Manufacturers often make use of flexible heaters for their equipment and components when the applications require localized heating. These heaters produce high- or low-level heat at various temperatures to deliver the necessary thermal transfer for applications. At JenTer Technologies, we offer an array of flexible heater solutions that are ideal for many industry applications.
Based on the application, heater materials are customizable and configurable to produce the required results. The selection of custom flexible heating elements must be based on factors such as the heat produced, ability to contain multiple watt densities, and balanced thermal distribution. The two common types of flexible heating elements used are wire wound and etched foil.
Wire Wound Elements
Wire wound elements include a resistance wire in a specified diameter. This type of wire can consist of several strands woven together or a single strand placed onto a fiberglass core. The wire is subsequently vulcanized on a neoprene substrate or on silicone rubber with nylon reinforcement. These wires spaced evenly throughout the layers of the substrate having been wound into a particular pattern.
Wire wound elements provide a wide array of benefits, including flexibility and high physical strength, making ideal for heating applications that involve abrasive forces applied to flexible heaters.
Etched Foil Elements
Etched foil does not consist of wire, unlike wire wound elements. Rather it is like a circuit board as a thin alloy metal having resistive characteristics. The alloy metal is acid etched into the material substrate. It has the appearance of aluminum foil and may be as thin as 0.005 in. Applications include pipe heating and the warming of food equipment.
Alloys Used in Heating Elements
An alloy is a base metal with other metal elements added that modify the structural, mechanical, thermal, electrical, and conductive properties of the base metal. Various metal alloys possess both electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity, making them ideal materials for use as heating elements for flexible heater solutions.
An alloy may have enhanced capabilities over the original base metal alone, such as greater electrical conductivity or higher corrosion resistance. Some alloys commonly utilized as heating elements consist of nickel chromium, stainless steel, Inconel 600, or copper nickel.
For information about the custom flexible heating elements we offer at JenTer, give us a call today at 920.928.2022 or reach us through our contact form.