PEM ThermaLink™ Fittings

PEM ThermaLink™ Weld-Free Manifold and Port Fittings

How do you make a leak-free manifold, drain, or port assembly for handling fluids and air - without welding?

PEM ThermaLink™ is an engineered fitting for manifolds that replaces welding and brazing on manifolds, drains, and cooling trays. PEM ThermaLink™ fittings comprise a precision fluid port coupled with an elastomeric seal held to tight tolerances to avoid compression set and ensure a hermetic, leak-free connection. PEM Thermalink™ fittings install like a rivet, applied without heat, welding, or brazing, and can join dissimilar materials, such as aluminum and stainless steel, in seconds, using simple hand tools or, for higher throughput, a fully automated solution is available from MDS, a PennEngineering Company. PEM ThermaLink™ fittings are engineered to exceed Open Compute Project (OCP) standards and multiple automotive standards for pressurized applications.

As an alternative to brazing and welding on manifolds, PEM Thermalink™ fittings delives 4-7x tighter perpendicularity, 2-5x tighter position tolerance, and 5x+ faster install than welding – with no heat distortion, foreign object debris (FOD), or dependence on skilled welders.

• 4-7x Tighter perpendicularity than conventional welding
• 5x+ Faster rivet cycle than a weld plus post-bake
• OCP-Qualified Helium leak, burst pressure, vibration, and pressure cycling

Why Welding and Brazing Fall Short

Manifolds, drains, and fluid/airports are typically welded or brazed to stay assembled and leak-free. Both processes create four compounding problems:

• Tolerances are hard to hold. Even laser welding varies 0.5-1.0 mm, and that compounds fast across the many fittings on one manifold.
• Brazing distorts parts. ‘Floating’ parts, perpendicularity shifts, and thermal-expansion mismatch between sheet metal and braze material.
• Dissimilar metals are a challenge. Metals chosen for different properties are difficult to join reliably with heat-based processes.
• The process is dirty, slow, and labor-constrained. Welding and brazing generate FOD requiring cleanup, alter metallurgy in heat-affected zones, and depend on increasingly scarce welding labor.

For datacenter manifold manufacturers, denser quick-disconnect (QD) installs demand tighter tolerances than welding can reliably hold. For procurement and operations leaders, the same root cause surfaces as a skilled-welder shortage and high labor rates.

How PEM ThermaLink™ Works

Step 1. Rivet. PEM® Rivet Technology installs an outlet, stud, or port into a manifold tube using a rivet, no heat, no weld. Multiple geometries, sizes, and substrates are supported, making it possible to join dissimilar metals in a cooling manifold.

Step 2. Seal. A compressed elastomeric seal delivers a hermetic, leak-free connection engineered to OCP standards, creating sealed, torque-consistent threads and fluid paths in cold plates and manifold blocks.

Step 3. Machine and clean in parallel. Engineered around square tubes and precision fittings, the system enables parallel CNC machining of tubes and fittings and separate cleaning/passivation, eliminating the mixed welding-and-CNC workflow that has historically made manifold production inflexible.

What sets PEM ThermaLink™ apart?

Precision without heat. 0.05 mm perpendicularity, 0.08 mm flatness, 0.15 mm position – no thermal distortion.

5x+ faster install. A 3-second rivet cycle against a typical 15-second weld plus post-bake – under 10 seconds per connection including handling and positioning.

No heat, no FOD. Nothing to clean up, and no heat-affected zones altering metallurgy.

Less dependence on scarce labor. Rivet tooling replaces certified welding and brazing labor.

Tolerance and Performance Data

Here’s how PEM ThermaLink™ compares to conventional welding and brazing across the tolerances that determine whether a manifold ships or gets scrapped.

PEM ThermaLink™ rivet-fit technology delivers 4-7x tighter perpendicularity and 2-5x tighter position tolerance than conventional welding, and consistently outperforms brazing as well –enabling precision blind-mate coupling (UQDB) without thermal distortion.

See the full process comparison, technical specifications, qualification test results, and product FAQs

Independently Qualified

PEM ThermaLink™ manifolds have completed and passed a full OCP-aligned qualification at two 3rd party labs.

• Helium Leak Test: No confirmed leak detected.
• Bursting Pressure Test: Burst at 8.36 MPa against a 2.76 MPa requirement — roughly 3x margin.
• Temperature & Humidity: No damage through cycling or 96 hours at 40°C/104˚F/93% RH.
• Vibration, Operating State: No damage on any axis.
• Pressure Cycling: 10,000 cycles with no physical damage.

See the full qualification test results

Built for Where You Need It

The mechanism is the same across markets. The design service adapts to the ports, materials, and layouts each application demands.

• Datacenter / AI Liquid Cooling
• Automotive & EV
• General Industrial
• Energy Storage
• Aerospace & Aerospace Electronics
• Robotics
• Datacom

Ways to Buy

PEM ThermaLink™ fitting is designed to fit your manufacturing model and reduce labor cost in manifold assembly versus welding or brazing.

Contract Installation
Send in your manifold tube and get it back with PEM ThermaLink™ fittings installed, ready for your own leak testing, quick-disconnect assembly, and end-cap welding.

Full Manifold Supply
Get complete, leak-checked manifolds supplied directly into your thermal-management product.

Why PennEnginering

Founded in 1942, PennEngineering® is the global leader in fastening technology, installation equipment, and component solutions. That scale means design expertise, rapid testing, and automation-backed installation support, from concept to installation.

80+ Year History | 30 Locations | 11B+ Fasteners Produced Annually | 7 Product Development Centers

Talk To An Engineer

Every PEM ThermaLink™ program starts with a conversation. Talk to an engineer to discuss your design, review test data, or explore your buying model.