Machine vision is the replacement of human examination, assessment and decision-making with video hardware and software systems. The technology is often used for vision inspection, quality control, robotics, wire bonding and down-hole applications where machine vision systems obtain data from analyzing images of a specific process or activity.
Digital light processors employ a laser light source and millions of tiny mirrors to produce vibrant, high-resolution images for a wide variety of industries and applications. It is critical to maintain an optimum operating temperature during use to prevent degradation of the digital light processing technology. Active cooling solutions utilizing thermoelectric coolers can provide digital light processors thermal management in a wide range of high temperature applications.
Analytical chemists use reagents to detect the presence or absence of a substance, or to test if a specific reaction occurs. Laboratory and medical technicians use reagents to cause a chemical or biological reaction to measure or identify a target substance. Biotechnologists consider antibodies, model organisms, oligomers, and specific cell lines as reagents to identify and manipulate cell matter. These reagents, especially those used by the biotechnologist, have narrow operating temperature windows which require refrigeration or freezing.
Maintaining a temperature well below ambient, and monitoring this temperature carefully, are critical to extending the shelf life of reagents used for in vitro diagnostics. Most reagents require refrigeration and would spoil within hours at room temperatures. Reagents can degrade and become contaminated by microbial growth, which can affect test integrity results. Reagents can also be negatively impacted if they undergo too many freeze and thaw cycles.
Industrial lasers are used for a wide range of applications including cutting, welding, micro-machining, additive manufacturing and drilling. No matter the application, industrial laser systems generate a significant amount of heat. There are several different types of industrial laser technologies, ultimately distinguished by the power density of the laser and its use. The commonality of every laser system is the need for advanced cooling of the power source and the laser optics.
Electron microscopes are a powerful laboratory tool used to observe samples across many scientific disciplines. These advanced analytical instruments enable researchers to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze samples in fields like metallography, metrology, anthropology, zoology, epidemiology and more. Temperature control plays a dynamic role in ensuring the proper operation of electron microscopes.
Laser projectors used for entertainment applications utilize laser modules to generate 4K-resolution images with a robust color palette and up to 75,000 lumens. While commercial laser projector systems quickly have evolved to be more energy-efficient, these systems still require up to 6kW to generate bright, high-resolution images. This is needed to project in cinemas and large venues at stadiums. Consequently, the high-power laser systems generate a significant amount of heat during operation.
Reagents are essential for laboratory and medical testing. Reagent materials are used to detect the presence or absence of a substance, or to test if a specific reaction occurs. Thermal control is vital to preserve reagent materials, which can degrade over time when stored at improper temperatures. When they are kept at room temperature, reagents may become contaminated by microbial growth, which affects test integrity. Reagents can also be negatively affected at low temperatures if they undergo multiple freeze-thaw cycles.
Additive manufacturing, better known as 3D printing, is an emerging application that is finding an expanding purpose in the manufacturing process. Once primarily used for quickly making prototype parts, 3D printing is now also used to digitize workflow and manufacture production quality final products. There are many different types of 3D printing methods used to physically create a desired object.
Designed to take pictures inside a patient’s body, medical X-ray imaging systems are a vital piece of detection equipment. Medical X-ray imaging equipment can be used to detect and diagnose a wide range of injuries or diseases. In X-ray-based imaging techniques, an X-ray beam is projected through a patient to a recording medium. The generation and projection of an X-ray beam is highly inefficient and produces a large amount of waste heat. The heat load can be as much as 5KW.