How Temperature Kills Long Term Reliability
Did you know that with every 10 degree C increase in temperature, the lifetime of electronics is cut in half?
And it’s true with static relays and semiconductors too. It stands to reason then that a power switching device, that has been designed to cope with harsh environments will result in longer-life.
With pressure on productivity and achieving ever-increasing targets, the reliability of manufacturing machinery is becoming critical. As users & designers, components that offer long term reliability makes complete sense and avoids the unnecessary high costs of machine downtime due to component failure.
It’s good to know that thyristor power control specialists CD Automation, understand the importance of managing temperature variations and design products that ‘over-compensate’ for high temperature situations.
Good product design focuses on crucial areas such as connections and junctions as well keeping components working within their specifications. It’s not unknown to see power switching devices in the field today with inadequate junction sizes that overtime will be more susceptible to deterioration and breakdown, simply caused by everyday voltage peaks and overload conditions. Consequently, product lifetime will be reduced resulting in an increase in machine breakdowns.
As with junctions, key components such as the thyristor semiconductor need to be sized correctly but not just within the specified operating conditions. Anticipating higher cabinet temperatures is crucial for long life and the reason we build in buffers of up to 50% to compensate for environment variations.
The ability to dissipate heat is vital when designing products for superior long-term reliability. The design of our high efficiency heatsinks keeps the semiconductor junction temperature at very low values, again increasing the life of the product.
Other areas of design that should always be considered are the bus bar and internal connection, sized to avoid excessive overheating, and DV/dt and dI/dt protection and snubber circuits to prevent surges from damaging the power semiconductor device.
It’s good to know that all CD Automation products are subjected to rigorous thermal and endurance tests during their manufacturing process. These include temperature and current overload tests. It’s important that every product meets our exacting standards of high performance and long term reliability, even in the most demanding of environments.
So if you’re looking for long term product reliability make sure the design has considered the real effects of high temperature.
Key points to consider when choosing a reliable power switching device:
- bus bar and internal connections are sized to avoid excessive overheating
- key components such as the thyristor semiconductor need to be sized beyond their specified operating conditions
- high efficiency heatsinks are used to keep the semiconductor junction temperature at an optimum value
- are the units built with thermal and endurance overload testing to avoid creepage in specification
If you need peace of mind when specifying a Thyristor Power Controller for your next electrical switching project, or machine refurbishment, then give our friendly engineering team a call today. We’re ready and waiting to help.
