ornell Dubilier's vision is to be the global leader in the design and manufacture of capacitors for power electronics by providing superior technology, exceptional service, an entrepreneurial driven culture, and outstanding value.  CDE is principally a designer and manufacturer of large-can aluminum electrolytics, DC and AC power film capacitors, and mica capacitors that are supplied to power conversion customers worldwide.  CDE has over 700 direct OEM customers and a total of 25,000 POS customers worldwide.   The company has earned a leadership position by focusing on satisfying customers’ capacitor needs through the delivery of technological solutions.  Throughout the company's 100 years it has established long-standing business relationships that are the foundation of its achievements.

Cornell Dubilier has three major facilities.  Its original plant in New Bedford, Massachusetts has 37,000 square meters of floor space and is the distribution warehouse and AC-DC film capacitor technical center.  The newest facility in Liberty, South Carolina has 15,000 square meters of floor space and manufactures principally aluminum electrolytic capacitors, polypropylene film capacitors, and high-voltage mica capacitors.  It is the largest aluminum electrolytic screw terminal capacitor supplier in the US.

The third facility in Mexicali, Mexico has 11,000 square meters and makes AC power film capacitors, IGBT snubber film modules, dipped mica capacitors, and solenoids.  It is the largest mica capacitor supplier in the world.  CDE has a sales liaison office in Shenzhen, China.

Dollar sales are about 60% aluminum electrolytics, 19 % film capacitors and 14% mica capacitors.  Sales are divided about 60% OEM and 40% distribution.  About 50% of CDE's capacitor sales are in applications that include power inverters. 

These are the leading new products:  In power-film capacitors it is the 947C Power Film series for high ripple current power inverters. Applications include inverters for renewable energy (wind and solar), motor drives, RF generators; drive systems, and traction drive.  Another leading product is the high-value SLP/SLPX 3000-hour snap-in aluminum electrolytic series offered up to 450 volts.  The 944U Hockey Puck style power film capacitor is for DC input and output filtering requiring high ripple current.   The CX, SX Aluminum Polymer Capacitor, molded case is ROHS compliant and has a higher temperature profile.

These are the leading new capacitors for AC voltage applications:  3-Phase Power Factor correction and AC Output harmonic filtering capacitors for industrial and renewable energy applications; MPP AC-DC rated power Film capacitors for SCR commutation and power conversion; high-voltage 600–4000 VAC capacitors are available for ferroresonant power supplies.   And the new ACF series is available as a dry, wrap-and-fill AC filter capacitor.

CDE is a leader in quality systems.  It is ISO 9001: 2008 and AS9100:2004 Rev. B certified and ISO 14001:2004 certified.  It has one of the largest capacitor test labs in the world with over 10,000 capacitors on test at all times. It has a MIL certified lab performing MIL STD 202 and 690 test procedures and MIL STD 790 (DOD standard practices).  Test capability includes 500 g shock - Vibration (random and sine), high temp/low temp thermal cycling, humidity test, and  400 Hz 120 amp ripple current test capability.

The business is well managed with these key features:  In-house designs provide mechanical and electrical solutions to the customer’s end products.  It has EDI, demand pull and Kanban programs to support the supply chain process.  It has excellent sales territory coverage through manufacturer’s representatives who understand power electronics applications and the associated selling process.  It has Technical Papers and Application Tools available on its website, www.cde.com.  Its new logo boasts “Capacitor Solutions for Power Electronics,” the new focus of the company.

Provided by Laird Macomber, Technology Manager, Cornell Dubilier

Payton America, a subsidiary of the Payton Group International, is located in Deerfield Beach, South Florida. The objective of Payton America is to provide engineering, marketing/sales and manufacturing services for North and South America as well as Canada. All the designs and manufacturing for our US and European military customers is done here.

In addition, Payton America provides the necessary customer support functions for our high volume customers, where the manufacturing is done in the Far East or Israel.

Planar Magnetics   

Many of the active power components for the electronics are available and are being designed in.  The passive power components are another story. The power magnetic components must be small, lightweight, and meet the environmental requirements. Magnetic components are made of wire or are wire-free. Planar Magnetic components have advantages compared to wired magnetic components, and designers should note these advantages when evaluating the technology for future designs.

Planar Magnetics utilize copper stampings and multilayer boards in a serial or parallel combination to achieve the required turns and power density.  Multiple outputs and 1000Amps in a single output are possible.

Planar Transformers and Inductors from Payton
will provide solutions to:

1. Unparalleled working frequency range from 50khz to 3Mhz
2. Dramatically reduced size and weight. (approx. 5g per 100W)
3. High Efficiency, typically 97 to 99.5%
4. Unmatched parameter Consistency
5. Low Leakage Inductance. (less than .2% for ungapped cores)
6. Cost Effective Prices
7. Minimum Electromagnetic Interference
8. Operating temperature Range from -55C to +130C
9. 5W to 20,000W range in one unit
10. 4kV primary to secondary dielectric isolation when needed
11. 6-16mm creepage and clearance distance between primary and secondary windings
12. Solutions for ALL SMPS topologies
13. Lower noise than a conventional magnetic (Slighter higher winding capacitance butbetter winding shielding and much lower leakage inductance) ‏

What are the design requirements an Engineer looks for?

First is efficiency.

Power planar magnetics are 99.0% efficient at converting the input energy to the output energy.  In comparison, wired magnetic components have a conversion efficiency of 90%.  The high efficiency with the combination of conduction cooling reduces the internal temperature of the power box, dramatically improving the MTBF of the system.

Second is size.

Unlike wired magnetic components that are usually restricted to sizes - particularly the height - power planar magnetics can be “squashed” to reduce their height with an increase of their base area, for optimum cooling, so the magnetics fits into a minimum space.

Third is temperature.

Power Planar magnetics operate in the temperature range from -55 degC to + 150 degC.  In addition the conduction cooling offered by the inherent mechanical characteristics of the planar construction can offer thermal impedance as low as 0.5°/W.

Fourth is weight:

Power Planar Magnetics can reach a weigh of approximately 10g per 100W. 

Fifth is power.

Power Planar Magnetics supply 5W to 20,000W in one unit. Payton has the technology and the know how to provide a typical hybrid power transformer for a full bridge ZVT application, at 100khz and 7KW output power, in a 2.2”x2.2”x.62” package at less than 200 grams. The same type of transformer using a conventional wired type will take 9 times the volume and 5 times the weight.

Sixth is repeatability.

With pre-tooled windings and well defined geometry, electrical parameters are predictable and repeatable. An engineer does not have to be concerned any more if the leakage inductance or the winding capacitance will change with time or if it will vary significantly from lot to lot.  Experience with wired magnetic components has shown that many of the parasitic characteristics change from lot to lot and with time, and these changes will have an effect on the common mode noise and EMI.

With these characteristics and advantages, more designers are looking to power planar magnetics for their designs. Payton is committed to helping designers use power planar magnetics to achieve these improvements.
 
One example of a custom design is a 36kVA power Planar application with 600Amps rms primary current and 230Amps secondary current in a 140mm(L)x90mm(W)x40mm(H) thermal package with 0.66ºC/W thermal impedance designed specifically for a cool plate high vibration environment. With 120watts of dissipation this design has an efficiency of 99.67%.  The switching frequency is 60khz and the topology is push-pull.

This is an example of a Filter Planar Inductor using flat magnet wire, ferrite planar cores and an aluminum clasp for mechanical mounting and best thermal performance.

Provided by Jim Marinos, Executive VP Engineering & Marketing for Payton Planar Magnetics. Jim has been designing power supplies and involved in the magnetics business since 1982.  Jim has worked in power supply design with CEAG, ILC, Superior and Novatronic and  was the Director of Engineering for Lambda Novatronics.  Jim is a senior member of IEEE, a Director with PSMA and has written many technical papers. He holds a BSEE from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn NY.

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