Lambda powersupply - Any good

[cs.dk]

As topic.
Got a used, but in very good condition Lambda GEN600-2.6 on hands. The price is ~650$

It looks like a quality-product by eye, but I really don't know if it any good.
Any thoughts?

[Leuams]

I'm not sure about the model number but as a brand Lambda is a great power supply company. I have used two of the rack mount models at work and they are some of the best power supplies the company have.

[MartyD]

I have seen TDK/Lambda in medical applications, so yea, I guess they must be somewhat reliable.
I just wonder what possible use one has for a 600 Volts supply? You can do some serious damage with that.

[TunerSandwich]

Yes. The majority of them are excellent. The linear (blue RM units) are beasts. I have a couple of the 1500watt 2 phase chassis from the genesys series and they are the real deal, industrial grade. The load regulation is fantastic and near instantaneous. When something goes wrong they clamp down like nothing else.  They aren't for milliamp loads or finesse though. They are more systems supplies.

[cs.dk]

Thanks,
Sounds like Lambda quite good supplies.
Don't know what to use 600V for - It can be turned down

[nanofrog]

FWIW, they're also well known in the aerospace industry (i.e. test rigs for landing gear, control surfaces, ...).

[Seekonk]

I bought a Lambda/ something made in Israel and it is pure crap mechanically.  It is practically held together by board to board connectors.  This one looks like it had a three foot drop and tore the connectors apart.  I have several old school Lambda and they are well made.

[cs.dk]

Had to buy it - Waiting for the mail-dude now 

[poorchava]

Lambda (i think now they are owned by TDK btw.) make really good quality power supplies. I had one of their rack-mount devices for repair (a 40A model, but I don't remember the output voltage) and it was built like a rock.

[cs.dk]

Sorry for the late write-up.. I have the thingy now.

I can lift the lid, and post some photos of the internals, if someone is interested?

Just one minor thing, i knew it when i bought it, so no blame.. But the PSA can deliver ~1500W @ 600VDC.. It would be nice if it could deliver ie. 10A @ 12 VDC, and then drop the amps as the voltage is raised.

[Psi]

I have one of these that i use when raw power is required.
With the various modules in series/parallel ya can get quite a wide spread of high current /high voltage.

The fan noise is a bit annoying though, but to be expected with this sort of industrial psu.

[tautech]

I can lift the lid, and post some photos of the internals, if someone is interested?

It would be very rude of you not to after teasing us. 
Link to specs too if you have it. 

[PTR_1275]

Photos of the insides would be great. I think Dave did a teardown on one of them. Might have been the xantrex / sorensen power supply though. Are they all the same company these days or are they separate?

 I looked at getting one of their 50v 20a 1kw rack mount units for the workshop but was put off by the fact it couldn't put out more than 20a which would make it a 400w power supply most of the time in my application (Around the 20v range), I already have a 0-30v 0-20a power supply that does that job nicely. I saw a AIM-TTi unit that can do 1200w upto 60v / 50a and it changes its maximum output current depending on the output voltage so you had the full use of the 1200w provided you didn't go over 60v or 50a (20v 50a 1000w would be the max, 30v 40a 1200w, 60v 20a 1200w would work etc...)

I found a HP6012A power supply that is auto ranging so it acts in a similar way to the AIM-TTi unit (Upto 1000w, Still 60v or 50a max). It is quite big compared to the TDK / Lambda power supplies (They are 1RU from memory whereas this is 3RU) but I am really happy with it. They make a 6012B which has digital meters, then the 6032 which has GPIB. There are a few other voltage / current ranges available too (6011, 6013)

[cs.dk]

Nice PSU, PSi

I saw a AIM-TTi unit that can do 1200w upto 60v / 50a and it changes its maximum output current depending on the output voltage so you had the full use of the 1200w provided you didn't go over 60v or 50a (20v 50a 1000w would be the max, 30v 40a 1200w, 60v 20a 1200w would work etc...)

Would have been a great feature on mine. Maybe i should look for an AIM unit.
Yes, this is a 1U model, a little noise though. But it seems very well build.
It's not a dual supply, but the internals looks like it, why is that?

I've attached some random photos of the inside. If you want a closer photo of something, please let me know.

Specs is in the manual, it's the 600-2.6 model; http://www.us.tdk-lambda.com/hp/pdfs/Product_manuals/83507013.pdf

[PTR_1275]

It definitely looks like 2 x output channels in parallel. I thought at first it might have been 2 x 300v supplies in series, but the heavy bus bars up the back look to be in parallel.


I am not sure how well it would work if you separated the 2 x modules. The voltage sensing would probably go haywire.

Good photos, it is good to see the internals of it.

[cs.dk]

I won't risk the chance of burning something up, removing the bars..

Anyone else having an idea why the thing is designed like this?

[nanofrog]

I won't risk the chance of burning something up, removing the bars..

Anyone else having an idea why the thing is designed like this?

I'm thinking it was necessary to fit the enclosure. But it could also be to reduce the parts cost, as the BOM for the parallel implementation may actually have been less expensive than a single supply design.

[samofab]

I have an EMS power supply, slightly older, but also uses two stages. I attached the picture. Note that there are two boards that are connected to the heat sink, one on top and one on bottom (not visible here, but with a nice access port). The other side of the heat sink is dedicated to rectifying.

I think I noticed that a lot of these power supplies come in two versions, where one of them has double the power. In this case there are 5kW and 2.5kW units.