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Nov 2008 Industrial Power Conditioners
May 2008 Medical Power
Jan 2007
Nov 2008
Industrial Power ConditionersMicroprocessor based systems are found in more applications than just healthcare, retail, telecommunications, graphics and other similar settings. The fact is that microprocessor based systems are in control of nearly all manufacturing processes to one degree or another. When computer systems are found on the manufacturing floor, they face conditions that are often more challenging and demanding than those found in the office or laboratory.
Electrically speaking, the manufacturing floor is a very unfriendly place. Traditional electrical loads like welders, plasma cutters, lighting ballasts, variable speed drives, presses, arc furnaces, and the like are all potentially disruptive electrical "neighbors" of the computer system. It's truly a case of placing high technology equipment in a low technology environment. When these factors are combined with ordinary power outages, it's not too surprising when high technology equipment fails. The problem is a challenging one because whether the work stoppage is the result of a damaged computer component or merely a system lockup, the results can be very expensive. Lost productivity is often a minor expense compared to the cost of wasted and damaged materials for continuous manufacturing processes used to produce products like glass, rubber, plastic, paper, petroleum, and chemicals. In fact, EPRI, the Electric Power Research Institute, has reported that some companies have calculated their losses as high as $1.5 million dollars per hour of work stoppage.
POWERVAR produces solutions to ensure power quality on the manufacturing floor. POWERVAR's Industrial Power Conditioner was designed specifically for use with industrial process controls. Its innovative design incorporates POWERVAR's ABCs philosophy by combining a high energy surge diverter, a power line noise filter, and a low impedance isolation transformer in a sealed, splashproof, industrial enclosure. For mounting inside equipment cabinets, the outer enclosure may be removed turning the conditioner into an open frame component. Because the manufacturing floor may offer 208, 240, or 480 voltage levels more frequently than 120 volts, the Industrial Power Conditioner provides voltage matching as part of the isolation transformer design. The isolation transformer provides for primary winding voltage configurations of 120, 208, 240, and 480 volts with a fixed secondary voltage of 120 volts to power process controls and shop floor computer sytems.
Four models of industrial conditioner are available in 360 VA, 750 VA, 1000 VA, and 1500 VA. All are backed by POWERVAR's five year warranty against defects in materials and workmanship.
May 2008
Medical PowerFor all the Medical Techs and Engineers looking for International speced Medical grade Power products.
POWERVAR's medical grade product family is designed specifically for healthcare applications requiring compliance with the North American safety standard UL60601 and international standard IEC60601. These safety standards specify a range of factors required to ensure the safety of both patient and operator when in proximity to electrical equipment used to monitor, diagnose, treat or otherwise care for the patient.
Of primary concern for the patient is the limitation of "leakage current." Leakage current results from the filter sections of electronic power supplies. All electronic equipment exhibits leakage current in varying amounts. Leakage current is one of the most stringent, yet telling, parameters of possible danger to patients or caregivers. That's because it does not take much electric current flowing through the human body to cause cardiac arrest or paralyze the diaphragm. This is especially true for patients with weakened systems.
UL60601 and IEC60601 apply to electrical/electronic devices which are used in what Underwriters Laboratories calls the "patient vicinity." Patient vicinity is defined as an area within 1.8 m (6 feet) of the patient's bed horizontally in all directions and 2.3 m (7 ½ feet) above the floor. Generally speaking, when electrical or electronic devices such as patient monitors, ultrasound systems and other imaging modalities, personal computers and even mundane items such as televisions and radios are used in (or may be moved into) the patient vicinity where they may be contacted by the patient, these devices must exhibit less than 300 microamps of leakage current..
All of POWERVARs medical power conditioners, medical UPM products, and medical rackmount UPM products have less than 300 microamps of leakage current and meet all the other requirements of UL60601 and IEC60601. More importantly, because these product solutions contain a low impedance isolation transformer, they are equally effective at reducing connected equipment leakage current. That means that they can be used effectively to help bring non-conforming electrical and electronic systems into conformance with these important UL and IEC safety standards.
