LITTLETON, Mass., 19 Dec. 2010. Curtiss-Wright Controls Electronic Systems in Littleton, Mass., is introducing CoolWall thermal management technology for rugged embedded computing enclosures, which is more lightweight and has a greater than 2x improvement in payload power cooling when compared to traditional aluminum construction.
This technology is based on a proprietary mixture of metal composite materials, and provides the ability to thermally manage high-power payloads in multiprocessing and digital signal processing (DSP) applications where space, weight, and power (SWaP) constraints are key design hurdles.
CoolWall technology is available to the embedded systems designers in a line of Hybricon-brand packaging -- the first of which is a baseplate-cooled Hybricon SFF-6 enclosure for 3U-size electronic circuit boards. Similar enclosures for 6U cards are planned for the future.
"Using CoolWall, system integrators can achieve maximum performance in a low weight, small form factor rugged enclosure. It significantly outperforms aluminum at similar price-points, and matches copper at significantly less weight and cost," says David Dietz, vice president and general manager of Curtiss-Wright Controls Electronic Systems group.
CoolWall technology has the potential to enhance the weight and thermal performance of natural convection-cooled, forced air conduction-cooled, or liquid conduction-cooled chassis through heat spreading, Curtiss-Wright officials say.
The SFF-6 small form factor chassis dissipates as much as 400 Watts of heat. This small ATR-style chassis is for 3U OpenVPX or CompactPCI embedded COTS subsystems designed for use in SWaP-C-constrained military environments. It supports cooling for 6-slot 3U OpenVPX (or 7-slot CompactPCI) 400-Watt payload for rugged airborne and ground mobile applications, and is designed to OpenVPX, VPX, and VPX REDI draft specifications.
For more information contact Curtiss-Wright online at www.cwcelectronicsystems.com.
