Minneapolis, MN (from company release)- Minco, which calls itself a "designer and manufacturer of critical components for critical applications," is celebrating 50 years of commitment to the electronic components industry.
"One of Minco's very first products was a Thermal-Ribbon flexible wire-wound temperature sensor for aerospace guidance systems," said Jim Clark, Defense/Aerospace Industry Manager for Minco. "With functionality and accuracy compromised by extreme temperatures, the original sensors were limited in their use and could not have withstood the environments in which temperature sensors are used today." Minco boasts that the ability to operate in extreme temperatures without jeopardizing accuracy and reliability sets its sensors apart for use in rugged environments, hazardous locations and HVAC applications.
Since opening its doors in 1956, Minco has grown into a company with over 1000 employees worldwide, and has witnessed and contributed to the evolution of technology, including significant breakthroughs in the medical, military, aerospace and building automation industries.
"Fifty years ago, Medtronic was developing its first portable pacemaker," said Chris Eisenberg, Medical Industry Manager, Minco. "Unlike today's small, implantable devices, the first pacemakers were an external application that had to be carted around."
Today, Minco designs flexible circuits for implantable defibrillators - slightly larger than a stopwatch - that can counter cardiac fibrillation and respond to the body's needs in ways early pacemakers could not.
Flexible circuits are gaining traction, particularly in the medical implants industry, for their ability to meet manufacturers' goals of producing smaller, thinner and lighter medical applications.
Minco's flexible Thermofoil heaters are largely used in ruggedized defense applications, as well as medical diagnostics equipment such as DNA thermocyclers, surgical respirators and MRI imaging devices. These heaters provide superior thermal control in equipment used to practice medicine throughout the globe.
Minco now offers exclusive educational design kits for designing with Flexible Circuits, Non-Invasive Sensors and Flexible Heaters. Visit the company's Web site.