FloTHERM
| Developer(s) | Mentor Graphics Mechanical Analysis Division |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 1989 |
| Stable release | FloTHERM v.12
|
| Engine | |
| Type | Computational Fluid Dynamics, Electronics Thermal Analysis |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | FloTHERM Website |
Search FloTHERM on Amazon.
FloTHERM is a commercial electronics cooling Computational Fluid Dynamics software for the modelling, simulation and analysis of printed circuit boards[1]. FloTHERM was first released in 1989 by Flomerics which then became Mentor Graphics Mechanical Analysis Division (and is now Mentor Graphics a Siemens Business) and was a pioneering tool in thermal simulation and test technology[1].
FloTHERM and similar products have seen large increases in popularity in accordance to Moore’s Law, as PCB and integrated circuit board’s increase in complexity and transistor density, the need for advanced and comprehensive cooling solutions has increased. The number of technologies using PCB’s and complex electronics also experiences exponential growth increasing the number of applications for electronics cooling technology.
History[edit]
FloTHERM is the principal product of Flomerics (now Mentor, a Siemens Business Mechanical Analysis Division). Flomerics emerged from Professor Brain Spalding’s Imperial College Research Group [1] and CHAM ltd. The first Flomerics office was opened in New Malden, London in 1989 with FloTHERM V1 being released later that year. In 1991 Flomerics lead the DELPHI Consortium Project, this set up the foundations for SmartParts technology.[2]
Flomerics founded the Harvey Rosten award in 1998 after the untimely death of founder Harvey Rosten, this award is announced at the annual SEMITHERM exhibition.[3]
Add-on products/synergies[edit]
FloTHERM can be used in conjunction with other hardware and software products . Using the FloTHERM Bridge Module, engineers can import native data from third party MCAD and EDC (Electronic Design Automation) software’s, including CATIA, PTC Creo and Solidworks. [1]
FloTHERM reads industry standard ODB++ data to bring in PCB designs allowing integration of any current PCB layout tool into the design flow.
Measurement based models can also be directly importanted into FloTHERM from other Mentor products; MicReD, T3Ster and DynTIM.[4]
FloTHERM Variants:
- FloTHERM
- FloTHERM XT (FloTHERM with integrated Mentor Concurrent CFD Software: FloEFD) (FloTHERM XT V3.1 release addressed problems of incorrect results) [5]
- FloTHERM PCB
- FloTHERM PACK (Web-based automated, simulation-based IC package thermal characterization)
- FloTHERM IC (FloTHERM PACK variant specializing in semi-conductor thermal characterization)
- FloTHERM Flexx (Flexx licensing allows use of FloTHERM and FloTHERM XT)
SmartParts[edit]
FloTHERM’s SmartParts are a set of intelligent model creation macros supplied with FloTHERM, that allow for quick assembly of PCB models. SmartParts are sourced from a variety of FloTHERM users allowing a vast pool of expertise to contribute to model creation.
Thermo Electric Cooler (TEC) SmartPart functionality is supported by FloTHERM. TEC allows user control over a specific component so that it doesn’t get hotter than the predefined maximum for the design for example.
Smart Parts are available for:
- Heat sinks
- Fans
- Printed circuit boards
- Thermo-electric coolers
- Enclosures
- Components
- Heat pipes
- Perforated plates
- Dies [4]
Release History[edit]
| Version | Release Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| V 1.1 | 1988 | |
| V 1.2 | 1989 | First commercial release. |
| V 1.203 | 1990 | Patch. |
| V 1.3 | 1991 | GUI changes. |
| V 1.4 | 1993 | Increased number of supported platforms. |
| V 1.401 | 1994 | |
| V 1.401/33 | 1995 | Patch releases/solver enhancements. |
| V 1.201/44 | 1996 | NT port of software |
| V 2.0 | 1998 | Improved software intelligence, non-linear fan curves, introduction of FLO/MCAD. |
| V 2.1 | 1998 | Turbulence modelling, automatic view factor calculation. |
| V 2.2 | 1999 | SmartParts introduced. |
| V 2.3 BETA | 2000 | Command Center and FLOVolunteer introduced. |
| V 3.1 | 2000 | FLOMOTION integrated, compact Heat Sink SmartPart, surface temperature memory, multi grid solver. |
| V 3.2 | 2001 | Drag and Drop functionality, FLOSTRESS introduced for mechanical stress, multiple fluid modelling per project introduced. |
| V 4.1 | 2003 | Localised grid technology, multi-level Library Manager, Sequential optimisation in Command Center, GUI changes, Plasticity available in FLO/STRESS. Integrated Thermal/EM solution, Boolean operations in FLO/MCAD. |
| V 4.2 | 2004 | Maintenance and bug fix update to V 4.1, included new Pro/E and SolidWorks readers in FLO/MCAD. |
| V 5.1 | 2005 | Usability changes, transient data saves at selected time-steps, direct input of transient profile data with import of CSV data enabled, SmartPart enhancements, Grid/Solver, HTML report generation from Tables, license timeout support. |
| V 6.1 | 2006 | Blower support, angled fans & resistance support, direct link from Project Manager to www.smartparts3d.com, transient ambient support, updated EFG, 64-bit support. |
| V 7.1 | 2007 | Heat pipe SmartPart, network assembly support for transient compact components, new postprocessor – visual editor, response surface optimization. |
| V 7.2 | ||
| V 8.1 | ||
| V 8.2 | ||
| V 9.1 | ||
| V 9.2 | ||
| V 9.3 | ||
| V 10.1 | Oct - 2014 | |
| V 11.0 | Mar - 2015 | |
| V 11.1 | Dec - 2015 | |
| V 11.2 | Jun - 2016 | |
| V 11.3 | Nov - 2016 | |
| V 12.0 | May - 2017 | |
| V 13.0 | TBA |
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "FloTHERM Products". www.mentor.com. Mentor ASB. 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
- ↑ "T3Ster®". www.mentor.com. Mentor ASB. 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
- ↑ "SEMITHERM "The 2017 Harvey rosten Award"". semi-therm.org/awards. SEMITHERM. 2018.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "FloTHERM optimizing the thermal design of electronics" Flotrend Retrieved 06/08/2018
- ↑ "Innofour" Retrieved 06 aug2018
[3] "T3Ster®". www.mentor.com. Mentor ASB. 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
[4] "The Harvey Rosten Award for Excellence". rostenaward.com. Unknown. 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
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