Engineered Thick Film Heating Elements

Thick film heating elements were developed as an outcropping of long-time technology used for production of printed circuit boards and hybrid circuitry. The term “thick film” refers to the resistance circuit (or heating element) that is deposited by a screen printing process, typically 0.0005” thick and deposited on a ceramic or metal substrate.

A thick film heating element provides precise layout of the resistance element exactly where the heat is required. Additionally, intimate contact of the heating element to the substrate is guaranteed delivering maximum heat transfer by eliminating any air gap there between between the heating element and the substrate.

Thick film heaters give engineers broad design flexibility of the heating circuit itself. Designers can precisely distribute heat where its required and also dictate the uniformity in temperature distribution. This design flexibility can be applied to curved and irregular shapes, as well as flat, to accommodate custom heating applications.

Highly machined ceramic parts, with intricate designs, high dielectric properties,  and smooth surfaces are ideal for thick film heating elements. Advanced ceramic's chemically inert, non-porous properties facilitates the careful and exact control of the trace pattern and trace dimensions, thus providing a “heated part” approach to equipment design.

Features of Ceramic Thick Film Heaters:
  • High dielectric
  • High thermal efficiency
  • Very rapid heating
  • Uniformity of heated area / pattern
  • High watt densities
  • Chemically inert
  • Custom shapes and sizes
  • Custom wattages and voltages
  • Embedded temperature sensors
Thick film heating elements are used in many industries today, particularly in advanced technologies such as analytical instruments, medical equipment, aerospace, semiconductor, and research & development.

BCE, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, has decades of experience in consulting, designing, and applying thick film heaters. Their reputation has grown nationally as a premier custom thermal solutions provider.  For more information, contact:

BCE
21060 Corsair Blvd
Hayward, CA 94545
Phone: (510) 274-1990
Fax: (510) 274-1999
E-mail: sales@belilove.com
www.belilove.com