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DOC-USR-0264-05
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Z3 Technology, LLC
♦
100 N. 8th St. STE 250
♦
Lincoln, NE 68508-1369 USA
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+1.402.323.0702
8.0
THERMAL MANAGEMENT
The Z3-FVXK/FSDI-13A-RPS system is comprised of a CPU module board, one Application board which
contains the hardware implementation of the input and output circuits and one Connector board which
contains the major I/O jacks such as Ethernet and power jacks.
The system requires that heat is removed from the CPU chip on the module board and from the FPGA chip
on the Application board and dissipated into the environment in order to maintain its operating temperature
specification. It may be necessary to also remove heat from other components on the module or application
boards depending on the environmental requirements of the final application. Keeping the CPU and FPGA
chips within their allowed operating temperatures is critical for the operation of the encoder system.
The system designer is responsible for implementing the cooling mechanisms necessary for any given
application.
The Z3-FVXK/FSDI-13A-RPS board set as provided from Z3 Technology includes a block of aluminum which is
thermally coupled to the CPU chip. This aluminum block is meant to be attached to a heat sink such as a
metal enclosure or other material capable of removing heat from the system.
Note that the aluminum block is a good thermal conductor but is a poor thermal sink. The aluminum block is
not efficient at radiating the heat from the CPU to air, it must be thermally connected to a device that can
dissipate the thermal energy.
