Dalton Case Study

Helping OEMs make more confident engineering decisions through collaborative innovation

The Challenge

For more than a century, Dalton Electric Heating has helped manufacturers solve complex thermal challenges. But as applications became more specialized, so did the questions from customers.

“How will this heater perform in my process?”

While engineering calculations provide valuable insight, they can’t fully predict how a heating element will behave once it’s installed within a real system. Variables like mounting, media, flow, immersion depth, geometry, and ambient conditions all influence thermal performance.

Traditional bench testing confirms that a heater functions. It doesn’t always reveal how changes in design or operating conditions affect performance.

Dalton saw an opportunity to provide customers with something even more valuable than calculations alone—measured performance data that reflects real-world operating conditions.

The Vision

Dalton set out to create a dedicated multi-zone testing environment capable of evaluating up to three WATT-FLEX® cartridge heaters simultaneously under identical operating conditions.

By controlling every variable except the one being studied, Dalton could replace assumptions with measurable evidence.

The objective wasn’t simply to test heaters.

It was to understand how design changes influenced thermal behavior, compare multiple configurations side by side, and generate data that engineers could use to make better decisions.

Engineering a Better Solution—Together

Bringing that vision to life required more than thermal expertise.

Dalton understood exactly what needed to be measured:

• Independent zone control
• Repeatable power delivery
• Multi-point temperature measurement
• A flexible platform capable of accommodating future test configurations

Sure Controls brought the controls engineering expertise needed to transform those requirements into a reliable, repeatable testing platform.

Rather than simply building a control panel to specification, the two teams collaborated throughout the design process—combining Dalton’s thermal application knowledge with Sure Controls’ experience in custom automation and controls engineering.

As Chris Stevens, Chief Solution Officer for Dalton explained:

“We knew what we needed to measure. Translating that into a system that could deliver it repeatably was a controls problem. Sure Controls brought the control and acquisition architecture that made those requirements real. The collaboration worked because it was a genuine engineering conversation in both directions—not a specification handed across a wall.”

More Than Testing—Understanding Thermal Behavior

The completed testing platform gives Dalton the ability to evaluate multiple heater configurations simultaneously under the same operating conditions.

Instead of relying on a single temperature measurement, engineers can collect data from multiple points throughout the system, revealing temperature gradients and overall thermal behavior.

Running multiple configurations side by side also eliminates variables introduced through sequential testing.

The solution would ensure the same ambient conditions, media, instrumentation and duty cycle. Any differences observed in the data are attributable to the design itself—not changes in the testing environment.

For Dalton’s engineering team, that transforms comparisons into evidence.

Better Data. Better Decisions.

The new testing environment has fundamentally changed how Dalton supports its customers.

Instead of relying solely on calculations or theoretical models, Dalton can now provide measured performance data that helps OEMs make informed design decisions earlier in the development process.

The platform allows Dalton to:

• Compare up to three WATT-FLEX cartridge heater configurations simultaneously.
• Characterize thermal performance through multi-point measurement.
• Evaluate how design changes affect system behavior.
• Reduce uncertainty during product development.
• Support customers with real-world performance data rather than assumptions.

As Stevens shared:

“Models tell you what should happen. Measurement tells you what does.”

That shift enables more productive engineering discussions, shortens design iterations, and helps reduce costly surprises during commissioning and system qualification.

A Partnership Built on Engineering

This project demonstrates what’s possible when application expertise and controls engineering come together.

Dalton brought the vision to create a more capable thermal testing environment focused on delivering greater value to customers.

Sure Controls designed and built the custom multi-zone control platform that made that vision a reality—providing the repeatability, flexibility, and control needed to generate meaningful, real-world performance data.

Together, the two companies created more than a test panel.

They created a collaborative engineering solution that helps manufacturers make better decisions with greater confidence.

Project Highlights – Eurotherm Control Architecture

• Precise, repeatable power control: Eurotherm EPack SCR power controllers provide precise control of heater power across the 0–480 VAC range, supporting consistent and repeatable testing conditions.
• Control, data logging, and visualization in one platform: The Eurotherm nanodac combines control, data logging, and real-time readouts in a compact controller. Recorded test data can also be easily accessed through Eurotherm Data Reviewer web-based software for analysis and review.
• Ethernet-based communication: The nanodac communicates directly with the EPack controllers over Ethernet, providing feedback on voltage, current, status, and other operating parameters without requiring dedicated analog or digital wiring between the devices.
• Compact, integrated architecture: By combining multi-zone power control, data acquisition, and Ethernet communications into a single architecture, the system delivers a flexible and streamlined platform for multi-heater testing.

Project Impact

The result is a compact, highly integrated control architecture designed specifically for repeatable thermal testing—giving Dalton the flexibility to control, monitor, and capture data from multiple heaters while minimizing wiring and simplifying future test configurations.

Project Review and Results

Challenge: Develop a testing platform capable of evaluating multiple WATT-FLEX cartridge heater configurations under identical real-world operating conditions.

Solution: Custom multi-zone control panel engineered by Sure Controls with independent zone control, repeatable power delivery, and multi-point temperature measurement.

Results:

• Simultaneous testing of multiple cartridge heaters • More representative real-world validation • Repeatable, evidence-based performance comparisons • Greater confidence for Dalton engineers and OEM customers • Flexible platform for future product development