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| Cast-in semiconductor chuck heater |
When OEMs (original equipment manufacturer's) look for the best way of adding heat to their equipment, they're faced with the same choices - clamping, bonding or inserting. But there's another, more efficient and productive way to go - cast-in aluminum or bronze heaters.
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| Chuck heater side view |
Casting an electric heating element into an aluminum or bronze shape is pretty simple. Its very much like any other casting process, except there's a heating element inside. A formed tubular type element, sized with the proper wattage for the work required, is carefully placed inside a mold and molten metal is poured in. Once cooled, the rough casting is then processed as would any other cast part.
Because thermal efficiency is a function of the contact between heater element and the part to be heated, cast-in heaters provide one of the most energy efficient ways to heat something. Unlike clamped on, or bonded heaters, there is no wasted energy from backside losses. And unlike a heater inserted into a bored hole, even the slightest fit tolerance losses are avoided.
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| Electrically Heated Cast-in Tray |
Because of the thermal conductivity of aluminum (or bronze), uniformity is another advantage to cast-in heaters. When a cooling tube is cast-in to the part as well, these types of heaters can provide excellent controllability.
The cast-in heater can be supplied in just about any size or shape as well. If it can be cast, then you can probably design and fabricate a cast-in heater. Some examples of how cast-in heaters are used are:
- Injection molding barrel heaters
- "Clam-shell" cooking surfaces
- "Semiconductor "chuck" heaters
- Medical sampling containers
Considering the heater and the part are one piece, its hard to compare pricing to clamp on, or bonding heater approaches. Additionally, cast-in heaters may also require some non-recurring engineering costs for the design. However, when you consider the overall performance, efficiency, labor and inventory, cast-in heaters present a very strong argument for adoption.
If you're interested in learning more about cast-in heaters, feel free to call Belilove Company Engineers at (510) 274-1990.
