Prototyping
After the thermal design concept has been theoretically modelled to verify thermal/mechanical performance, the next step is to build a prototype to validate the theoretical modeling results. Thermacore maintains extensive prototype fabrication capabilities including the following:
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Once the Prototype has been validated, Thermacore is capable of providing qualification testing such as:
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With on-site manufacture and an extended engineering/production personnel ratio, prototypes are rapidly developed using may different technologies. Using one example we can see how a prototype development can work. The image above shows a basic prototype developed using hand build heat pipes and folded fin. Weight was an overriding concern as was performance, so we used folded fin as the condenser and four Ø8mm heat pipes.The second stage has changes to the fin design at the customers request. An extrusion based design was machined from solid so that we could reduce labour from the folded fin design. Time was an issue, so heat pipe routings were maintained, leaving some of the extruded fins machined away to suit. Next the environmental protection was applied using Electroless Nickel. The extrusion design was developed with a (patent pending) capture feature that reduced setup time for both evaporator and condenser. Further refinements saw the heat pipe routings optimised along with sinter fill to allow one heat pipe to be removed. this reduced weight and cost in the final assembly. | ||
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