Product category:
DC/DC Convertors
News Release from: Lambda
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 04 April 2001
Lambda brings DC/DC manufacture to
Ilfracombe
Ilfracombe-based power supply manufacturer, Lambda, has turned its sights on the rapidly growing market for DC/DC power modules.
Ilfracombe-based power supply manufacturer, Lambda, has turned its sights on the rapidly growing market for DC/DC power modules Renowned for the manufacture of the industry's leading Alpha, Sirius and Vega configurable AC/DC switch-mode power supplies, an initial investment of around $1m will see the production of DC/DC power modules at the company's Ilfracombe plant for the first time
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 7 Jul 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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"This is an exciting and challenging new venture for Lambda in the UK", said Martin Southam, Lambda's UK sales director.
"All the DC/DC convertors currently in our portfolio are made in our factories in North America and the Far East.
The move to manufacture the latest generation here in the UK recognises the very high standards of production that have been achieved by the Ilfracombe team and a reflection of the standing our plant has on the world stage".
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Phase one of the implementation of the DC/DC line is complete, with new surface-mount machines, printers, reflow ovens and conveyors now in place, and production is underway.
Phase two ramping up to full production will be complete in May 2001.
First products to come off the new line will be Lambda's new X Series of DC/DC convertors.
Initially available in a choice of 10 and 15W power ratings, these new DC/DC modules are aimed at the rapidly expanding communications market, particularly public, private and mobile networks, and a range of other distributed power architectures in the industrial and IT markets.
Single- and dual-output models are available with a choice of 24 and 48V inputs.
"Delivery time is everything in the extremely competitive communications segment", said Southam, "and this is where we intend to have the edge.
By giving customers unequalled delivery times we are confident that the new line will give us a significant share of the world market for low power DC/DC convertors".
Like its competitors, the X Series uses advanced surface mount technology to deliver reliable, high quality DC/DC conversion at an economical price.
Unlike the competition, Lambda aims to have lead-times of four weeks for production volumes - the shortest in the business.
And the aim is to get down even further by focusing on supply chain logistics.
To achieve this kind of figure, Lambda has built into its line maximum flexibility and significantly reduced component count.
Across the full range of options available on the X series only 130 different components are used, with each individual unit requiring only 70 components.
So the placement machines are loaded with all the components that could be required for every type of variant.
A bar-coded biscuit - the eight-module carrier that contains the units as they pass along the line - tells the machines which components to use.
Consecutive biscuits holding entirely different modules can pass automatically through the line without any operator intervention.
"This is the clever part", said Southam.
"There is no changeover time so we do not have to build long runs of units.
We are therefore highly reactive to changing customer demands".
Manufacturing or process cycle time for a module is put at 74 minutes.
A DC/DC module comes off the end of the line every 15.75s.
The initial investment provides a line capacity in excess of 1,000,000 units per year with further investment planned as demand grows.
The X Series of DC/DC convertors made by the new Ilfracombe line will be shipped worldwide. Request free introductory details about products from Lambda ...
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