European Power Supply Community Concern over IPC-9592 “Guide”
HDP User Group Launches Application Guidelines for Board Mounted Power Supplies EPSMA Identifies Leading Power Electronics Universities in Europe
EPSMA Reorganises For Growth
EPSMA Publishes Reliability Prediction Guide
Cenelec and EPSMA Sign a Cooperation Agreement
Epsma Withholds Awards Due To Poor Industry Performance
Is Industry Ready for EN61000-3-2?
EPSMA Wins Fight Against Anti-Dumping Duties
STMicroelectronics and Vishay Win EPSMA Awards
EPSMA Opposes Undermining of EMC Directive

June 2007

European Power Supply Community Concern over IPC-9592 “Guide”

London, UK – 5th June 2007 – The European Power Supplies Manufacturers Association (EPSMA) has written an open letter to IPC to express its grave concerns over the IPC’s draft document IPC9592 ‘Performance Parameters for Power Conversion Devices.’ The EPSMA has cast doubt on the approach taken in the IPC9592 document, which has been drafted without consultation with the main power supply industry players worldwide.

Lars Thorsell, who chairs the EPSMA’s Technical Committee, commented: “A guideline of this type is useful but the document should look very different. At the moment it feels like a standard. The documentation required by IPC9592 is excessive, and makes it impossible to protect suppliers’ confidential information. Furthermore the extensive testing specified would significantly increase cost and time-to-market, which runs completely counter to market demands.“

Bernhard Erdl, Chairman of the EPSMA added: “The EPSMA and the PSMA have already supported the High Density Packaging User Group (HDPUG) which represents a large number of companies from the communication and system integrator industries. It has done a lot of work in producing guidelines for board-mounted power supplies (BMPS) over the last two years, working closely with the user community. This work has resulted in a comprehensive document of nearly 150 pages, aimed at a mature and bilateral understanding between users and manufacturers of such products. The BMPS Applications Guidelines was published and released by HDPUG in late March this year.”

The EPSMA would again be happy to share its expertise with IPC, as it did previously with its collaborative work with HDPUG. It proposes to work closely with IPC to develop a document with collective input from both users and manufacturers.

A copy of the response letter sent to IPC can be found here.

March 2007

HDP USER GROUP LAUNCHES APPLICATION GUIDELINES FOR BOARD MOUNTED POWER SUPPLIES

Scottsdale, Arizona March 28, 2007 - The High Density Packaging (HDP) User Group announces the launch of the industry’s first Board Mounted Power Supply (BMPS) Application Guidelines. The 148-page document is designed to support the communications and electronics manufacturing industry by promoting understanding of BMPS products. Originally started as a project within the Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA) in 2002, the activity was incorporated into an HDP User Group Project in 2005. Since then major users and manufacturers of BMPS products, have worked to define the market’s requirements with respect to such products and to communicate manufacturers’ capabilities for meeting these requirements. The BMPS Application Guidelines document is the result of their efforts..

Contributors to the document include Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, International Rectifier, NetPower Technologies, TDK Innoveta, Siemens Networks and Tyco Electronics. The document is endorsed by users and systems integrators including Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Intel Corporation, Juniper Networks, Siemens Networks, and supported by the Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA), the European Power Supply Manufacturers Association (EPSMA), Artesyn Technologies (Emerson), and TI (PowerTrends).

“The introduction of the BMPS Application Guidelines will help our member companies to communicate, for example, reliability requirements and various impacts of design decisions. It will also help designers and users of board mounted power supplies to better understand and use these products,” says Marshall Andrews Executive Director of the HDP User Group.

“We’re happy to see this project, originated by the PSMA, come to a successful conclusion and we’re eager to see it being adopted by the industry,” says Bruce Miller PSMA Chairman.

The document is the first for this industry and by far the most comprehensive of its kind, covering everything from basic topologies, power architectures, and reliability to today’s most topical issues, like digital power and energy savings. The BMPS Application Guidelines document is available from the HDP User Group offices and on the HDP User Group web site http://www.hdpug.org. It is free to members of HDP User Group and to contributing BMPS manufacturers, and will be priced at 2500USD to the public. Members of EPSMA/PSMA will receive a discount.

October 2006

EPSMA Identifies Leading Power Electronics Universities in Europe

The leading universities in Europe for power electronics research are ETH (Zurich), Switzerland, Aalborg, Denmark and Aachen, Germany, according to a recent piece of research by the European Power Supply Manufacturers Association (EPSMA).

The EPSMA conducted a survey of European power electronics research groups, asking them questions on a variety of topics such as the size of their research group, their facilities/equipment, sources of funding, published papers, and the scope of their work. One question asked each respondent who they considered to be the top five university research groups in Europe. The ranking obtained was:

1. ETH Zurich (Switzerland)
2. Aalborg (Denmark)
3. Aachen (Germany)
4. Delft (The Netherlands)
=5. Madrid (Spain)
=5. Nottingham (UK)

Outside Europe, a number of universities were also mentioned who were leading research in the power electronics field. These included Virginia Tech. (USA) and University of Wisconsin (USA).
A second part of the survey asked respondents for their five year vision of future trends and developments in the power electronics field. A wide range of different issues and objectives were mentioned such as:

• Increasing power density/integration in power converters, which in turn will drive improved packaging and new thermal management techniques and materials.
• Shift to higher switching frequencies enabled by new power switching devices, for example using silicon carbide, and new materials for magnetics and insulation.
• Displacement of analog control by digital control enabling converters to provide extensive feature sets and communicate.
• Dedicated design- and simulation-software (circuit simulation efficiently coupled with 3D-field simulation) will become an essential tool in power electronics system design.

In total, around 30 research groups were identified with a significant focus on power electronics. Matthew Towers of the EPSMA Secretariat commented: "The European power electronics industry wants to attract more high quality electronic engineering students into the power area. Historically this has been perceived by students as a less attractive option than, for example, digital design. However, it is now apparent that many of the key developments in the electronics industry over the next decade will be in the power sector. The EPSMA is committed to working more closely with the key university research groups in Europe to help promote power electronics as the most attractive area for new EE engineering students".

May 2005

EPSMA Reorganises For Growth

The European Power Supply Manufacturers Association (EPSMA) has announced a radical shake-up of its structure and membership rules. From 1st May 2005, a much wider spectrum of power supply producers will be eligible for full membership. At the same time, a new division of the association has been created specifically for major suppliers to the industry.

The EPSMA Chairman, Bernhard Erdl, commented “We are very excited about these changes. The more relaxed membership rules will enable us to attract more US- and Asian-based power supply producers into the association. In addition, the new supplier division will provide a mechanism for us to work much more closely with our key suppliers, particularly on technical matters of common interest.”

Historically the EPSMA limited full membership to those companies that had substantial design or production activity in Europe. However, the trend to outsource production to Asia has resulted in even European-based companies moving power supply production and design out of Europe, reflecting an industry that is increasingly global in nature. The changes in Full Membership rules will allow the association to continue to serve all power supply companies that have an interest in offering good, direct support to European customers.

The EPSMA’s technical committee is involved in a wide range of technical work looking at issues such as power factor correction, CE Marking, reliability, and the WEEE and RoHS directives. Greater involvement from major suppliers to the power supply industry will help to further improve this work, which will benefit the whole power electronics industry.

January 2005

EPSMA Publishes Reliability Prediction Guide

The European Power Supply Manufacturers Association (EPSMA) has announced the publication of its latest Technical Committee report titled “Guidelines to Understanding Reliability Prediction”. This report is available to download free of charge from this website.

A range of different methods are currently used to predict reliability and failure rates for power supplies. What users sometimes fail to appreciate is that these methods can give radically different results.

The EPSMA report aims to improve users’ understanding of this complex issue and it gives an extensive overview of reliability issues, definitions and prediction methods currently used in the power supply industry. It defines different methods and looks for correlations between these methods in order to make it easier to compare reliability statements from different manufacturers that may use different prediction methods and databases to predict failure rates. Furthermore the report provides a thorough aid to understanding the problems involved in reliability calculations and guides users of power supplies to ask power supply manufacturers the right questions when choosing a vendor.

The EPSMA’s technical committee is involved in a wide range of technical work looking at issues such as power factor correction, CE Marking, reliability, and the WEEE and RoHS directives.

The European Power Supply Manufacturers Association (EPSMA) is a non-profit organisation, formed in 1995 to address issues of concern to the power supply industry in Europe for the benefit of both suppliers and users. Today the association has over 25 power supply companies as members. These members come from 12 different countries, employ over 8000 people and account for over half of the European power supply market. EPSMA actively monitors and participates in the formation of technical standards through the activities of its Technical Committee (TC), and the Co-operation Agreement signed with CENELEC (The European Electrotechnical Standards Agency) in January 2002.

January 2002

Cenelec and EPSMA Sign a Cooperation Agreement

CENELEC, the European Electrotechnical Standards Organization and EPSMA, the European Power Supply Manufacturers Association, signed yesterday an important cooperation agreement in Brussels.

The agreement, signed by Mr. Parlevliet, Secretary General of CENELEC, and by Mr. Erdl, Chairman of EPSMA, allows for direct cooperation and mutual contribution to each other's work. Specifically, and as stated in CENELEC Guide 14, this agreement guarantees direct input from EPSMA into the standardization work undertaken by CENELEC. EPSMA may thus advise on and state standardization priorities, may propose drafts as a contribution to the European standardization process and may deliver expert advice on legislative consequences of new standards.

Founded in 1995, EPSMA has become the "voice" of the Power Supply Industry in Europe. Today, the association has around 30 power supply companies as members representing 13 different countries and employing over 8000 people worldwide.

EPSMA not only provides a coherent source of information to all its members on legislative and standardization developments with a direct impact on the power supply industry; it also plays an active role in the field of the electrotechnical standardization. This commitment is evident from the number of EPSMA experts already directly involved in different CENELEC and IEC projects at National Committee level.

EPSMA's achievements are also visible in the different guidance documents they have published covering major issues of importance for its membership and beyond.

As Mr. Parlevliet declared during the signature ceremony, "we are now giving an official framework to our common present and future interests. EPSMA may from now on take advantage of this agreement and increase the good work achieved during the past years".

Mr. Erdl thanked CENELEC for its particular interest in further cooperating in the Power Supply Sector and predicted a very long and fruitful partnership between CENELEC and EPSMA in the interest of both organizations and of the power electronics market in general.

January 2001

Epsma Withholds Awards Due To Poor Industry Performance

At a recent meeting in Munich, the European Power Supply Manufacturers Association (EPSMA) decided not to select any semiconductor or component manufacturer as its "Vendor of the Year". This unprecedented step was taken due to the poor performance of the industry during 2000 when component shortages were rife and service levels deteriorated massively.

EPSMA Chairman Bernhard Erdl commented: "It is with great regret that the EPSMA has taken the decision not to present its annual awards for 2000. The semiconductor and component industries have offered very indifferent service to the power supply industry during the past 12 months, and in some cases the performance of manufacturers has been appalling. As well as the difficulties associated with obtaining some products, many manufacturers have been renegotiating prices upwards to exploit product shortages, even when existing contracts are in place".

The EPSMA membership usually selects its award winners through a nomination and voting process, taking account of factors such as product quality and reliability, delivery performance, and technical innovation aimed at power applications. However, most EPSMA members refused to nominate any companies for 2000, indicating that it was impossible to select a supplier that deserved the award.

Recent winners of the EPSMA's annual award have included Epcos, International Rectifier, STMicroelectronics and Vishay.

11th May 2000

Is Industry Ready for EN61000-3-2?

In January 2001, new EMC regulations will affect electronic equipment up to 16A input current. The EN 61000-3-2 standard will then require additional circuitry or a redesign of the power supply in most electronic systems. The European Power Supply Manufacturers Association (EPSMA) believes that the widespread impact of this standard has not yet been fully appreciated, or widely discussed.

What is the problem?
Harmonic currents and non-unity power factor loads cause problems for utilities in areas such as waveform distortion, and current flows in neutral conductors. For larger systems, consumers and manufacturers also suffer because the real power from a fused supply reduces as the power factor deteriorates. Manufacturers also have to deal with the EMC challenge of high harmonic current flows.

What is EN 61000-3-2?
The standard sets out to control harmonic currents in the mains by requiring equipment to comply with more stringent and power-dependant criteria than the previous EN 60555-2, and with one other major difference. EN 60555-2 applied only to household equipment, whereas EN 61000-3-2 applies to ALL electrical and electronic equipment up to 16A input. The only exceptions are non-public networks, medical technology, voltages less than 220V or effective input power less than 75W. EN 61000-3-2 therefore applies to most domestic, commercial and industrial electronics.

Who pays?
The European power supply industry has invested significantly in the development of suitable solutions in readiness for these regulations, with both passive and active Power Factor Correction, but there are some inevitable consequences of this additional circuitry:

- More components - Leads to reduced reliability

- Additional converter stage - Conversion losses will offset gains from a better power factor

- More components and complex design - Leads to higher cost

Power supply manufacturers already have systems and components available to meet these requirements, but is the customer ready to pay the added cost? With the IT industry already pleading for special status and exclusion from the terms of EN 61000-3-2, at least in the short term, there seems to be no great enthusiasm.

Who should pay?
Is regulation at the equipment and power supply level the most efficient or effective way to ease the load for the utilities? As the number of equipment types covered increases, the accumulated effect across the phases within a building, for example, will tend to balance out. Is adding complexity to every small piece of equipment really the best solution, or could utilities or building owners tackle the problem with less cost at a higher level of the distribution chain, aggregating individual effects?

Decision
The EN 61000-3-2 compliance date has historically proved moveable, but today is fixed as January 1st 2001, and after a transitional period (currently expected to be 4 years) will even be applied to equipment down to only 50W input power. The power supply industry is ready, but system manufacturers must either prepare their designs and their new prices now, or discuss the implications and lobby to change the regulations. Some markets and customers (e.g. telecom operators) may prefer or even require equipment to meet EN 61000-3-2, but certainly not all. Perhaps the ideal solution is to let the market decide when and where to comply with EN 61000-3-2. Equipment manufacturers could use compliance as a competitive edge in specific applications, with power utility companies offering lower cost energy for unity power factor loads.

Is industry ready for EN 61000-3-2?

28th May 1999

EPSMA Wins Fight Against Anti-Dumping Duties

The European Commission recently failed to impose anti-dumping duties on large aluminium electrolytic capacitors (LAECs) produced in the USA and Thailand. This was to the great relief of manufacturers of power supplies and other end-equipment, such as variable speed drives and televisions, which use these products. In the final meeting of the national representatives to vote on the issue, the Commission failed to secure the necessary majority support for the duties.

The European Power Supply Manufacturers Association (EPSMA) has been very active over the last 18 months in opposing these duties, which would have had the effect of penalising power supply manufacture in Europe. LAECs are key components in power supply design. Anti-dumping duties would have raised capacitor prices for European manufacturers to the benefit of power supply companies who produce outside Europe.

Further action from the Commission is anticipated to try to impose duties on LAECs which are produced in other regions of the world. The EPSMA will continue to lobby strongly against these actions in order to protect employment within the EU.

28th May 1999

STMicroelectronics and Vishay Win EPSMA Awards

At its recent annual meeting, the European Power Supply Manufacturers Association (EPSMA) presented its 1998 Quality Awards.

The semiconductor award went to STMicroelectronics for the first time, after the company had steadily improved its performance over the last three years. STMicroelectronics achieved the top position in two of the four performance categories, for delivery and commercial service.

Vishay won the passive components award, also for the first time and again after steady improvement over three years. Vishay narrowly beat last year's winner, Siemens, for the top overall ranking.

The EPSMA's Quality Award is conducted every year to raise awareness of the size and importance of the power supply industry amongst component suppliers. EPSMA members rate vendors of power supply components in terms of product quality/reliability, delivery, commercial service level and technical support.

Also at the annual meeting, the results of the EPSMA's 1997/8 University Competition were announced. The competition's aim is to stimulate interest amongst bright electronics undergraduates in the power electronics industry.

Hugo Jorquera of Supelec in France was the winner of the award for the second time. His project, entitled "Conception d'un Convertisseur Triphasé à Absorption Sinusoidale en un seul étage à un seul Interrupteur et à Isolement Galvanique" was considered by the judging panel to offer the most innovative solution to the design questions set.

28th May 1999

EPSMA Opposes Undermining of EMC Directive

The European Power Supply Manufacturer's Association (EPSMA), representing more than 75% of European power supply manufacturers, is concerned at a recent development that may undermine the whole EMC Directive.

The EPSMA has learned that the Committee responsible for drafting the EN61000-3-2 standard for harmonics on the input current is to vote on whether computer manufacturers can be allowed to work to relaxed limits for an extended period of four years.

If the vote - which closes in March - is in favour of the relaxed limits, manufacturers of larger computer systems, largely of US origin, will have successfully gained exclusion from tight limits which power supply manufacturers have been developing new products to meet in readiness for the 1st January 2001 deadline.

The EPSMA is concerned that the EMC Directive will be abused, since many diverse manufacturers may opt to class their equipment as 'Professional IT Equipment'. Given that the equipment concerned consumes more than 600W, they will significantly affect the quality of the mains supply - the main reason why the standard is being introduced.

The EPSMA regrets the distinction between "Professional IT Equipment" and other professional equipment. It results in having different limits for the input current for similar power supplies. This forces the power supply manufacturers to produce nearly identical power supplies with a different input section, thus reducing batch sizes and increasing costs.

The EPSMA will be lobbying the various committees associated with this standard across Europe to ensure that there is a "NO" vote for an extension, thus ensuring a more harmonised application of the standard.