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Technik Knowhow 10 EMS-Guide 2023 www markttechnik de However the combination of high switching currents and rapidly changing switching regimes meant that the devices would rapidly overheat “We tried to find a way to work with silicon IGBTs by changing the resonant frequency or the switching frequency but nothing would work ” said Budagaschwili “The IGBTs would just heat up to over 120°Cand fail no matter what we did ” It was at this point that Heatle turned to Avnet Silica to understand what options they might have for making the circuit work Avnet Silica introduced them to silicon carbide SiC switching devices which can run hotter and switch more quickly than standard silicon parts “We weren’t asking them how we should make it work it was more ‘Which components would you suggest in this environment that would help us?’ ” said Budagaschwili “There were very important choices that we could make because we had offers from them about component options now and what our future options might be ” Shifting to SiC devices has enabled the Heatle design team to simplify the design which had become increasingly complex as they battled to stop the silicon IGBTs from overheating “It was a more complicated design before because we had to account for cooling the system and switching the IGBTs in a certain way ” said Budagaschwili “The SiC option is more expensive now but on the other hand we could simplify the design save costs elsewhere and just focus on what‘s important “Icouldn‘t tell you whether we saved money overall by using SiC devices but it did help with the design because we didn‘t have to find ways to cool it down in complicated ways That gave us more freedom in design and that‘s important ” Support with component choices Volker Anders the senior account manager at Avnet Silica who helped bring Heatle various component options and explain current sourcing constraints pointed out that SiC MOSFETs are easier to control than silicon IGBTs which also helped to simplify the design “We‘ve worked very closely with Heatle for the past three years to find the right components for them ” he added Budagaschwili added “They’ve been very supportive and reactive which is important for us because we can‘t wait two weeks for an answer which is what we‘ve seen from many other suppliers They have given our project priority and provided components to see if they would work in the design We have had to test thousands of different components to make sure we have the right chips on board And Avnet Silica was super helpful with that ” Avnet Silica has also been able to help Heatle select a microcontroller that would meet the design’s needs and be available in the quantities needed “There have been a few issues with the microcontroller ” said Budagaschwili “not just with sourcing it but also with getting it to work because we have a system that uses Bluetooth as well We‘re doing the software part right now trying to get all these components to work together It‘s difficult but we‘re getting there ” The result of all this work has been a single serving induction hob which automatically adapts its induction strategy to take account of shifts in the position of the heating disc and which uses Bluetooth to get feedback from a temperature sensor in the rod and to enable appbased control “There are very few people even from the biggest manufacturer names we all know who understand what is happening inside our device ” said Budagaschwili proudly “It‘s not like we are the first company to try this approach it’s just that we are the first company to succeed in getting a working prototype ” Moving to mass manufacturing Heatle has done a great deal of work over the past years to find the right components for its induction hob and optimise their use – the main board that holds the induction coils is currently in its thirteenth iteration But the difference between a good idea and a good product is a successful transition into manufacturing This is where things are becoming more challenging for Heatle and where the novelty of its product and its relationship with Avnet Silica are paying dividends The good news according to Budagaschwili is that Heatle is commercially successful and already sold out The slightly less good news is that customers have to wait while Heatle receives enough components to start mass manufacturing in Berlin Avnet Silica is working closely with both Heatle and their EMS providers to adapt to supply constraints while the first mass manufacturing run is underway “There‘s close collaboration at this stage Our EMS partners are working directly with Avnet Silica on sourcing issues ” said Budagaschwili “There‘s always someone there for us from Avnet Silica who‘s just making suggestions offering help and with whom we can negotiate pricing and quantities ” From the Avnet Silica side Anders said that the longterm relationship has paid dividends The inner workings of the Heatle - on the left in the revised version for production