When it comes to manufacturing, bigger is definitely not always better. The trend toward miniaturization in industries across the board has come hand-in-hand with the demand for smaller, lighter, and more efficient products.

You can see it everywhere in our daily lives. In only the space of two decades, we’ve gone from PC towers on bulky desks to smartphones, and from living rooms dominated by entertainment centers and boxy TVs to flatscreens hanging on our walls like family portraits.
The story has been the same with industrial sectors. The drive to shrink products is being fueled by factors like the reduced material costs and energy usage that come from smaller components and opportunities to free up room in the factory. If time is money, so is floor space.

Tempco is helping companies follow suit by producing heating components that pack the power of traditionally larger equipment at only a fraction of the size. And when customers need a heating solution built to fit tight spaces, Tempco’s coil and cable heaters can’t be topped.

“They can be made at a much smaller diameter than other products – that’s the nature of the manufacturing process,” said Tempco Design Engineer Ryan, who specializes in working on coil heating and temperature sensors.

How small is “smaller?” Tempco can produce cable heaters at diameters as small as 0.040 inches that can still offer heat at reliable and regulated temperatures. These tiny heaters can be wound tightly around miniature parts of any shape and worked into the tightest of spaces.

Ryan remembered a recent challenging project where a customer asked Tempco to design a heater for a tight space. The team successfully fit a tiny coil heater through a 1.5-inch-long and 1/4-inch-diameter quartz tube – a job that would be hard to imagine with any other material.

While customers frequently approach Tempco with unique shapes, Ryan said the team’s approach to making custom-formed heaters is consistent and reliable. The machine shop will start by creating a template and the heater will then be formed within it to accurately take the necessary shape. If a customer has a plate heater with routing that must be followed, the team can surgically insert the heater and configure it exactly as needed.

“The physical flexibility of the heater itself allows you to form it, coil it, bend it, do whatever is needed to fit whatever the customer wants,” Ryan said. “That’s the major reason that people go with cable heaters, along with the size. It has all those advantages and can still take high temperatures.”

A Hot Deal

Tempco produces cable heaters that use high purity MgO to insulate the internal resistance wire from the metal sheath. Heaters can be wrapped, soldered, brazed or welded directly onto pipes, nozzles, tools or other components. They can operate at temperatures up to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (982 Celsius) depending on sheath material, with mini-coil variants tailored for hot-runner mold tooling, ensuring efficient heat transfer and precise thermal control.

Many units can incorporate built-in thermocouples, offering quick temperature feedback and fast thermal response due to their low mass. This feature is ideal for applications that require close management.

“Some customers use it for overheat protection or to control the heater itself,” Ryan said. “It can be used as a shutoff. If the thermocouple hits 1,000 degrees, for example, it can tell the controller, ‘Hey, turn this off,
it’s too hot.’”

Among the products offering this valuable option are Tempco’s signature Mightyband coil heaters. By incorporating thermocouples into the heater construction, Mightbyband eliminates the need for separate heat detection solutions that can be expensive, fragile and impractical. With their built-in thermocouples, small size and tendency for reaching high temperatures, Tempco Mightyband heaters have become an industry standard for manufacturers that depend on plastic injection machinery.

Fit Coil Heaters into Your Plans

Facing a tight-space heating challenge? Contact Tempco’s engineering team to discuss custom coil heater solutions designed for your specific application requirements.
You may also browse the Coil & Cable Heaters sections of the Tempco catalog to learn more about our full range of solutions and technical specifications.

Solving Unique Challenges? We Have Your Back.

Tempco’s engineering team is here to collaborate and create tailored solutions for your needs.
Ensure your heating system operates at its best.