How to Improve Your Thermal Paste Dispensing Process with Progressive Cavity Pumps

Application Examples and Guidance for Automotive Manufacturers

Today’s car, also known as a “smartphone on wheels,” consists of 40% electronics by value. It is expected that this ratio will increase to 50% by 2030. This means more control units, more wiring, and more sensitive components will be installed in vehicles. This leads to more localized heat spots that an automotive design engineer needs to keep under control. For this purpose, heat sinks and thermal interface materials (TIMs) are used to evacuate the heat.

These materials can be pastes, gels, cure-in-place (CIP) compounds, or greases. They are ideal for this type of application because they can conform to fill a multitude of different gap sizes and geometries.

They can also make it difficult to find the right dispensing equipment, since these materials often contain fillers and particles that are sometimes abrasive to the mechanics inside a dispensing mechanism.

Many automotive manufacturers turn to Nordson EFD to recommend the right thermal compound dispensing equipment for their applications.

Typical applications include applying thermal management materials onto heat sinks for LED headlamps and electronic control units (ECUs), and in electric vehicle (EV) battery module production. All of these are critical components where a lot of heat is generated. This heat must be dissipated for safety and to provide healthy function of the overall vehicle systems.

For these types of applications, Nordson EFD often recommends its 797PCP volumetric progressive cavity pump systems, available for one-part and two-part thermal pastes. Find out more in the application details below.

LED Headlights and Taillights

• Better quality control

• Reliable, repeatable process

• No over application

• 797PCP progressive cavity pumps and 7197PCP touchscreen controllers

• 3-Axis EV Series Automated Fluid Dispensing Robot

LED lamps are very efficient for powering head lamps and break lights. However, they generate a lot of heat. To remove this heat, a heat sink and a thermal interface material is used.

The dispensing of the heat management materials must be very precise and clean. Nordson EFD dispensing solutions allow for the highest quality control. The unique correction factor setting on the 7197PCP touchscreen controller helps to correct deposit variance to keep the deposit volumes consistent to the original target within ± 1% deposit tolerance. This delivers a highly repeatable, reliable process with no over application of thermal paste.

Programming modes include line, volume, weight, and timed making this volumetric dispensing system versatile to meet a wide range of application needs.

The EV dispensing system’s ability to easily convert DXF files into dispensing patterns was also key to this automotive manufacturer’s decision to purchase the complete system.

Electronic Control Units (ECUs)

• Consistent material application

• Minimal equipment maintenance

• Long equipment life

• 797PCP progressive cavity pumps and 7197PCP touchscreen controllers

• GV Series gantry automated dispensing systems

An ECU is the heart of a car’s electronics systems. Without a proper functioning ECU, an airbag or a brake system can fail. Therefore, it is very important to protect them. One way to do that is to control the heat generated from these components.

Progressive cavity pumps are ideal for applying thermal paste to the heat sinks and central processing units (CPUs) that are part of an ECU. The pumps feature a perfectly sealed metering chamber that prevents shear, pulsation, and squeezing of the fluid that can sometimes crush delicate fillers and particles used in thermal pastes.

Nordson EFD 797PCP pumps also deliver highly precise fluid volume accuracy and repeatability at ± 1%, for consistent material application.

Due to the geometry of volumetric dispensing pumps, they can resist abrasive materials, but that resistance is conditional. Filler percentage, type, size, and characteristics all have an impact on whether the filler will damage the equipment, therefore affect its longevity. A complimentary application test is required to ensure minimal equipment maintenance and long life.

797PCP pumps also feature a modular design, so internal components can be replaced if damage were to occur.

Electric Vehicle (EV) Battery Modules

• Accurate metering of two-part fluids

• Accurate mixing of two-part fluids

• Consistent fluid placement and volume

• 797PCP-2K progressive cavity pumps and 7197PCP-2K touchscreen controllers for two-part TIMs

• 797PCP pumps and 7197PCP controllers for one-part TIMs

• EV Series automated dispensing systems

• GV Series gantry automated dispensing systems

Electric vehicles are powered by batteries. An effective control of heat and voltage in a battery pack is the key to overall safety. Therefore, thermal management materials need to be applied in the most accurate and efficient way to manage and evacuate heat.

Nordson EFD’s 797PCP-2K system precisely meters accurate ratios of part A and part B materials through static mixers for highly consistent, repeatable dispensing results for two-part thermal compounds. The pump’s modular design and the touchscreen controller’s multiple dispensing modes allow for many mix ratios up to 20:1.

This system works perfectly for TIM or gap filler dispensing on battery modules for electric vehicles. Our volumetric pumps provide consistent, repeatable, and precise dispensing of both one-part and two-part thermal pastes. The same application can be extended to heat management for onboard chargers.

Our 3-axis, vision-guided automated tabletop robots integrate seamlessly with our 797PCP pumps to provide the optimum control that this process needs. Typical automated dispensing solutions include our EV Series and GV Series gantry robots with proprietary DispenseMotion™ software for simplified setup and dispense pattern programming.

In addition, Nordson EFD has more than 50 years of application experience with two-part materials and a full line of static mixers. Our disposable Series 190 spiral and Series 295 square Turbo mixers are designed for use with 797PCP-2K volumetric pumps.

Our application specialists work with customers to find the total system solution, including the dispenser, controller, robot, reservoir (including cartridges and syringe barrels), and dispensing tip or static mixer, for faster implementation and a more reliable process.

Learn more about Nordson EFD fluid dispensing solutions in our Automotive Application Guide. Watch dispensing videos in our Automotive Video Playlist.

Do you have a question about our automotive assembly equipment? Do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].

Muge Deniz Meiller

Muge Deniz Meiller is a Global Market Development Manager at Nordson EFD. She concentrates on solidifying and growing relevant opportunities for EFD in the electric vehicle and life sciences industries, particularly the EV battery and medical diagnostics market. Muge has more than 13 years of product and market management experience. She joined Nordson EFD in 2018.