Ruggedized PC Upgrade
Required More Power
A rugged ruggedized computer is a computer specifically designed to reliably operate in harsh usage environments and conditions, such as strong vibrations, extreme temperatures and wet or dusty conditions. They are designed from inception for the type of rough use typified by these conditions; commercial units upgraded for this purpose make poor substitutes. Rugged computers can be of many forms including stand-alone bench or desk top units, rackmount systems, laptops, PDAs, wearable systems, and designs specific to the intended installation.
While in the process of redesigning and updating products, a manufacturer of ruggedized PCs for the oil and gas, and military industries determined that they needed power supplies with more power than the previous designs. These highly-engineered PCs are used for automation, as a user interface, and as a command and control center at the point of attack. All of their computers feature fully sealed enclosures and efficient interior-to-exterior cooling channels and heat fins.
In addition to more power, the driving factors for new designs were efficiency, cost, and size. The supply had a 300 V input and three outputs. The total power was 250 W, divided among the three outputs: 12 V at 50W, 3.3 V at 100 W, and 5 V at 100 W. The solution consisted of one VI-ARM with a hold-up capacitor, one Mini for the 3.3 V output, and one Micro each for the 5 V and 12 V outputs.
An important requirement was that the solution had to be potted. Vicor's proprietary spin fill process assures complete void free encapsulation, making these converters suitable for the harshest environments, perfect for this application.
Made in USA
