Your Experienced Flexible Heaters Manufacturer in China

Why Choose PCBMay for Your Flexible Heaters

The flexible heater is a chemical etching, screen printing, or wire wound heater, which can be bent or bent to conform to the contour of the surface that needs to be heated.

As a leading flexible heater supplier, we can provide many types of flexible heaters. PCBMay can provide PCB design & layout, PCB fabrication, and PCB assembly. If you are looking for a turnkey solution provider, PCBMay is your best choice.

As an ISO-certified PCB company, we always provide high quality for you. There are different test methods to control the product quality including AOI inspection, flying probe test, and auto-fixture tester.

Custom flexible polyimide heater

If you have one project that needs to be produced in a hurry, PCBMay can help you to make it. We can produce the prototype of a flexible heater within 48H and ship it by UPS, FedEx, or DHL.

Do not hesitate to email us when you need our help.

Flexible Heaters: The Ultimate FAQ Guide

If you don’t know flexible heaters, this article is a good choice, so let’s start to read it.

What Is a Flexible Heater?

The flexible heater is chemically etched or has a printed screen and is sometimes known as a wire wound heater.

The heater can be bent or flexed to follow surface contours with the requirement for heating.

Various kinds of flexible heaters are currently available in the market, such as polyimide or Kapton filmed heaters, silicon rubber heaters (available in both wire wound and etched forms), transparent heaters, and carbon printed heaters, etc.

The mentioned different types of heaters have variations such as customization of size, thickness, shape, etc., along with other additional components that improve its applications and performance.

The flexible heaters are efficient, reliable, accurate, and rugged.

They have different properties that are making them resistant to chemicals and moisture.

These heaters can be easily molded into any shape and size; therefore, they can be used for almost any application.

The elements of flexible heating have many commercial, military, and industrial applications.

These heaters are very thin, light in weight. They are suitable for harsh or extreme environments, operatable in temperatures up to 300°C, and vacuum applications.

Polyimide flexible heater with custom wires

What Are The Flexible Heaters’ Capabilities?

As the polyimide flexible heaters are lightweight and thin, they are primarily utilized in different applications where being lightweight is a keen requirement.

These may also be installed over the equipment where little space is available. No need for design finishing is necessitated for the accommodation of flexible heaters.

The nature of polyimide is flexible, making it ideal for irregular and curved surfaces and not worrying about the heater being rubbed along.

Another capability of the polyimide heater is that it does not let any trapped gasses escape from the heater’s coated material’s molecular structure while it is used.

Such trapped gasses are having an impact on the utilization of various sensors in enclosed environments.

However, polyimide heaters have a lesser quantity of trapped gasses.

Polyimide heaters are capable of good transfer of heat, which is feasible for harsh environments where durability is a significant concern.

For example, services related to food, aerospace, military services, and the biomedical industry. Such heaters can be used both indoor and outdoor.

A flexible silicone heater’s capability is that it can be installed over flatter surfaces along with surfaces where bigger heaters are required offering densities of multiple watts.

Custom silicone rubber heater

Such heater can withstand higher temperatures and best to be used in outdoor and humid surroundings.

The silicon rubber is offering thickness which increases its stability and durability even though a delay is observed in its heat transfer.

Such heaters offer huge savings when the cost is considered because such heaters are used in industrial and general applications.

Such heaters’ capability also comprises vulcanization whenever the heater directly adheres to components.

The polyester heaters have the ability that these may be used where lower temperature maintenance is required. Such heaters are offering maximum temperatures up to 221°F only.

What Are The Benefits Of Flexible Heaters?

Flexible heaters come with abundant benefits. The most important advantages are mentioned below.

1. Flexible heaters offer high- and low-level heat at varying temperatures for delivering required heat transfer grounded on the application being considered.
2. The heaters’ materials are customized and configurable to get fit for a multitude of applications.
3. The manufacturer has prevalence for selection of element giving the right extent of heat, uniform heat distribution, and the capability of many levels’ watt densities.
4. One of the benefits is that two different heating elements can be used together, such as etched foil and wire-wound, etc.

Polyimide flexible heater

What Are The Flexible Heaters Advanced Features?

The following are major advanced features of flexible heaters.

1. Such heaters have a selective option for eliminating heating in areas where lead is used.
2. There are profiled heating zones for offering non-uniform heating whenever required.
3. The copper or aluminum layers for the heat spreader help the heat transfer to its heat sinks.
4. Easy peel and stick options are introduced with the release liner applicable to the heat sink side with pressure-sensitive adhesive.

What Are The Materials Of Flexible Heaters?

1. Kapton/Polyimide

Polyimide material is light in weight and thin polymer, delivering outstanding dimensional stability, tear resistance, tensile strength, etc.

The material is in use for flexible PCBs for over three decades. It is also used in different sorts of heater applications offering lower outgassing when vacuuming with increased resistance to fungus and radiations.

With the use of photoimaging technology, the foil element that is itched is having outstanding repeatability of the circuit pattern, lowering the cost of production and fantastic transfer of heat.

This also results in a larger surface area by spacing elements closed to one another.

2. Silicon Rubber

A wire-wound element in heated form or etched circuit is placed among silicon rubber which is fiberglass reinforced for giving the heaters additional increased transfer of heat capability and dimensional stability irrespective of any impact on sacrificing flexibility.

In the design of an etched foil, its internal foil might be the same as polyimide one; however, silicon rubber offers additional reliability for wear and tear protection from any mechanical damage and is also utilized in wet circumstances because of its rugged properties.

3. Screen Printed

The screen printing technique uses particular specific ink over a flexible substrate, e.g., polycarbonate, polyimide, polyester, etc.

The special ink is used for producing such heaters, making it possible for self-regulation of temperature and with its fixed-resistance design needed for regulation of thermal control of the circuit.

Such technology is primarily used in the automotive industry.

Screen printed heater

What Is The Application Of Flexible Heaters?

There are abundant applications of flexible heaters. A few of the most critical applications are explained in detail below.

1. Control over Retraction and Expansion

Machinery and equipment experience high temperatures on a daily basis in industries like aeronautical and aerospace.

Moving from colder to hotter temperatures may cause the equipment to shrink and contract. Such fluctuation in temperature and many physical alterations are causing stresses, wear and tear, malfunctioning, cracking, etc.

Sometimes, it may cause irreversible damage. The flexible heaters offer enhanced control over the components, which are hard to repair and are costly whenever they experience extreme temperature variations.

The heaters are assisting in keeping different parts in a steady position and hot temperature when the aircraft is moving from hot to cold temperatures as there are higher retraction and expansion problems.

The heaters are improving the lifecycle of the parts of airplanes and other machinery through the prevention of wear and tear and fatigue.

2. Prevention of Moisture and Fogging on Mirrors and Lens

There are numerous industries that are using an indoor and outdoor mirror and lens along with automotive industries for the performance of various functions.

Specific military applications are also using night sightseeing and vision cameras and other equipment for spotting hostile elements and enemies.

Whenever such lenses and mirrors are encountering higher moisture levels, temperature, and humidity, flexible heaters are made use to eradicate the problems.

The flexible heaters are installed in such devices and components, and it acts like defogger keeping the surfaces warm enough and prevent fogging and moisture.

3. Elimination of Ice from Moving Objects

Some industries use specific equipment which is placed outside and are in constant motion, such as vending machines for dispensing snacks and beverages and ATMs, etc., which are permanently placed outside during all seasons.

When it snows, rain or the atmosphere has moisture, and the equipment may have wear and tear or functioning problems.

In winters, ice may be formed, and it may clog into the moving parts and halt the equipment functioning.

Therefore, to prevent all sorts of troubles in equipment functioning, flexible heaters are used for resolving the issue.

Flexible heaters are in a small and thin size that adjust to the moving parts and provide the proper thermal temperatures and keep the equipment functioning.

Silicone rubber heater

4. Controlling Viscosity of Products

Manufacturing industries are making use of flexible heaters throughout all processes and the transportation of fluids and liquids.

Industries like oil refineries, cosmetic manufacturers, food processing companies, and chemical manufacturers, etc., are all making use of flexible heaters for uniform and free flow of liquids grounded on different factors related to environment and production, etc.

The viscosity level of products is controlled through flexible heaters.

Flexible heaters are capable enough to control the liquid’s viscosity allowing the product to flow in a better way through dispensing machines and processing pipes.

This is how products like jams, jelly, and molasses, etc., are moved to packaging before labeling and shipping.

5. Maintenance of Quality of Process and Products

Certain products are experiencing a different kinds of changes in their texture and characteristics, which are having an impact on the quality of product, e.g., chocolate in a melted form that is to be given the shape of candies or batter of pastry, etc. are endangered to turn to a dough.

In case of any changes in its properties, flow, or texture, the item is considered to be of poor quality.

The products are required to be maintained at specific temperatures in order to keep them in genuine texture and quality.

Flexible heaters are proven to be effective for prevention of items from spoiling and retain their original properties.

6. Operation of Sensors

The use of a flexible heater is abundant in applications where screens and sensors are used for the operation of different functions both in an indoor and outdoor environment.

The heaters are allowing the sensors and screens in warm conditions and do not let them reach their highest temperature, which might cause any failure or disruption.

Such a steady temperature of the sensors is allowing different machines like scanners of credit cards and inventory to continue reading other codes and magnetic tapes.

Touch screens may also have an impact on their performance because of colder temperatures.

Flexible heaters are hence used in touch screens different machines like LCDs and LEDs of television and laptops and ATM etc.

7. Laminate, Bonding, and Heat-Sealing Curing

Flexible heaters are in abundant use in industries where the use of sealant, bonding, glue, or laminate, etc., is concerned with which requires heat for cure or seal for placement.

The product finishing is not desired when resin, sealant, or glue dries along with the mass production of different products.

Therefore, heat sealing is utilized for physical contact for curing and bonding products.

Flexible heaters are maintaining a uniform temperature convenient for the bonding process without any changes in temperature.

8. Electronics and Batteries Operating Temperature

Among the best and most widely adopted uses of flexible heaters, one is to control the operating temperature of different electronics equipment and batteries in areas where sub-zero temperatures occur.

Electronic equipment’s internal elements and components may get damaged in colder temperatures even if no moisture is present.

The circuits and their semiconductor material may have a drop or interruption and cause failure.

Similarly, batteries also require a specific temperature for their operation. In hot climates, the performance of batteries is degraded and causes premature failure.

Whereas in colder temperatures, batteries have a negative impact on their charging cycle and performance.

Colder temperatures are making the chemistry of batteries unstable, and batteries’ hance life gets shortened.

A flexible heater ensures the proper operation of the batteries and electronic equipment such as aircraft, medical, refrigeration, and spacecraft electronics, etc.

Conclusion

The flexible heaters are of great use in a wide range of applications.

Therefore, when designing processes and products that may experience usage in hot and colder atmospheres, they must have proper maintenance of temperature to keep them in proper functioning.

Therefore, considerations about the operation of components and their application is necessary, along with feasibility and suitability of material to be used and installation of the flexible heater.

Such as strategy helps decide the requirements of heating, thickness, and size of the heater, along with the material of the flexible heater.