Verotec re-engineers fan trays
The critical requirements were to meet or exceed the existing airflow, monitoring functionality and acoustic noise specifications in the same physical size but at lower cost.
The fan tray’s framework material was changed from aluminium to stronger galvanised steel, which not only saved on material and plating costs but reduced the number of parts and therefore the fabrication cost. A new monitoring and alarm PCB with six channels was designed in surface mount technology, reducing population costs and benefiting from economies of scale. The alarm connector now mounts directly on to a PCB header to do away with an existing cable loom, again saving labour and material costs. Finally, and significantly in cost terms, expensive foam packaging was replaced with more environmentally-friendly cardboard.
Verotec’s Commercial Director Tim Armstrong commented: “Our wide range of standard products means that we have extensive experience in optimising product designs for efficient manufacturing. We have been able to reduce the units’ cost, increase their thermal management efficiency at lower noise levels; we have also reduced ongoing energy consumption by developing a more sophisticated monitoring and control module.”