EEWebPULSE_2013_i0109.pdf

Steve Grodt

Marketing Manager

at Chroma Systems

Solutions

Test Equipment that

Tests Limits

Electrical Engineering Community

CONTENTS

Bringing your

PULSE

concepts to reality

Steve Grodt

MARKETING MANAGER AT CHROMA

How Chroma’s power testing products are

pushing the limits of programmable power.

is as easy as...

Featured Products

This week’s latest products from EEWeb.

NASA’s SpaceShop:

Expressway for Ideas

NASA’s new SpaceShop allows their engineers

to prototype their most ambitious ideas.

Create schematics, technical diagrams,

and lowcharts using your browser.

Free and easy-to-use circuit simulator

that runs in your browser.

• 600+ Symbol Library

• Share Schematics Online

• Export High Quality Images

Full featured online CAD application

for designing and manufacturing

electronics hardware.

The End of Moore’s Law?

A look at whether or not Moore’s Law can be

sustained in the years to come.

• SPICE Simulator

• AC/DC/Transient Sims

• Waveform Viewer

digikey.com/schemeit

• Schematic Capture

• PCB Layout

• BOM Integration

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VHDL101 - Part 5:

Tick Tock, Processing Clocks

How to interface clock signals, the beating heart

of modern digital electronics.

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Visit: digikey.com/schemeit • partsim.com • pcbweb.com

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INTERVIEW

PULSE

Steve

Grodt

Marketing

Manager

Chroma

Systems Solutions is a leading provider of power electronics testing instruments.

Their reliable products have become the go-to choice for a wide array of

industries-from aerospace, to solar, to medical. The success in these industries has allowed the

company to place more emphasis on innovation to ensure its leading status. We spoke with Steve

Grodt, the Marketing Manager at Chroma, about the company’s new line of test equipment, some

new emerging markets, and the company’s recent involvement with an independent film.

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INTERVIEW

PULSE

appliances, and medical devices especially.

Hipot testing can be a bottleneck to production

if performed one DUT at a time.

To answer this, the Guardian 19020 multi-channel

hipot tester was created with a brand new

architecture. It can measure the hipot leakage

current of all channels at the same time and

conduct tests on up to 100 DUTs simultaneously.

It begins with the world’s irst sync hipot test

function. A single unit can perform 10 channels

sync output and measurements simultaneously.

Up to 10 units in master / slave mode can control

100 channels in total.

“We understand customer

service is an important part of

business and our employees

put in the effort to make

sure the service provided

exceeds expectations.”

This enables facilities to save space and money

on the production line since there is no need

for multiple testers. The one time test increases

eficiency and improves productivity. The tester

also includes Flashover detection and Open/

Short Check and holds several international

patents. It’s proving to be a great solution for

our customers.

What types of programmable power

products does Chroma provide?

63600 Series Modular DC Electronic Load

Chroma is a global provider of a wide

variety of turnkey test solutions from video

pattern generators to laser diode testers to

manufacturing execution systems. Chroma

Systems Solutions provides test instrumentation

and systems for power electronics,

electrical safety, passive component and

thermoelectric test and control. Products

include programmable AC Power Sources

and DC Power Supplies, AC and DC Electronic

Loads, Digital Power Meters, MultiMeters,

Hipot Testers, LCR Meters, TEC Controllers and

Thermal Data Loggers.

according to the LED V-I curve. A pretty eficient tester. We also

developed a comprehensive 47 page LED Driver Test Guide to

assist manufacturers with LED driver development and quality.

What are Chroma’s target markets?

Back in 2001, Chroma introduced its products

into North America by targeting UPS, ATX, and

other AC power supply manufacturers and

remains a substantial market for us. Over time,

our product line grew considerably opening

several markets to us and we’ve made great

strides developing solutions for new emerging

markets where test instrumentation speciic to

an application are needed. Battery, medical

device, solar, EV and EVSE equipment, LED

inverter; these are all markets we are focusing

on and have developed new products for.

Last year we launched a family of DC power

sources with built-in solar array simulation and

this year we introduced several new battery

testers – you get the idea.

Do Chroma’s sense line products come with remote

sense functionality?

Absolutely. All Chroma power instruments come equipped with

remote sense line capabilities. These provide accurate, reliable,

and repetitive settings and read back measurements. All cables

are included in the box as well.

At our facility in Foothill Ranch California,

we design and build custom automated

test systems for power conversion test and

characterization with architecture and

platforms built to it diverse R&D and design

verification specifications. Applications

include testing of chargers, DC-DC converters,

power supplies, batteries, fuel cells, solar

inverters and arrays, LED drivers and point-

of-load voltage regulators.

What kind of support does Chroma provide its customers?

We focus on providing customers complete support starting with

the irst quote through the life of the products we deliver. We

understand customer service is an important part of business and

our employees put in the effort to make sure the service provided

exceeds expectations.

Guardian 19020 Multi-Channel Hipot Tester

Chroma is a company with service and support facilities worldwide.

This provides piece of mind for customers who may relocate our

products to a different part of the world than where it was originally

purchased. On a local level, our customers have access to warranty

repair, service, and calibration as well as highly trained engineers

that support the operation and applications of our products. For

example, in the U.S., Chroma Systems Solutions has facilities in the

West Coast and East Coast to serve and support our customers.

What are some of the trends in these

new emerging markets? How is Chroma

adapting to these trends?

Our instruments can be controlled either by

the front panel or remotely via GPIB, USB, CAN

bus, RS-232, or Ethernet. Our DC Sources have

an LXI option as well.

LED is a great example here. The market is

growing and inding its eficiencies. With that,

we developed the industry’s irst LED simulator

for LED driver testing. This electronic load is

speciically designed for simulating the unique

load conditions of an LED & LED Array. Not only

can it test in stable conditions, it can also test

turn on, PWM dimming characteristics of the

LED driver and the Rd value can be adjusted

Could you talk a little about the new

Sync Hipot Tester?

Hipot testing is a primary part of electrical safety

testing. Most if not all electrical components

or products with human safety concerns are

bound to standards including transformers,

capacitors, power supplies, chargers, home

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PULSE

How does Chroma differentiate itself from

its competitors?

“We design and

build our own

automated test

systems controlled

with an open software

architecture suited

for a wide range of

applications and

devices.”

In addition to our investment in R&D, we offer a product

line that is designed for both bench top and automated

test solutions. This allows complete lexibility for the user and

makes our instruments a more valuable asset in the lab or

production loor. We design and build our own automated

test systems controlled with an open software architecture

suited for a wide range of applications and devices. We are

constantly working on innovative solutions for our customers.

Online Circuit

Simulator

Chroma Systems Solutions was recently

involved in an independent ilm. What was

the company’s contribution and how did this

opportunity come about?

PartSim includes a full SPICE

simulation engine, web-based

schematic capture tool, and a

graphical waveform viewer.

The historical preservation of the men and women who

gave their lives during wartime as well as recognizing the

efforts of technological development during those times is

a passion to a lot of us here. The short ilm, Dog it Down, is

based on the true story of 3 US Naval Sailors trapped in an

airtight compartment aboard the USS West Virginia during

the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The project was brought to my

attention by an old friend from my days working in the ilm

industry. Later, I met with the writers and director, thought it

was a meaningful tribute, and made the decision to help.

The short ilm was entered into several ilm festivals and did

very well including winning “Best Short Film” at the Hollywood

Reel Independent Film festival.

Some Features include:

We also offer an Extended Warranty Support

Package on our automated systems that

provides an increased level of support and

customer care beyond the standard factory

warranty period. With package, customers

can take advantage of extended factory

warrantees, priority call and RMA handling

and free annual on-site calibrations.

• Simulate in a standard Web Browser

• AC/DC and Transient Simulations

We also helped out the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum’s

“City of Savannah” B-17 Restoration Project by contributing

our modular DC power supplies to give the aircraft its DC

power. The museum plans to restore the B-17 to its full

combat coniguration, including operational systems and

components, with the goal of making it the inest static

display B-17 in the world. It’s an impressive project that had

some special power requirements. Our 62000B DC Power

Supplies were the perfect power source for a continuous

power application like this. If you’re ever in Savannah, you

have to see it. ■

• Schematic Editor

In what ways does Chroma approach

innovation?

• WaveForm Viewer

We do this by investing more into research

and development than any other

manufacturer in the industry. Chroma

employs over 450 R&D engineers which is

about 37% of the entire workforce. In 2012,

Chroma invested 15% of its revenue back

into R&D. We put our money where our

mouth is when it comes to inding innovative

solutions and place high expectations on

our future results.

• Easily Share Simulations

Try-it Now!

www.partsim.com

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