Heating is a common industrial process performed to maintain a process temperature as required. This heating may be uniformly distributed or focused on a certain area as per the application requirements. To achieve accurate and fast heating, the heater should be as close to the area being heated as possible. Kapton® heaters are often used to accomplish a thin profile, allowing the source of heat to be extremely close to the application. However, there is a limitation to the maximum temperature limit. To increase this temperature limit and serve larger purposes, Birk Manufacturing has introduced its new line of HT heaters. These heaters are superior to the conventional polyimide heaters in many ways. This post discusses the functionalities and applications of these high temperature flexible heaters by Birk.
About Birk’s Existing Line of Kapton® Heaters
Birk’s polyimide heaters consist of an etched foil layer encapsulated with Kapton®, a polyimide film developed by DuPont. Kapton® is an effective dielectric material that can withstand temperatures up to 500°F [260°C] while providing uniform heat distribution. Kapton® heaters are extremely thin, around 0.003-0.01 inch in thickness. They can be directly bonded to the surface of the part or area to be heated, which prevents heat loss and increases the heat transfer rate.
Kapton® flexible heaters can be designed to fit almost any shape and size, and they are available in various watt densities. These heaters are immensely popular among industries; however, some applications require higher temperature limits. To overcome this, Birk has introduced its new line of HT (high temperature) heaters which are more efficient than the existing Kapton® heaters.
What Sets Birk’s New High Temperature Polyimide Heaters Apart?
HT heaters are of similar construction to the standard Kapton® heaters; the difference is the new high temperature dielectric material. HT heaters can withstand temperatures up to 300°C [572°F]. In addition to the increased temperature level, these heaters offer some new features:
- A higher thermal expansion rate, which requires a superior bond. But with an all-polyimide design, they can be bonded directly to surfaces, improving the heat transfer efficiency.
- Birk is equipped to customize this bonding process; the heater can be directly bonded with a part or with specific materials supplied by the client.
- The heaters can be customized to incorporate multiple layers, cutouts, sensors and more to suit complex and specific requirements.
- They can be easily integrated with existing manufacturing systems.
- They have excellent resistance to chemicals and water.
- These heaters are also UL 94V-0 and 746F rated and RoHS compliant.
- They offer continual and uniform heat distribution and rapid heat transfer in several areas at a time.
- All these attributes make the heaters applicable in critical applications across industries. These applications range from DNA sequencing and fluidic management for blood sample testing to bomb detection and more.
Applications of Birk’s High Temperature Flexible Heaters
As mentioned, these new high temperature flexible heaters find applications in segments where a constant high temperature needs to be maintained due to the nature of the process involved. Here are some application areas of these heaters:
- Medical
- Aerospace
- Electronics
- Scientific research
- Automotive
- Defense
If your applications require close, uniform, or focus heating at temperatures beyond 260°C, you may want to consider Birk’s HT thin film heaters. Birk Manufacturing offers a high level of customization in these new heaters. The company also offers high temperature cartridge heater systems and integrated sensing thermal solutions applicable across industries for temperature-sensitive processes and equipment.