Tag Archives: thermal management

New Consulting Project Subscription Plan

Posted on March 21, 2013 by | Leave a comment

ATS has released a Consulting Project Subscription Plan (CPSP) for engineering services. From our corporate headquarters in Norwood, Massachusetts,we offers comprehensive thermal management analysis and design services for the telecommunications, medical, military, defense, aerospace, automotive, and embedded computing industries. The new plan allows ATS engineers to become an extension of your team for a pre-determined amount of hours, providing expert thermal and mechanical engineering consultation, design, simulation, testing and validation.

ATS Design Services

Services include Design, Simulation, Testing, Analysis & Prototyping

The CPSP includes the use of ATS thermal lab facilities and covers all projects approved by an authorized representative of subscribed customers. ATS thermal management analysis and design services encompass both experimental and computational simulations using proprietary tools and computational fluid dynamics software packages such as FLOTHERM and CFdesign.

Thermal Testing & Analysis

Thermal Testing & Analysis

The new subscription plan gives customers priority access to ATS engineering and manufacturing resources for all chip, board, enclosure, and system related projects. ATS studies the full packaging domain, including components, circuit boards (PCBs), shelves, chassis, and system packaging.

Consulting capabilities include:

– heat sink, board and fan characterization

– heat sink design and optimization

– PCB & fan tray design and optimization

– liquid cooling design

– prototyping of heat sinks and complete cooling systems

– wind tunnel testing of components, PCBs, chassis and enclosures

ATS offers rapid prototyping of machined parts and cooling systems from its US facilities. Sheet metal fabrication and cut heat sink prototypes are quickly provided from international partners.

Liquid Crystal Thermography

Liquid Crystal Thermography

ATS believes that customers who wish to remain competitive should consider a design-to-suit opportunity solution first. Contrary to common perception, this proves to be less expensive to the customer in the long run, because of the ensuing gain in product efficiency and compatibility. Working side-by-side with customers worldwide, ATS engineers provide tailored solutions to thermal and mechanical packaging challenges on real projects with real schedules.

To learn more about the consulting project subscription plan, call 781-769-2800, email [email protected], or visit www.qats.com.

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New maxiFLOW DC-DC Brick Heat Sinks Ideal for Military-COTS Applications

Posted on March 8, 2013 by | 1 comment

ATS has recently launched a new product line of maxiFLOW heat sinks, specially designed to cool DC-DC converters. The new line of heat sinks can be used with Vicor’s DC-DC converter Bricks, including their military-COTS applications.

 

Vicor’s Maxi, Mini, and Micro series DC-DC converters are relied upon by over eight thousand OEMs for their proven performance, broad coverage of input and output voltages, ease of mechanical mounting and thermal management flexibility. These converter modules use advanced power processing, control, and packaging technologies to provide the performance, flexibility, and ruggedness expected in a Military COTS product. High frequency ZCS/ZVS switching, advanced power semiconductor packaging, and thermal management provide high-power density with low noise and high efficiency.

maxiFLOW Heat Sink for Half Brick DC-DC Converters

 

ATS’ patented maxiFLOW technology cools millions of BGAs and other PCB components. The same technology is now available for cooling eighth, quarter, half and full brick modules, such as the Micro, Mini, and Maxi series from Vicor. Unlike other converter heat sinks, the patented maxiFLOW heat sink design reduces air pressure drop and provides greater surface area, increasing thermal performance by 30-200%.

Vicor’s Micro, Mini, and Maxi DC-DC Converters

Vicor’s offering of full, half, and quarter-brick modules feature a patented low noise design with the highest reliability and power density available. Fully encapsulated, Maxi, Mini and Micro series DC-DC converters utilize a proprietary spin fill process that assures complete, void free encapsulation making them suitable for the harshest environments. Two grades (H & M) are available with temperatures to -55°C operating and -65°C storage. H & M-Grade modules are qualified to the stringent environmental tests of MIL-STD-810 and MIL-STD-202 and undergo 100% Environment Stress Screening.

By combining technology from industry leaders Vicor and ATS, it can be ensured that DC-DC converters will have superior performance in the harshest environments, which is vital for military and aerospace applications.

To learn more about maxiFLOW Brick DC-DC converter heat sinks, please visit our Power Brick Heat Sink Page or email [email protected], or call us 781-769-2800.

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Posted in DC-DC Converter, Heat Sinks

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Latest Qpedia Issue Marks New Milestone

Posted on February 25, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Qpedia Thermal eMagazine | Volume 6 | Issue 12The latest Qpedia Thermal eMagazine has just been released and can be downloaded at: http://www.qats.com/Qpedia-Thermal-eMagazine/Back-Issues.

This month’s featured articles are:

Pin-Fin Heat Sink Performance Under Air Jet Impingement

This paper summarizes the research on pin fin heat sinks under single confined jets, conducted by El-Sheikh and Garimella, and the study of pin fin heat sinks under single free jets, completed by Issa and Ortega Their experimental tests shows that the thermal performance of pin fin heat sinks behave similarly under some circumstances and act differently under some other configurations for confined jet impingement and free jet impingement. For engineers, this has implications for their use of jet impingement as a cooling method.

The Challenges of TIM Selection in Today’s Demanding Electronics Cooling Environment

With ever hotter running devices, users often rely quite heavily on thermal interface material (TIM) to provide an added factor in obtaining the margins that they require to meet product qualification. Thus, TIM continues to play a critical role in todays electronics environment, proving a viable heat conductive medium between the silicon heat source and the heat dissipating device, and serving to decrease the thermal resistance between chip and heat sink. This paper explores some of the test approaches undertaken by researchers with regard to TIM and why users must be particularly careful in selecting TIM.

Industry Developments: Cooling Automotive Electronic Control Units

As the numbers of ECUs increase, so do their design differences and the complexity of their software. And, as more operators and passengers rely on ECUs for a better driving experience, designers and OEMs must ensure that their performance lives up to expectations. In this piece, the writer explores the various thermal challenges facing ECUs.

Technology Review: Cold Plates 2010 to 2012

Qpedia continues its review of technologies developed for electronics cooling applications. We are presenting selected patents that were awarded to developers around the world to address cooling challenges. After reading the series, you will be more aware of both the historic developments and the latest breakthroughs in both product design and applications.

This release marks the final issue of Volume 6. Qpedia has now published 72 issues and 288 articles in 6 volumes and hardbound book sets. Thank you to the editors and guest contributors who have spent countless hours researching, writing, and sharing their technical expertise with the engineering community. We are proud to be the only monthly publication dedicated to the thermal management of electronics.

Want to be a Qpedia guest editor? Submit a study, white paper, patent release, or technical article at www.qats.com.

Not subscribed to Qpedia? Register now for free at: http://www.qats.com/Qpedia-Thermal-eMagazine/Back-Issues.

In need of Advertising? Reach over 18,000 engineers by advertising in Qpedia. Contact Andrea Koss at: [email protected] or 781-949-2522 for package rates & additional information.

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Touch Screen Scanner Simplifies Temperature and Air Velocity Measurement for Thermal Characterization

Posted on February 22, 2013 by | 3 comments

ATVS-NxTThe ATVS-NxT hot wire anemometer is a fully-portable scanner that provides rapid and highly precise temperature and air velocity measurements for the thermal characterization of electronic packages. The ATVS-NxTis member of our temperature & velocity measurement instruments, along with the ATVS-2020 and eATVS-8, but its touch screen feature and embedded pc speaks to its truly unique capability.

The unique touch screen feature allows users to control the stageVIEW software at their fingertips, quickly acquiring temperature and air velocity data, analytics, and reports. It includes an 8 GB hard drive and a CD/RW drive. Ethernet connections allow the scanner to be operated over an intranet or the Internet.
Watch the quick 30 second video showing the ATVS-NxT touch screen feature

The ATVS-NxT supports up to 32 sensors for simultaneous, single-point air velocity and temperature measurements in environments where single or multipoint measurements are required. The sensors are calibrated for both low (natural convection) and high velocity flow rates.

The easy to use ATVS-NxT collects heat and airflow data useful to heat sink manufacturers, IC houses, board designers, and other electronics manufacturers. The scanner’s single-point measurement of temperature and air velocity provides faster, more precise data enabling more efficient thermal management solutions. Visit qats.com to learn more or to request a quote.

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ATS Design Services Contacted for ECL’s New Recycled LED Street Light

Posted on February 7, 2013 by | 7 comments

Eco City Lights (ECL), a leading supplier of commercial and industrial LED lighting products, recently contacted ATS design services for help in solving thermal challenges on a newly developed application.

ATS performed a full thermal analysis on ECLs retro-fit solution for cobra head street lights. Services provided by ATS included simulation, validation and reporting for the heat sink, enclosure and system level applications. Experimentation was done in order to validate and optimize the current design and the thermal solution. Using IR Technology and multiple sensors throughout the fixture, LED, heat sink, and power supply, testing was performed to determine the true temperatures of the output and enclosure parameters. After numerous studies were conducted, in addition to reviewing 3D CAD models of the enclosure and application components, ATS was able to successfully analyze the existing thermal management solution for the retro-fit street light.

ATS performed testing and analysis on the LED application

ATS performed testing and analysis on the LED application

Eco City Lights felt it was most important to find a thermal management company to evaluate, analyze, and comment on our led lighting solutions. “After researching our options ECL determined that ATS was the best qualified to handle our project. After personally visiting with Joe Gaylord of ATS and talking with their engineers, we now have a product line that is thermally tested, proven, and cost effective. As our company continues to grow, we will be adding addition products and look forward to working with ATS in the future” said Ken Moeller, President of Eco City Lights.

ECL's Cobra Head Street Light

ECL’s Cobra Head Street Light

Eco City Lights LED products are used in street, sidewalk, parking lot and warehouse applications for municipal, government, and commercial enterprises. It is crucial that the LEDs thermal performance is maximized, ensuring product reliability and an extended lifespan. The new recycled LED streetlight module is proven to save customers over 60 percent of energy consumptions costs, providing long lasting, low maintenance, and energy efficient LED lighting.

From its computational facilities and thermal/fluids laboratories in Massachusetts, ATS specializes in providing thermal analysis, mechanical and design services for the telecommunications, networking, medical, aerospace, defense, embedded computing, and automotive industries with high performance electronic products. To learn more about ATS Design Services, call 781-769-2800, email [email protected], or visit www.qats.com.

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