Vicor Promotes Mass Customization With PowerBench Advanced Power Design Tool Suite

Vicor Corp. announced its PowerBench,™ an online suite of power design tools that enable power designers to specify and verify the performance and attributes of custom power design solutions in real time. The comprehensive suite advances Vicor’s mass-customization capability, enabling design engineers to focus on their ideas rather than the constraints dictated by power supply availability.

The PowerBench encompasses the design of dc-dc converters, ac-dc and dc-dc partitioned power architecture (VIPAC and VIPAC Arrays), and a broad range of power-factor corrected ac-dc power supplies. These expert systems – which facilitate and integrate design, ordering, and manufacturing processes – are said to represent a major step toward true mass customization. All of these power conversion design tools are readily accessible at the company’s website.

The three major PowerBench elements include: CMDS™ (Custom Module Design System) supports Vicor’s FasTrak Maxi, Mini, and Micro dc-dc converters with any output voltage between 2 and 48Vdc and with any input voltage from 18 Vdc minimum to 425 Vdc maximum with input voltage ranges up to 2.1 to 1. Output power is selectable over a continuous range of 20 to 500W per module and modules can be configured in fault-tolerant arrays capable of delivering several kilowatts; VCAD™ (Vicor Configurable Automated Design) is the heart of Vicor’s VIPAC, a new type of power system that leverages the latest advances in dc-dc converters and modular front-ends and incorporates a new partitioned power architecture; VSPOC™ (Vicor Systems Product Online Configurator) is a proprietary online system that enables a registered user to specify and verify complete power solutions in real time.

"PowerBench has no peer in the industry," said Mike Stefani, Vice President of Marketing for Vicor’s Brick Business Unit. "These tools give power designers unprecedented capability to design the solution they need quickly, easily, and cost effectively. In most cases, design engineers can go from specification to receiving a part within a few weeks. In a landscape where design engineers in dozens of countries are designing tens of thousands of products, it’s critical to provide a custom power design solution that offers extreme flexibility and rapid delivery for any order size."

Prototype quantities of new designs are typically delivered in less than six weeks. Unit pricing will depend on the user’s specific requirements and power level but, in small volume, is usually less than $0.75/W.