Power supply brings high power with digital control to challenging applications

XP Power is making intelligent and flexible higher power levels available to key medical, industrial and semiconductor fabrication applications with the release of its new HPF3K0 series.

Advances in cutting-edge surgical/medical equipment demand increasing sophistication and power, which the device will address. Also, within industrial sectors, it delivers distributed control and monitoring with the advantage of a highly configurable and remotely controllable power module.

Until recently, designers had few options for multi-kilowatt power within the medical sector. The device offers 3kW of power, fully approved to the requirements of IEC60601-1 Ed 3 with 2 x MOPP. The power solution is also approved to EN55011/EN55032 for EMC Class B (conducted) and Class A (radiated) and EN61000-4-x for immunity. ITE approvals include IEC62368-1 Ed.2.

At the heart of this highly flexible solution is a digital signal processing ‘engine’ that includes a suite of sophisticated digital control and monitoring functions that enable dynamic variation of power configurations and performance. This includes constant current operation, variable overload characteristics and alarm functions.

As a result, users can optimise the power solution to suit various applications without needing hardware/BoM changes. This includes adjusting current and/or voltage to 0% of the nominal rating – a rarity in this supply type. A sophisticated GUI allows configurations to be developed and evaluated.

Multiple serial protocols, including I2C, PMBus, RS485 and CANopen, provide seamless integration with remote control schemes, while a boot loader function permits remote firmware updates for maintenance or enhancement.

Industrial applications demand rugged solutions. The device features an auxiliary signal connector with positive locking and double fixing points on output terminals. Also, the rise and fall of the output voltage are strictly controlled to avoid a standing voltage on the output capacitors.

The device is housed in an enclosed steel chassis measuring just 280mm x 178mm x 64mm (11” x 7” x 2.5”). Up to five units may be operated in parallel via a single wire bus, giving up to 15kW of highly flexible power.

Four variants have nominal single outputs of 24, 36, 48 and 60VDC. Efficiency is as high as 93%, and cooling is through an integrated fan with intelligent control that provides audible noise is at the lowest level possible – a useful feature, particularly in noise-sensitive medical applications.

The device’s digital architecture, flexibility, scalability, high power density, class B conducted emissions, ITE, and medical safety approvals make it excellent for a wide variety of healthcare, semiconductor manufacturing and industrial equipment applications.