Vapor Phase Reflow Process Shield

As part of validating the previous design, I was required to author a technical closure procedure to achieve repeatable sealing performance. The enclosure had to be assembled using a defined fastener sequence, with fasteners incrementally tightened in multiple passes using a torque wrench. Final torque values were temperature-dependent, and deviations in order or torque resulted in inconsistent sealing or enclosure distortion. While this procedure enabled vapor resistance under controlled conditions, it proved impractical for customer use, particularly during hot handling and repeated profiling cycles. 

After analyzing the failure modes of the early designs, I independently examined the sealing and latch mechanics of an ammo can to understand how reliable perimeter compression is achieved with minimal user effort. Based on that analysis, I proposed a latching clamshell architecture and shared the concept with the mechanical engineer and the head of R&D as a more robust baseline for vapor sealing. This discussion directly informed the subsequent prototype and established the mechanical direction that the final design was built upon. 

A major failure mode in early testing was vapor intrusion past the primary perimeter seal during condensation. To address this without redesigning the enclosure, I lightly modified the internal yoke to incorporate an O-ring gland, creating a secondary vapor barrier. After many 3D-printed prototype iterations, I converged on a gland geometry that optimized O-ring stretch and compression interference with the housing. This provided reliable sealing across thermal cycling without over-constraining the enclosure or affecting thermal response. The O-ring is a low-cost, standard component that can be easily replaced by the customer if damaged, preserving long-term serviceability with minimal added complexity. 

I introduced a reduced cross-section seal lip to locally concentrate sealing pressure into the primary silicone gasket. The clamps originally specified were not capable of generating sufficient force to uniformly compress the gasket and achieve a watertight seal. By reducing the contact area, the seal lip effectively concentrates clamp load and allows the gasket to properly deform and seal without increasing latch force or changing the clamp hardware. I also added internal chamfers to guide the O-ring during closure, preventing pinching or rolling and ensuring consistent engagement. Together, these changes improved sealing reliability while remaining compatible with the existing clamp system. In testing this was able to consistently seal the thermal profiler from vapor and vacuum even during back to back runs.

After validating the 7-channel prototype with consistent, repeatable success in vapor-phase oven testing, I was tasked with scaling the design to support higher channel counts. This resulted in a 9-channel iteration capable of accommodating nine independent thermocouple measurements, followed by a 12-channel version. Each variant maintained the same design language and functional hardware as the original, preserving sealing performance, usability, and manufacturability while scaling the internal architecture to support additional measurement capacity. 

As of today, all iterations of the shield have been officially launched. I am actively working with production on integration and training schedules and have authored the product assembly documentation to support manufacturing ramp-up. The designs are production-ready and awaiting future customer orders.