The shifttoward smaller and more ambulatory equipment has challenged our traditionaldesign and manufacturing processes, explains
Desloge. Advancements in theseareas, along with new advanced ceramic materials, polymers, and conductivefilms allow us to design high-performance heaters in small packages. This wasimpossible just five years ago. Due to the speed of the industry, it isimportant to be able to turn around product designs and prototypes in a timelymanner. We spend a lot of resources on “leaning out our design andmanufacturing processes Addressing a range of
thermal solution needs—electricheaters, temperature sensors, temperature controllers, power controllers,software, and systems—in a variety of industries, including medical
devices,Watlow is one of the largest custom designers and manufacturers of these typesof components. Under the direction of Desloge, the company will continue todevelop new innovations and offer its expertise as a leader in heatingtechnologies. In this interview with him, Desloge shares his thoughts onchallenges serving this highly regulated industry, reflects on his company’scapabilities and offerings, and comments on the industry as a whole. There are many trends and shiftsthat have impacted the industry over the last 10 years. For starters, therehave been economic changes—mergers, consolidations, and continued pressure toreduce costs—that look very different than they did in 1996. RoHS and WEEE are a fact of life,and Watlow has embraced the regulations. A couple of years ago, Watlowcommitted to meeting these excellent global environmental standards and we arecompliant. Most, if not all, of our medical customers simply expect us to meetthe standards, and we do. Medical device manufacturers willcontinue to meet future standards, because it is a requirement in a globalenvironment. Globalization of our customer basehas driven Watlow to establish technical support and manufacturing centers inMexico, Europe, and China. With localized support, we are able to satisfy thedemands of our customers in a timely manner. Building that infrastructure,while not “difficult,” is challenging technically and logistically. One of theother continuing challenges is the miniaturization of medical products, whichmandates constant innovation on our part. We welcome that challenge. Most of Watlow’s medical devicecustomers are looking for suppliers that provide design services and advancedsolutions. Watlow has responded to this requirement by establishing SingleIteration. Single Iteration provides our customers with the partner andexpertise they need to quickly take their products to market. As a division ofWatlow, Single Iteration brings together the collective knowledge of engineerswith experience designing and applying heating technologies for multipleindustries. Single Iteration generates new ideas and then evaluates, designs,and prototypes them to get products to market quickly. Single Iteration solvesdifficult thermal problems in shorter time frames than that achieved usingconventional iterative approaches—helping clients get better thermal productsto market faster. Customers engage this level ofthermal systems engineering for a variety of reasons. They may be in search ofnew creative ways to improve a heating approach or they may be seekingengineering counsel from subject matter experts to ensure that success of theirchosen direction.. SingleIteration has worked to improve the heat efficiencies involved with intravenousfluid holding and transfer into the body to increase patient comfort. Additionally,we have worked directly on solutions to enhance cauterization techniques,provide fail-safe neonatal warming, and incorporate improved methods forapplying heat to tissue for surgical devices used to perform variousprocedures. Recently, we had a medical devicecustomer that experienced some random field failures of their device. Thefailure was not life threatening but if the device was not working, thepatient’s comfort might be compromised. The device manufacturer and Watlow’sengineering teams were able to duplicate the failure mode and quickly designeda solution that could be easily retrofitted in the field. Medical devices related to patientcomfort and healing have tremendous growth potential because they improve thequality of life for the patient. Medical devices are a great business becauseimproved health care is a growing global expectation. Advancements intechnology are leading to new breakthroughs in medical devices, and thatcreates new business opportunities which will ultimately benefit patients Stovall Life Science Inc., a manufacturer of laboratory instruments for thelife sciences market, was developing a new hybridization oven for use inresearch and development by molecular biologists working on DNA(deoxy-ribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid) applications. The company’searly oven concepts utilized a standard, coiled-resistance wire heating system. .The first order of business was to do a root cause analysis to determine whatwas causing the reliability problem. Thermal Circuits engineers examined thefailed units and determined the standard open-wire element was not sufficientfor the job. The existing wire element was running in excess of its thermallimitation. To correct the situation, Thermal Circuits recommended anetched-foil element. Whilehybridization ovens present very specific heating challenges, heatingassemblies play a critical role in a variety of medical instruments. Highlysensitive applications, such as blood analyzers, dialysis instrumentation,sterilizers, and incubators demand precise solutions to heating requirements.Utilizing etched-foil heaters in these devices provide the inherent advantageof distributing wattage infinitely and exactly, making the units more reliable.By eliminating wire failure, devices are safer, run cooler, and last longer. Etched-foilheaters are available with a variety of dielectric encapsulations, to meetvarying temperature requirements, as well as provide solutions for applicationsrequiring low outgassing and resistance to radiation, chemicals, and solvents.Etched-foil elements are able tooperate at very high densities due to the larger surface area covered by thefoil track. The element is created by acid etching a circuit in resistancealloy foil. This process ensures excellent circuit pattern repeatability andallows the design of complex heat distribution patterns within the heater area.By not confining the wattage to tightly spiraled coils, the etched-foil elementheating system runs cooler and lasts longer, still with the same power