Thermal Design of the Silicon Graphics Indigo 2 Workstation

The Silicon Graphics Indigo 2 workstation was developed over a period of about 18 months from conception to production of deliverable units. At the time of the product’s conception, it was clear that simulation, both electrical and mechanical, would play a major role in keeping up with the aggressive design schedule. The parallel usage of both physical modeling and computational fluid dynamics modelling of the system enclosure was instrumental in providing a sound mechanical design for thermal management The final prototype workstation passed through all thermal design verification testing without fault, avoiding the need for a redesign which would have caused the product to miss its manufacturing release date.