Read how Laird helped bring an optical interconnects assembly line back to life. High heat-related oil bleed problems from silicone-based thermal interface material had caused manufacturing delays. Laird developed tests to determine how to meet exacting oil bleed limits. The choice became soft, non-silicone based Laird™ SF10 gap filler pads producing low or no oil bleed along with exhibiting low pressure versus deflection characteristics. We also tapped our other global sites to help speed order backfilling.
WHY MAJOR TECH CHOOSES LAIRD: COOLER THERMAL STRATEGIES FROM IDEA TO PRODUCTION
Cooling optical interconnects in hyperscale data centers
When a tech titan was faced with a thermal challenge that threatened the performance of its optical interconnects, it turned to long-time partner Laird, a DuPont business. This case study illustrates how Laird resolved the heat issue, helping ensure optimal functionality and reliability. Over the last few years, computing power required by artificial intelligence has grown 1,000,000%.* As servers churn through astonishing data volumes, they also release a tremendous thermal load. Learn how Laird’s quick response to thermal challenges helped this tech company recover from manufacturing delays.
Top supplier of thermal interface materials
Laird, a top global supplier of high-performance thermal interface materials, keeps electronics cool for many of the leading AI players in the world. Why Laird? Its breadth of expertise, technical problem solving, and near unlimited imagination to tackle the surging temperatures of GPU, servers, optical networking components, and other AI-related processing equipment.
Air is a poor heat conductor. Thermal gap fillers bridge the gap between heat-generating components and heat sinks or other cooling devices. Soft and conformable, they ‘fill in’ air spaces made by irregular surfaces and voids to maintain optimal temperatures and prevent overheating in electronic devices and systems.
*(Princeton Engineering, “Built for AI, this chip moves beyond transistors”: https://engineering.princeton.edu/news/2024/03/06/built-ai-chip-moves-beyond-transistors-huge-computational-gains)
WHEN PRODUCTION UNEXPECTEDLY SCREECHED TO A HALT
Production was at a standstill on one of the tech company’s optical interconnects. The problem? High heat was causing a silicone-based thermal interface material to bleed oil and fog the lens, degrading performance. The company was a month and a half behind its manufacturing schedule, unable to ship to its largest customer — and needed a soft non-silicone based thermal interface material that did not have the same bleed tendencies as the incumbent material.
LAIRD TO THE RESCUE
A team of field application engineers assessed Laird’s extensive portfolio of products to find the right solution. Time was of the essence, and Laird’s quick turnaround testing and rapid prototyping capabilities proved that the Laird team was up to this challenge. Laird’s technical and quality specialists established a new suite of custom quality tests to analyze potential candidates and prove oil bleed limits met the customer’s exact requirements. Soon, it became clear the optimal choice was Laird™ Tflex™ SF10 gap fillers.
Laird’s close-knit partnerships with suppliers helped ramp up this project to full manufacturing power. The team’s expertise not only helped backfill lucrative orders but boosted the production tempo so this leading tech player could focus on future contracts.
How did they get it done?
Duplicated manufacturing sites to meet the high-volume demand.
CapEx investments in additional equipment.
Brought new personnel on board to intensify production velocity.
The process didn’t end there — Laird solves more than today’s problems, leaping forward to keep tech companies ahead of tomorrow’s trends, too. Through continuous
product development technologies, future product iterations are always in the works.
Tflex™ SF10 THERMAL GAP FILLER HIGHLIGHTS
Non-silicone based material for silicone sensitive applications.
Adheres easily during application, without applying significant force on sensitive components.
Extremely low bleed.
Low shore hardness material that conforms well to surfaces, minimizing thermal resistance.
WHY LAIRD’S PARTNERSHIP WITH INDUSTRY LEADERS LASTS:
Laird deploys an expansive team of field application engineers around the world to support an on-site, region-by-region strategy full of experts who understand the challenges of various countries and product groups. Their team has the technical knowledge to answer the most challenging questions in the local language to reach the quickest resolution possible.
Always thinking towards the future: Laird doesn’t only build solutions for today’s problems, but simultaneously works with your team to lay the foundation for tomorrow’s cooling challenges. Much of Laird’s work on custom projects is just phase one of thermal innovations you’ll need five or more years down the line. Laird fosters a problem-solving/consulting relationship
to help you overcome future obstacles before they become a problem.
A broader perspective: Laird goes above and beyond technical specifications by working with a diverse group of global manufacturers to support on-time deliveries and production programs undisrupted by regional challenges. Through their commitment to end-to-end product success, Laird also explores new automated application techniques to ensure fast and
accurate installations.
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