Brochure

3
Safety
SmartHeat is self-limiting, meaning it can never exceed the designed safety temperature. This is particularly
important in applications in which overheating can damage equipment or impair the operation of the system.
It prevents damage due to heater delamination or drastic changes in environmental heat loads. If a heater
becomes delaminated, a traditional heater would over-temp and either create a hot spot or drive to failure.
The SmartHeat material on the other hand will simply lower the power output to the delaminated area and
maintain its set-point.
This is also true for drastic changes in environmental conditions, such as a sudden loss of liquid in a heated
container. If a traditional heater encountered an empty or partially empty container or vessel the reduced heat
loss from the heated surface may not be adequate, causing the traditional heater to overheat. This will not
happen with the SmartHeat material. It will lower its power output and
maintain its design set point.
Loss of heating function can also be risky. Unlike a traditional heater, a
damaged SmartHeat heater is unlikely to be completely shut down by
physical damage. In most cases physical damage will only shut down
the damaged area of the heater, allowing it to continue functioning at
a reduced level. In some cases, the functioning area will draw increased
power to compensate for the damaged area, which does not heat.
Overall, SmartHeat is the better choice for applications in which both
heater failure and overheating must be avoided.
Polymer resistance
increases to reduce
power draw as target
temperature is reached.
SmartHeat Construction
The multilayer construction of SmartHeat allows power to be delivered to the entire surface of the carbon-silicone
matrix (CSM). The CSM layer determines the power draw at each point to equalize heating across the entire surface.
If a higher heat load is seen at one section of the heater, the CSM will lower local resistance, allowing more power
to ow to that section, bringing temperature of the area back up to its
set point. The CSM and copper material (SLT foil) are encased in the
same polyimide material Minco’s traditional heaters are made of to
provide a protective electrical insulative layer.
SmartHeat incorporates the functions of sensor,
controller, and heater into a compact, thin-lm form factor.
SmartHeat SLT heater intentionally damaged
by a hole punch (left, visual image). Heater
is shown to continue operating in areas sur-
rounding the damage (right, thermal image).