TIM Materials in Auto Devices

Posted by Amanda M. Hartnett

Tuesday, June 24th, 2008

Mike Fenners article of soldering in automotive devices can be found in the June edition of OnBoard Technology

My Co-Worker, Mike Fenner wrote an article in the June 2008 issue of OnBoard Technology (A Great Resource of SMT Electronics Literature). His article, “Soldering: Is the Automotive Assembler Really Different?” asks the question of whether electronics used in auto applications are handled differently than other applications.

This got me wondering, “Is there also a difference in thermal design between various end product types?” I have to say that the answer, like it or not, is yes, at least with regard to the TIM material. The applications I see most commonly are very critical ones-military, medical, etc. This is likely due to the reliability my products can handle, but there is certainly still a difference. The auto devices require very thorough testing before any material is specified into the device while less critical applications, require less-strenuous life testing, which a wider variety of TIM materials are capable of passing.

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