Mechanical engineering issues and electronic equipment reliability: incurred costs without compensating benefits

Temperature is widely viewed as a major influence on failures of electronic equipment. The ways in which the temperature ingredient of reliability and similar concepts are currently applied are discussed, with examples to illustrate the disparity between anticipations and realizations. Alternate approaches are offered, and their possible implementations are discussed. It is suggested that the topic of temperature reduction should be critically reviewed and the sometimes heavy costs of cooling provisions should be recognized early in the design process. It is noted that temperature accommodation by design and extended use of passive cooling techniques can, individually or in combination, provide more efficient and less complex electronics implementations. The drive for ever more dense electronics packaging and higher power densities can lead to thermal considerations that can require major system complexities. It is suggested that careful consideration should be paid to thermal considerations early in design studies to ensure that complex cooling systems are not mandated without full considerations of alternatives. It is also pointed out that closer involvement between electronics designers and the mechanical engineers early in the design process of electronic equipment can lead to considerations of packaging alternatives that may allow simpler overall implementations