MARLBORO, MA - Thermacore recently used Flomerics’ Flotherm simulation software to show that the heat from chips used in a tower mounted amplifier did not spread out sufficiently to fully utilize the amplifier heat sink, causing the chips to overheat. Flotherm software was used to discover the problem, allowing design changes to reduce heat sink temperatures to acceptable levels.

Matt Connors, of Thermacore, said that “Accuracy is critical in thermal design because our customers want to know what will and won’t work as quickly as possible, so they can get their product into manufacturing. Since we began using Flotherm, we have been very impressed with its ability to accurately simulate thermal management challenges.”

“Simulation is much more accurate than conventional formula-driven thermal engineering methods and also takes less time, so we can investigate more design alternatives with a very high level of confidence in the accuracy of the results. Connors concluded.

MIDLOTHIAN, VA - ERNI Electronics has introduced its 'Connector Application Wizard' for PCB design, a web-based tool that can be used for the PCB connector selection process.

The company has divided the typical PCB configurations into four connector application areas: PCBs arranged on the same level (extender card), Stacked or parallel PCBs (mezzanine), PCBs arranged at a right angle (motherboard-to-daughtercard), or PCB-cable connections (board-to-cable).

Each of the four connector categories are represented by an application Icon. By selecting the appropriate icon, an overview of possible connector options appear. Arranged by the smallest pitch first, the overview provides available termination methods, including surface-mount, through-hole and press-fit.

In addition, each connector listed has a 'show mating products' link to provide all connector choices available, including board-to-board and cable-to-board options. Detailed product descriptions, data sheets, stock checks and the ability to request samples are also available.