Products > Test Equipment

Quad output bench power supply

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kaffine:
Work is looking to upgrade our bench power supplies for the hardware debug team.

Prefer a quad output but a triple output would likely work.  We need to be able to have the power turn on sequenced, turn on 3.3V management power rail then turn on the 12V and 5V and 3.3V rails ~250mS later. 

A few years ago we were using cheap brand of the week bench power supplies after we blew up a few boards due to the overshoot on power on the boss went out and ordered some Keysight E3633A power supplies.  While the Keysight supplies have a much better output they are not well liked by those using them and the single output is very limiting having 3 of them on my bench takes up a lot of room. 



Requirements for the power supply

3 outputs preferably 4.
be able to sequence turn on of outputs preferably using front panel controls
Be able to output 12V at 10 amps on at least 1 output
Remote control prefer ethernet interface however serial will work.
Be able to supply 48V putting 2 outputs in series is ok

Preferer front ports with multi use banana jack / spade lug however open to other configurations.
would be nice to be able to power cycle power supply and have it come up with output voltages or a foot pedal control (I'd be surprised if this is an option anymore though)

Right now I am looking at Rohde & Schwarz HMP4040 and Instek PSW-1080L114.  I'm expecting the price to be in the $3k-4k USD range.  I'm realizing how out of touch I am when it comes to test equipment most places I have work the test equipment has been from the 80s and 90s I'm not even sure who all makes good test equipment anymore.  Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.  Thank you.


 

tautech:
SPD4306X should be worth a look:
https://siglentna.com/power-supplies/spd4000x-series-programmable-linear-dc-power-supply/

We have a thread on these for further info:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/new-siglent-spd4000x-series-power-supply/

Member and Youtuber Defpom gets his soon and plans a review and teardown.

mahi:
Since you are considering the Rohde & Schwarz HMP4040...


--- Quote from: kaffine on November 17, 2024, 06:00:32 am ---We need to be able to have the power turn on sequenced, turn on 3.3V management power rail then turn on the 12V and 5V and 3.3V rails ~250mS later.
--- End quote ---

There's no way to do this from the front panel (*). You can set a group of outputs to turn on/off together, but you cannot set a delay between them.

You can achieve this via SCPI remote control (optional interface required!).

*: It might be possible via the arbitrary waveform functionality. I tried the arbitrary waveform functionality directly on the device, but couldn't get it to keep the output voltage after the cycle ended (it either repeats the cycle, or goes back to 0V). Maybe with a bit more experimentation, but it's extremely frustrating to enter the arbitrary waveform directly on the device. It's supposedly much easier with the HMExplorer/EasyARB software for PC, but Rohde & Schwarz recently blocked all software/documentation downloads for non-commercial customers, so I can't test it anymore. If you are really interested in the HMP4040, get in touch with R&S and explain your needs.

Update: A friendly forum member sent me the HMExplorer/EasyARB software so I could test this. Yes, it is possible to achieve this with the arbitrary waveform functionality. See attached screenshots for settings. It should be noted that the outputs are not really switched on with a delay. They are enabled simultaneously, but channel 2 is set to 0 V / 0 A for 250 ms, and then changed to the desired output voltage. Once the cycle ends, the outputs remain active at the set voltages. Not sure why I could not get that to work from the device itself, as the settings are identical as far as I can see.


--- Quote ---A few years ago we were using cheap brand of the week bench power supplies after we blew up a few boards due to the overshoot on power on the boss went out and ordered some Keysight E3633A power supplies.
--- End quote ---

I'm not sure what kind of power-on overshoot you mean, but the HMP4040 is not without overshoot either. More info in Lab Power Supply Turn ON and OFF Characteristics.


--- Quote ---Requirements for the power supply
3 outputs preferably 4.
--- End quote ---

The HMP4040 got you covered.


--- Quote ---be able to sequence turn on of outputs preferably using front panel controls
--- End quote ---

See earlier. If the sequence you want is possible via the arbitrary waveform feature, yes, you can use the front panel to switch on/off the outputs.


--- Quote ---Be able to output 12V at 10 amps on at least 1 output
--- End quote ---

No issue with the HMP4040. The maximum power is 160 W per channel and a combined total of 384 W for all channels.


--- Quote ---Remote control prefer ethernet interface however serial will work.
--- End quote ---

There are 3 optional interfaces for the HMP4040: USB/LAN interface (HO732), RS-232/USB (HO720) and GPIB (HO740). The interfaces are rather pricey, though...

The web interface is... disappointing. You can only see a screenshot of the display and control the device via SCPI commands. No nice real-time full front panel interface like the modern R&S oscilloscopes have. The SCPI control is more useful from a command line or scripts.

I have attached screenshots of the web interface. Note that the screenshots say "HAMEG" - that's because I retrofitted my R&S HMP4040 with the HO732 interface of an older Hameg power supply. I have no reason to assume that the current HO732 is more advanced.


--- Quote ---Be able to supply 48V putting 2 outputs in series is ok
--- End quote ---

The HMP4040 can do up to 128 V in series and 40 A in parallel, but there's no built-in series/parallel operation. You must do it with external wiring.


--- Quote ---Preferer front ports with multi use banana jack / spade lug however open to other configurations.
--- End quote ---

The HMP4040 front panel accepts only 4 mm banana jacks. There's no way to insert loose wires or spade lugs. On the back are screw terminals, though.


--- Quote ---would be nice to be able to power cycle power supply and have it come up with output voltages or a foot pedal control (I'd be surprised if this is an option anymore though)
--- End quote ---

There's no foot pedal control input, but since you can control the power supply via SCPI you could make one...

If you power cycle the power supply, the outputs default to OFF. There's no way to change that. But the last used group of outputs is selected by default, so all you have to do is press the Output button to restore the last situation.

glitchcatcher:
Hi,
I would like to suggest the Aim-TTi MX100Q S2 although it doesn't have 10A on a single output. All the other requirements should be met:

https://www.aimtti.com/go/mx/index.php?p=index-mx100q


--- Quote from: kaffine on November 17, 2024, 06:00:32 am ---Requirements for the power supply

Be able to output 12V at 10 amps on at least 1 output

--- End quote ---


--- Quote ---I'm not even sure who all makes good test equipment anymore. 

--- End quote ---
Aim-TTi definitely is one of them. I have lots of their equipment and while some of it might look slightly outdated, it works flawlessly and is rock-solid. Also feature and spec-wise they are impressive especially for the price points.
I visited them at the Electronica fair in Munich earlier this week and they have some nice new products upcoming. They are also updating the looks of their gear to the more modern looking color displays.

nctnico:

--- Quote from: kaffine on November 17, 2024, 06:00:32 am ---Work is looking to upgrade our bench power supplies for the hardware debug team.

Prefer a quad output but a triple output would likely work.  We need to be able to have the power turn on sequenced, turn on 3.3V management power rail then turn on the 12V and 5V and 3.3V rails ~250mS later. 

Preferer front ports with multi use banana jack / spade lug however open to other configurations.
would be nice to be able to power cycle power supply and have it come up with output voltages or a foot pedal control (I'd be surprised if this is an option anymore though)

Right now I am looking at Rohde & Schwarz HMP4040 and Instek PSW-1080L114.  I'm expecting the price to be in the $3k-4k USD range.  I'm realizing how out of touch I am when it comes to test equipment most places I have work the test equipment has been from the 80s and 90s I'm not even sure who all makes good test equipment anymore.  Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

--- End quote ---
AFAIK the R&S has some current limit issues at turn on and the PSW-1080L114 is a switching PSU which is what you don't want in an R&D environment. A switching PSU pushes out a lot of noise which can interfere with measurements. The 12V 10A requirement is something you might want to look for in a seperate PSU.

If I where you I'd look at the GW Instek GPP-4323 or Keysight E36313A Both are linear (low noise) power supplies. In some areas the GPP-4323 is sold with sockets but a version with normal bindings posts does exist.

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