[. . . ] Hard Disk Player Thermal Analysis Paul Neville Naim Audio Southampton Road, Salisbury, SP1 2LN, England Abstract When designing hi-fi components attention has to be paid to the thermal performance. [. . . ] The software uses these values and the thermal properties of the materials to predict the flow patterns and maximum temperatures reached from a meshed model. The software model predicted temperatures at different ambient temperatures and with the fan turned on or off. It was also possible to use the model to optimise the position of the fan and to confirm that the planned airflow was ideal. The Thermal model allowed predictions of what would happen when materials or the design changed and to fine tune the design for thermal performance. The product case is constructed from 5mm thick aluminium, which provides an in-built heat sink for the components and a path to remove heat from the product. Key components have been coupled to the case to provide a direct conductive heat path to the cover and hence, the outside world. For instance the hard drives are connected directly to the cover via thick machined aluminium blocks. The back-up drive is sent to sleep when not in use to limit the heat that is generated and the primary drive is located closest to the cover to shorten the distance of the heat path to the outside world. The best grades of material were selected to minimise thermal resistance to provide a product with optimum passive cooling. [. . . ] The verification by Seagate's labs further increased confidence in the use and analysis of these powerful software tools thus potentially shortening product development times. Naim's HDX is powered by the DigiFiTM platform; leading edge software technology licensed from DigiFi Ltd of London www. naimaudio. com -2- 24th April 2008 [. . . ]