In our next exhibitor interview series, we had the pleasure of speaking to Arya Hakimian, Application Scientist at C-Therm Technologies Ltd.

C-Therm is the world leader in thermal conductivity instrumentation for testing polymers, ceramics, composites, insulation, textiles, and a wide range of other materials. With over 15 years of experience offering rapid, non-destructive thermal analysis solutions for application in R&D, quality assurance, and manufacturing. C-Therm has an international reach with partners in Japan, Germany, France and beyond. C-Therm simplify thermal conductivity testing for the materials of tomorrow. 

What do you think sets your company apart from your competitors?

We provide our customers a means to rapidly test thermal conductivity of a broad range of materials in various formats, including solids, liquids, powders and pastes, all using one instrument. With multiple methods available, our modular platform gives the option to select the best tool for the best task at hand. Additionally, our instrument allows for testing under various conditions to ensure truly representative, accurate data relevant to the application in question.

 

Are there any new technology developments that your company is working on at the moment?

Fillers provide a means of tailoring application specific performance, however understanding filler distribution within the material can be just as important from a performance standpoint. Thermal mapping and filler settling detection in polymer composites is readily accomplished with the Modified Transient Plane Source method. This capability is unique to the single-sided nature of the sensor, Guard Ring Technology and size. As a monitoring tool, this has applicability for both pre and post dispensing/setting.

 

What are the biggest challenges facing the industry today, and how can this be overcome?

Many traditional methods of thermal analysis lack the capability to test under the conditions needed for many advanced material applications. C-Therm's Transient-based methods offer unique high temperature and pressure capabilities to test under the desired conditions of interest.

 

How do you see the sector developing in the next five to ten years?

As processes continue to advance, so too will the need for automation. As we enter industry 4.0, continuous process monitoring will ensure OEMs have proper insight into quality and performance, while avoiding high failures downstream and excessive downtimes due to manual sample testing. Continuous process monitoring will enable scalability and increase quality to meet market demands. (talk about sensor integration?)

 

What are you most looking forward to at this year’s show?

Meeting like-minded researchers and discussing their challenges and understanding how we can help them improve their material applications and processes with thermal conductivity testing.

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C-Therm will be exhibiting at the Polymer Testing World Expo.