Spotlight On
Putting the spotlight on automotive thermal design
CIE spoke exclusively with Chris Aldham, product manager at 6SigmaET to discuss the future of automotive electronics and thermal design
What should engineers in the automotive space be prioritising in future?
The experts on our panel had different ideas of what needs to be prioritised – but clear themes did emerge. The variety of new technologies that engineers need to be factoring in is going to shake up the automotive industry.
Chris Aldham, product manager at 6SigmaET
What are some of the key things engineers need to consider when thinking about the thermal design in the automotive space?
What is the Thermal Focus project and why did you launch it? We’re always looking for new ways to engage with the engineering community and are sensitive to the needs of many different industry verticals. Our industry research projects are there to aid engineers while also continuing to innovate our own thermal simulation products.
We kicked off the project in 2017 with a survey of over 350 design engineers, the next year we spoke to 170 thermal simulation engineers cross-vertical to find out exactly what they needed from our platform. 2019 saw the launch of our first ‘Thermal Focus’ groups, to bring together experts from leading electronics brands. We wanted to cultivate a space where industry insiders are able to discuss the trends and challenges that will shape the future of electronics and thermal design.
So far, we’ve explored both the IT electronics and LED spaces, and we’re expanding our research to explore more industries and dive deeper into how real-life engineers use our thermal simulation products.
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Why did you choose to focus on automotive electronics this time? A significant trend in the automotive space that has emerged this year is the need to pack an increasing amount of electronics onto a single circuit board. Making devices more compact is of course a trend we’ve seen across the entire electronics industry, but we’ve noticed this is most prevalent in the automotive space.
Vehicles today are a statement of the modern consumer; packed with features that combine safety, security, luxury, connectivity and entertainment – which is underpinned with increasingly complex tech.
Now is an exciting time for the automotive industry. The use of complex designs, the race for autonomous vehicles, and the switch to electric vehicles were all key factors in deciding to focus on this particular vertical. The 6SigmaET team at Future Facilities we work closely with professionals from various leading automotive brands. As such, getting in touch with a diverse set of people within the industry was easy, helping us develop this project and broadened our own expertise.
One of the things most talked about by our panel was the consolidation of functions on a circuit board/MCU. There is need for high performance and high-power computers and sensors within compact packaging in automotive design. Combining complex tech within these environments is a challenge that increases every year.
The switch to electric is another significant thing that engineers need to be thinking about. This year alone has seen 128,000 electric vehicles hit the road, and this shift has brought a new set of challenges for engineers. The electronics underpinning these vehicles are extremely thermally sensitive, so it’s important that all thermal considerations are taken into account. Autonomous vehicle testing is also well under way and initial results have shown the vast amounts of computing power that self-driving software requires. A whole host of new perception sensors, high performance hardware and AI decision-making chips will need to be integrated in order to make automotive vehicles a reality.
The introduction of such high-power computing will have clear implications for thermal management and pose new challenges as a result of higher operating temperatures.
Autonomous vehicles and the switch to electric are going to continue to be a big deal, and the incorporation of tech that packs a punch isn’t slowing down. Everyone agreed that the ambient temperature of the automotive environment is increasing due to these considerations.
Engineers being faced with these demands need advanced thermal simulation tools that deliver accurate results on complicated design models. They also need tools that can show the wide variety of temperatures and environments that today’s vehicles need to operate in, as well as offering simulations for new hybrid and liquid cooling mechanisms.
Where will the 6SigmaET team take this project next?
We’ve enjoyed the process of conducting the Thermal Focus groups and are continuing to expand our knowledge breadth across industries.
We’re currently assessing content related to the aerospace industry. We’re keen to understand how engineers within this space are managing thermal considerations, using simulation and also what their plans are for the future.
If any readers do work within this space and want to be involved, get in touch with us via the 6SigmaET website. We’re always on the lookout for new insights and opinions so very happy to hear from anyone who can help.
To find out more about Future Facilities’ Thermal Focus: Automotive project, or to download the full report, click here.
https://www.6sigmaet.info/ thermal-focus-automotive- report/
Components in Electronics September 2020 19
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