Current Event
Power-Factor-Corrected Front End Module
"Power supplies just aren't, well,
sexy," notes Kris Budinger, who happens to be CEO of Online
Power Supply, Englewood, CO. How right he is. Few components are as homely
as that unimpressive box that makes line voltage into something useful.
And it makes the selection task difficult when determining which power supply
to spec into a product, since there are so many identical off-the-shelf
units with overlapping specs, to say nothing of the added task of choosing
an appropriate EMI filter package and ensuring that there's sufficient cooling
sources. The latter becomes especially critical in areas like telecommunications
systems, fiber optic switches etc., which can require upwards of 400W.
After a few years of development, Online Power Supply introduced late
last year a complete unit (that means including EMI filter and hold-up capacitors)
that takes input of 90 to 254 VAC and produces outputs up to 500W at a variable,
load-dependent 250-400 VDC. There are several tricks in their design, starting
with the unit occupying about half the spatial volume of an equivalent competitor's
system (actual size is 2.9- x 1.6- x 5.7-in.). The units are 97% efficient
at 240 VAC, which means that at 500W, just 13 watts is lost to dissipation.
And that means that there's no need for huge finned heat sinks and noisy
cooling fans-- baseplate attachment handles the thermal load very nicely,
thank you. They function at full power in temperatures ranging from -40
to 85°C. Finally, the modules do not suffer thermal deration, the drop-off
in output that occurs at certain temperatures.
Exactly what makes the OPS-U-500-385 different from the rest of the field
is, of course, proprietary, although Kris alludes that a rethinking of magnetic
field technology is part of it. The next unit scheduled for release will
have the same properties, but with an input of 120-240 VAC and a regulated
output of 48 VDC at 500W, making it well suited for telecommunications systems,
servers, optical switchers, etc.
--RM
For more information:
Circle 555 - Online Power Supply, or connect directly to
their website via the Online Reader Service Program at http://www.OneRS.net/106df-555
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