Cooling unit without moving parts

By Design News Staff -- Design News, April 9, 2001

To keep electronics clean and cool, Hoffman has rolled out the VCool Vortex Cooling System, designed to provide temperature management for small enclosures located in harsh, dirty, or high-temperature environments. The VCool system, manufactured for Hoffman by ITW Vortec, weighs in at just 3 lbs and fits on any standard Hoffman enclosure via a 0.75 or 1.5 inch knockout.

According to Engineer Scott Hill, the vortex cooler technology, or vortex tube, has been in use for a number of years, routinely used for directed spot cooling in machining and cutting applications. The cooler uses compressed air, which acts as the power supply, coolant, and heat sink, making the operation of the system independent of the surrounding air's purity or temperature, as well as maintenance routinely seen in conventional vapor compression systems. The application of the cooler to a Hoffman enclosure also has the effect of placing the enclosure under positive pressure, helping to reduce contamination.

According to Hill, the unit is well suited for facilities where there are a lot of contaminants floating around, such as in a flour mill or cement plant. "The unit is also a great fit for small cabinets or spot cooling for those people who have one little control panel that is giving some problems where heat is expected as the cause," said Hill.

A 70F, 100-psi compressed air feed would produce a 20F cold air stream. The trade off with the unit is air consumption. The largest unit (2,500 Btu/Hr) has a 35 SCFM consumption rate. Even a 400 Btu/Hr unit consumes 8 SCFM.The VCool system, available in NEMA 4 and NEMA 12 versions is made of aluminum. A NEMA 4X version constructed of stainless steel, is UL listed for Type 12 and Type 4X applications.

Additional Details…Hoffman, 2100 Hoffman Way, Anoka, MN 55303; Tel:(800) 355-3560; FAX: (952) 942-6940; www.hoffmanonline.com or Enter No. 577.

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