Insulating component made from VICOTE® Coatings enables ultra-fast aluminum thick-film heater technology

Citation

(2011), "Insulating component made from VICOTE® Coatings enables ultra-fast aluminum thick-film heater technology", Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Vol. 58 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/acmm.2011.12858cab.002

Insulating component made from VICOTE® Coatings enables ultra-fast aluminum thick-film heater technology

Insulating component made from VICOTE^® Coatings enables ultra-fast aluminum thick-film heater technology

Article Type: Methods From: Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Volume 58, Issue 3

When Datec Coating Corporation was developing its new thick-film technology for applying a high-power electric heat source to an aluminum substrate, it chose VICOTE^® Coatings from Victrex Polymer Solutions as the insulating component for the top and bottom dielectric layers of the thick-film element (Figure 2). Datec’s thick-film heating system has integral conductive and resistive layers, which are screen-printed directly onto an aluminum heat sink that is coated with VICOTE Coatings. This UL recognized and RoHS compliant technology is used to manufacture fast acting, low-profile heaters that offer unsurpassed performance advantages including high-thermal conductivity and responsiveness for a wide range of industrial and consumer products.

Figure 2 VICOTE^® Coatings applied as the insulating component for the top and bottom dielectric layers of the thick-film element

Previously, heaters of this performance level could only be printed on stainless steel and alumina substrates. According to Datec CEO, Dominic Talalla, “The key to Datec’s innovation is the combination of the dielectric material containing the VICOTE Coating and the patented conductive and resistive materials. The VICOTE Coating is an excellent binder which, when combined with our other components, creates a strong bond to the substrate and provides excellent dielectric strength. It works very well with our resistor and conductor layers and together the layered system absorbs thermal expansion miss-match between the heating layers and the substrate”.

VICOTE Coatings are based on VICTREX^® PEEK™ polymer, one of the highest performing thermoplastic materials in the world. The coating’s crystalline structure provides exceptional scratch and wear resistance, strength and durability, especially at high temperatures leading to longer lasting components. The dielectric properties of VICOTE Coatings ensure even temperature distribution with no hot spots, fast heating, and high energy density. The result is faster, more accurate operating cycles and a reduction in energy consumption by 20 percent.

“Another key aspect of our technology is that it is processed at low temperatures, well below the 850°C (1076°F) required to process glass-frit based thick-films. This enables the use of new substrates and reduced manufacturing costs,” explained Mr Talalla. “To our knowledge, we have the only high performing thick-film heating technology on aluminum available today”.

By using aluminum, the heating solution is lightweight and offers superior thermal conductivity thereby delivering more heat, more efficiently to its intended target. “Datec is enabling the next generation of products for the consumer, medical, semiconductor, aerospace, and automotive heating markets,” added Mr Talalla.

For more information, visit the Victrex at: www.victrex.com