AMC Selected as Golden Mousetrap Awards 2019 Finalist

We're thrilled to announce that ADVANCED Motion Controls has been selected as a finalist for the 2019 Golden Mousetrap Awards for our PFC2400W375!

The PFC2400W375, our power supply with power factor correction, is one the five finalist entries in the Analog/Power Management/Control section of the Electronics & Test category. You can read more about the product here or view its details and downloads here. We're grateful to the entire AMC team for designing and producing this product.

For years, the Golden Mousetrap awards have recognized champions of innovation in American product design and manufacturing. We're honored to be a part of this event once again. The awards ceremony for 2019 is being held February 5th at the Anaheim Convention Center as part of the ATX West automation show.

Why We Entered This Product

We submitted the PFC2400W375 to the Golden Mouse Trap Awards because it meets OEM machine builder's need for clean reliable power in their servo machines.  As a servo drive manufacturer, we found that many of our customers were having difficulty finding a solution to this seemingly simple problem.

You might be thinking "Okay, the PFC2400W375 is a regulated switching power supply.  I can go online right now and get a list of 100 supplies. So why is this one special?" Here's the problem, or rather the list of problems that OEM's face, each of which the PFC2400W375 solves.

Oscillations - SOLVED

Let's say you went online and bought a regulated supply to test with a servo drive in your machine.  If the supply wasn't designed to power a servo drive, the very first issue that you would likely encounter is supply voltage fluctuations.  The root cause is that the regulated supply and the servo drive are active devices that are both trying to close loops.  Since both devices have their own response to voltage fluctuations they end up creating a feedback loop that causes oscillations and in some cases instability.

Not every regulated supply will oscillate with a servo drive, but how are you supposed to know without testing?  The PFC2400W375 was designed by a servo drive manufacturer specifically to work with servo drives, so this is one worry that you can cross off the list.

Different standard voltages around the world - SOLVED

The next issue an OEM might face is how will the machine operate in different countries with different utility voltages?  A global supplier has to consider how their machine will operate at 90 VAC, 120, 230, 240 or whatever is available from the local utility.  Motion control tuning and performance is highly dependent on the supply voltage; too high and the system may go unstable, too low and the system could become sluggish.  So how does a machine builder control the voltage once the machine is sold and out the door?  One possibility is to include a multi-tap transformer as part of the machine, but this adds unnecessary cost and complexity.  A more cost-effective and convenient solution is to use a universal supply that can operate under a wide range of voltages.  The PFC2400W375 is well suited to this scenario and will output 375VDC regardless of the source supply (from 86-264VAC) giving machine builders the confidence that their machine will operate as specified wherever installed.

AC Supply Line Disturbances - SOLVED

In facilities with dozens to hundreds of machines, electrical noise is almost unavoidable. Abnormalities in the AC line can cause electrical equipment with unregulated power supplies to perform poorly or even suffer damage. The PFC2400W375, however, is equipped with a completely decoupled input and output. It always provides a clean 375 VDC output, protecting the powered equipment from any disturbances from the AC input such as harmonic distortion, nonlinear loading, effects from adjacent AC machines, line voltage abnormalities, or even a skipped half-cycle.

Regenerative Energy - SOLVED

When a heavy motor load decelerates, servo drives often send regenerative energy back to the power supply, which raises the bus voltage. A rising bus voltage can damage the power supply or cause a servo drive to shut down due to overvoltage, and many switching power supplies can't do anything to prevent it.  The PFC2400W375 on the other hand can handle regenerative energy because it has a built-in shunt circuit.  The circuit directs excess energy through a resister to prevent overvoltage issues, protecting both the servo drive and the power supply.

Higher costs and penalties from Utility Providers - SOLVED

Industrial and commercial facilities with uncorrected power factors don't go unnoticed by the electric companies, who have to compensate for the reactive power losses. Some companies simply charge a fee for facilities with uncorrected or poorly corrected power factors, while others charge for reactive power once it exceeds a certain percentage of real power consumption. Regardless of the method, an uncorrected power factor will definitely hurt when it comes time to pay the electric bill.

As the name implies, the PFC2400W375 has power factor correction capabilities. Under load, the power factor is greater than 0.99.  Depending on the electricity provider and the average usage, the PFC power supply can pay for itself anywhere from 6 months to 3 years with utility bill savings alone. After this, the savings continue in perpetuity, especially once you factor in the reduced machine downtime and failure rate.

Conclusion

So what power supply doesn't oscillate, works in different countries, protects down-stream components from noisy environments, can handle regeneration energy and reduces harmonics and costs due to power factor penalties? The PFC2400W375 from ADVANCED Motion Controls!