Cartridge heaters consist of a heated wire packed with inorganic powder, packed tightly into a metal sheath. The size, sheath allow, leads, terminals, wattage, and voltage can be customer specified or customized to meet your heating requirement needs.

Micro-cartridge heaters are used to heat the metal surfaces of dies, platens, and other types of processing equipment. They play an important part in a wide range of engineering and manufacturing applications.

Applications

Backer Hotwatt’s extensive line of micro-cartridge heaters help to solve difficult engineering and performance challenges for a wide range of applications, including:

Computer-designed and built in the USA, Backer Hotwatt’s micro-cartridge heaters are engineered to meet the precise standards for burn-in test socket applications. The exclusive split-sheath design eliminates the failure points of conventional mini heaters.

Properties and benefits that set the SunRod mini-cartridge socket heaters apart from others in the industry include:

• Unique hot tip
• Rapid and uniform heating
• Highest watt densities available
• Split-sheath design maximizes heat transfer and uniform heating for lower operating temperatures and extended heater life—25,000 hours or more
• De-energized split-sheath contracts for easy cartridge slide-out removal, guaranteed never to seize in the bore
• Simplified wire management within the test socket due to high flexibility lead wires that allow free motion of floating spring-loaded heater assemblies
• Customizable size, sheath, leads, terminals, and wattage to meet your heating requirements
• Stringent in-process and multi-point quality assurance testing

Backer Hotwatt’s micro-cartridge heater product line comes in three styles to meet different output and design requirements. Our Low-Watt heaters are a cost-friendly solution when less heat is required. When more power is required, our Superwatt heaters offer maximum temperature ranges and great performance. Low-Watt and Superwatt heaters are highly customizable, allowing for value-added features such as bushings and flanges.

For applications where high wattage is needed in a very small design space, our patented split-sheath SunRod heaters offer outstanding performance. These heaters can be made in lengths as small as 1/2-inch and offer an uninterrupted hot zone for unmatched heat distribution with no cold spots. Easy to install, SunRod heaters offer maximum heat transfer, uniform temperatures, and longer life.

• Low-Watt Density (Standard) Micro-Cartridge Heaters

These provide an economical solution when smaller amounts of heat are required in a small envelope. Their construction allows for value-added features, such as the addition of bushings and flanges, as well as sealing the lead end for moisture protection. These heaters are available in 1/8-inch, 5/32-inch, and 3/16-inch diameters, and lengths up to 12 inches. This technology will support maximum wattages of 10 to 12 watts per inch, as well as minimum wattages down to .5 watts. The max current-carrying capacity is 2 amps.

• High-Watt Density Superwatt Heaters

These provide a powerful solution where higher power requirements are necessary. These heaters are designed for maximum temperature, watt density, heat transfer, and heater life. Available in 1/8-inch diameter and in lengths up to 8 inches, these heaters can be produced in watt densities up to 60 watts per square inch and can carry up to 3.5 amps of current.

• SunRod Heaters

These provide an ultimate solution to challenging applications where high relative wattages are required in the smallest design envelope. These heaters can be made as small as .4 inch in length and come in both 1/8-inch and 4-mm diameters. The split-sheath design provides the maximum heat transfer when inserted into a bore.

Other cartridge heater technologies need non-heated sections at both ends of the heater to protect the leads and provide adequate electrical insulation. The SunRod heater only has one cold section near the leads. The unique hot tip section of the SunRod means a larger heated section for any given length.