Flexible programmable DC power supplies.

Intepro Systems has introduced the PS9000 2U Series of auto-ranging programmable DC power sources with models rated at 1.5kW and 3.0kW. The panel-mounted units operate at 92-93% efficiency. Compared to alternative products in this price/performance class that operate at 82-87% efficiency, Intepro’s PS9000 2U series offers lower heat dissipation and lower operating cost.

Auto-ranging is a unique feature of the PS9000 2U and other Intepro programmable power supplies. Unlike competitive DC sources that provide rated power only when maximum voltage is applied to the load, the auto-ranging output stage is capable of delivering maximum rated power to the load when test requirements call for lower output voltage or current. This feature eliminates the need to purchase a unit with a higher power rating to accommodate a range of test conditions.

“The many companies – from aerospace and industrial to automotive and telecommunications – that integrate DC power supply units into test stands know that dealing with proper cooling is always something that must be considered,” said Gerard Sheehan, Intepro's Chief Technical Officer. “The higher efficiency of the PS9000 2U can better meet their cooling needs while also simplifying system design and reducing infrastructure costs.”

DC Electronic Load with Energy Recovery to AC Mains.

Intepro Systems has introduced the ELR9000 Series of electronic dc loads. A unique feature of the ELR9000 Series is an integral, grid-synchronized inverter designed to return up to 95% of the load test energy back to the grid. The rack-mounted unit is available, off-the shelf, with output ratings of 3.5 kW, 7 kW and 10.5 kW — scalable to 105 kW.

The ELR9000 Series offers four common regulation modes: constant voltage, constant current, constant resistance and constant power. The FPGA-based operational controls include a function generator and a table-based regulation circuit for the simulation of non-linear internal resistances. Intepro’s PowerStar 6 software package enables the creation of test routines using a drag-and-drop menu where coding can be performed without programming.

“Our new ELR9000 Series of electronic DC loads offers all the necessary features of today’s electronic loads — plus the added benefit of energy recovery to mains,” said Gerard Sheehan, Intepro's Chief Technical Officer. “Recovering the load energy reduces energy costs. It also offers a cost-effective alternative to the expensive cooling systems used by conventional air- and water-cooled loads to dissipate energy as heat.”

Intepro Systems offers electronic loads as stand-alone units or as complete test systems. Maintenance contracts and onsite calibrations are also available for its test systems.

Power semiconductor ATE system.

The new Intepro SemTest automated test system is the ideal solution for reliability and extended lifetime testing of Power Semiconductors including IGBT, MOSFET, SCR, Diode and Bipolar parts and modules. This fully integrated solution meets the requirements of JEDEC standards and may be used for product development characterisation. SemTest is comprised of a test system, thermal oven and test software with optional chiller and cold plates.

The Intepro SemTest system performs a combination of thermal and electrical cycles to verify new products, processes and materials including (SiC) Silicon Carbide based semiconductors or devices designed to meet RoHS requirements. SemTest is designed to accelerate any failure mechanisms in the device in order to determine its life and functional operating limits.

Key features of SemTest include power cycles to provide thermal and electrical stressing of device under test (DUT), highly accelerated life testing of DUTs, trend monitoring with user defined warning and control limits, junction temperature measurement, rapid DUT temperature cycling and ambient temperature profiling, detection of nascent failures with automated alert mechanism and DUT isolated control

Typical applications for the Intepro SemTest include, design engineering verification, design characterisation and manufacturing validation and to simulate harsh electrical and environmental conditions demanded of the automotive, aerospace, defence industries and transportation.

Operational test modes include, linear, switched, saturated, voltage breakdown and avalanche. Typical DUT parameters measured include junction/DIE temperature, DUT terminal voltage, DUT current and power, ambient power and temperature and elapsed test times and test cycles

The SemTest HT80 consists of a temperature chamber rated at 60 to 225°C, +/-2°C and associated hardware rack that provides the test hardware. Internal racks are included to mount the DUT carrier cards and internal temperature is maintained with LN2 cooling. The equipment rack consists of a Card Cage Assembly installed in the rear wall of the Temperature Chamber. The rear wall contains 10 slots that align with the FSD Module connectors. The combination of the Card Cage Assembly and Temperature Chamber will make up a Chamber Assembly. The Chamber Assembly requires support from a System Cabinet that houses the system power supplies, measurement electronics, PC Controller, and the PowerStar control and operational software. .

The heart of the system is the Force/Sense DUT (FSD) Module. The FSD module is a 6U euro-card format that has a front panel control/monitor interface and a rear connector where the DUT Carrier Card will mount. Each FSD module controls up to 8 DUT Test Cells. The FSD Module provides local force, sense and control signals for HTRB and HTGB testing. Each DUT can be individually controlled by the FSD Module. As each FSD Module houses 8 DUTs, a total of 10 FSD Modules will be required for a single SemTest HT80 system. The system may be expanded in blocks of 80 DUT to 160, 240, 320 etc.

The system continuously monitors the current flow in each DUT. If at any time the current exceeds the set limit, the supply voltage to this the device is turned off to prevent damage. All other DUTs continue to be tested.

The system also has the ability to reverse the polarity of the high voltage supply automatically as part of a test routine without having to turn the tester off and change jump leads.

Tests and measurements include voltage up to 1200V, current up to 1000A, power up to 20kW (total dissipated power), a range of DUT Voltages and a temperature range from -40°C to +180°. System test configuration is programmed at a PC using a user friendly GUI (Graphical User Interface).
Local control of the test is performed by distributed local controllers. A DUT interface card is used to provide high power isolated control for particular DUT types. Test results are written to an SQL Database for analysis and traceability.

DUT failures are detected by real time DUT monitoring circuitry, which compares measured values to warning and control limits based on DUT history. When a DUT starts to fail, all electrical stresses are removed within 30msec. This prevents further catastrophic damage to the DUT and allows the user to remove it for detailed failure mode analysis.

Simon Tanner, European Sales manager of Interpro Systems comments, “Built around a modular architecture the SemTest configuration can be modified to meet specific customer requirements. With over 25 years of experience in power device testing our broad knowledge ensures high quality comprehensive test coverage which can be tailored to meet customer’s specific test requirements. Our team of experts consult with the customer every step of the way from project specification to design, build and integration”

Battery testing made simple!

The new EL97xx series of electronic loads available now from Interpro offers users a simple means to test or characterise individual battery cells or multi-cell stacks.

Models are available with power ratings from 150 to 6,000W for use as simple front panel controlled bench test or repair instruments to components in complex, automated test and burn-in systems. Applications include repair of power supplies and equipment through to testing batteries used for high reliability UPS and data-protection systems. Comprehensive battery testing can identify individual faulty cells allowing battery stacks to be rebuilt, reducing waste and recycling while improving reliability. Battery manufacturers can use the Intepro EL97xx series of electronic loads to characterise the performance of new designs, establish life expectancy and for production test. Automated testing provides repeatability and offers storage of test data for quality control, analysis and traceability. Test results may be fully interrogated and exported as spreadsheets or word documents into a SQL database.

All Intepro EL97xx electronic loads are supplied with comprehensive free software to simplify set-up and testing of batteries. Dynamic burn-in and discharge tests with user control of waveform may be simply performed with all test parameters available for user setting, live data is shown on a virtual control panel and a clear “capacity plot” is displayed. The user can add additional markers by using the icons on the tool bar to set a visual indicator to show the expected performance range. As well as being a standalone instrument the EL97xx electronic load is also designed for easy integration into larger automated test systems and may be controlled bytheir open-source PowerStar software suite.

Simon Tanner, European Sales manager comments, “Battery testing can be difficult and time consuming. Our new EL97 range of flexible competitively priced electronic loads provide built-in battery test functions with easy to use computer control which go together to make the process of testing batteries simple, repeatable and low cost. The inbuilt test reporting also provides data for traceability and quality assurance which add up to providing confidence in your product for your end customers.”

Intepro EL97xx electronic loads are very competitively priced and ideal for research and development, inspection, service and test requirements in industry, research laboratories, training centres and education. The loads have an input rating of 0-500V, may be combined to provide greater than 6,000W of load, a 2 year warranty and are available on a 4 week lead-time.

EL97xx electronic loads enable testing of any current carrying component (e.g. connectors and terminals) and a wide range of dynamic load conditions may be simulated including solar cell and fuel cell loading, LED testing and battery discharge profiles. 6 modes of operation (CC, CR, CV, CC+CV, CR+CV) are available with fast rise-times and dual range 16-bit resolution measurements are performed with the accuracy of a digital multi-meter and the convenience of a single connection. The loads are fully protected against OP, OC, OV, OT and reverse polarity ensuring operational reliability and protection for the device under test. Special features include 999 measurements/hour, constant current mode soft-start, dynamic pulsing and programmable duty cycles.

Quality standard award upgrade

Intepro Systems has been awarded ISO9001-2008 quality standard approval for its British and Irish facilities. Building on their well established ISO9001-2001 quality procedures meeting the additional requirements of the latest version of ISO9001-2008 further demonstrates Intepro’s continuing commitment to quality and total customer satisfaction.

Colin Sycamore, Global Support Manager for Intepro comments,"We are very pleased to have improved our quality standards to ISO9001-2008 levels as proof of our commitment to ensure our customer service is of the highest standard. We are committed to continuous ongoing improvements in quality management in every aspect of our business to ensure our customers get the best possible service and support from Intepro globally."

Having achieved the same quality standard in both its European facilities ensures a constant delivery of products and services to Intepro’s customers worldwide. Meeting the requirements of ISO9001-2008 and other industry specific quality standards is a global aim for Intepro Systems.

Pic: Intepro’s Global Support Manager Colin Sycamore and Nicky Charles, UK and Europe Support Manager, with their ISO9001-2008 certificate.

Aerospace testing

Intepro Systems will be exhibiting at The Aerospace Testing 2010 trade show in (Hamburg D; 18-20 May 2010). Intepro supplies users worldwide with ATE systems to test power electronics used in a wide range of applications. Intepro Systems’ knowledge and expertise in moving and measuring power makes their products unrivalled for production testing, ESS screening, repair and characterisation of power components and sub assemblies used across all industries.

The main feature of Intepro’s exhibition booth will be their new LXI Compatible controller which will allow users to communicate to Intepro’s TGA bus as well as GPIB, SPI, I²C and RS485/422. By communicating with so many internationally recognised control busses this single hardware device will reduce user’s hardware requirements and costs.

Intepro will also be displaying their new battery tester that offers users simple programming to create custom test routines. Cyclic charge and discharge of Lithium Ion batteries is critical for their safe and reliable operation, especially when used in fail-safe installations in aircraft. Once programmed the battery test system operates in a stand-alone mode and does not require a computer connection. The internal memory provides a programmable tester that can be programmed to perform a wide range of simple or complex testing functions.

Derek Somers, Intepro’s European Sales Manager comments “Aerospace Testing 2010 is an excellent chance for us to display a range of our new products and test systems. With our new LXI controller our customers will now be able communicate with many busses by using just one reliable hardware module. This is Intepro’s way of giving our customers flexibility with total control.”

Intepro has been the market leader in power supply testing for over 25 years and its systems are used in telecommunications, aero-space, military and other power electronics applications. Intepro has a global reach with direct sales offices in the Ireland, USA, U.K. and China and distributors covering Europe, China, Korea and Japan.

They have a highly specialised engineering team with world wide experience in delivering custom and turnkey test solutions, integrating the latest technological innovations to the test process such as, dual well fixturing, machine vision and automated handling

New website launched

New website with improved sales and service functionality

Intepro Systems have gone live with a new website offering greater levels of functionality for visitors. The new website is the latest development in a restructuring of the company that has seen Intepro recently relocate their European HQ to a new facility in Sandhurst, (GB), appoint Simon Tanner to the role of UK Sales Manager, have Nicky Charles take on the role of UK and Europe Support Manager and sees Colin Sycamore change roles from European Sales Manager to the new position of Global Service Manager to provide the highest level of service to the large installed customer base and the growing list of new installations.

In addition to providing comprehensive information on Intepro’s products and markets full information is available on their support services including installation and relocation, calibration, project management, training courses, test programmes, fixtures and software updates. The key new area on the website is a management function for customers to register system faults, monitor repair processes and outcomes.

Derek Somers, European Sales Manager of Intepro comments, “The launch of our new website is a response to the continued growth of our business. It offers improved functionality and will develop continuously to provide new and existing customers with enhanced sales and support features. Intepro has been supplying ATE solutions all over the world for nearly 30 years. The mission critical nature of our test systems means that fast, efficient service and visibility of the process is essential to our customers and we are pleased to be able to provide this new management tool on our re-launched website.”

The company produces some of the most reliable and easy to use automated test equipment for power testing applications. A highly specialised engineering team and flexible system architecture delivers high quality customer specific solutions to end users throughout the aerospace, alternate energy, automotive, industrial, military, OEM power supply, power components and telecommunications industries.

Intepro Systems ATE is configurable to suit every customer's needs and provides complex instrumentation and ATE systems for design validation, production test and burn-in of power systems, power supplies, DC:DC Converters and power components. Intepro has supplied ATE systems to end users and manufacturers all over the world and their knowledge and expertise in moving and measuring power makes their products unequalled for production testing, ESS screening, repair and characterisation of power components and sub assemblies

It has a global reach with direct sales offices in the U.K., Ireland and U.S. and distributors covering Europe, China, Korea and Japan. Intepro have a highly specialised engineering team with world wide experience in delivering custom and turnkey test solutions, integrating the latest technological innovations to the test process such as, dual well fixturing, machine vision and automated handling.

ATE in China

New sales office in Shenzhen

Intepro Systems, market leaders in power system and component automated test equipment (ATE), announces the opening of its China headquarters in the Nanshan District in Shenzhen (CN). The new office is the company’s first step in bringing direct sales and service support to its increasing numbers of customers in China. The Company also announced that Ms. Xiaoyan (Shannon) Wang has joined the company as its China Business Development Manager. In this position she will be instrumental in expanding Intepro’s China presence, implementing the company’s strategic growth plan and manage the current Sales network.

“With Shannon’s direction and import and export experience, we anticipate doubling our China business in 2010,” said Derek Somers, European Sales Manager of Intepro Systems. “In addition, her management will allow us to increase our customer service and provide direct application support.”

Intepro Systems produces some of the most reliable and easy to use automated test equipment for power testing applications. A highly specialised engineering team and flexible system architecture delivers high quality customer specific solutions to end users throughout the aerospace, alternate energy, automotive, industrial, military, OEM power supply, power components and telecommunications industries.

Intepro Systems ATE is configurable to suit every customer's needs and provides complex instrumentation and ATE systems for design validation, production test and burn-in of power systems, power supplies, DC:DC Converters and power components. Intepro has supplied ATE systems to end users and manufacturers all over the world and their knowledge and expertise in moving and measuring power makes their products unequalled for production testing, ESS screening, repair and characterisation of power components and sub assemblies

Intepro has a global reach with direct sales offices in the Britain, Ireland, the U.S.A and now China and distributors covering Europe, China, Korea and Japan. they have a highly specialised engineering team with world wide experience in delivering custom and turnkey test solutions, integrating the latest technological innovations to the test process such as, dual well fixturing, machine vision and automated handling.

Photograph above shows (left) Intepro’s new China Business Development Manager Xiaoyan (Shannon) Wang and Derek Somers, European Sales Manager.