NASA Technology Managers Visit TopLine at Space Tech Expo

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Members of the NASA Technology Licensing and Commercialization Team visited the TopLine exhibit at the recent 2018 Space Tech Expo show in Pasadena, California, USA, where they awarded a NASA lapel pin to TopLine CEO Martin Hart in appreciation of TopLine’s efforts to develop a business model around PID (Particle Impact Damper) technology. PID cancels random vibrations in PCB printed circuit board assemblies, reducing the potential for damage in harsh environments and is especially suited to applications in the mil-aero defense industry.

TopLine’s innovative PID vibration cancellation particle damping technology was originally developed by NASA, which entered into a License Transfer agreement in 2016 with TopLine to manufacture and commercialize the PID patent. TopLine’s PID were invented at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

“PID is a COTS commercially-available standard solution, suitable for retrofitting and hardening heritage hardware in the field,” states Martin Hart. “After hardening, old hardware is ready for new missions in new operating environments.” The PID surface mounts onto the PC Board. Inside the PID is a payload of freely-moving tungsten balls that move in the opposite direction to the board. This counter motion pulls back the bending of the board and attenuates vibrational energy. PID technology operates over a full range of temperatures without de-rating. PIDs can be attached like ordinary components. Readers are encouraged to visit a new web site showing a two-minute YouTube video how the PID works. Please click here.

About TopLine

TopLine manufactures a wide range of daisy chain semiconductor packages for process development, experimentation, machine evaluation, solder training, and SMT assembly practice. TopLine products provide hands-on learning for engineers.