<p id="isPasted">Life science instruments are expected to deliver higher analytical resolution, process samples more quickly, and fit within increasingly compact footprints. Meeting these demands creates complex power requirements, as the same instrument could have very different power requirements across subsystems. For example, high-power motors may operate alongside low-voltage, sensitive analog sensors within the same device.</p><p>The power supply is one of the most challenging subsystems to get right. Its critical role in system performance and regulatory compliance, including safety and EMI, makes selecting the appropriate power supply an important part of the design process. </p><p>To address these challenges, Advanced Energy (AE) offers a comprehensive portfolio spanning the full power conversion chain, from AC-DC front ends to DC-DC modules, all designed specifically for life science applications. This white paper explores how AE’s power supply solutions help address challenges in life science applications such as mass spectrometry, cellular analysis, and automated diagnostics.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1792171538847-1792171538847.jpeg" width="624" height="348" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">Mass spectrometer. Source: AdobeStock.</span></span></span></p><h2>Precision High-Voltage Architectures in Analytical Instrumentation</h2><h3>Optimizing Ion Optics and Beam Stability</h3><p>Analytical instruments such as mass spectrometers work by using steady electric fields to manipulate and detect ions. Given that they typically operate at extremely low power levels, these instruments need stable, low-noise power rails, as small fluctuations in the output can distort the electric fields, degrade mass resolution, and ruin measurement accuracy.</p><p>In a Time-of-Flight (TOF) mass spectrometer, a flight tube accelerates ions and separates them by the time they take to reach a detector, with lighter ions arriving sooner than heavier ones. As part of this, an einzel lens, which is a series of cylindrical electrodes placed along the ion beam path, improves separation accuracy by focusing the beam before it enters the TOF tube, thereby tightening the arrival time distribution of ions of the same mass at the detector.</p><p>To reduce spatial uncertainty, einzel lenses require high-voltage DC-DC power supplies with low output ripple and high DC stability. Advanced Energy designed the UltraVolt LE Series of DC-DC power supplies to meet these requirements directly, delivering output voltages up to 25kV with an output ripple of just 0.002% of the maximum output voltage. The LE Series also features a temperature coefficient of just 25ppm/°C, so ambient temperature changes during an instrument run do not shift the DC bias level and alter ion flight times. With AE’s power supplies, designers can achieve power stability below 10ppm.</p><p>In addition to providing power stability, the UltraVolt LE Series also reduces noise for spectrometers. One problem these instruments face is micro-discharge, or brief ionization events in the air surrounding exposed high-voltage cabling that introduce noise into the system. AE addresses this discharge risk with custom coaxial high-voltage output connectors that mate directly with shielded cabling. With tighter connections to the instrument, these cables eliminate exposed conductors in the high-field region around the lens assembly.</p><h2>Managing Multi-Rail Complexity in Mass Spectrometry</h2><p>A complete mass spectrometry system requires more than a single high-voltage rail for the TOF tube. For example, the ion optics stage – which moves, directs, and focuses ions through the instrument before they reach the analyzer – requires multiple independently controlled voltages. For compact systems, designers commonly struggle to accommodate multiple discrete high-voltage modules while maintaining independent control of each rail.</p><h2><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1792171538859-1792171538859.jpeg" width="505" height="336" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">Advanced technology mass spectrometer device. Source: AdobeStock</span></span></span></h2><h2><br /></h2><p>Advanced Energy developed the miniature AEQ and US series of DC-DC converters to directly address this challenge. The AEQ is a high-voltage DC-DC converter available in unipolar and bipolar configurations, providing up to 1.25W in a compact form factor that lets engineers place power conversion close to the ion optics load. Engineers can then use shorter high-voltage traces, reducing the risk of parasitic discharge and simplifying PCB layout. </p><p>Whereas the AEQ converters can be bipolar, the US are 0.1W, single-output, micro-sized modules available in positive and negative variants. The 0.2US5-P0.1 and 0.2US5-N0.1 models give designers the flexibility to assign a dedicated supply to each electrode based on where it fits best within the system architecture.</p><p>Since AEQ and US series work from a common 5 or 12V input bus, designers can exercise independent control over the full range of ion optics bias voltages, spanning bipolar rails from ±10V up to ±200V. By consolidating their power system to a single input bus, engineers can greatly simplify the control architecture and reduce total component count.  </p><h2>Modular Power Integration for Automated Analysis</h2><h3>Multi-Load Power Architecture in Automated Diagnostics</h3><p>Manufacturers of automated diagnostic systems have a different type of power challenge. They need their systems to manage dozens of loads with widely different voltage, current, and transient profiles from a single certified architecture. For example, a hematology analyzer may need to power systems with different requirements, such as a centrifuge motor, robotic dispensers, heating elements, and an industrial PC.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1792171538866-1792171538866.jpeg" width="624" height="349" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">Robot arm in a pharmaceutical cleanroom. Source: AdobeStock</span></span></span></p><p>For these systems, Advanced Energy offers the CoolX1800 AC-DC power supplies, a high-density modular platform that can house up to six independently specified output modules within a single 1U chassis. Engineers can use this architecture to consolidate what would otherwise require many separate power supplies, each carrying its own certification burden and integration overhead. </p><p>For example, in a hematology analyzer, the CoolX1800 can supply 48V output to drive motors and 24V for conveyor and pump systems. It can also supply separate rails at 12 and 5V to power system electronics and microcontrollers, with an always-on 5V standby rail dedicated to control logic.</p><p>Manufacturers of these diagnostics systems also need power supplies that handle motor start-up sequences that draw more current during start-up than during steady-state operation. To help them, AE equipped the CoolX1800 with PMBus digital communication to enable the host system to monitor all output parameters in real time. Engineers working for these manufacturers can use PMBus to capture start-up power behavior under real-world operating conditions, identify reliability risks early, and qualify motors with appropriate current profiles before mass production.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1792171538871-1792171538871.jpeg" width="422" height="234" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">CoolX1800. Source: Advanced Energy.</span></span></span></p><p>For instrument manufacturers that need to minimize mechanical vibration, AE developed the fanless CoolX1000 power supply. By using convection cooling rather than conventional airflow-based solutions, the supply eliminates turbulence and mechanical vibration. In addition, AE’s CoolX1000 offers a modular output architecture to support multiple voltage rails, making it useful for manufacturers of high-precision instruments like nanoscopes, which measure surface features at nanometer resolution.</p><h2>Speeding Medical Safety Certification</h2><p>To sell life science equipment internationally, OEMs need to pass rigorous electrical safety certification under IEC 60601-1. A key test in this process is the Hi-Pot (high-potential) isolation test, which verifies that sufficient electrical isolation exists between the AC input and the DC outputs. For medical and life science applications, the Hi-Pot test requires 4kVAC and 5.6kVDC isolation between input and output circuits.</p><p>During the verification process, manufacturers frequently need to remove the power supply from its production chassis and reconfigure it specifically for agency review. As part of this test, one common modification manufacturers might make is disconnecting the Y-capacitors, which puts the power supply in a state different from the finished product. </p><p>The result is that when safety agencies review and approve the power supply, they are certifying a unit physically different from what ships to the customer. For manufacturers, restoring the power supply to production configuration afterward consumes time and engineering resources, in addition to creating a risk for product documentation discrepancies.</p><p>AE designed the -G option of its CoolX power supplies to eliminate this problem. The -G power supplies allow the CoolX to withstand the full 4kVAC and 5.6kVDC Hi-Pot test, exactly as it will be installed in production. The unit requires no modifications for testing, which means the power supply reviewed by the safety agency is identical to the unit that ships to the customer, simplifying certification in all international markets simultaneously.</p><h2>Advanced Capabilities in Electroporation and Transfection</h2><h3>Controlling Pulsed Power for High-Volume Cell Processing</h3><p>Researchers conducting cell-based therapies and genetic research use electroporation to temporarily increase cell membrane permeability by applying controlled electrical pulses. Electroporation enables researchers to introduce foreign genetic material, such as DNA, into the cells. In this process, pulse precision directly determines quality: too little voltage (and energy)  and the membrane does not open sufficiently, and too much destroys the cell.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1792171538878-1792171538878.jpeg" width="499" height="333" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">Electroporation machine. Source: AdobeStock.</span></span></span></p><p>To this end, electroporation instruments typically use either static or flow methods. Static electroporation machines can only process one vial or cuvette at a time, whereas flow electroporation instruments move a continuous stream of cells through an electroporation zone. Flow electroporation instruments can therefore transfect a much larger volume of cells than static instruments can.</p><p>To support flow electroporation’s high-volume processing, manufacturers need more capable power supplies to deliver precise high-voltage pulses repeatedly and consistently to large numbers of cells without drift in pulse characteristics. AE developed the UltraVolt High Power C Series of DC-DC power supplies to meet these instrument manufacturers’ needs. </p><p>With the C Series, AE offers a set of powerful features, including:</p><ul><li><p>Single output or Dual-polarity outputs within a single package </p></li><li><p>Dual-tracking capability to keep both output polarities synchronized </p></li><li><p>Fast ramp-up time constant </p></li><li><p>Flashover and short-circuit protection from capacitive discharge</p></li></ul><h2>Fanless Power Design for Laboratory Environments</h2><p>Because benchtop life science instruments operate in close proximity to people and sensitive samples, cooling fan noise and airflow turbulence can interfere with researchers’ delicate measurements. AE solved this problem in the CPS255-M and NGB250S48K AC-DC power supplies by eliminating system fans entirely and opting for convection-cooled designs.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1792171538892-1792171538892.png" width="624" height="308" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">Product: CPS250-M Series. Source: Advanced Energy.</span></span></span></p><p>By eliminating system fans, AE also improved thermoelectric cooling performance. Many electroporation and flow cytometry instruments incorporate thermoelectric cooling modules to maintain fluid samples at a precisely controlled temperature. A thermoelectric module moves heat from one face to the other when current flows through it, and the accuracy of that temperature regulation is sensitive to the surrounding thermal environment. Airflow from a system fan can disrupt the thermal environment by creating localized temperature gradients and undermine a thermoelectric module’s ability to accurately regulate fluid temperature.</p><p>Manufacturers can pair AE’s AC-DC power supplies with thermoelectric cooling modules in their instruments to provide the temperature control system with clean, consistent power without thermal interference from forced-air cooling.</p><h2>Improving Lifecycle Management and System Extensions</h2><h3>Maintaining Backward Compatibility in Long-Lifecycle Instruments</h3><p>Life science instruments have unusually long lifespans. For example, a diagnostic platform that reaches the market today might stay in production for more than a decade, and field-deployed units can remain in clinical service considerably longer. This longevity means OEM-designed components eventually reach end of life, forcing manufacturers to either qualify a replacement or discontinue the product. </p><p>To qualify a replacement part, instrument manufacturers need to match the original’s mechanical specifications and connector interfaces while precisely replicating its control-signal behavior, so that their field service teams can swap a failed component without modifying the entire system.</p><p>AE recently supported a chromatography system manufacturer in qualifying replacement parts when one of their AC-DC power supplies was approaching end-of-life. To deliver a qualifying power supply, AE engineered a modified  NGB425 derivative that matched every physical and electrical aspect of the original part. AE extended the U-channel chassis to the 9-inch form factor required and added a front panel with a filtered AC inlet and a cooling fan to match the original power supply’s mechanical specifications. For electrical compatibility, AE added an interface PCB to replicate the original power supply inhibit logic, DC-OK signal behavior, and an output cable with identical length and terminations.</p><p>The result was a drop-in replacement requiring no system-level modifications, extending the instrument's serviceable life by eight years at a 25-30% lower unit cost than the legacy system, with no near-term discontinuation risk. AE's local field application engineers supported the qualification process to expedite the manufacturer’s part replacement without disrupting their pre-production schedule.</p><h2>Value-Add Customization and Modular Flexibility</h2><p>AE's value-add solution model serves manufacturers whose requirements are too specific for off-the-shelf products but whose budget and schedule can’t support a full custom design. The company’s engineering team uses standard configurable platforms, such as the Artesyn iVS3 modular power supply and iMP4 multi-output converter, to assemble semi-custom platforms within a customer-defined chassis.</p><p>For example, AE recently delivered a single qualified power subsystem for a manufacturer designing a clinical immunoassay diagnostic system that required 4,200 W across six DC output voltages from 5 to 48 V. AE’s power solution included mains outlets and front-panel breakers, along with EMI filtering and surge protection. In addition, AE added programmable voltage and current limit control via I2C, with intelligent output monitoring and protection against all standard fault conditions.</p><p>This modular flexibility is further enhanced by Sager’s Value-Add Reseller (VAR) program with AE, which provides specialized engineering support for complex configurations. Through Sager’s 3x5 modular quick-turn program with AE, design engineers can access rapid prototyping and delivery of customized power solutions tailored to their specific instrumentation needs - up to three configured power supplies in five days or less. And to ensure the highest levels of reliability and compliance, Sager Electronics operates under an ISO 9001:2015 Certified Quality Management System for modular power assembly and maintains safety certification by UL.</p><h2>Powering the Next Generation of Life Science Discovery</h2><p>The life science industry pushes manufacturers to deliver higher resolution, faster throughput, and broader diagnostic capability within shrinking form factors. The challenges of achieving all of these features simultaneously are immense, and manufacturers that source from multiple vendors face a maze of certification processes and supply chain risk for every power rail in the system.</p><p>With AE's comprehensive portfolio, engineers have access to solutions for every part of the power chain. Sager Electronics helps teams quickly and reliably source AE’s full lineup of power conversion and control products. By working with AE and Sager, instrument manufacturers can spend less time resolving incompatibilities between power subsystems and more time designing the next generation of life-saving products. </p><p>Explore <a href="https://www.sager.com/supplier/advanced-energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Advanced Energy's solution set</a>, or contact the technical team at Sager via this <a href="https://sager.formstack.com/forms/aei_life_science" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">short-form</a> for application-specific support.</p><p><a href="https://www.sager.com/newsroom/improving-life-science-instrumentation-with-advanced-energy-medical-power-supplies" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1792415808512-Sager+AE+Improving+Life+Science+Instrumentation+.png" style="width:811px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" /></a></p>

Explore power supply solutions for life science applications such as mass spectrometry, cellular analysis, and automated diagnostics.

Improving Life Science Instrumentation with Advanced Energy Medical Power Supplies

Interconnect selection, HVDC transition, thermal management, and more.

High-Power Interconnect and Distribution Architecture for Data Centers and Complex Applications

<p id="isPasted">For medical device makers, not all medical-grade IEC 60601-1 certified power supplies are created equal for every application. For example, a certified supply that works well for a CT scanner might not work for a home nebulizer, and vice versa. Therefore, finding the right power supply means considering application-specific criteria such as care setting, patient proximity, power level, emissions, and form factor. </p><p>Together with its distributor, Sager Electronics, Bel works directly with customers to match its medical power portfolio to each care setting. That way, medical device manufacturers always get the right power wherever care happens next.</p><h2>Medical-Grade Is Not One Specification</h2><p>Medical-grade is often a catch-all term, but, in practice, there is no one-size-fits-all power solution for medical devices. Because many requirements vary by application, medical device makers need to dig deeper to determine whether a “medical-grade” power supply will work for their use case.</p><p>One important consideration for designers is how their device will come into contact with the patient. Each part of the device requires its own safety class based on how directly the part enables electricity to flow into the patient. Using the strictest safety class on their device, designers can determine how much isolation they need between the mains and patient circuit. For example, a cart-mounted display may only need minimal isolation, while a catheter-based pressure monitor with a direct cardiac connection could entail much stricter isolation requirements. While designers can build this isolation in themselves, the easiest path is to find a power supply that already provides the necessary isolation level.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1790194258462-1790194258462.jpeg" width="624" height="348" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">Medical power outlet with surgical equipment in an operating room. Source: AdobeStock.</span></span></span></p><p>Designers should also consider how much power their device needs. Medical devices can cover a broad range of power levels, from a few watts for a wearable monitor to several kilowatts for an imaging system. While a device’s function is the main determinant for its power level, designers can use the device’s care setting to determine its power ceiling. Within those ceilings, designers can expect each care setting to have the following power levels:</p><ul><li><p>Home and telehealth devices typically occupy the low end of the power range, where most use small external adapters.</p></li><li><p>Clinical equipment spans the widest power range, from tens of watts to several kilowatts, depending on the device.</p></li><li><p>Diagnostic and imaging systems occupy the high end of the power range, consistently operating at 500 W or above, with most using larger internal power supplies.</p></li></ul><p>The power supply form factor is also important for designers. A device’s power level commonly determines the supply form factor, with low-power portable devices mostly using batteries, and high-power systems mostly using internal supplies. However, there are exceptions to this practice where designers may need an external supply for a high-power system because the chassis is too small.</p><p>Because of each system’s unique requirements, designers are rarely able to find a single off-the-shelf power supply that meets their needs perfectly.</p><h2>Compliance Sets a High Bar</h2><p>Before they can find the right power supply, medical device manufacturers need to sort out which standards their device must meet.</p><p>The governing standard for medical electrical safety is IEC 60601-1, but it doesn’t operate in isolation. Instead, it sits at the top of a stack of standards, including those that cover emissions and home use, as well as those that cover specific device types. To comply with IEC 60601-1, device makers need to ensure their devices meet two levels of safety requirements: one for operator protection and another for patient protection. Device manufacturers often choose a power supply to meet patient protection levels due to the stricter requirements.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1790194258470-1790194258470.jpeg" width="624" height="348" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">Digital patient monitor screen displaying vital signs like heart rate and oxygen levels. Source: AdobeStock.</span></span></span></p><p>Providing proper isolation for patient-contact devices requires designers to meet two means of patient protection (2 MOPP) and means of operator protection (2 MOOP). For example, at 250 V working voltage, 2 MOPP requires 8 mm of creepage and a 4,000 VAC dielectric test, and 2 MOOP requires 5 mm of creepage and 3,000 VAC. This level of isolation goes beyond what any general-purpose industrial power supply can offer.</p><p>In addition to isolation, medical power supplies need to manage leakage current to offer adequate patient protection. Even a barrier that holds off 4,000 V could still leak enough current to put the patient at risk. Under the strictest safety class, Type CF, devices must demonstrate patient leakage of less than 10 µA under normal conditions.</p><p>Beyond safety, medical device manufacturers are also required to manage device emissions. The primary emissions standard is defined by IEC 60601-1-2. It points to CISPR 11 for specific limits and defines two classes. Class B covers equipment used in homes and anywhere fed by the network that supplies them, and Class A covers everything else. Because home medical devices and even some clinical ones fall under Class B, many designers look only for power supplies that meet this standard. Designers choose Class B supplies to avoid requalifications they may face with a Class A supply.</p><h2>What Makes a Good Medical Power Supplier?</h2><h3>Covering the Full Medical Power Range</h3><p>Due to the diversity of applications, medical device designers would benefit from working with a power supplier that covers the full range of medical power supplies, from small external adapters to multi-kilowatt internal supplies. Manufacturers that rely on one supplier would have fewer vendors to qualify and only one relationship to support.</p><p>Good suppliers will also offer device makers the appropriate form factor for their specific care setting and chassis constraints. For example, manufacturers can use such a supplier to find external desktop and wall adapters for home and telehealth loads, and open-frame or enclosed internal supplies for clinical and imaging loads.</p><p>The benefits of a single supplier extend to certification paperwork. When one supplier provides consistent safety certification paperwork for all products, manufacturers only need to learn the format once and can apply it to new products.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1790194258478-1790194258478.jpeg" width="624" height="351" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">Checklist and certification approval icons. Source: AdobeStock.</span></span></span></p><h2>High Quality and Versatility</h2><p>While a broad power portfolio makes a supplier more attractive, several additional factors would make it even better for a medical device manufacturer.</p><ul><li><p><strong>Class B certification: </strong>A supplier that certifies every medical supply to Class B would remove an emissions re-qualification risk from the device maker. Such a certification will help the manufacturer move the device from a clinical setting into a patient's home without a second round of testing.</p></li><li><p><strong>High component quality:</strong> By using longer-life capacitors and leaving more margin on voltage and temperature, a power supplier can help protect devices that cannot fail in the field.</p></li><li><p><strong>Low-volume modifications:</strong> If a supplier is willing to modify a standard model at low volume, it can greatly help device makers when they need a connector or an output rail that is unavailable on any stock power supply.</p></li><li><p><strong>Flexible manufacturing footprint:</strong> Power suppliers with a distributed manufacturing footprint would help medical device makers source parts from outside a single region.</p></li></ul><h2>Bel’s Coverage: From Home to Imaging</h2><p>Bel’s medical power portfolio covers all medical devices with a range of products from small external adapters up to kilowatt-class internal supplies. With Bel’s products distributed by Sager, medical device manufacturers can design and produce new devices from scratch without changing suppliers or restarting qualification.</p><p>For low-power home and telehealth devices, Bel produces external power adapters. Manufacturers designing low-power devices like nebulizers and home monitors need a power adapter small enough not to dominate the device, quiet enough for a bedroom, and safe enough for users with no clinical training. Bel’s external adapters deliver all of these features by keeping the mains connection and its heat outside the device enclosure.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1790194258487-1790194258487.jpeg" width="265" height="398" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">Electronic infusion machine. Source: AdobeStock.</span></span></span></p><p>To accommodate clinical equipment with a wide range of power levels, Bel offers internal power supplies ranging from 25 to 5,000 W, sufficient for most hospital-floor equipment, from infusion pumps to sterilizers. In addition to finding the right power level, equipment manufacturers can choose an open-frame or enclosed supply to match their enclosure’s existing thermal and mechanical protection.</p><p>For high-power diagnostic and imaging systems, Bel provides internal power supplies at 500 W and up. These internal supplies enable manufacturers to handle both average and peak loads on high-power equipment, such as larger gantries and detectors that consume kilowatts at a time.</p><h2>Competitive Advantage: Bel and Sager Electronics’ Partnership</h2><p>In addition to accessing a diverse power portfolio, medical device manufacturers benefit from Bel’s commitment to high-quality, versatile products. For example, the company prides itself on</p><ul><li><p>All medical power supplies are certified to Class B, so designers can move a device from the clinic into the home without re-testing emissions.</p></li><li><p>Using higher-grade components and wider design margins in all medical supplies helps clinical and imaging systems stay reliable in the field.</p></li><li><p>Bel takes on the low-volume modifications and custom builds that other vendors decline, providing solutions for device makers when a standard supply comes close but is not an exact match for their application.</p></li><li><p>Bel’s flexible manufacturing footprint helps buyers source parts outside China.</p></li></ul><p>As North America's leading power supply distributor, Sager offers all medical NPIs across Bel’s brands. Sager’s Power Systems Sales Engineers bring extensive knowledge of emerging medical certification requirements, helping customers meet product classification and compliance standards. In addition to Bel’s modification and custom build capabilities, Sager is ISO 13485:2016 certified and offers power design and assembly services for medical devices in its Custom Solutions Center in Lewisville, Texas. </p><p>Sager pairs that technical expertise with a disciplined stocking strategy to improve product availability and mitigate lead times. Sager’s commitment to and discipline in inventory management help customers make quick turns for their programs.</p><p><a href="https://www.sager.com/newsroom/a-practical-guide-to-selecting-medical-power-supplies" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1790267841003-Sager+Bel+WP+Medical+Power.png" style="width:100%px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" /></a></p><h2>Ready for Where Medical Care Goes Next</h2><p>Each medical device has its own unique set of constraints, whether that’s power level, form factor, or care setting. For a smoother program with fewer unexpected costs and delays, manufacturers should find the right power supply to match their device’s constraints from the outset.</p><p>Explore the full portfolio of Bel <a href="https://www.sager.com/manufacturers/bel-power-solutions">power solutions</a> available at Sager Electronics, or contact the technical team at Sager via this <a href="https://sager.formstack.com/forms/bel_medical_power" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">short-form</a> for application-specific support.</p>

Medical devices require critical reliability, application-specific criteria, and its own unique set of constraints. This guide explores power level, form factor, and care settings for medical devices.

A Practical Guide to Selecting Medical Power Supplies

<p>AI infrastructure is pushing every element of data center design to its limits, especially rack-level cooling. AI inference and training hardware generate far more heat per rack unit than legacy servers, and data centers are growing denser and expanding into edge environments, further complicating thermal management.</p><p>Increased power dissipation is driving the need for more advanced cooling strategies, including the use of additional, larger, and more innovative fans. Unfortunately, that often comes at a tradeoff with audible noise. Controlling fan noise through the use of acoustic insulation and intake filters impedes airflow, which in turn forces engineers to compensate by operating fans at higher speeds.</p><p>With ebm-papst’s extensive fan portfolio, available through Sager Electronics, data centers no longer need to choose between the cooling performance AI hardware demands and a reasonable noise environment.</p><h2>Thermal Demands in AI Server Racks</h2><p>AI servers generate much more heat per rack than legacy servers because of their significantly higher power consumption. New data centers require stronger cooling solutions to be designed in, while retrofitting existing footprints requires a system that can remove more heat within the existing physical envelope.</p><p>Fans remain the primary means of heat removal in all data centers due to their ability to provide quick, direct cooling to components at an affordable cost. Computer room air conditioning (CRAC) systems can manage the ambient temperature, but aren’t designed for chassis-level or point source cooling demands.</p><p>Traditionally, data centers have used single-stage axial fans to cool their hardware. AI data centers often use counter-rotating, two-stage axial fans for better performance. Counter-rotating fans work by stacking two fan rotors in series, enabling them to generate higher static pressure and move more air through dense rack components. While these fans can cool the hardware effectively, when scaled across hundreds of racks, they create an acoustic cost that operators can no longer tolerate.</p><h2>The Fan Noise Tradeoff</h2><p>Counter-rotating fans generate more noise than single-stage axial fans, but their raw decibel levels are only part of the problem. The other part is tonality, which is a measure of how irritating a sound is perceived to be by the human ear, independent of its overall loudness. A fan with lower total dB can be perceived as louder and more bothersome than a higher-dB fan with more desirable tonality. </p><p>Counter-rotating fans typically have a high tonality, which makes their sound disruptive, especially for workers in edge facilities and data centers near populated areas. For engineers and technicians who spend hours next to thousands of fans running simultaneously, counter-rotating fan noise is a real occupational health concern. In urban data centers, disruptive fan noise has sparked community opposition.</p><p>When looking for solutions to fan noise, data center operators have considered remedies such as acoustic insulation, intake filters, and enclosure-level damping. While these options can reduce noise, they also add airflow resistance, which forces operators to increase fan speeds to maintain the same cooling capacity. Higher fan speed increases both power consumption and noise, compounding the problem the remedy was meant to solve. </p><p>No single-fan design had previously delivered the airflow density of a counter-rotating configuration at a meaningfully lower and less irritating sound level...until now.</p><h1><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzg2Mzg4ODkxNzM2LTE3ODYzODg4OTE3MzYuanBlZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTUwLCJmaXQiOiJjb3ZlciJ9fX0=" width="624" height="351" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">Cooling Fans Inside Data Center Equipment. Source: AdobeStock.</span></span></span></h1><h2>What High-Performance Rack Cooling Fans Need to Deliver</h2><p>A fan suitable for AI-era data center cooling needs to achieve high airflow, high efficiency, and a low-tonality acoustic profile simultaneously. Operators who prioritize any one of these attributes at the expense of the others will still end up with a suboptimal cooling system.</p><h3>High Airflow</h3><p>High airflow at rack scale means building static pressure against the resistance of densely packed server components. Single-stage axial fans move air along a straight path to hit target hardware, but their design limits the static pressure they can develop without increasing fan diameter or speed. Centrifugal fans move air radially, allowing them to build higher static pressure, but their design limits the airflow they can push over the components without increasing their physical size. </p><p>Engineers can optimize fan geometry to build static pressure within the same size by directing air along both axial and radial paths, capturing the pressure advantage of a centrifugal design while retaining the compact form factor of an axial fan.</p><h3>Fan Efficiency</h3><p>Fan efficiency at rack scale is important because it has a compounding effect on the entire data center.</p><p>In a data center running thousands of fans continuously, per-unit energy consumption directly affects total operating costs and the amount of heat added to the system. A fan drawing more power than necessary becomes part of the thermal problem it is meant to solve, generating heat that other fans must then remove. </p><p>Overall efficiency needs to be high enough that the fan does not become a significant contributor to the thermal load it manages.</p><h3>Low Tonality</h3><p>To create a low-tonality fan, engineers need to address the mechanical source of tonal noise instead of damping it after the fact. </p><p>In axial fans, the main source of tonal noise is blade-pass frequency, the pressure pulse generated each time a blade tip passes the gap between the rotor and the stationary housing. Each pulse registers as a discrete tonal peak in the fan’s acoustic profile, so eliminating those peaks requires a design that removes the blade-tip-to-housing gap interaction entirely.</p><p>For data centers that can’t modify fan infrastructure, an accessory that reduces tonal content without adding flow resistance is a useful alternative. Such an accessory would make the acoustic environment more tolerable while avoiding the speed increase that any back-pressure-adding approach would require.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzg2Mzg4ODkxNzQzLTE3ODYzODg4OTE3NDMucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" width="413" height="413" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">The DiaForce diagonal compact fan. Source: ebm-papst</span></span></span></p><h2>Solving Data Center Cooling with ebm-papst DiaForce </h2><p>In response to all of these challenges, ebm-papst developed the DiaForce diagonal compact fan.</p><p>Designed for AI data centers, DiaForce delivers up to 50% higher air performance thanks to a conical cover plate with a smaller intake opening than the outlet, which directs airflow along both axial and radial paths. The dual-path geometry builds static pressure in a way that a single-stage axial fan can’t, placing DiaForce’s performance envelope between conventional axial and centrifugal designs. This gives data center operators the pressure-building advantage of a centrifugal fan without giving up the rack-compatible form factor that server hardware requires.</p><p>ebm-papst also designed DiaForce to achieve 48% overall efficiency, keeping unit power consumption low enough that even large fan arrays do not materially contribute to the thermal load they manage.</p><p>Meanwhile, DiaForce’s rotating conical cover plate addresses tonality at its source. Because the cover plate rotates with the blades, the blade tips pass into the cover rather than past a stationary housing gap, eliminating the pressure pulses that generate blade-pass frequency peaks. As a result, DiaForce fans deliver up to 6-12 dB(A) lower sound level than the best equivalent counter-rotating fans on the market. </p><p>All of this performance comes in a compliant, drop-in-replacement-ready package. Specifically, ebm-papst designed DiaForce to meet NEBS (Network Equipment-Building System), OSHA, ANSI, and ETSI standards.</p><h2><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNzg2Mzg4ODkxNzQ5LTE3ODYzODg4OTE3NDkucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" width="435" height="275" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">FlowGrid air inlet grille. Source: ebm-papst</span></span></span></h2><h3>FlowGrid</h3><p>For data centers that can’t easily modify existing fan hardware, ebm-papst offers the FlowGrid air inlet grille. An accessory that mounts onto existing fans, FlowGrid can reduce sound pressure in the entire frequency range, as well as blade-pass frequency peaks and more disturbing lower frequencies.</p><p>As a result, FlowGrid can significantly reduce sound pressure levels and noise without restricting airflow or increasing input power. </p><h3>Complete ebm-papst Cooling Solutions, Available Through Sager Electronics</h3><p>From product selection to integration, the complete portfolio of ebm-papst cooling solutions is available through Sager to give designers access to the industry's latest fan technologies backed by technical expertise and responsive supply chain support. As a certified <a href="https://www.sager.com/resources/ebm-papst-certified-var-solutions-at-sager-electronics">ebm-papst Value-Add Reseller (VAR),</a> Sager also provides application engineering, integration capabilities, and technical support to help customers implement optimized cooling solutions with confidence. </p><p>In addition to DiaForce and FlowGrid, featured product families include:</p><ul><li><p><strong>AxiForce series:</strong> Standard axial fan sizes for moderate airflow requirements, with a lower acoustic footprint than counter-rotating designs.</p></li><li><p><strong>AxiFlow series: </strong>Shares similar frame sizes to AxiForce but targets low-back-pressure environments where maximum airflow takes priority.</p></li><li><p><strong>AxiEco (200 mm frame):</strong> Delivers high airflow, high static pressure, and low noise. An ideal candidate for rear door heat exchanger applications in liquid-cooling systems.</p></li><li><p><strong>AxiTwin (counter-rotating fan):</strong> Designed for installations where maximum airflow in a compact footprint is the main requirement and acoustic performance is secondary.</p></li><li><p><strong>RadiCal (centrifugal fan):</strong> Rounds out the portfolio for space-constrained installations that require high static pressure.</p></li></ul><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.sager.com/newsroom/solving-rack-cooling-noise-with-ebm-papst" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1787949352311-Sager+ebmpapst+Solving+Rack+Cooling+Noise+WP.png" style="width:100%px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" /></a></p><h2><br /></h2><h2><br /></h2><h2><br /></h2><h2><br /></h2><h2><br /></h2><h2><br /></h2><h2><br /></h2><h2>Cooling in the AI Era</h2><p>The thermal density of AI hardware will continue to climb as inference and training workloads grow more demanding. As data centers evolve, fan technology must too.</p><p>ebm-papst has engineered a wide range of solutions to meet the industry’s ever-growing needs. With innovations like DiaForce, FlowGrid, and a full portfolio of axial and centrifugal fans, ebm-papst and Sager customers have access to both advanced thermal technologies and expert guidance to successfully integrate them into next-generation AI infrastructures. With ebm-papst and Sager, designers have the tools they need to cool new and existing architectures with ease. </p><p><a href="https://sager.formstack.com/forms/ebm_papst_data_center_cooling_solutions"><strong>Learn more about ebm-papst's data center fan solutions or contact the technical team at Sager via this short-form for application-specific support.</strong></a></p>

Why choose between the ability to cool high-performance AI infrastructure and a reasonable noise environment when you can achieve both?

Solving Rack Cooling Noise with ebm-papst

<h2 id="isPasted">Introduction: The Role of Airflow in Medical Devices</h2><p>Global healthcare systems are undergoing a major shift. Advances in technology are enabling more sophisticated healthcare facilities, and increasing life expectancies are driving greater demand.</p><p>Alongside this growth, medical devices are becoming smaller and more patient-friendly. Their use is extending beyond large hospitals to smaller clinics, local laboratories, ambulatory surgical centers, and even people’s homes. This evolution introduces new considerations for space, noise, and reliability.</p><p>Ensuring smooth and reliable operation of medical devices depends on a number of different underlying systems that often go unnoticed but are still essential. Among them, fans and airflow solutions play a key role. Thermal management is no longer a secondary consideration; airflow solutions need to be designed in and integrated closely with the healthcare systems.</p><h2>Key Performance Factors in Medical Airflow System Design</h2><p>Engineering fans and airflow solutions for medical technology requires balancing several different variables. Some of the key factors that affect design decisions include:</p><h3>Thermal Stability and Precision</h3><p>Many medical devices require operation within strict temperature limits. They lose accuracy with even the smallest thermal fluctuations. Airflow solutions must deliver consistent and precise cooling to ensure stable operating conditions for the equipment.</p><h3>Low Noise Operation</h3><p>Noise is a significant consideration due to its negative impact on patient comfort, interference with clinical environments, and ability to compromise device utility. As a result, medical devices, especially those that come into direct contact with patients, are engineered to operate with minimal acoustic emissions. </p><p>While mitigating noise from other components can pose difficulties, fans and airflow systems can be optimized through advanced aerodynamics and the adoption of effective motor designs, thus minimizing acoustic output without compromising performance.</p><h3>Compact and Space-Constrained Integration</h3><p>As devices become more portable, the available space for thermal management components becomes increasingly limited. Airflow solutions must achieve optimal performance and be suitable for integration into compact and dense system architectures. Compact designs also support more minimally invasive procedures, shorter recovery times, and lower production costs.</p><h3>Continuous and Fail-Safe Operation</h3><p>Healthcare devices are among some of the most critical systems on the planet. As a result, they are often expected to work continuously. Fans and blowers must offer long-term reliability and require minimal maintenance, even under the most demanding and extended operating conditions.</p><h3>Vibration Control and Mechanical Stability</h3><p>Vibrations affect both the performance and longevity of any system and are critical to minimize in medical equipment. Uncontrolled vibrations in imaging systems, for example, can create artifacts, or distortions, leading to misdiagnosis. In other systems, they can contribute to mechanical wear, damage, malfunctions, or even complete failure. Effective airflow solutions must operate with minimal vibrations through balanced design and optimized mounting.</p><h3>Energy Efficiency and Intelligent Control</h3><p>Energy efficiency is important for reducing operational costs and creating a sustainable system design. While efficient operation is beneficial for large systems, it becomes even more critical for smaller, portable devices operating on battery power. Modern fans and airflow solutions are required to offer precise airflow control, allowing systems to dynamically adjust performance based on real-time requirements to maximize efficiency.</p><h2>ebm-papst Fans and Engineered Airflow Solutions for Medical Devices</h2><p><a href="https://www.sager.com/manufacturers/ebm-papst">ebm-papst</a> is one of the world’s leading experts in air movement technology. Their extensive range of fans, blowers, motors, and engineered airflow solutions is optimized for the medical field. This is backed by years of experience in motor technology, aerodynamics, and system integration.</p><h3>ebm-papst RV45/RVE45 DC Centrifugal Fans</h3><p><a href="https://www.sager.com/new-products/ebm-papst-rv45-and-rve45-series-dc-centrifugal-fans?">ebm-papst’s RV45 and RVE45</a> DC centrifugal fans are designed for precise control of rapidly changing airflow and pressure in applications such as ventilators, sleep apnea devices, respiration/breathing equipment, and emergency ventilation systems. These fans support high-speed operation of up to 50,000 RPM and can deliver pressure up to 5,000 Pa.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1787340539214-Electroplating+%26+Coatings+%282%29.png" width="741" height="223" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">ebm-papst RV45/RVE45 DC centrifugal fans, available from Sager Electronics</span></span></span></p><p>The key strength of these product series lies in their dynamic response. Both feature a lightweight, high-speed, internal rotor motor to enable quick and reliable adjustments to airflow and pressure. They are also aerodynamically optimized for minimal noise and vibration, ensuring patient comfort. Control electronics allow both series to be customized to the exact specifications needed. The RV45 uses external control electronics, while they are built into the RVE45 for plug-and-play operation. With a service life of ~50,000+ hours, they also operate reliably and consistently over many years.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiNWQDoPn-g"><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jiNWQDoPn-g?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" class="fr-draggable"><span class="fr-mk"> </span><span class="fr-mk"> </span><span class="fr-mk"> </span><span class="fr-mk"> </span><span class="fr-mk"> </span><span class="fr-mk"> </span><span class="fr-mk"> </span><span class="fr-mk"> </span></iframe></span></a></p><div><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Parameter</strong><strong>​</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>RV45 / RVE45 Series</strong><strong>​</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Fan Type</p></td><td><p>DC centrifugal blower</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Max Speed</p></td><td><p>Up to ~50,000 rpm</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Max Pressure</p></td><td><p>Up to ~5,000 Pa</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Noise Level</p></td><td><p>As low as ~49 dB(A) (application dependent, inside a CPAP less than 25 dB(A)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Operating Life</p></td><td><p>~50,000+ hours (at 25°C)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Control</p></td><td><p>RVE45 includes integrated control electronics, PWM control, tacho output</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Design Features</p></td><td><p>Compact, lightweight, low-inertia rotor</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Key Benefits</p></td><td><p>Fast response, precise airflow control, low vibration, quiet operation</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Typical Use Case</p></td><td><p>Respiratory devices like ventilators, CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) and BiPAP (Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure)</p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><h3>ebm-papst AxiForce Series Fans</h3><p>ebm-papst AxiForce is a series of aerodynamically optimized fans, delivering strong performance with high efficiency and low noise. Models range from 40 mm to 172 mm to suit a wide range of applications and airflows.<br /><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1787340577919-Electroplating+%26+Coatings+%283%29.png" width="741" height="223" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">ebm-papst AxiForce series fans, available from Sager Electronics</span></span></span></p><p>Some variants of AxiForce fans come with a built-in temperature sensor and a tachometer for monitoring speed. The fan speed can be electronically controlled by PWM, with an optional support for analog control. AxiForce fans are also available in special environmental-resistant variants with an IP68 rating for protection against severe dust and powerful water jets.</p><p><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RrQVCfZA1aY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" class="fr-draggable"><span class="fr-mk"> </span><span class="fr-mk"> </span><span class="fr-mk"> </span><span class="fr-mk"> </span><span class="fr-mk"> </span></iframe></span></p><div><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Parameter</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>AxiForce Series</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Fan Type</p></td><td><p>Tubeaxial fan</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Size Range</p></td><td><p>40 mm to 172 mm</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Control</p></td><td><p>PWM control, analog control (optional), tacho output</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Airflow Performance</p></td><td><p>Up to ~650 m³/h (size dependent)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Efficiency Gain</p></td><td><p>Up to ~18% improvement vs previous designs</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Noise Reduction</p></td><td><p>Up to ~6-7 dB(A) lower noise compared to comparable fans</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Design Features</p></td><td><p>Advanced aerodynamics, robust construction</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Key Benefits</p></td><td><p>High efficiency, low noise, flexible integration</p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><h3>Broad Portfolio and Proven Performance</h3><p>Beyond these product families, ebm-papst offers a comprehensive range of axial, centrifugal, and diagonal fans built for medical and laboratory use. All products are developed and tested to meet strict quality and safety standards. This ensures reliable performance even in the most demanding and safety-critical environments.</p><h2>Case Study: Eliminating Contamination Risks in Inhaler Disinfection</h2><p>Cystic fibrosis is a serious lung disease that requires inhalation therapy as a part of daily treatment. Ironically, the devices used for that therapy, like nebulizers and inhalers, can themselves become a source of infection if not cleaned and dried properly. </p><p>There are several disinfection devices on the market that use steam for sanitation, but that process leaves moisture behind. Air drying, and even manually drying the equipment and parts with a cloth, can create a favorable environment for bacteria and other pathogens to thrive, posing a direct and severe risk to the patient's already vulnerable lungs.</p><h3>Disinfection with Complete Drying</h3><p>The German brand Detherma GmbH solved this problem with an innovative approach. They wanted to build a cleaning device that would eliminate germs, in part by ensuring no moisture was left behind after the disinfection process was completed. The device would use a controlled flow of heated air to ensure all residual moisture was completely removed before delivering inhalers ready for immediate use.</p><p>Achieving this goal required precise optimization of the airflow. The fan needed to generate enough pressure to draw hot air through a HEPA filter and circulate it effectively within the disinfection chamber while remaining quiet enough for household environments.</p><h3>Optimized Fan Integration and System Tuning</h3><p>Detherma reached out to ebm-papst for a solution that would meet their unique needs. They ultimately designed in one of ebm-papst’s compact, high-performance fans, which delivered strong airflow at a low speed, thus minimizing noise and maximizing efficiency. </p><p>It seemed like the perfect solution, but some of the disinfection devices were louder than others, and Detherma couldn’t figure out why. Since they didn’t have the capabilities to investigate further, ebm-papst brought some of the devices into their extensive testing laboratory. They determined that the noise was caused by the housing, so Detherma installed a silicone damping element to resolve the issue.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1786387564184-1786387564184.png" width="741" height="463" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">Detherma GmbH’s disinfection device. Source: ebm-papst</span></span></span></p><h3>Improved Safety and Usability</h3><p>The collaboration between Detherma and ebm-papst is what really brought this project to fruition. The final device delivers inhalers that are clean, dry, and ready for immediate use. This demonstrates how engineered airflow solutions can fix even the most complex challenges.</p><p>Read the complete story here: <a href="https://mag.ebmpapst.com/en/industries/medical/disinfection-device-detherma-cystic-fibrosis_19145/">Germs? Blown away: Disinfection device for inhaler | mag</a></p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1786387684437-1786387684437.jpeg" width="741" height="556" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">Applications of airflow solutions in hospitals. Source: ebm-papst</span></span></span></p><h2><br /></h2><h2><br /></h2><h2><br /></h2><h2><br /></h2><h2><br /></h2><h2>Critical Medical Applications Enabled by Airflow</h2><p>Engineered airflow solutions are needed for a wide range of critical healthcare functions, such as:</p><h3>Respiratory Systems</h3><p>Assistive breathing machines like ventilators, CPAPs, and BiPAPs require highly reliable, precisely controlled airflow and pressure to support consistent respiration. These devices have to react quickly to changes in breathing patterns while also operating as quietly as possible since they are often used throughout the night. </p><p><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fi3ViWBJLGw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" class="fr-draggable"><span class="fr-mk"> </span><span class="fr-mk"> </span></iframe></span></p><h3>Imaging Systems</h3><p>The sensitive electronics in imaging equipment like CT scanners and MRI machines generate significant heat, which makes fans and cooling a critical part of their infrastructure. Along with maintaining consistent airflow, solutions must operate with minimal vibration to ensure the integrity of the imaging and avoid artifacts.</p><h3>Laboratory and Diagnostic Equipment</h3><p>In laboratories and diagnostic settings, maintaining controlled conditions is essential. Blood gas analyzers, safety cabinets, and other medical equipment require stable temperatures and precisely managed airflow for optimal performance, safety, and to prevent contamination risks. Complex devices like centrifuges introduce more challenges, bringing high mechanical stress to thermal management.</p><h3>Disinfection and Air Treatment Systems</h3><p>Controlled air movement is required in disinfection and air treatment systems, as shown in the case study above. Fans built for these applications must operate reliably in harsh environments, including exposure to elements like steam, heat, and UV light. Plastic parts, wiring, and filters used in these systems could easily break down if they're not specifically designed for this use case.</p><h3>Patient Care Systems</h3><p>Beds, warming systems, and therapeutic devices also rely on consistent airflow for overall patient comfort and well-being.</p><p>These varied applications clearly highlight the breadth of requirements engineered airflow solutions must cover. Reliability, precision, minimal noise, compliance with stringent regulatory standards, and robustness are some of the key differentiators for this industry.</p><h2>Sager Electronics and ebm-papst Partnership</h2><p>Beyond performance, developing a successful medical device depends on availability, integration, and strong engineering support. Sager Electronics has been ebm-papst’s authorized partner since 1994 and is currently their largest distributor in North America.</p><p>Sager combines broad product availability with robust inventory and supply chain capabilities. The partnership between Sager and ebm-papst goes beyond distribution, as Sager facilitates faster sampling, prototyping, testing, and regulatory validation. In the medical industry, such collaborations make iterations quicker and speed up design cycles.</p><p>Sager’s Custom Solutions Center in Texas, U.S., provides custom thermal solutions and value-added services, including fan tray assemblies, fan modifications, heat exchanger modifications, fan-sink assemblies, thermoelectric assembly modifications, heat pipe bending, heat sink integration with thermal interface materials, and integration support. The solutions center gives customers access to Sager’s expertise from the early stages of the design process through to full-scale production.</p><p>As an <a href="https://www.sager.com/resources/ebm-papst-certified-var-solutions-at-sager-electronics">ebm-papst-certified value-add reseller (VAR)</a>, Sager is trained and qualified to meet ebm-papst’s standards for workmanship, testing, quality, and packaging. All customized products are also backed by a factory warranty.</p><p>Together, ebm-papst’s engineered airflow solutions and Sager’s strong distribution and engineering support carve a pathway for medical device designers and manufacturers to address the diverse requirements of the industry while accelerating time-to-market.</p><p><a href="https://www.sager.com/newsroom/engineering-fans-and-airflow-solutions-for-medical-devices-with-ebm-papst" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1787949379375-Sager+ebmpapst+Engineering+Fans+and+Airflow+Solutions+for+Medical+Devices+with+ebmpapst+WP.png" style="width:811px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" /></a></p><h2>Conclusion: From Performance to Patient Safety</h2><p>Airflow management in healthcare affects something far more important than just system performance and efficiency; it directly impacts patient safety and comfort. As devices become more technically complex, compact, and widely deployed, the demands on airflow systems continue to rise.</p><p>Modern medical devices rely on advanced airflow solutions that balance thermal performance, acoustics, reliability, and regulatory requirements. By combining ebm-papst's industry-leading airflow technologies with Sager Electronics' technical expertise and design support, medical device manufacturers gain a collaborative resource to help optimize thermal management throughout the product development process.</p><p><strong>To learn how ebm-papst and Sager Electronics can support your next medical device design, </strong><a href="https://sager.formstack.com/forms/ebm_papst_medical_solutions"><strong>connect with our engineering team.</strong></a></p>

Engineered airflow solutions play a vital role in keeping medical devices precise, quiet, and reliable. ebm-papst and Sager Electronics partner to support engineers with a broad portfolio of fans and custom airflow solutions for building high-quality medical devices.

Engineering Fans and Airflow Solutions for Medical Devices with ebm-papst

<p id="isPasted">It can be extremely challenging for engineers when trying to integrate standard power supplies into sophisticated industrial systems. For example, conventional constraints such as high inrush current can force trade-offs between reliable circuit protection and system scalability, and require engineers to add cost and complexity to their installations. Similarly, limited peak current headroom, the absence of digital communication interfaces, and rigid certification profiles all constrain where and how standard DIN Rail supplies can be deployed.</p><p>Fortunately, MEAN WELL’s brand-new XDR series of single-phase DIN Rail power supplies offers an advanced suite of features that deliver all the performance benefits without the trade-offs. With new offerings such as reduced inrush current, improved transient-handling capabilities, and adherence to rigorous qualification standards, the XDR units let engineers deploy more robust, compact, and digitally integrated power architectures in their industrial designs.</p><h2>Mitigating System Stress through Inrush Current Suppression</h2><p>A major new feature introduced in the XDR series is improved inrush current suppression. </p><p>Inrush current occurs when a power supply’s internal bulk capacitance draws large amounts of energy to reach its required operating charge at system boot-up. For high-performance switching power supplies, inrush currents historically range from 30 to 80 A and can last for millisecond durations. In these instances, systems can experience nuisance tripping, where a short-duration startup spike exceeds a breaker's trip threshold, causing the system to shut down even when the continuous operating current remains perfectly safe. </p><p>In contrast, MEAN WELL’s new XDR series technology limits inrush current draw to less than 10 A at 230 Vac. By dampening this initial surge, the XDR series lets engineers use smaller, standard circuit breakers without the risk of nuisance tripping during system activation. And, because the XDR series manages these electrical transients internally, specialized breakers with expensive, high-tripping curves become unnecessary for most installations.</p><p>Beyond simplifying breaker selection, the improved inrush current suppression directly extends the lifespans of switches and protection relays. MEAN WELL achieves this by preventing contact pitting, a form of electrical wear in which high-current arcs damage metal surfaces, and by reducing overall thermal stress on the wiring. Such refined current limiting is especially important for high-voltage installations or EU-standard 230V grids, where inrush currents are naturally larger. Consequently, engineers can design more efficient distribution panels that use standard, lower-cost protection hardware without losing system reliability during cold starts.  </p><h2>Dynamic Power Delivery for Inductive and Laser Loads</h2><p>Industrial loads are rarely static. Motors, solenoids, and laser systems all impose short-duration current demands that far exceed their steady-state draw, and a power supply that can’t accommodate those peaks becomes a bottleneck. The XDR series addresses this with two distinct levels of dynamic current support, each tuned to a different class of transient load.</p><h3>Transient Handling with Pulse Current Operation</h3><p>First, the XDR series introduces pulse current operation, which provides up to 600% of the supply’s rated current to handle extreme transients. </p><p>In traditional power supplies, high-current transients can cause voltage instability or system-wide power dips if not properly accounted for. With the ability to withstand significantly higher lagging currents than nominal, the XDR series helps power engineers guarantee robustness against volatile transients for stable output quality in all operating conditions. To further support this effort, MEAN WELL also designed advanced internal circuitry into the XDR series to actively manage associated thermal and electrical stresses.</p><p>Pulse current operation is particularly useful for applications such as industrial 3D printers and laser-guided automation tools. Specifically, industrial robotic applications can use XDR power supplies for high-speed laser etching or diode applications that require near-instantaneous on-off cycles to function correctly. With quick on-off transitions, these laser diodes often source high currents at millisecond intervals, which can cause instability or trigger protection shutdown in other power supplies. The XDR series prevents these operational failures with its generous current overhead designed specifically for fast switching.</p><h3>Peak Power Capabilities</h3><p>Beyond handling fast transients, the XDR series also supports a 200% peak power rating to meet the sustained, heavy demands of inductive or capacitive loads. </p><p>While pulse current operation handles millisecond spikes, peak power operation is meant for advanced current loads with durations of several seconds. Specifically, motor-driven equipment such as conveyor systems, pump motors, and pneumatic actuators all exhibit this startup profile, drawing high current to generate initial torque before settling into steady-state operation. With the XDR series, engineers have a tool that can support these longer-duration load currents without fear of shutdown or system failure. By supporting these transients natively, the XDR series removes the need for separate soft-start modules or oversized supplies in motor-heavy configurations.</p><p>Because of the XDR series’ peak power rating, engineers can select a power supply based on their continuous operating loads rather than a brief startup peak. As such, they can reduce the total cost and physical size of their control system.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1786377327160-1786377327160.jpeg" width="624" height="348" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">High-capacity data center. Source: AdobeStock</span></span></span></p><h2>Optimizing Space and Connectivity</h2><h3>High-Density Thermal Engineering</h3><p>Another benefit of the XDR series is its ultra-slim chassis, which reduces the power supply's footprint by up to 45% compared to legacy XDR models. Because of its smaller size, the XDR series can deliver power densities up to 960 W and be paralleled to deliver up to 3.84 kW of output power. In data centers, for example, more power-dense solutions help engineers use less space for power infrastructure and repurpose it for more computing or memory, increasing return on investment. </p><p>MEAN WELL achieved this high power density by designing the XDR series with advanced components and an efficient layout that minimizes parasitics that would otherwise generate excess heat. For example, the series maintains up to 91% efficiency and less than 1 W of no-load power consumption. Similarly, MEAN WELL improved the system’s heat dissipation, enabling it to operate reliably even at extreme temperatures up to +85 °C. As such, designers can deploy the XDR series in unconditioned outdoor enclosures or on high-temperature factory floors where standard power supplies would typically fail.</p><h2>Tool-Free Wiring for Faster Installation</h2><p>Standard DIN Rail power supplies have historically relied on screw-type terminal blocks, which require a screwdriver and precise torque management to install correctly. Improper torquing leads to loose connections, higher contact resistance, and premature failures in high-vibration environments. For large-scale panel builds that require dozens of power supplies, the cumulative installation time and the risk of operator error can become significant concerns.</p><p>The XDR series addresses this with two tool-free terminal block variants as standard options. The first is a lever-actuated terminal, where installers lift a lever, insert the conductor, and lock it in place, with no tools required. The second is a push-in terminal that accepts wires with a single insertion motion, eliminating the need for manual torque. Both variants deliver consistent clamping force on every connection to reduce variability introduced by manual installation and improve long-term reliability.</p><p>For OEMs and system integrators assembling large control panels, these terminal options can substantially accelerate the build process and lower the risk of field failures caused by loose wiring. Teams can also standardize their wiring procedures for any installation type, regardless of operator experience level.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1786377327168-1786377327168.jpeg" width="624" height="248" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">Integrated network display. Source: AdobeStock</span></span></span></p><h2><br /></h2><h2>Digital Integration via Modbus RTU</h2><p>For more intelligent system management, the XDR series also includes native Modbus communication in its higher-wattage models. Modbus RTU is a standard industrial communication protocol that lets many types of hardware devices share data over a single wired network. With built-in communication ports that support Modbus, the XDR series can help engineers more easily integrate power data into broader SCADA or PLC environments.</p><p>With more integrated networks, designers can monitor electrical and diagnostic data without needing physical access to the unit. As such, predictive maintenance workflows become a realistic possibility, meaning engineers can anticipate hardware failures before they occur and act accordingly to prevent system damage or unwanted downtime. </p><p>Similarly, the XDR series’ Modbus features enable engineers to connect multiple power supplies in parallel to scale system capacity without losing centralized control. Specifically, each unit can communicate its load to maintain a balanced, stable power system even when paralleled. In turn, these communication features directly reduce unexpected downtime and unlock a more intelligent approach to power management.</p><h1><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1786377327176-1786377327176.jpeg" width="624" height="416" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">Engineers monitoring operations in a marine environment. Source: AdobeStock</span></span></span></h1><h2><br /></h2><h2>Compliance and Reliability for All Environments</h2><h3>Specialized Safety and Marine Certifications</h3><p>The XDR series comes pre-certified to a range of unique safety standards, including DNV-GL maritime standards. For marine environments specifically, MEAN WELL designed the XDR series with a rugged mechanical construction that protects the internal electronics from vibration and shock. These power supplies also have conformal-coated PCBs, which prevent moisture and salt from causing short circuits or corrosion, helping the units operate for longer periods in the humid, corrosive atmospheres found at sea.</p><p>Beyond maritime use, the XDR series also meets the C1D2 requirements for installation in hazardous locations. This C1D2 certification gives engineers confidence that their power supply won't release sufficient electrical energy to cause sparks or ignition in volatile environments, which is mandatory for sites that process flammable substances. Specifically, gas stations, chemical processing facilities, and similar sites require C1D2-rated equipment for any electrical hardware installed in classified zones.</p><h2>Semiconductor Fabrication and Power Stability</h2><p>The XDR series also complies with the Semi-F47 standard, which specifies how a power supply should behave when the main AC supply experiences brief, unexpected interruptions. Meeting this standard means that the XDR series provides voltage-sag immunity on par with the demands of advanced semiconductor manufacturing facilities. In practice, this means the power supply can sustain its output through momentary grid dips that would otherwise interrupt sensitive lithography or deposition equipment.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1786377327184-1786377327184.jpeg" width="624" height="351" class="fr-fic fr-dii" /><span class="fr-inner">Robotic Nanofabrication Systems, Photonic Lithography for Semiconductor Manufacturing. Source: AdobeStock</span></span></span></p><h2><br /></h2><p>With access to a single power supply that adheres to many of the most rigorous international standards for every major industrial sector, engineers can standardize on a single power supply family for complex global projects, knowing the hardware will meet whatever local safety and performance requirements they encounter. In turn, teams can build supply chains that are simpler, less prone to volatility, and easier to manage.</p><p><a href="https://www.sager.com/newsroom/the-new-standard-for-high-performance-power-with-the-mean-well-xdr-flagship-series" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1787949235968-Sager+MEAN+WELL+XDR+Flagship+Series+WP.png" style="width:100%px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" /></a></p><h2>The XDR Series for Intelligent Power Design</h2><p>The MEAN WELL XDR flagship power supplies are designed to handle the most demanding power requirements in industrial automation. By combining high-power-density hardware with intelligent monitoring and a suite of global certifications, MEAN WELL is making it easier for designers to deploy resilient power architectures in complex, harsh environments.  </p><p><strong>Explore the full <a href="https://www.sager.com/manufacturers/mean-well">MEAN WELL solution set</a>, available at <a href="https://www.sager.com/">Sager Electronics</a>.</strong></p>

The XDR Series offers reduced inrush current, improved transient-handling capabilities, and rigorous qualification standards, giving engineers a robust, compact, and digitally integrated power architecture for their industrial designs.

The New Standard for High Performance Power with the MEAN WELL XDR Flagship Series

As robotics shifts from innovation showcases to real-world deployment, motion systems play a vital role in this next stage of robotics.

From Prototype to Deployment Designing Motion Systems for Real-World Robotics

<p id="isPasted">As power systems push toward 800 V EV architectures and 1,500 V photovoltaic inverters, manufacturers are ramping SiC and GaN device production faster than test infrastructure can keep pace. The bottleneck isn't manufacturing; it's the relays inside your automated test equipment (ATE).</p><p>Conventional silicon MOSFET relays cap out around 600 V, well below what SiC and GaN devices require. That leaves Reed switches as the default high-voltage option because their electromechanical contacts oxidize and wear with every cycle, introducing on-resistance drift that corrupts measurement accuracy and can silently misclassify good devices as defective. With mechanical lifespans of 500,000 to 1,000,000 operations, high-volume production lines can burn through that limit in months.</p><p><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable"><iframe id="JotFormIFrame-262372439240455" src="https://form.jotform.com/262372439240455" frameborder="0" style="min-width:100%;max-width:100%;height:870px;border:none" scrolling="yes" class="fr-draggable"> </iframe> </span></p><h2>A Solid-State Alternative Built for Wide-Bandgap Voltages</h2><p>Aratas's G3VH series of SiC MOSFET relay signal switches solves this with a contact-free, solid-state architecture rated for 1,800 V and 3,300 V systems — voltages silicon relays simply can't reach. Because the signal path closes through semiconductor material instead of physical metal contacts, the G3VH series delivers:</p><ul><li><p><strong>Stable on-resistance</strong> across virtually unlimited switching cycles, eliminating the drift that corrupts yield data</p></li><li><p><strong>Sub-millisecond switching speeds,</strong> cutting dead time between DUT measurements and increasing test throughput</p></li><li><p><strong>5,000 Vrms isolation</strong>, exceeding the relay's own 3,300 V load rating for safe, accurate high-voltage board design</p></li><li><p><strong>Low off-state capacitance</strong>, reducing parasitic signal leakage into the measurement path</p></li></ul><h2>Test Devices for Today and Tomorrow</h2><p>As SiC and GaN roadmaps push toward voltage tiers above 3,300 V for railway and industrial inverter applications, ATE built on solid-state relay technology is positioned to scale without sacrificing accuracy or speed.</p><p><strong>Download the white paper </strong>to see how the G3VH series compares to Reed switches across load voltage, on-resistance stability, switching speed, and isolation — and what it means for your next-generation test infrastructure.</p>

Aratas developed its G3VH series of SiC MOSFET relay signal switches to give ATE designers a solid-state solution for 1,800V and 3,300V systems.

SiC MOSFET Relays: A New Solution for Power Semiconductor ATE

Connectivity, Protection, and Power Solutions by TE Connectivity and Avnet Abacus

Building Reliable Battery Energy Storage Systems

The connectivity foundation for advanced driver assistance systems, software-defined vehicles, zonal architectures and electrified powertrains.

Building Reliable High-Bandwidth Automotive Telemetry Systems

<p>Power, and how to use it efficiently, is top of mind for designers in all industries. Between soaring energy prices and tightening sustainability regulations, engineers bear the burden of finding innovative ways to design products that use less electricity. Whereas previously they may have used unidirectional power supplies, which only allow energy to flow from the grid to the load, now they can turn to bidirectional power supplies like the MEAN WELL BIC-5K, which can simultaneously take in and give back energy to the grid. With both AC-toDC and DC-to-AC capabilities in a single device, the MEAN WELL BIC-5K is a versatile and compact solution to many engineers’ power needs.</p><h2>Eliminating Energy Waste using Bidirectional Grid Recovery</h2><h3>Inefficiency of Passive Heat Dissipation</h3><p>Ordinary battery test and storage systems lose significant energy during battery discharging. Typically, these systems dissipate excess energy passively as heat, requiring companies to invest in expensive cooling infrastructure to keep everything running smoothly. The confluence of both of these factors incurs unnecessary, high costs for companies and forces them to waste enormous amounts of electricity.</p><p>When faced with these problems, engineers often implement energy recovery systems. However, they quickly face space constraints because they need to use separate rectifiers to convert AC to DC and inverters to convert DC back to AC. Using two separate devices not only increases system complexity but also introduces more points of failure within the power system.</p><p>Overall, companies that use battery test systems incur additional expenses and require additional physical space to recover energy that may otherwise be lost during discharge. This compounds over time with facilities continuously buying electricity they never recover. These linear, unidirectional power architectures, in which energy flows in only one direction, put companies at a competitive disadvantage, whether or not they attempt to recover wasted energy. The best solution to all these physical and economic limitations is integrated bidirectional systems.</p><h3>The Bidirectional Solution Space</h3><p>Bidirectional power systems enable engineers to treat the AC grid as a virtual battery for storing excess energy. Specifically, these systems manage electricity flowing in opposite directions within a single unit so that engineers can capture energy that would otherwise be lost to heat and return it to the grid. The result is that companies with these systems have a much smaller carbon footprint and a lower cost of ownership for high-power installations.</p><p>Bidirectional systems also simplify thermal management for companies by allowing them to eliminate large resistive load banks. Ordinary unidirectional power systems require load banks to dissipate excess energy as heat. In contrast, bidirectional systems don’t need them, as they can redirect excess energy back to the grid.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1784559982726-AdobeStock_1966106615.jpeg" style="width:100%px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" /><span class="fr-inner">Large-format Battery Energy Storage System. Source: AdobeStock</span></span></span></p><p>Bidirectional architectures allow the power supply to function as both a source, providing power to a device, and a sink, absorbing power from a device, and adjust dynamically depending on the immediate needs of the application. By feeding captured power back into the local grid, companies can also offset the consumption of other equipment within the same building. All of this enables companies to optimize their resources in ways they would not be able to with ordinary unidirectional systems. Ultimately, bidirectional power architectures empower engineers to design smaller, more efficient installations that are both more cost-effective and sustainable.</p><h2>Industry Use Cases for the BIC-5K</h2><h3>Battery Formation and Grading Systems</h3><p>When manufacturing batteries, engineers need to perform thousands of charge-discharge cycles to verify the stability of each battery’s cell chemistry and its grade capacity. With bidirectional power systems like MEAN WELL BIC-5K, engineers can feed the energy discharged from one battery bank back into the facility grid to power other active charging stations. This capability helps reduce the facility’s total energy usage and keeps it cooler by avoiding the heat-generating resistive load banks required by unidirectional power systems.</p><p>In addition to improving the facility’s energy efficiency, the BIC-5K enables engineers to precisely control batteries' charging and discharging curves so that each cell meets strict current- and voltage-regulation standards. MEAN WELL also designed the BIC-5K for industrial-grade reliability, so engineers can confidently implement demanding applications, such as continuous duty cycling, on their equipment. </p><p>All of these features allow companies to scale their production lines in denser formations without a proportional increase in cooling infrastructure. The result is that the BIC-5K helps companies achieve higher efficiency, higher throughput, lower energy consumption, and lower environmental impact in their battery production processes.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1784560167977-AdobeStock_193902732.jpeg" style="width:100%px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" /><span class="fr-inner">Charging station for EVs. Source: AdobeStock.</span></span></span></p><p>Bidirectional architectures allow the power supply to function as both a source, providing power to a device, and a sink, absorbing power from a device, and adjust dynamically depending on the immediate needs of the application. By feeding captured power back into the local grid, companies can also offset the consumption of other equipment within the same building. All of this enables companies to optimize their resources in ways they would not be able to with ordinary unidirectional systems. Ultimately, bidirectional power architectures empower engineers to design smaller, more efficient installations that are both more cost-effective and sustainable.</p><h3>Electric Vehicle Infrastructure and V2G</h3><p>Designers of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) systems, which enable electric vehicle (EV) batteries to draw and return power to the grid, need specialized hardware capable of managing bidirectional power flow. With the BIC-5K, engineers can deliver V2G systems with a single unit that also meets utility companies’ safety and synchronization standards. With this feature, designers can form localized microgrids, where each parked EV is an independent energy storage node. </p><p>With microgrids, the broader electrical grid can better handle peak demand by drawing on the collective energy stored in connected EV fleets. The BIC-5K ensures that this power transfer stays clean and perfectly synchronized with the utility frequency by preventing electrical noise or timing mismatches that could otherwise destabilize local power.</p><h2>Kinetic Energy Recovery and Regenerative Loads</h2><p>Industrial automation teams frequently work with high-inertia equipment, such as large motors or elevators, which generate significant back-EMF during braking. Back-EMF is a voltage that occurs when a motor’s internal magnetic fields interact during deceleration, effectively turning the motor into a generator. To prevent damage to drive electronics, historical power systems would force this energy through braking resistors that dissipate excess energy as heat. </p><p>With the BIC-5K, engineers can capture this back-EMF energy and return it to the facility grid rather than dissipate it as heat. As a result, they can reduce their heavy machinery’s net electrical demand, as the recycled energy can later power other machines.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1784560353337-AdobeStock_1914032654.jpeg" style="width:100%px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" /><span class="fr-inner">EV showcasing engine, battery, and brakes. Source: AdobeStock</span></span></span></p><p>Beyond energy savings, this regenerative approach reduces physical wear from mechanical braking. With the recovery unit offering electrical braking to handle much of the deceleration load, the BIC-5K transforms what was once a problematic source of heat waste into a reliable supplemental power source that maximizes energy efficiency for every part of a moving industrial automation system.</p><h2>Technical Capabilities: Fast Switching, Efficiency, and Scalability</h2><h3>Ultra-Fast 1ms Bidirectional Switching</h3><p>One of the most important performance metrics for a bidirectional power system is the speed at which it can switch between AC-to-DC (rectification) and DC-to-AC (inversion)modes. The BIC-5K switches in under 1 ms, which keeps the system's DC bus stable during instant shifts between charging and discharging phases. In this way, the BIC-5K protects the entire system from transient voltage spikes that could damage sensitive downstream electronics.</p><p>The BIC-5K’s high-speed switching capability also enables engineers to implement highly responsive battery grading profiles, especially those that use immediate current reversal to represent real-world usage. With faster switching that reduces lag and gaps, operators can collect more precise data during battery testing. </p><p>To simplify the switching process, the BIC-5K uses a fully digitalized control loop that automatically transitions between inversion and rectification modes. In addition, the internal firmware automatically detects the direction of energy flow, a feature that reduces the external control logic required and simplifies the overall system architecture. Ultimately, with the BIC-5K, teams can create testing environments that are both more reliable and significantly faster than alternatives.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1784560511364-BIC-5KSourceMEAN+WELL_page6image.png" style="width:100%px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" /><span class="fr-inner">BIC-5K. Source: MEAN WELL</span></span></span></p><h3>Peak Efficiency and Power Quality</h3><p>At the highest level, with a peak efficiency of 93.5%, the BIC-5K helps teams maximize the amount of energy they can recover and return to the facility grid. But, equally as important, greater efficiency – and, therefore, lower internal heat – means the BIC-5K can sustain full power operation in both directions without heat-related performance degradation.</p><p>Beyond raw efficiency, the BIC-5K maintains a Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) of less than3% in both conversion directions. The system’s low THD ensures that the power returned to the grid is clean and synchronized, thereby assuring compliance with strict utility power quality standards. This is non-negotiable for preventing electromagnetic interference with other sensitive electronic devices connected to the same local grid.</p><p>The hardware's versatility is further enhanced by a wide AC input range of 180-305 Vac, which lets engineers deploy the system in a variety of 230 or 277 Vac industrial environments. All of these features let the BIC-5K support large-scale energy recovery efforts without compromising the long-term stability or safety of local electrical components.</p><h3>Voltage Range and 3-Phase Scaling</h3><p>To guarantee compatibility with many industrial platforms, the BIC-5K offers four distinct models customized for specific DC bus requirements, ranging from low-voltage 24/48V options to high-voltage 96/380V units. These options give companies the breadth of tools needed to work with a wide array of DC battery chemistries and industrial motor voltages, all from a single product line.</p><p>And, if designers need power beyond a single unit's capacity, they can parallel up to 6 units. MEAN WELL enables this through a built-in active current-sharing function that automatically balances the electrical load across multiple devices. This configuration can achieve a total system capacity of 30kW in a 5+1 setup, where the sixth unit provides redundancy to ensure continuous operation if one module fails.</p><p>With a modular approach, teams can scale their power infrastructure linearly and increase capacity as an application grows without redesigning the power system. Teams can also integrate the BIC-5K into 3-phase 4-wire systems and standard industrial power setups consisting of three hot wires and one neutral by distributing single-phase units across the grid phases.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1784560708233-AdobeStock_1606918636.jpeg" style="width:100%px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" /><span class="fr-inner">Safety mechanisms and circuit breakers on a bidirectional inverter. Source: AdobeStock</span></span></span></p><h2>Streamlined Digital Control and Safety</h2><p>With the BIC-5K, engineers can perform live monitoring and granular parameter adjustment via standard digital interfaces such as CAN bus or Modbus-RTU. They can use these protocols to precisely set both active power, which performs the actual work in a circuit, and reactive power, which maintains steady voltage levels in magnetic fields of motors and transformers. This type of control helps engineers make informed, analytics-driven decisions when managing distributed energy resources, such as localized solar arrays or battery storage units. They can also use the digital control interface to log performance data and diagnostic information, which is key to optimizing long-term system health and predictive equipment maintenance.</p><p>Beyond software control, MEAN WELL designed the BIC-5K to withstand harsh industrial environments while meeting the highest safety standards. It features an Over Voltage Category III (OVC III) rating, meaning it can withstand significant voltage transients common in fixed-plant installations, and a conformal coating that shields the internal circuitry from moisture and contaminants. It also includes internal protections such as AC fail detection and anti-islanding, which prevent the unit from feeding power back into a dead grid during an outage, thereby protecting utility workers performing repairs. The BIC-5K also meetsEN50549-1 grid connection standards.</p><h2>Competitive Advantages of Off-the-Shelf Integration</h2><p>A final benefit of the BIC-5K is that it’s a ready-to-use system. Rather than designing a custom solution from scratch, teams can simply pick the BIC-5K off-the-shelf and integrate it directly into their existing systems. They immediately avoid the exhaustive design and certification cycles typically required to build custom bidirectional power electronics from scratch. They can also trust that the unit is safe, as MEAN WELL has already pre-validated it against global safety standards, including IEC62368-1 for high-tech equipment.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1784560859191-Sager+MEAN+WELL+WP.png" style="width:100%px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" /><span class="fr-inner">Various systems for integration: water treatment plant, marine battery charging module, EV charging station, &amp;battery cell formation. Source: AdobeStock</span></span></span></p><p>Beyond simplifying the initial engineering phase, the BIC-5K can also decrease a system's total cost of ownership. As a standardized unit backed by a five-year warranty, companies can rest assured that their systems will work for a long time, and even avoid the considerable costs and technical risks associated with independent grid-connection testing. Because the BIC-5K includes an extensive global support network and a comprehensive set of safety certifications, engineers can use it to implement a uniform solution that meets worldwide market requirements without ever changing their design to comply with specific regional requirements.</p><p><a href="https://www.sager.com/newsroom/bidirectional-energy-recovery-with-the-mean-well-bic-5k" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1784652058916-51.png" style="width:100%px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" /></a></p><h2>Leading the Eco-Friendly Transition</h2><p>The MEAN WELL BIC-5K gives companies a sophisticated and practical path to implement high-efficiency, bidirectional power systems within their infrastructure. As bidirectional power, thermal management, and environmentally-conscious designs become more pressing, a solution like the BIC-5K gives engineers the infrastructure they need to build for a more efficient, resilient, and eco-friendly future.</p><p>To learn more about the BIC-5K or to explore the MEAN WELL product portfolio, visit <a href="https://www.sager.com/manufacturers/mean-well" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.sager.com/manufacturers/mean-well</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.sager.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.sager.com</a></p>

A sophisticated and practical path to implement high-efficiency, bidirectional power systems.

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<p id="isPasted">European automotive manufacturing is under structural pressure from multiple directions at once. Experienced metrologists are retiring. EV platforms demand entirely different inspection approaches. Global competitors have already automated. And production lines cannot slow down to wait for quality control to catch up.</p><p>For many facilities, the bottleneck is not the production technology. It is the inspection workflow sitting behind it.</p><h2>Explore the whitepaper</h2><p>This whitepaper examines how automated 3D optical metrology helps automotive manufacturers close the gap between modern production and legacy quality control. It covers the real pressures driving the change, the practical limitations of coordinate measuring machines, and how optical scanning systems can be deployed directly on the shop floor.</p><p><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable"><iframe id="JotFormIFrame-261653944967372" src="https://form.jotform.com/261653944967372" frameborder="0" style="min-width:100%;max-width:100%;height:1000px;border-width:medium;border-style:none;border-color:currentcolor;border-image:initial" scrolling="yes" class="fr-draggable"> </iframe></span></p><h2>You will learn:</h2><ul><li>Why demographic decline across EU manufacturing hubs is making traditional CMM expertise harder to source and retain</li><li><p>How EV platforms, battery enclosures, thin-walled aluminum structures, and reflective surfaces expose the limits of point-based measurement</p></li><li><p>How optical scanners capture millions of geometrically linked data points in a single pass and compare them directly against CAD models</p></li><li><p>What it means to move inspection out of the metrology lab and into production, where feedback reaches engineers before defects compound into large batches</p></li><li><p>How stamping and casting operations can use accumulated scan data to track tooling drift and move from reactive maintenance to predictive intervention</p></li><li><p>What a full Industry 4.0 integration looks like, including MES connectivity, automated reporting, and modular robotic inspection cells deployable in two days</p></li></ul><h2>Why read it</h2><p>Traditional inspection systems were built for a stable, high-volume world with a ready supply of skilled operators. That world has changed. EV production requires validation techniques that CMMs were not designed for. Customizable vehicles mean higher part variability. Supply chains spanning dozens of countries mean dimensional deviations that go undetected in one stage create assembly problems three steps later.</p><p>Late defect detection is not just a quality problem. Every rejected part costs energy, machine time, and labor. In the context of the European Green Deal, it is also a sustainability problem.</p><p>This whitepaper looks at inspection as a complete production system rather than a separate step, and shows how automated optical metrology turns quality control from a bottleneck into an active part of the manufacturing process.</p><p><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable fr-active"><iframe id="JotFormIFrame-261653944967372" src="https://form.jotform.com/261653944967372" frameborder="0" style="min-width:100%;max-width:100%;height:1000px;border-width:medium;border-style:none;border-color:currentcolor;border-image:initial" scrolling="yes" class="fr-draggable"> </iframe></span></p><h2>Case study: stamping inspection at a tier-one supplier</h2><p>A supplier producing 782 different stamped part types for Honda, Toyota, and Nissan was running out of road with CMM-based inspection. Manual setup, slow throughput, and the requirement to work directly on a live shop floor made the existing process unsustainable.</p><p>After deploying an automated 3D optical scanning system alongside the stamping lines, large sheet metal parts could be fully scanned in three minutes. Smaller parts took around one minute. Defects were caught earlier, corrective action happened faster, and scrap and rework both came down.</p><h2>Learn from the source</h2><p>Scanology develops automated 3D inspection systems used in automotive production environments across Europe and Asia. Their systems are certified to ISO 10360 standards and tested in CNAS ISO 17025 accredited laboratory conditions.</p><p>This whitepaper draws on that experience to give engineers and operations leaders a practical guide to modernising their inspection infrastructure.</p>

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