Software combines thermal and electromagnetic prototyping.
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Press Release Summary:
Flotherm and Flo/EMC v4.1 enables electronic design engineers to collaborate on same virtual model and assess thermal and EM impact of design changes. Software includes automatic sequential optimization, localized grid, and Flo/STRESS thermo-mechanical stress module. Additional offerings include drag-and-drop library manager, intelligent import of pcb data from EDA software, and direct import of native geometry from MCAD software, without loss of model integrity.
Original Press Release:
Thermal and Electromagnetic Virtual Prototyping Combined In Flomerics' Latest Software - An Industry First
EMC and thermal design engineers will be able to collaborate in a common virtual prototyping environment
Electronic design engineers can now conduct thermal and electromagnetic analyses - two design issues that impact on one another - on the same virtual model using the latest Flotherm and Flo/EMC V4.1 software from Flomerics (www.flomerics.com). In addition to this ground-breaking capability which will significantly reduce time-to-market for electronics companies, Flotherm V4.1 incorporates a number of other important enhancements including automatic sequential optimization, localized grid (this alone can decrease solution time by a factor of 10), and an integrated thermo-mechanical stress module in order to predict reliability directly from a common data model.
During the design process, design engineers must ensure that electronic systems meet both thermal and electromagnetic compliance (EMC) standards. Until now, engineers have been forced to tackle these issues separately. Often thermal and EM issues are inextricably linked making the electronic design challenging.
For example, adding screens or gaskets in order to improve EM compliance may adversely affect the system's thermal performance, and vice versa.
Utilizing a common model in Flotherm and Flo/EMC V4.1, it becomes possible to immediately assess the thermal and EM impact of design changes. Ian Clark, Flotherm Product Manager, Flomerics, commented, "This new capability is undoubtedly a major step forward in the physical design of electronics. This will be very popular with design engineers as it will help them quickly arrive at an optimized design, rather than being 'bounced around' the design space dealing with thermal and EMC issues separately."
Further accelerating the design cycle is Flotherm V4.1's 'automatic sequentiaal optimization' capability. This new feature allows users to specify a design aim and the system parameters that can change to achieve the aim. For example, the user will be able to minimize the operating temperature of a particular component by changing parameters such as the fan, fan location, heat sink configuration, component location or any combination thereof. The intelligence in V4.1 will then optimize the design by using the minimum number of simulations - saving computer time and an enormous amount of manual effort.
The new "localized grid" feature will decrease solution time by a factor of 10 and will allow temperatures inside individual critical components now to be calculated as part of a system-level analysis.
The Flo/STRESS module, which calculates thermo-mechanical stresses within solid components, has also been updated alongside Flotherm V4.1. This module now allows for the effects of "plastic" deformations within solids, and is therefore able to identify likely failure sites within components and joints, as well as the number of cycles to failure - the most common being solder joint failure and the failure of vias in the board.
Other timesaving features new to Flotherm V4.1 include:
o 'Drag and drop' library manager that makes the creation and use of a model library easier than ever before.
o Intelligent import of PCB data from EDA software, including locating matching library models for components and placing them on the board automatically.
o Direct import of "native" geometry from MCAD software such as Pro/ENGINEER and without loss of model integrity.
Ian Clark concludes, "The enhancements seen in Flotherm V4.1 provide software simulation techniques that have never before been possible in the electronics design industry. The combination of Flotherm and Flo/EMC V4.1 allows engineers to work coherently with multiple areas of the design process that, until now, have been viewed as separate entities. This will have a huge impact on the way design engineers work in the future."
Hank Bosak, Principal Mechanical Design Engineer at Credence Systems Corporation, Hillsboro, Oregon - a leading supplier of semiconductor test equipment - commented, "Our products are high speed and mixed signal (analog and digital). This causes difficult, interrelated thermal and EMC design problems that have strong interactions between the component, board and system levels.
The integration of Flotherm and Flo/EMC will help us deal with the coupled nature of thermal and EMC design. The new solver and localized grid will help us deal with interactions between components and systems by speeding up our solution times and by enabling us to model on a much larger scale. We have previewed V4.1 and we are very much looking forward to getting our hands on it."
Further information about Flotherm, Flo/EMC and Flo/STRESS Version 4.1 can be obtained from: Sherman Ikemoto, Flomerics Inc, 4699 Old Ironsides Dr., Santa Clara, CA 95054 Tel: (408) 562-9100 x802, Fax: (408) 562-9101, Email: sherman.ikemoto@flomerics.com
