User Manual
15
Thermal Solutions Design Guide | Specifications subject to change
Choosing Minco for Thermal Simulations
When you choose Minco to create a thermal simulation, you are
partnering with expertise in providing complete integrated thermal
solutions for the most critical applications—in markets where
failure is not an option. Minco performs more than 500 thermal
simulations in a year. Why trust your critical simulations to anyone
with less expertise?
Minco will take you beyond the simulations with our well-equipped
facilities for test and validation. Our thermal testing tools include:
Labview for thermal data collection; Dedicated thermal test carts
(SW, A/D, sensors, etc.); IR Cameras; Custom thin film sensor arrays;
Vacuum chamber; CTH Chambers; HALT Chamber; Micro-section
lab; analytical services; shock/vibration testing; digital X-ray and
CT imaging; and thermal test chambers from -70°C to 170°C to
simulate extreme env
ironments.
Involve Minco early in the design
Our customers benefit the most when Minco is engaged in the
early stages of design. They realize that the heater is not an
isolated component but an integral part of a thermal system.
Minco excels in delivering cost-effective, high performance
systems, working as an extension of your engineering team.
We ask you to provide your problems, not just your prints. Early
involvement allows designing for improved manufacturability
and lower cost.
FEA/CFD Analysis
Minco works with modeling to simulate performance of your
system under various conditions, create design alternatives for
comparison and ultimately provide an optimal design solution.
We offer two different methods of analysis: Finite Element
Analysis (FEA) and Computational Flow Dynamics (CFD). FEA
only addresses environmental conditions brought about by
conduction, such as the routine heating of the heat sink. CFD,
by contrast, also addresses less predictable environmental
conditions like air currents or the flow of ink.
Basic parameters we evaluate include:
• Thermal uniformity of the system when using a non-
optimized uniform heat source
• Warm-up time given a maximum wattage
• Warm-up power requirements to achieve a time goal
• Steady-state power requirements to maintain a process
(with more efficient use of power) and recommended
safety margins based on material conditions.
Going beyond the basics, the models can be used to:
• Optimize thermal uniformity of the system by profiling the
wattage distribution of the heat source.
• Model different temperature sensing locations to ensure
optimal system responsiveness.
• Evaluate thermal uniformity at multiple control
temperatures.
• Identify control loop problems.
• Evaluate heat sinks for deformation and expansion issues.
• Test modifications to heat sinks and other hardware in to
optimize thermal performance.
See the next page for a list of requirements for either type of
analysis.
Simulation Capabilities
Minco oers thermal simulations to ensure proper heater design
Why Request a Thermal Simulation?
Traditional thermal design consisted of a design proposal,
procurement of physical prototypes, performance
testing and validation followed by pre-production and
production. The steps through testing and validation
were iterative. The more complex the design parameters
were, the more iterations of prototype and test were
required to achieve optimal performance. Traditional
thermal design is an expensive proposition when you
consider the cost of physical investments in testing and
the lost time to market.
Simulation-based thermal design uses computer
modeling to predict product performance and allows
for design modifications within the model to optimize
your thermal parameters before committing to physical
prototypes. While there are up-front costs associated
with simulation-based design, the savings over traditional
iterative prototyping can be substantial. In most cases,
a single iteration of physical prototype will meet the
demands of the application.