Fourth Variant 1-STEP Power Converter Passes Tests

Marotta Controls’ has qualified and released the PS11200 – the fourth variant in the 1-STEP product line. This switch mode power supply (SMPS) offers 11,200 Watts of fully isolated output power with 91% efficiency at full load. It is designed to replace legacy 400 amp solutions that generally produce unregulated or loosely regulated power in a larger footprint.

Marotta also confirmed today that the PS11200 has passed all necessary qualification tests to ensure the power converter’s reliability and performance within rugged environments commonly presented by heavy-lift military/defense aircraft, such as C-130 Hercules cargo planes and CH-47 Chinook transport helicopters as well as unmanned aerial vehicles.

Historically, multiple steps are required to convert 3-phase AC input power to an isolated and regulated DC output with power factor correction. Each conversion step adds its own complexity and components, contributing to loss of efficiency as well as bulk. In turn, designers ultimately make difficult trade-offs in size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) outcomes. Marotta developed the patented 1-STEP AC-DC conversion solution to minimize those compromises.

A 1-STEP converter is an innovative circuit solution that achieves active power factor correction (APFC), output voltage regulation, and electrical isolation in a single conversion step. Delivered in a compact light-weight package that can be up to 30 percent lighter than competitive offerings, it meets key military and commercial avionic standards while delivering increased efficiency and power density.

“We first launched the 1-STEP product family in 2016,” said Michael Germinario, Senior Technical Director – Business Development, Marotta Controls. “A wide range of aerospace, ground and marine systems and equipment require regulated DC power. But solutions to date have been cumbersome and costly. Customers turned to us for an alternative, which resulted in a 3-phase solution that delivers unparalleled power density in a simplified design capable of supporting a wide range of output power. The PS11200 now brings that tech innovation to heavier load power conversion applications.”