Thermal pastes, sheets and pads – The next big project is in the starting blocks!

I’ve always teased it in passing, but now it’s getting serious, because this week the long-awaited TIMA5 from Nanotest was finally delivered! The plan behind it is simple, because the (end customer) market for thermal pastes, pads and sheets finally needs to be examined, the products evaluated in accordance with ASTM standard D5470, myths and overreaching cleared up and the whole thing turned on its head. This also applies to the quality checks of current products such as graphics cards or notebooks. In addition to testing products and the corresponding reviews, I will of course also monetize this huge investment with normal, non-public lab work and, as usual, work on the one or other product that no one usually knows has ever been on the table here, but which I may not like. That’s easy to separate. By the way, you’re reading this article while I’m sitting on the plane waiting for lunch. Visiting Computex will also be important outside the exhibition stands, because there is more than just the media side.

And it finally closes the circle for outsiders and answers the question of why I bought the VHX 7000 from Keyence last year, including the laser spectroscopy. Something like this complements each other perfectly and it will then also be possible to analyze the content of the thermally conductive particles. The individual evaluation of pads and pastes based on the temperatures at different pressures and therefore also layer thicknesses is of course only one facet, because it’s always good to know what’s inside. Disassemble a graphics card and analyze the paste used? It’s possible and that’s exactly what will always happen if it’s still possible with the leftovers. Has anyone already done this? I think not. Plus the usual circuit board analyses and tests… I’m already looking forward to it! Which brings us to the point of why I’m doing all this and why I’m trying so hard to upgrade technically.

In the end, you can only survive with a small team in the ever more rapidly developing media landscape if you manage to clearly differentiate yourself from the rest of the competition in terms of content and, above all, do things that others don’t want to or can’t do. If everyone is always offering the same benchmarks at the same time, it is difficult not to get lost. So we will have to offer arguments as to why our review will be read after all. Our current portfolio of articles will of course remain the same, but I also intend to take everything that is financially and technically possible to an even higher level. Why does premium always have to come from the English-speaking world? You don’t have to make yourself smaller than you are.

This already includes the monitor tests, for which there is now hardly any better equipment and a qualified tester, then the graphics card and CPU analyses, mini PCs, 3D printers and scanners as well as workstations and AI as a well-frequented niche and the upcoming paste and pad tests. The fan measurement section is also currently in the validation phase, but I wrote something about that recently. We also have a lot to make up for, so scientifically sound work with proper equipment is simply part of it. I may have underestimated the media part of my work in this respect, but I am also capable of learning.

Of course, I’m also thinking about my two sons, to whom I want to leave a functioning company one day. As long as everything goes on as before without any financial risks for us and is already de facto fully paid for or secured (investment is also tax optimization), the laboratory with its possibilities is also a kind of savings account that can definitely yield a decent amount of interest. So you don’t have to bunker the money somewhere or hope for cryptos, no, you can also make it work for you and have it tested. Then even others will benefit. Well, and you don’t get any younger, because in 8 weeks I’ll be 60… And the kids still have a few years to go before they go to university, so no pension under 70 for me.

I can also promise that access to the planned online databases for pastes and pads will remain mostly free for visitors to my site. If you are constantly faced with a paywall, you quickly lose interest. Of course, you can (and must) monetize such an effort, but this will only affect the exact measurement protocols and details that are of no interest to the normal user anyway. I’m also still considering whether it might be time to introduce a kind of label for such materials, as is the case with power supply units. But these are still just mind games.

On 17.06.2024, i.e. after Computex and if nothing else comes up, the final assembly and approval will take place and then we can get started. Of course, there will still be a water level report from time to time until then, also with regard to the fan tests. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the fan drama last year: only use professionals and certified measuring equipment. You have to apply the same standards that you apply to your own work, otherwise things like this will always unintentionally take on a life of their own. And that’s exactly what nobody needs.

If you want to see who and what is possible with the TIMA5 – here are two nice bridging videos for the meantime: