Speedy Delivery: Modular, Configurable Power Supplies in Days
As product development cycles accelerate across sectors, from medical devices to electric vehicles, manufacturers face mounting pressure to reduce time-to-market without compromising quality. For the power electronics designer, modular and configurable power supplies offer the flexibility to adapt to diverse applications while maintaining precise voltage and current regulation. However, the nature of these sophisticated power systems often leads to extended lead times that can bottleneck entire development projects.
Advanced Energy and Sager Electronics have partnered to create an accelerated delivery program for modular power supplies to overcome this. The partnership allows designers to receive power module shipments within five days, which could accelerate their project’s time-to-market.
Sager Electronics facility. Image used courtesy of Sager
Power Supply Challenges
Power supplies convert raw electrical energy into precisely regulated voltages and currents essential for sensitive components. Modular power supplies are designed with interchangeable blocks, allowing users to adapt the system's capacity and functionality by adding or swapping modules. Configurable power supplies extend this flexibility by enabling adjustments to parameters like output voltage, current, and protection features. Such features make configurable and module power supplies extremely valuable in prototyping and testing, eliminating the need to develop custom solutions.
Modular power supply. Image used courtesy of Advanced Energy
Reducing lead times in electronics is important due to engineering development cycles and market competitiveness. Prolonged lead times often disrupt engineering timelines, delaying testing, prototyping, and product rollouts. Power supplies are uniquely susceptible to delays due to their inherent complexity, requiring precise customization and extensive logistical processes to source components and assemble units. Configurable power supplies amplify these challenges by requiring tailored configurations demanding time and expertise.
Partnership to Reduce Lead Time
Advanced Energy has collaborated with Sager Electronics to expedite the delivery of configurable, modular power supplies. Their 3x5 Program focuses on the rapid assembly and shipment of up to three fully configured power supply units (PSUs) within five days.
Artesyn LCC 1200 series. Image courtesy of Advanced Energy
These PSUs are based on Advanced Energy’s Artesyn modular platform, which is lauded for its architectural versatility. Meanwhile, the program leverages Sager’s extensive inventory to ensure that required components are readily available and delays are minimized.
Architecturally, the power supplies integrate advanced thermal management for high efficiency and reliability. At the same time, the modular design supports dynamic reconfiguration for reduced development cycles and eliminates the need for extensive redesigns.
Reshaping Industry Expectations
The Advanced Energy-Sager partnership solves an immediate supply chain bottleneck and could set a new standard for component delivery in the electronics sector. A shift from months-long lead times to rapid fulfillment could fundamentally change how companies approach prototyping and testing and ultimately decrease time to market across multiple industries.
