When lightning strikes sand a beautiful crystal, a fulgurite, is created. However, a lightning strike on the power grid is not as pleasant, as Google recently discovered. When lightning struck the local power grid supplying one of its data centres in Belgium - four times - several of the discs stored there were completely wiped.

The REO Unimed, a compact transformer for use in medical applications, has been released by REO UK. The transformer is designed to overcome the challenge faced by staff in ensuring medical setups meet European safety and performance standards to protect patients, especially those on life-critical machines. The Unimed can be built into an OEM device to provide full electrical isolation and international compliance.

Adding IP65/66-rated chokes, braking resistors and EMC filters to its REOunity range, for handling aggressive environments and severe climate conditions, REO has launched its highest ingress protection equipment to date. The REOunity concept allows companies to source all the components in and around the frequency converter from a single source.

Recognition systems and vibration measurement instruments, which can be integrated into an Industry 4.0 plant environment, are being offered by REO. Using the status reports in which the recognition system provides, the plant's quality department can quickly and easily correct production mistakes.

The introduction of a high voltage recuperation heater, the REOHM BWD330, has brought significant efficiency improvements to the vehicle thermal management systems used in electric vehicles. The heater, introduced by REO, reduces energy consumption and offers increased cooling efficiency during emergency braking.

Tim Cooke, a electric braking expert from wound components manufacturer REO, is set to speak at the NMI Power Electronics event on July 2 in Nottingham. The event, entitled ‘Power Conversion for More Electric Transport’, will take place in the National College at the University of Nottingham and Tim’s presentation will be entitled ‘Braking Challenges in Electric Vehicles’.

REO (UK), has launched a new high voltage direct current (HVDC) power supply for multi-function use. The REOLAB 420 boasts a range of high-stability innovations to improve testing in railway engineering. It is a three phase DC high voltage power supply that is ideal for use as an auxiliary supply, and is used for the development and testing of frequency converters for railway engineering.

Aiming to help in the trade body’s stated aim of creating sustainable growth strategies for the industries it serves, REO has announced that it has joined the industry think tank 'Power Electronics UK'. The think tank also aims to create a sustainable supply of high quality, industry prepared graduates.

REO have released a new guide focusing on the integration of high frequency components, such as chokes and transformers, into applications such as drive-converters, train technologies, renewable energy and e-mobility applications. This free guide can be downloaded from REO’s web site.

The designers of China’s high speed, cross country bullet train have incorporated absorption circuit inductors (AMCs) and auxiliary transformers manufactured by power equipment manufacturer REO. The components have helped the train improve both safety and passenger comfort.

REO has today introduced a new range of water cooled potted chokes and transformers which can increase the reliability and lifetime of electric motor and drive applications. Air cooled systems, in contrast, often have limitations, particularly with compact components. As a result REO has introduced its range of water cooled inductive and resistive components, which also guarantee efficient cooling.

REO UK has appointed Tim Cooke as business development manager. Tim, for 16 years, drove RS Components' sales leadership initiative after a successful period in account management, and has also worked for Cray Electronics and Control Techniques. Tim's brief will include expanding REO’s power quality components supply to original equipment manufacturers, including manufacturers of variable speed drives and inverters, as well as installers and sy...

REO has designed and manufactured chokes for testing switches in domestic applications to the international BS EN 61058-2-1 and BS EN 60669-2-1 standards. BS EN 61058-2-1 applies to switches for appliances with particular requirements for cord switches, while BS EN 60669-2-1 covers switches for household and similar fixed electrical installations with particular requirements of electronic switches.

The Rail System Testing Laboratory at Hennigsdorf, Germany has validated REO UK’s BW155 range of braking resistors for corrosion resistance against salt mist and water spray as well as dust Ingress protection to IP65. The specific standards that the resistors were tested to are EN60068-2-52 for salt mist and EN60529 for Ingress Protection.

REO Germany has recently partnered with the University of Freiberg in an attempt to encourage and promote eco-friendly vehicle technology by organising an electric vehicle race.

REO has developed a solution to the problem of using non-IP65 rated drive peripherals with IP-65 rated variable speed drives (VSDs) by introducing a range of partially and fully encapsulated units. The problem arises when there is a design or maintenance reason for not housing external input or output chokes or brake resistors in a control cabinet.

REO’s new AC current transformer is accurate to 0.2% - meeting IEC 60044-1 requirements. Current transformers are used to isolate low voltage monitoring circuits from higher power circuits when monitoring or measurement must take place. A current transformer produces a reduced current accurately proportional to the current in the circuit, which can be connected to measuring and recording instruments.

REO has launched REOMED II, a range of medical isolation transformers for the galvanic and safe isolation of medical equipment from the mains supply. The entire range is designed to conform to EN/UL60601 medical use directive.

Variable speed drive manufacturers are moving away from offering multiple options and add-ins to their core product according to REO UK. Instead they are encouraging end-users to source equipment such as input mains chokes and filters, DC link braking resistors and output dv/dt filters, sinusoidal filters and motor chokes independently.

REO now offers a range of copper high reflectors ideal for beam delivery and beam shaping tasks involving high power CO2 lasers. In particular, these mirrors offer a combination of high reflectivity (>99.7% at 10.6 µm),excellent surface quality (40-20) and low scatter (surface roughness <50Å),and are produced from OFHC (oxygen free, high thermal conductivity) copper in order to deliver superior optical performance and maximum la...