Tuesday 22 November 2011

High voltage smart battery drives device innovation

Accutronic's PH2059 Lithium Ion standard smart battery
Accutronics has launched the Inspired Energy PH2059 Lithium Ion standard smart battery across Europe. The product will find a home in sectors including the medical, military, portable electronic and industrial electronic industries. The PH2059 features a host of design innovations that will make it easy to integrate and manage, including an innovative connector, flexible mounting and SMBus and SBS compliance.

Accutronics is the sole distributor for the wide range of smart batteries, chargers and accessories from US manufacturer Inspired Energy. With a nominal voltage of 28.8V the PH2059 is ideal for applications where higher voltages are required and is the highest voltage battery in the range. Applications include all kinds of uninterruptible power supply systems and low-current motors.

The PH2059 is part of Inspired Energy’s growing 'Power Series' and features a mixed D connector, allowing both power and communication in the same interface. The battery also has a five-bar LCD fuel gauge, allowing the user to easily see how much power remains in 20% increments.
Tough plastic housing allows for fitting into a device cavity or hard fixing to a chassis using four bolts, making this battery extremely easy to integrate for design engineers. 

SMBus and SBS compliance means that information such as battery voltage (mV), temperature (°C) and current (mA) can be read from the battery. In addition, the PH2059 can provide calculated information such as remaining runtime (min), time to charge (min) and cycle count.

The new battery uses Lithium ion cell technology to provide the highest energy density possible. At just 82mm wide, 168mm long and 28mm high and with a weight of just 533g, the PH2059 is ideal for applications where space is at a premium.

As the stored energy of the PH2059 is only 83.5Wh, and because it has passed all UN T1-T8 transportation tests, the battery is exempted from dangerous goods shipping regulations, making transportation simpler and lower cost. This stands in direct comparison to units exceeding 100Wh, which must be shipped as class nine dangerous goods.

When used in conjunction with a smart charger, the PH2059 will broadcast its required charging voltage and current which the accessory will then supply. This ensures safe and efficient charging and allows for future chemistry changes as the battery is always in control of its charging parameters. This chemistry independence allows the PH2059 to be designed into devices that have product life cycles of many years, with the battery capable of evolving as cell chemistry technology develops.

The new smart battery can be customised to meet the OEM’s requirements. The label can be changed to reflect corporate livery and firmware modifications can be made to enhance the use of the battery in specific OEM applications.

“Customisation of standard products allows our OEM customers to take a tried and tested platform and have it modified to reflect their exact needs” explained Neil Oliver, Technical Marketing Manager at Accutronics. “Our high level technical support service ensures that customers can design an Inspired Energy battery into their new device with total confidence. We can provide CAD models, application support and design advice to ensure the product development process is short and problem free.”

As well as the PH2059 battery, Accutronics also stocks the PH4000 charger and a range of accessories including a PCB mount connector, a wired connector and a wired connector complete with shell and mounting hardware, all of which make it easier to integrate the PH2059 into a device.

Monday 14 November 2011

Accutronics Catalogue for Inspired Energy Products - Available Now

You can now get your hands on the new 2012 Accutronics printed catalogue covering all of the standard smart batteries, chargers and accessories from Inspired Energy.

2012 Catalogue
Accutronics is the sole distributor for the Inspired Energy range of standard smart batteries, chargers and accessories. This extensive range of products offers OEM customers a high performance, timely solution that avoids the time and costs associated with designing a custom solution.

You can request your printed copy by sending an email to our Sales and Customer Services team. Remember to include your name, position, company name, telephone number and postal address so we can ensure your catalogue finds its way to you quickly.

The 2012 catalogue includes:
  • The entire range of batteries which are available in voltages betwen 3.6V and 28.8V and now in 17 different mechanical footprints.
  • Desktop chargers in 1 to 6 bay formats
  • Single and dual bay embeddable chargers
  • A wide range of accessories to help integrate an Inspired Energy battery into your new system.
You can find out more about the wide range of batteries, chargers and accessories by visiting the Inspired Energy section of our website..



Neil Oliver, Technical Marketing Manager




Thursday 3 November 2011

‘A’ is for Asplin… and his views on custom battery design

By Neil Oliver, technical marketing manager at Accutronics

This post is the first in a series of 26, entitled ‘The Accutronics A to Z of batteries’. As you would imagine, today’s star is the letter A and, with this in mind, we’d like to welcome our newest colleague; David Asplin. David’s role as senior mechanical engineer involves working closely with our clients throughout the custom battery design process.

David Asplin discussing a new prototype
with battery Technician Michelle Eardley
Asplin specialises in the mechanical aspect of the design and prototyping of custom batteries. The first step in this process is to discuss every aspect of the application with the customer. Accutronics develops batteries for professional markets where the requirements for size, weight and environmental performance are very high on the list of customer needs. David’s objective is to incorporate all requirements into a battery that is both strong and durable whilst remaining light and compact.

Accutronics takes full advantage of the latest digital prototyping techniques to get the design to market quickly. We perform finite element analysis of the CAD models and employ 3D printing technologies such as stereo lithography apparatus and selective laser sintering to generate physical prototypes. Mould flow simulation is used to test and validate the injection moulding design prior to tooling.

When compared to those who select an off the shelf solution, customers that choose a custom battery have the benefit of an optimal solution where every facet of the design can be tailored to meet their device and market requirements.

“Well designed and efficiently manufactured-to-order batteries will guarantee that you get exactly what you want, with minimal compromise on performance, shape, colour or other physical qualities,” explained Asplin. “Although the initial costs can be higher than for an off the shelf solution, custom design allows the Accutronics customer to brand the product in whatever way they want and guarantee its performance. I can say this with confidence as we also offer a range of standard smart batteries for markets that don’t warrant the investment in a custom smart battery solution,” he continued.

“Furthermore, in some industry sectors, such as medical and healthcare for instance, a bespoke battery design is often the only viable option. Innovative mechanical engineering is the only way of ensuring the product can withstand chemical corrosive cleaning, and unusually high levels of user abuse”, concluded Asplin.

If you are interested in learning more about our custom battery design and manufacturing service, please contact our Sales and Customer Service team on+44 (0) 1782 566688 to discuss your requirements