Input bricks optimised for railway applications

In full brick packaging, the PFB600W-110S delivers 600W unit within a 4:1 input voltage range of 43V to 160V, accommodating 72, 96 and 110V bus voltages. Both products can be operated from -40°C up to 100°C case temperature, matching very demanding and ruggedised requirements such as in construction vehicles, mining equipment and heavy machinery process control.

Demanding industry and railway power designers always face challenges to optimise board power solutions when designing standardised equipment for worldwide operation on a very large variety of system bus voltages. In the railway industry, designers are permanently seeking the best power architecture to operate within the overall EN50155 input voltage range, from 24V up to 110V (including continuous operation in the 14.4V brownout condition and 154V transients). To guarantee board power designers the highest level of flexibility, the PQB50U-72S has been developed to deliver full and stable power within an extended input voltage range from 14V up to 160V.

In demanding industry and the forthcoming industry 4.0 applications, system designers have to guarantee full performance in a multitude of applications operating from 24V to 72V and fixed industrial battery backup systems using 110V in which the quality of line is often disturbed. In those applications, the PQB50U-72S is designed to sustain high level of line disturbance within a range as low as 1V4 to a 200V surge. In such environments, the PQB50U-72S guarantees full output performance, simplifying design for systems architects and, by having only one power module covering all ranges of input voltage, reduces inventory.

PQB50U-72S comes in a standardised DOSA quarter-brick package. The module is available in four output voltages (5V/6A ; 12V/4.2A ; 24V/2.1A and 48V/1.05A). The device sustains 200V/100ms surge input voltage, includes short circuit and over-voltage protection, meets UL60950-1, 2^nd edition basic insulation and meets the EN50155 (EN61373) shock and vibration standard. The unit can be operated from -40°C up to 100°C case temperature and has an efficiency of 86%. The PQB50U-72S includes an aluminum baseplate, making it possible to fix a heatsink or mount it directly to a cold-wall or chassis.

Used in demanding applications, the PQB50U-72S has an isolation voltage of 3,000VDC (min) between input/output, 1,500VDC input/case and 1,500VDC output to case.

“From the early days, board mounted DC/DC converters simplified the design process, whilst shortening the time to market,” said Martin Fredmark, VP Product Management. “With the increased demand from Systems Designers to meet a large variety of bus voltages and from Supply Chain Managers to reduce inventory and fewer product-codes, Powerbox has been working on Swiss-knife power solutions, of which the PQB50U-72S and PFB600W-110S are perfect example of products responding to those needs.”

Part of the railway and industry modernisation programs introduces more digital communication, entertainment systems, local computers and radio-communication. These require higher power board mounted converters and must be able to operate independently of the system bus voltage, such as the EN50155 input bus voltage (72, 96, 110V), industrial 48V while delivering 600W output power.

Designed and optimised for railway 110V systems, the Powerbox PFB600W-110S can be operated from 43V up to 160V input, sustaining 180V/100ms surge voltage. The 4:1 input voltage range makes it easier and simpler for the system designer when developing equipment for international railway applications.

Packaged in an industry standard full-brick, the PFB600W-110S is available in four output voltages (12V/50A ; 24V/25A ; 28V/21.4A and 48V/12.5A) with an output power up to 600W. The PFB600W-110S is fully regulated and operates at a fixed switching frequency of 250KHz and includes a PI type input filter reducing the input and noise. PFB600W-110S includes current limiting, continuous short-circuit protection, under/over-voltage lockout and an over-temperature protection with thermal shutdown with automatic recovery. For safety, the module complies with the UL60950-1 2^nd edition (Basic isolation) has an input/output and input/case isolation of 2,500VDC and 500VDC output/case.

For additional power or operational redundancy, the PFB600W-110S can be used in parallel. A paralleling control circuit is included within the product, guaranteeing true load-sharing, without the need to add external components. PFB600W-110S has a typical efficiency of 89% and has been designed carefully to optimise the thermal dissipation through the baseplate.

The product complies with EN50155 (EN61373) shock and vibration standard and environmental EN50155 (EN60068-2-1). PQB50U-72S and PFB600W-110S meet CE Mark 2004/108/EC requirements.