New Industry Products

3-Phase 250W Power Supply for Distribution Centers and Factory Automation

March 05, 2019 by Scott McMahan

Powerbox announced the introduction of its ENI250A series power supplies designed to deliver peak power to motor start or/and high capacitive loads in factory automation applications. The three-phase ENI250A series comes in an IP54 case. It delivers a constant 250W and up to 480W peak power with an efficiency of up to 94%. An included microcontroller offers many possibilities to adjust protection behavior to meet specific customer requirements.

Factory automation, which is already well established in many industries. With the aid of AI and remote communication and the growing demand for shorter customer lead times, factory automation is expected to explode in coming years. Similarly, the growth of automated parcel-hubs is expected to skyrocket.

Factory automation may often need stable 3-phase power supplies for electrical controllers and motors. Such power supplies are frequently in bigger systems far away from the load.

However, power supplies in some applications need to be close to the load. This proximity can be accomplished using multiple 3-phase input units on the same power rail.

The ENI250A24 enclosed solution offers high IP-class protection for harsh environments. The product can also be offered in other mechanical configurations for the best fit in a customer application.

Parcel hub-designers and hub-operators face multiple challenges in dealing with a large variety and types of equipment. This variety requires power supplies with high-quality and high performance and demands that these power supplies can operate in harsh environments with a complex mix of mechanical, thermal, and electrical constraints.

"Designed to meet such demanding requirements with built-in high Ingress Protection (IP) for harsh environments, Powerbox's three-phase ENI250A is not only a robust and efficient power solution but a mechanically reconfigurable platform able to fit different form factors or even direct integration into DC motors." Said Martin Fredmark, Powerbox's VP Portfolio Management. "Equipped with a microcontroller, functions like peak power, current limiting, protection mode and behavior, and others can easily be set to suit customers' specific needs, shortening time to operation and conveyer upgrades."

Addressing 24Vdc motors, the 250W ENI250A24 can provide 480W peak power for one second, as well as sustain high capacitive loads and manage energy recycling when a dc motor is decelerating or stopping. This energy recycling function is critical for energy saving and increasing equipment lifetime. For higher power or redundancy, the ENI250A24 can simply be paralleled.

Other output voltages including 36Vdc and 48Vdc as well as customized voltages are available on demand to power motors. The unit has an operating temperature range from -25°C to +70°C. The ENI250A24 includes soft-start, over-current, voltage and temperature protection. An LED indicator shows the status of the power supply, and a dc-OK signal and remote reset offer easy integration within the conveyor operation management system.

Powerbox designed the power supply using the company's reliable power platform concept. The series uses active power factor correction (PFC) in combination with high efficiency and compact LLC topology. The device accepts 3-phase input voltages from 323Vac to 560Vac.

Designed to meet safety specifications 60950-1 and 62368-1, the power supply features an EMC in accordance with EN61000-6-3 and EN61000-6-2. The IP54 case of ENI250A24 has dimensions of 250mm x 160mm x 55mm and weighs 1.5Kg. Mounting brackets are available for simple installation.

Powerbox designed the ENI250A24 for easy integration with customers' equipment. It can be factory re-configured to fit specific form-factors.

Features

  • High capacitive load
  • DC-OK
  • Remote reset
  • Peak power
  • Efficiency up to 94%
  • Soft start <6A
  • Paralleling for increased power or redundancy
  • IP54
  • LED status indicator
  • Custom features by microcontroller
  • Warranty, customer choice 1-5 years

Input

  • 323Vac to 560Vac 3-phase

Output

  • 24Vdc, other voltages on request
  • Power 250W
  • Peak power 480W, 1s