CardTemp

•MIL-HDBK-217D, “Reliability Prediction of Electronic Equipment,” 15 Jan 1982.

•MIL-HDBK-251, “Reliability/Design Thermal Applications,” 19 Jan 1978.


CardTemp is the latest automation of electronic packaging on a 32-bit or 64-bit Windows platform. It predicts the steady-state temperatures (maximum, median, minimum) of a printed wiring board of a circuit card assembly in ten [1-10] thermal solutions.
The electrical engineer can now conduct trade studies during the proposal phase of a procurement bid. Knowing the PWB joule-heating, size, and form-factor limitations on the thermal design allows the allocation of circuits to that real estate with confidence. This allows one PWB to be designed for the first customer while meeting the requirements of another similar customer. This also saves time and money.
Electrical engineers in the IEEE CPMT use it as a quick solution to initiate the design concept of a family of products. Each customer will have his unique requirements met while the vendor benefits from common PWB artwork.
(1000.0 mil = 1.000 inch)
(1000.0 mil = 2.540 cm)
(1000.0 mW = 1.000 W)
(1000.0 mW = 3.413 Btu/hr)

What is CardTemp?

CardTemp is a Windows-based executable file that allows the user to:
  • Solve for the printed wiring board (PWB) temperatures in several housings with different cooling schemes.
  • Compare two thermal solutions so that the same PWB can be used for two customers.

What Is CardTemp?

CardTemp is a Windows-based executable file that allows the user to:
  • Solve for the printed wiring board (PWB) temperatures in several housings with different cooling schemes.
  • Compare two thermal solutions so that the same PWB can be used for two customers.
  • Move scroll bars and click option buttons to create an interactive trade study.
  • Thus, CardTemp is the rule of thumb for sizing a PWB for thermal requirements.

Who Benefits from Using CardTemp?

  • Electrical engineers use it as a quick solution.
  • Industrial (Reliability) engineers use it as a simplified solution.
  • Mechanical (Thermal) engineers use it as a sanity check.