ZFW Academy

In addition to product-specific advice, we also offer training courses on all aspects of thermal management as part of the ZFW Academy. Therefore, we regularly organize in-house training courses and seminars for companies to train in the field of cooling and heat management. In addition to our own in-house training courses, we also frequently give lectures at various training institutions.

Further training modules at university level for practical use

We offer further training in the areas

• Thermal management in electronics
• Basics and selected topics of mechatronics

The concept:

• Due to our close connection to the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University, Faculty of Technology, the modules are based on the lecture content of the university.
• The modules can be booked individually. Or we can put together a complete package for your company that is tailored to your requirements.
• Our lecturers have teaching experience at universities and also have a lot of practical experience.
• The events take place mainly online. We use complex transmission technology with several cameras for online transmission.

Language: English (spring 2026) and German (autumn 2026 as an cooperation with Power of Electronics, Würzburg, Germany)

These modules will be offered in spring, 2026 in ENGLISH on the following dates:

Module 1: Physical principles

Physical basics: heat transport through heat conduction, convection and heat radiation. Thermal contact resistance, heat spread. Simple basic equations for rough calculations. Illustrating the theory with practical examples.

Module 6: Thermal interface materials 1

Thermal contact resistances and thermal interface materials are an underestimated aspect in real-world applications. Understanding and evaluating them is often a major challenge.



This module covers the fundamentals of thermal contact resistances between solid surfaces. In practice, these often cause an undesirable temperature jump.

Thermal interface materials (TIMs), such as thermal pastes, gap fillers, adhesives, thermally conductive films, or phase-change materials, improve heat transfer at precisely this contact point. They counteract the temperature rise.

The lecture provides an overview of thermal interface materials, their selection and practical applications, as well as their testing methods.

In the second part (Module 7), the focus is on test methods for determining the service life and failure mechanisms of TIM (Thermal Interface Material). The influences of mechanical properties on thermal aging can be derived from the failure mechanisms. This results in design rules that improve the reliability of electronic products.

Module 7: Thermal interface materials 2 - test methods

In practical applications, thermal interface materials are subjected to a wide variety of stresses. These stresses vary greatly depending on the specific application and interact with one another; therefore, it is not possible to make a general statement about the durability of the materials, for example based on the manufacturer’s specifications in the data sheet.

This seminar will present methods for simulating these stresses on a laboratory scale:

• Thermal tests: High-temperature aging, thermal cycling test, decomposition temperature
• Mechanical tests: Vibration test, tensile test, tensile-shear test
• Thermo-mechanical test: Power cycling (Active load cycling test)
• Electrical tests

Participants will learn about the relationships between thermal and mechanical stresses and be presented with solutions for estimating the service life of thermal interface materials without time- and cost-intensive prototype testing.

Module 12: Temperature measurement technology

Thermocouples, resistance thermometers and thermal imaging cameras.
Correct attachment of temperature sensors, errors due to heat dissipation, dynamic behavior, typical measurement errors with thermal imaging cameras, influence of the emissivity, measurement errors due to interference radiation. Live demonstrations (also online).

Module 8: Thermally conductive filled polymers: from theory to practice 

Thermally conductive filled polymers are widely used in electronic systems. As thermal interface materials, potting compounds and dielectric layers in insulated metal substrates, they contribute significantly to the dissipation of heat losses.

The development of highly conductive polymer composites that are also easy to process is a complex and time-consuming process. The achievable properties such as thermal conductivity, viscosity and density depend largely on the fillers used and their interaction. The microscopic material and packing structure is particularly important. 



During the seminar, the influences of 

•  Filler material and particle shape,
• Particle size and size distribution,
• maximum packing density and
• agglomeration

will be developed and explained step by step. This is followed by a theoretical consideration of packing effects and filler-filler interactions as well as ideal filler combinations. 

The occurrence of thermal contact resistance between filled polymers and neighbouring solids is also discussed. 

Building on the theoretical content discussed, practical formulation developments and optimisation strategies will be discussed. Participants will learn how to adjust the thermal and rheological properties. In addition to simple correlations, modern calculation tools are also used for this purpose.