Digital switchers: New flexibility and fast product optimization for power design

摘要

Traditionally, the selection of switching power supplies for innovative electronic applications requiring rapid development schedules involved pouring over data sheets and comparing product specifications to identify the switcher that came closest to estimated needs. However, this approach often resulted in compromises that required designers to use products available in a reasonable timeframe while making concessions with their optimal specifications. Even more problematic, designers were often frustrated when small changes in their products required the selection of a different power source to accommodate the modified design. More recently, switchers with modular topologies have offered some level of flexibility in popular power ranges up to about 1500 W. Unfortunately, these traditional analog modules still have limitations and frequently require custom engineering from the manufacturer to address issues, such as: special voltages; operating noise limitations; special cooling requirements; constant current settings; module enable and sequencing configurations; and other issues. In one recent period, Astec Power tallied 27 customer-requested changes that required engineering resources and, in some cases, recertification to safety agency standards. While quicker than developing a custom power supply, incorporating these changes still adds time and cost to the development cycle. In addition, in-process design alterations to the end product can still require further modifications to the modular power supply.