Extra-wide input DC/DC converters for railway industry

The MAD-MAE-MAF series are designed to meet railway specifications EN50155, EN50121-3-2, EN61373 and EN45545, but as well ISO7637-2 for 24V vehicles, and EN12895 for industrial trucks and other industrial applications such as robotics.

The 8W MAD33 is packaged in an industry standard DIP24 case, and the MAD32, MAE35 and MAF35 are housed in a 2x1 inch case. All four series have a typical efficiency rating of 86%.

With the development of connected devices and IoT, the number of points-of-interaction and sensors are rapidly increasing. Systems designers are facing challenging situations by having to develop products able to operate in many different applications powered by a large range of voltages.

As an example, the railway standard EN50155 specifies no less than six different bus voltages (24V, 37.5V, 48V, 72V, 96V and 110V) including brownout (voltage drops) and transient surges during start-up.

Considering many equipment could be connected to any of those six voltages, system designers have to be able to guarantee that their equipment will operate from 14.4V to 154V, include brownout (voltage drop down to 14.4V) and a one second transient of 154V as specified in EN50155.

With an operating input voltage range from 12V to 160V and a power rating range from 8W to 20W, the MAD-MAE-MAF series converters from Powerbox simplify design while shorten time-to-market and reduce documentation and inventory.

“Time to market is very important for systems designers as is simplicity of the sourcing / supply chains in order to reduce downtime in the case of trains maintenance or hardware upgrades. Both are driving forces behind extra-wide input range converters and we see similar demands from other industries such industrial automotive,” said Martin Fredmark, Powerbox’s VP Portfolio Management.

“Designing 13:1 input range DC/DC converters is very challenging in order to optimise all parameters while keeping the highest possible efficiency levels across the whole input voltage range, and we are proud that our designers achieved this in the new MAD-MAE-MAF series.”

The series of converters are suitable for low power loads and devices in railway applications such as communication devices, GSM-R phones and their docking stations, routers/Wi-Fi access points, small screens, USB charging sockets (both in-seat and driver’s cabin), sensors, and standby power for larger devices.

Available in four output voltages of 5, 12, 24 and 48V in natural convection conditions, the MAD33 delivers 8W and the MAD32 10W. The MAD33 is available in a Dual In Line Packaging (31.8 x 20.3 x 12.7mm – 1.25 x 0.8 x 0.5in) and the MAD32 in an industry standard 2x1 inch packaging (50.8 x 25.4 x 10.2mm – 2.00 x 1.00 x 0.40in).

The 15W MAE35 and 20W MAF35 are available in three output voltages of 12, 24 and 48V and are similarly provided in 2x1 packages. All series deliver full output power in ambient temperatures up to 60ºC and continue to deliver power with a linear derating up to the 100ºC case. The MAD32, MAD33, MAE35 and MAF35 are housed in plastic cases.

Designed for ruggedised environments, the MAD-MAE-MAF series meet thermal shock and vibration requirements as specified in EN61373 and MIL-STD-810F, and they all meet the Fire and Smoke EN45545-2 standard.

All models within the MAD-MAE-MAF series feature full protection level sets including input voltage lockout, short-circuit protection and current limiting. All units operate at a fixed switching frequency and including PI type input filters. The operating temperature range is from -40 to +85ºC ambient (maximum 105ºC case) and storage is from -55 to +125ºC.

The series of converters from Powerbox meet the requirements of UL60950-1, EN60950-1 and IEC60950-1 standards, and CE mark 2014/30/EU. All products have an input to output isolation voltage of 3,000VAC. The MAD-MAE-MAF series are RoHS compliant.

The MAD33 (8W), MAD32 (10W), MAE35 (15W) and MAF35 (20W) are complementing the PQB50U-72S (50W) and PFB600W-110S (600W), offering a complete range of power modules solutions, from 8W up to 600W, to railway applications and demanding industries.