard dielectric, and can work with various thicknesses of aluminum and copper metal cores, offering precise machining tolerances and high-quality fabrication services for effective thermal management and long-term board reliability.
Other constructions include 2-layer T-lam, hybrid IMPCBs with FR-4/T-preg, multilayer metal base construction, and multilayer FR-4/T-preg hybrids.
Induction Heating System for Nanoparticle Research
 Ambrell has released a nanoparticle hyperthermia research featuring the EASYHEAT line of induction heating systems in the 1 kW to 10 kW power range. This induction heating system is used in thermal therapy research to generate alternating magnetic fields to elevate and manage the temperature of a solution of nanoparticles in vitro or (in animal studies) in vivo.
The system includes an EASYHEAT power supply with a frequency range of 150 kHz to 400 kHz, a three-coil set, a fiber-optic temperature sensor with optional controller, a serial data-link cable to your PC and plastic and glass vials starter kit with insulating paper. This system can achieve field strength of up to125 kA/m.
An RF-immune temperature transducer provides temperature indication and closed-loop control of your process. The convenient table-top design is portable and suitable for clean medical environments.
REOTEMP Weld Pad/Tube Skin Thermocouples & RTD’s
 REOTEMP manufactures a full line of standard and custom weld pad thermocouples and RTD’s. The weld-pad (tube skin) termination allows a temperature sensor to be welded directly onto piping or other metal surfaces to sense the surface temperature. Weld pads are most commonly used in fired heater tubes, refinery heater tubes, boilers and furnaces in refineries and industrial boilers. However, they can be used in virtually any application requiring surface temperature measurement.
Choose from a variety of junction styles (knife-edge shaped, V shaped, wedge shaped, etc.), materials, wrap-around angles, expansion loops, stem lengths, and spring loaded covers. REOTEMP’s weld pads allow severe service temperature measurement with minimum drift and minimum radiant heat impingement. The addition of a REOTEMP shield will improve the efficiency and accuracy of your weld pad.
Simultaneous Lead and Lead-free Convection Soldering from Rehm Thermal Systems
Rehm Thermal Systems has released its Dual Lane Vision X series convection soldering system. Enabling simultaneous lead-rich and lead-free reflow soldering in a single system, the technology is well suited for manufacturers looking to run parallel processes conveniently and cost-effectively.
The Dual Lane Vision X series is equipped with two conveyor lanes which can be operated asynchronously at different speeds. Employing this unique multi-track variant, manufacturers can also operate the two lanes asymmetrically with different lane widths. The two conveyors can be loaded with diverse PCBs printed with different solder pastes, while a flexible heating system enables the selection of ideal reflow profiles for the separate products. Rehm’s Vision X ovens utilize homogenous, non-separated heating and cooling zones across the entire width of the conveyor, increasing operating convenience and reducing investment cost compared to other dual process design offerings.
Based on the Vision series convection reflow soldering equipment, the Dual Lane Vision X series is a future-proofing system providing reliable, repeatable soldering results. Available with either an air or nitrogen atmosphere, the Vision Series offers an integrated residue management system including the company’s Rehm Pyrolysis technology in the heat zones. Virtually maintenance-free, Pyrolysis splits long molecular chains into shorter ones to reduce the amount of condensable waste and unwanted dripping within the process chamber. The result is efficient and environmentally friendly disposal of contamination and increased user productivity.
Longwatch adds Thermal Imaging to Video Surveillance Software
 The Longwatch Video Surveillance System now has an interface to FLIR’s A-Series Thermal Imaging cameras, so that thermal images can be viewed on standard HMI/SCADA software, such as Wonderware InTouch or GE Fanuc iFix. This capability expands process monitoring, maintenance and process diagnostics, because the thermal images allow operators to see product/utility leaks, “hot spots” in a process, imperfections in finished goods and other anomalies. Infrared imaging can also be used for intrusion monitoring.
Thermal imaging has been used to analyze processes and for security purposes for years, but such systems typically have been specialized, stand-alone or handheld systems. Now, Longwatch enables real-time thermal images to be displayed on HMI screens in the control room, integrated with process displays, so operators can see what is happening in a process or on an assembly line. Thermal images can be displayed side by side with video images on the same screen, for a complete picture of the process.
The FLIR thermal cameras connect to Longwatch Video Engine software, installed at strategic sites in the plant, next to process equipment and along automation assembly lines. The video engine continuously records images from multiple thermal and standard video cameras onto a local disk for up to 30 days and sends “video clips” over the plant network to the Longwatch Video Control Center (VCC) in the plant’s control room. The VCC then sends the clips to HMI/SCADA software, a cellphone or PDA, and stores them in a Video Historian. Clips can be sent on a regular scheduled basis, on command from the HMI/SCADA system, when a process or assembly step occurs, or in real time when an alarm occurs. The Longwatch system also enables cameras to be located in far remote regions, communicating back to the central control room over a variety of low-speed or high-speed networks.
The thermal camera and the Longwatch software at the remote site can be configured to alarm when pre-defined temperature conditions are detected, such as if a steam leak occurs or a process becomes too hot or too cold, or if an unexpected image appears, such as an intruder. The system can retrieve thermal images from before the incident occurs, such as 30 seconds before the alarm, and immediately send a video clip to the operator when the alarm occurs. Longwatch creates a “video sequence of events recorder.” The operator can switch to a live video feed and monitor the process from the control room.
If more data is needed for a detailed analysis of the problem, all or part of the Longwatch system’s video history can be retrieved from the Longwatch Video Engine in high-resolution format, downloaded to a thumb drive or DVR, and viewed on a PC.
The Video Historian enables users to acquire and store video clips linked with process and manufacturing variables such as time of day, camera number, batch step, machine ID and other control system tags. This gives users the ability to store hourly, daily or weekly thermographs of process components to benchmark patterns and changes over time. It also allows thermal video clips to be stored for each step of a process, to document that steps were completed successfully or for quality control purposes.
The Video Historian allows multiple images to be displayed at the same time, so engineers can compare processes side by side. Process managers may find problems they did not know even existed and would not have found in the past without thermal imaging.
Having the ability to see imperfections in a process is not the only benefit. Thermal imaging also allows users to see unnecessary usage of equipment, warning signs that equipment is on the way out, and gives managers plenty of warning of pending problems, allowing them to make informed decisions on how to proceed in certain situations. |
Thermal Interface Materials Technical Symposium
ECS Meeting