TDK-Lambda News

Historically TDK-Lambda has focussed on the mid to high power segment (250W and above) of the AC-DC power supply market in EMEA. Deciding to expand its reach TDK-Lambda has recently begun targeting the low-power sub-250W market as well. The company has invested heavily in R&D personnel, forming a special UK based ‘low-power’ R&D team that has resulted in the launch of the first 100W model in a line of products, the ZM range of single-output power supplies.

The mid-range market has traditionally been at the core of the company’s success with an estimated 25% market share, but the low power market, especially for communications, test equipment and medical devices offers significant growth potential. The low power AC-DC power supply market in EMEA is estimated to be worth €475M per annum, about twice the size of the mid-range market.

“Although it is a competitive market, we are confident that we can gain significant market share,” says Martin Southam, Director of Marketing, TDK-Lambda EMEA. “Many of our key OEM customers have been asking us to introduce lower power products that meet their demanding requirements in terms of cost, size, efficiency and lifetime.”

In order to meet these tough demands, the decision to locate TDK-Lambda’s low power R&D for its EMEA products in the UK was to ensure quick response times to market trends and customer needs. Field Application Engineers across EMEA have direct access to the Design Team in the same time zone ensuring that technical enquiries are handled rapidly. Allied with the wealth of expertise gained in the target market segments with its well-established mid-power products, there’s an excellent technical understanding of the requirements for added customer support.

With significant growth for the low power market coming from medical equipment, TDK-Lambda has also ensured its Quality Management System (QMS) is appropriately certified. Its UK facility has been granted ISO 13485 certification for its QMS for the design, manufacture, procurement, sales, distribution, product support and service of switch mode power supplies for medical applications. The certification is recognition for the highest level of traceability and quality control throughout the product development lifecycle and the product’s lifetime with customers.

The fruits of this investment will lead to a whole new stream of low-power products starting off with the launch of the ZMS100 single output power supply. This European designed, cost-optimised, compact 2x4-inch power supply demonstrates good all-round performance. This exciting product meets all the requirements of the low-power market OEM customers, and comes with full IEC60950 and IEC60601-1 3rd Edition medical approval, including 2 x MOPP (means of patient protection) as well as meeting the requirements of the ErP Directive. Standard products are available ex-stock from TDK-Lambda’s central warehouse in Germany and its distribution channel partners; this is backed up by real localised technical strength and in-depth knowledge to rapidly meet OEM customer needs for special models.