Fast and efficient DC power supplies with a compact design are the new trend in the T&M industry
By Sneha Ambastha
A power supply is used to meet the power sourcing requirements in the fields of R&D, automated testing, education, and precision testing of low power devices and of portable devices. Today, these power supplies are being used in applications that demand a smaller size but higher efficiency. Hence, the requirement for compact power supplies with high precision, to supply accurate voltage and current, is increasing each day.
What buyers should remember
Selecting the right power supply can be both easy and tough, and can at times create a lot of unnecessary confusion in the mind of the buyers. In order to avoid this, let’s look at some basic factors that ought to guide your selection of a power supply.
A typical power supply: If you are just looking for a power supply without any specific criteria, then all you need to do is to check the voltage and current ratings of a set of power supplies and then make your decision.
A power supply with specialised requirements: This means that you already have some specific criteria that your power supply must comply with or address. In this situation, selection becomes much easier, as there would be fewer power supplies designed only for those requirements.
A power supply with complex requirements: It’s important to identify the right current and voltage, but when you need to select a DC power supply, you need to look at other factors too, like:
- Ripple and noise. Any variation in the specifications of the ripple and noise may affect the device or the circuit.
- Programming accuracy. It’s essential to determine the programming accuracy to find out if the power supply is capable of producing voltage and current within the required precision of the device.
- Output response. You need to check if the power supply is fast enough for the required application.
Computer interface. If your application requires a computer controlled power supply, it is essential that it should have the right hardware and software for this purpose. - Analogue voltage and control signal. If your application requires an amplification in power or needs to track the analogue voltage, you will have to get a power supply with analogue inputs.
- Other specifications that need to be checked are built-in measurements to check the actual voltage and current, physical specifications of the power supply for the application, selection of the front or rear output terminal, and the number of outputs required as per the application’s requirements.
A few recently launched power supplies
Model: E36100 series, Brand: Keysight, Manufacturer: Keysight Technologies Inc.
Keysight’s recently launched E36100 series comprises DC power supplies in a compact form factor. It is compatible with LAN and USB interfaces and the company claims that it can offer accurate, reliable power for testing and validating designs. The company states that the E36100 series has been built to enable R&D and design validation engineers to handle the pressures generated during the quick production of high-quality designs and for those who want to power their devices with confidence.
Key features
- Is a low-noise device with linear power regulation
- Comes with over-voltage and over-current load protection
- Capable of measuring very small current values
- Compatible with various interfaces like GPIB, RS-232, LAN (LXI Core) and USB (this feature may vary from one model to another)
- Comes with a high-contrast OLED display that makes it easy to view the screen from anywhere—even from sharp angles
Key Specifications
- Output power: 30W to 40W
- Number of outputs: One
- Output voltage: 6V – 100V
- Output current: 0.4A -5A
- Dimensions (LXHXD): 106mm x 99mm x 368mm
USP: Supplies reliable power with minimal features
Contact details: www.keysight.com
Indian branch: Keysight Technologies India Pvt Ltd
Model: ODP 3032, Brand: MetroQ-Owon, Manufacturer: Fujian Lilliput Optoelectronics Technology Co. Ltd
ODP 3032 is a programmable power supply from Lilliput, launched in February 2016. It has two independent controllable channels with multiple communication interfaces such as RS232 and USB. It is used in various applications like R&D labs for normal testing operations, in industrial production for automation tests, in automobile and electronic circuits to test the power supplies, in education/teaching for experimentation, for electronic component testing and in aging tests to monitor the real-time status of a power system.
Key features
- Has a 9.906 cm coloured LCD with 65536 colours and TFT screen for clear and better visibility
- Has insulation between its three output channels to effectively reduce interference
- Its two controllable channels have a switch for convenient operation
- It comes with up to 100 group timers and unlimited output, which might not be defined
- It also has up to 100 preset system configurations
Key Specifications
- Output power: 195W
- Number of outputs: Three in total- 1. Two controllable channels, and 2. One fixed output power supply
- Output voltage: Channel 1 / Channel 2: 1) Independent: 0V ~ 30V 2) Series: 0V ~ 60V 3) Plus-minus: -30V ~ 30V Fixed 5V: 5V
- Output current: Channel 1/ Channel 2: 1) Independent/Series/Plus-minus: 0A ~ 3A 2) Parallel: 0A ~ 6A Fixed 5V: 3A
- Dimensions (LxHxD): 298mm x 202mm x 450mm
- Weight: About 9.8kg
USP: Applicable for multiple tests in various applications
Contact details: www.owon.com.hk
Indian distributors: Metro Electronics Products, infometroq@gmail.com, www.metroq.in
Model: 2260B series, Brand: Keithley, Manufacturer: Tektronix Inc.
The 2260B series of programmable DC power supplies from Tektronix come with a warranty for three years. The series has been built to control the current and voltage rise time in order to reduce the current inrush and prevent any damage to the device. It is used for environmental tests, stress tests and accelerated life tests, along with the testing of other products like LEDs and high power components, production tests, automotive tests, battery research tests, etc.
Key features
- Comes with a programmable voltage or current rise and fall time (from 0.1V/s to 1600V/s or 0.01A/s to 216A/s- model dependent) to prevent any damage from inrush current to loads
- Has a constant current priority setting to reduce voltage and current overshoot while powering the LEDs
- Its programmable output resistance allows simulating a battery’s output characteristics
- It has a fast discharge capability and 1ms transient recovery time to load changes in order to minimise the test times in automated test systems
- It fits six 360W, three 720W or two 1080W units in a standard rack’s width, saving bench and test system rack space
Key specifications
- Output power: 360W-1080W
- Number of outputs: One
- Output voltage: 30V – 800V
- Output current: 1.44A – 108A
- Dimensions (W x H x D):
• 360W: 71mm × 124mm × 350mm
• 720W: 142.5mm × 124mm × 350mm
• 1080W: 214mm × 124mm × 350mm - Weight:
• 360W: 3kg (approx)
• 720W: 5kg (approx)
• 1080W: 7.5kg (approx)
USP: Allows users to simulate the output of a battery for testing higher power portable battery products
Contact details: www.tek.com
Indian branch: Tektronix India Pvt Ltd
