POWER SUPPLY SOLUTIONS

Delivering Power Supply Quality – for Free

Astec Power believes that customers should not have to pay a premium for power supply quality. That’s why, with its range of AC/DC PSUs and DC/DC converters, the company combines rigorous verification and qualification processes with good product design that, from the start, takes into account manufacturing requirements.



Whether it’s the AC/DC front-end supply or the Point-of-Load (PoL) DC/DC converters demanded by today’s sophisticated processors, the circuits and systems that convert and deliver power are critical to modern electronic equipment. Quality and reliability, therefore, are of paramount importance to application developers.

The growth of ‘off-the-shelf’ AC/DC supplies and DC/DC converters means that many engineers now choose standard products rather than designing their own solutions. This approach has a number of benefits, not least that it speeds development time, allowing engineers to concentrate on the functions and features that give their product competitive advantage.

When it comes to choosing the most appropriate ‘off-the-shelf’ product, however, there is one aspect of product selection that cannot be readily answered by the datasheet – that of product quality. Indeed, to assess the quality of a particular solution, best practice requires that engineers understand the manufacturer’s approach to ensuring product quality and reliability.

Astec Quality Process

Astec believes that quality ‘cannot be inspected into a product’ – i.e. the quality process cannot simply rely on batch testing products as they come off the production line. That’s why the company’s philosophy is based on designing in quality from the very start, and then ensuring that quality is maintained at every stage of the manufacturing process.

Component Quality

Good magnetics are at the heart of power supply design and every Astec development team has its own specialist magnetics engineer. Furthermore, to keep as much control of this element of the design process as possible, all transformers and inductors are designed in-house, and many are produced in Astec’s own factories.

When it comes to bought-in components, the company works exclusively with suppliers who can demonstrate their own rigorous approach to quality management and reliable component manufacture. Components from suppliers are carefully selected and evaluated against Astec’s strict quality criteria, and Astec audits and certifies suppliers of all bought-in components.

Design for Manufacture

By keeping the target manufacturing process in mind throughout the design cycle, Astec’s engineers ensure that the product quality they design in is not compromised at production. This requires an in-depth understanding of manufacturing capabilities, which Astec achieves through detailed process characterisation and performance measurement. And, as you would expect, all of Astec’s global manufacturing facilities have been working to Six Sigma quality standards for many years.

Qualification and Verification


Figure 2 – Astec Quality Process

To support the quality philosophy, Astec has developed a rigorous qualification process as outlined in Figure 2, under which all Astec Power products undergo extensive qualification, reliability testing, and characterisation. This process ensures any design or manufacturing issues are detected and corrected prior to mass production and that all products that reach the end user meet the Astec quality standard. Key aspects of the Astec Power quality process are as follows:

• Unit Level Qualification
  • Design Verification Testing (DVT)
  • Environmental Stress Testing
  • Compliance Testing
  • Strife Testing
  • Endurance Testing
  • Environmental Stress Screening
• On-Going Reliability Assurance
• Component Level Qualification Tests

Quality for Free

So why don’t Astec power supplies cost more than lower quality alternatives? Simply because the company’s quality processes and procedures ensure that quality and reliability is a given throughout - from concept to mass production. Getting the approach to product quality right from the start ensures high manufacturing yields and very low numbers of product returns, eliminating many of the costs that other manufacturers routinely must accept as part of their design and manufacturing overheads.

For further information, including Product Samples and copies of the new Astec Shortform Brochure, please click here