CFIC/Qdrive Driving the New Sound of Cooling

CFIC/Qdrive reciprocating motor is driving Ben & Jerry's new thermoacoustic refrigerator.

Troy, NY May 29, 2004 -- While maverick ice cream maker Ben and Jerrys is creating a buzz with the newly unveiled prototype of an ice-cream freezer that runs on sound waves, CFIC/Qdrive is quietly supplying the technology that will power these new freezers. However, since the sound is internal to the machine, all you hear on the outside is a slight hum it is quieter than a conventional freezer. The freezer uses high-intensity sound, much louder than you would encounter at a rock concert or even behind a jet engine. This intense sound is created by a linear motora device very much like a souped-up loudspeaker. CFIC/Qdrive of Troy, NY, which makes the widest range of linear motors of any manufacturer, supplied a model 1S102M motor for the new acoustic freezer. The Ben and Jerrys freezer was recently featured in a recent story on NPRs All Things Considered (Ben and Jerrys Uses Sound to Chill Ice Cream, http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1861434 , or search NPR site under thermoacoustics). In the top photo on the NPR site, the 1S102M motor can be seen inside the thermoacoustic freezer, nestled below the bellows (convoluted metal section). The freezer itself was designed and built by Penn State University scientists, who have long relied on CFICs linear motors to drive their acoustic refrigeration research.

CFIC is a closely-held New York corporation established in 1989, with offices in Troy, NY. The company is dedicated to the commercialization of resonant power conversion using its proprietary drives and thermo-acoustic technology. Current products include high-power acoustic drivers and refrigeration and cryocooling systems.

For more information on CFIC-Qdrive, see www.qdrive.com.