When moving from overall application design to breaking down a component like a hermetic electrical feedthrough, you might question whether it’s truly necessary to consult with someone else. While there may be plenty of catalogs available, consulting with an engineer skilled in feedthrough design can save time and significantly improve your project, making the entire process smoother, more effective, and less expensive.
Key Benefits of a Hermetic Electrical Feedthrough Consultation:
- Expert Advice from an Experienced Engineer. Take advantage of someone who’s handled similar challenges
- Impact of Housing Materials and Types. Have someone else break down how the different elements of a feedthrough affect its performance
- Design Longevity. Gain assistance to future-proof your design
- Balancing Technical and Financial Requirements. Save money while also meeting the technical demands of your design
- A Partner in Problem-Solving. Objective assessments tailored to your situation
Expert Advice from an Experienced Engineer
At the core of any high performing feedthrough design lies the wisdom and insight of a seasoned engineer. While it may be tempting to rely solely on internal expertise or online resources, there’s undeniable value in tapping into the knowledge of someone who has handled similar hermetic challenges repeatedly. Here’s why:
- Proven Experience: Engineers who specialize in feedthrough design have produced products for a wide range of design applications, meaning they can anticipate potential roadblocks and suggest creative solutions that may not be immediately obvious.
- Technical Knowledge: From understanding [when a hermetic seal is necessary] to [breaking down different ways to incorporate multiple types of conductors into one feedthrough], an expert provides guidance tailored to the unique demands of your application. Douglas engineers have the expertise to offer unique, outside-the-box design approaches which may not be commercially available or well-known elsewhere.
Impact of Housing Materials and Types
The choice of materials and the housing type for the hermetic connector significantly affect the performance of a feedthrough. An experienced consultant can offer invaluable input on how these components influence the overall design:
- Material selection: Different materials can vastly affect feedthrough performance. Epoxy creates a hermetic solution that works with a variety of materials, so an engineering consultant can recommend the most suitable materials for your specific operational environment, ensuring high performance, durability, and reliability.
- Design implications: Housing types can affect not only the aesthetic but also functional aspects of your design, such as the number of conductors you can use, ease of installation, and maintenance.
An engineering consultant provides guidance on which selections may or may not be suitable for your application and prevent problems relating to poor housing choices. Understanding these issues upfront can save time and resources in the long run.
Design Longevity
While a feedthrough specialist focuses on one component within a larger design, they can steer you towards a solution that extends the longevity of your application. Future-proof your design via:
- Standardization: There are many connectors that meet existing standards and can be incorporated into your hermetic feedthrough. Whether you are interested in a Mil-Spec, high speed or metric connector, an experienced engineer can help you determine the right way to incorporate it into your design.
- Forward-planning: When designing a hermetic feedthrough for applications like a glovebox or thermal vacuum (TVAC) testing, it’s important to prepare not only for immediate needs, but also consider future testing requirements. Consult with someone more experienced to increase the flexibility of your design and ensure a reliable solution that works for multiple projects.
Balancing Technical and Financial Requirements
Designing a feedthrough involves meeting stringent technical specifications while keeping an eye on the budget. Achieving this balance is no small feat, but an experienced engineer can help.
- Cost-Effective Solutions: With comprehensive market knowledge, an expert can suggest materials and design choices that meet technical needs and budget goals.
- Risk mitigation: By foreseeing potential design failures or inefficiencies, a consultant helps mitigate risks that could lead to costly reworks or delays.
A Partner in Problem-Solving
One of the less tangible yet equally important benefits of consulting with a feedthrough design engineer is their role as a partner in problem-solving.
- Objective assessment: An expert in feedthrough designs brings an unbiased perspective to your project. They can objectively evaluate whether a hermetic electrical feedthrough using epoxy is truly the best solution or if alternative approaches might be more effective.
- Collaboration and Flexibility: Working alongside another engineer means having a partner who is willing to collaborate and adapt to the evolving needs of your project, ensuring the best possible outcome. In addition, they can offer solutions that ensure the best signal integrity while balancing assembly and specific use-case requirements.
These elements combined ensure you avoid the pitfalls associated with limited knowledge and tunnel vision, Improve decision-making and find a reliable, cost-effective solution by working alongside a hermetic expert.
Conclusion: Is a Feedthrough Design Consultation Right for You?
While it may not be critical for everyone, the insights gained from a feedthrough design consultation can be a game-changer. The expertise, material knowledge, cost management, and problem-solving capabilities of a skilled engineer can enhance your design process, potentially saving time and avoiding costly mistakes. Ultimately, whether you’re looking to refine an existing design or embark on a new project, having a trusted partner by your side can provide peace of mind and lead to a more successful outcome.
When should you reach out? The earlier in the design process, the better. That reduces the amount of time spent exploring the range of feedthrough options available and focuses on your exact design requirements. What you discover through your consultation might influence your thoughts regarding the overall application design, and you’ll want the flexibility to create the best product. This helps avoid the common case of engineers unknowingly “designing themselves into a corner.”
In the end, a hermetic electrical feedthrough design consultation offers an additional layer or expertise and support that could make all the difference. Whether it’s navigating the complexities of material selection, addressing the number of connections needed, or balancing your design’s technical and financial requirements, bringing the right expert on board can transform your project from good to great.
Don’t wait. Unlock the potential of your project with a free consultation. Book a meeting with a Douglas engineer today.
