Case Study: Aomori Prefectural Industrial Technology Research Center improves food contaminant inspection design with Hexagon HeatDesigner

Aomori Prefectural Industrial Technology Research Center - Customer Case Study

The Aomori Prefectural Industrial Technology Research Center, a regional organization promoting local industry, faced thermal design challenges while developing a sensitive food contaminant scanner. The device, which uses near-infrared spectroscopy to detect contaminants like hair, experienced performance fluctuations due to inconsistent internal temperatures when used outside of a controlled lab environment. They turned to Hexagon, utilizing their HeatDesigner thermal fluid analysis software, to understand and solve these thermal problems.

Hexagon's solution involved using HeatDesigner to simulate and analyze the heat and airflow within the device. This guided the engineering team to implement a sealed chassis, a Peltier cooling device, and an optimal fan arrangement to maintain a stable internal temperature of 23°C. The results were highly effective, successfully suppressing temperature variation and ensuring consistent inspection performance. Hexagon's tool also enabled the non-specialist staff to easily conduct analyses and visually demonstrate project effectiveness to collaborative partners.

Aomori Prefectural Industrial Technology Research Center

Toru Okayama

Chief Researcher