Configurable power supplies offer nonstandard voltages and safety approval
By Margery Conner -- EDN, May 17, 2005
Configurable power supplies offer a fast way for designers of industrial, IT, and medical systems to incorporate safety-agency-approved power supplies in their systems. “A configurable power supply is right for the designer who need something weird, needs it right now, and needs it safety-agency-approved,” says Frank Rene, president of global product development for XP Power. Filling those needs, XP Power’s new fleXPower family of configurable power supplies has modules with continuous output voltages of 3.3 to 60V, so that if a design calls for an unusual output voltage, such as 3.7V, the designer can configure the supply to that voltage without going back to the approving agency (Picture).
Rene explains that the unit’s flexibility is inherent in the manufacturing process. “We build the modules in Asia and put them together in the United States; it’s like building with Legos.” The flexibility carries over into other product features, such as flexible series and parallel connectivity between units of different power levels, full medical and industrial approvals for safety and EMC, as many as six outputs from 3.3 to 150V dc from a universal 85 to 264V-ac or 120 to 370V-dc input, floating controls and signals, field-replaceable fans, an advanced logic interface, and an extended operating-temperature range of –20 to +70°C.
Rene expects that the additional flexibility will widen the appeal of configurable power supplies for electronic systems, particularly because the company is offering the extra functions and improved power density at a lower cost than earlier models.
XP Power, 1-408-524-8521, www.xppower.com.
