Corporate Profile
Background and Experience

BACKGROUND
Custom Power Systems was founded in July 1985 for the purpose of addressing the broad requirements for custom power electronics. The company's first project was a DC/DC converter for AT&T. This was a low cost unit designed to replace one costing over twice as much. With its first satisfied customer behind it, the company began to expand its pursuit of new business. A corporate plan was assembled which included a small group of dedicated power electronics professionals based in New York , with efficient off-site manufacturing tailored to the specific programs. This included several different US-based contract manufacturers, two Mexican contract manufacturers and one high-volume manufacturer in the Far East. By highly automating the design process, the company was able to dramatically cut the cost of developing a new product, making it very competitive in the custom marketplace for both commercial and military products. Today, Custom Power Systems is part of Friul Corporation, which owns several power related companies.

EXPERIENCE
The following is a summary of some of the principle projects Custom Power Systems has completed to date. Specific names and telephone numbers are available for reference checks upon request.

Porta Systems was designing a telephone test set. Their unit required a total of 9 voltages, 3 of which had to be highly isolated. Working closely with their engineers, we devised a unique transformer using a combination of spacing and electrostatic shields to minimize coupling and stray capacitance.

Watkins Johnson needed a very low noise DC/DC converter to power a portable radio direction-finding system. Our unit was judged to be quieter and more robust than any of the off-the-shelf designs they evaluated.

World Products, working closely with the New York Stock Exchange, developed a 26 inch flat panel plasma display. However, in order to maintain the flat profile of the display, they needed a flat power supply. CPS designed a unit which fit within the desired envelope, which is now on the trading floor.

Texas Instruments was designing a complex VAX-based security system for use in various national laboratories and similar security-conscious facilities. They required a complete, low cost 24 volt DC UPS system. Custom Power designed a general purpose, compact, low cost unit which they have been able to use on numerous programs.

ECI Technology was in the process of designing a state-of-the-art plating bath analyzer for the PC board industry. They needed a versatile hardware platform to write their proprietary software for, which would control the various instruments needed to analyze the status of a plating bath. Rather than start from the ground up, Custom Power designed a 2 board set which plugged into a standard PC. One board also contained a DC/DC converter to provide 24 VDC to the PC to power an internal 40 column printer.

E-Systems had a requirement for a small DC/DC converter with multiple non-standard output voltages, capable of operation at high temperatures in unprotected aircraft locations. Custom Power Systems designed a unit which underwent extensive qualification testing before being approved.

Qualcomm needed a small, rugged, low-cost DC/DC converter with multiple non-standard output voltages, capable of operation at high temperatures in unprotected aircraft locations. Custom Power Systems designed a unit which underwent extensive qualification testing before being approved.

When ISC/Feranti realized that the power supply for their newest precision guided missile would be quite expensive because of the required 95 degree C. cooling plate temperature, they began to look into alternatives. Custom Power designed a unique package which allowed conventional components to be used, reducing the power supply cost to less than half of the original cost. The CPS design saved ISC approximately 2 million dollars on the program. Over 1100 unites have been built for that application.

Martin Marietta needed a DC UPS system to power a series of remote Seismic Monitors. Custom Power was able to supply a unit which met all their requirements and withstood frequent lightning-induced surges at remote sites.

Pulse Embedded Computers had a successful airborne computer which was designed to operate from 115 VAC lines. However, they had customers who required 28 VDC inputs. CPS designed a DC version of their existing supply, which was qualified to MIL-STD-461 and TEMPEST requirements. CPS later designed a much smaller DC/DC Converter for a ½ ATR version of their computer. This unit was pre-screened at CPS on our EMI bench and passed MIL-STD-461 and Tempest on the first try.

AAI was designing a hand-held tester for aircraft avionics for the US Navy. The unit needed a 5 output power supply which could run on AC or internal batteries. It also needed to survive extremely high RF fields, many times higher than required by MIL-STD-461. The unit was designed and after working closely with AAI's engineers, the unit performed perfectly throughout Navy field testing.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory had bought a security system from Texas instruments, which used a DC UPS system designed by Custom Power Systems. Based on favorable experiences in the security system application, they began using the CPS unit to power other critical systems in the facility.

IMM had designed a sophisticated new radio telephone system which could be used to provide telephone service to remote areas. They needed a rugged, weatherproof power supply with built-in battery backup capability. Since the systems would often be deployed in northern locations, the unit needed to operate down to -40 degrees C. At that temperature, the battery would lose much of its capacity. CPS designed in a battery temperature monitoring circuit, which adjusts the battery float voltage as a function of temperature to optimize battery life and capacity. In addition, it turns on a integral battery heater at colder temperatures.

Racal found they needed a combination 115VAC/230VAC/12VDC/24VDC input power supply for a tactical communications system. The power supply had to operate from whatever power was available, while meeting the environmental and EMI specifications of various military customers. Custom Power Systems designed a unit which met all their technical requirements, while keeping costs low. This helped Racal to win a very competitive program.

When NASA needed a DC UPS to power a life-support system for an animal experiment going aboard the space shuttle, CPS quickly packaged one of its DC UPS systems for portable use. A total of 3 units were built and tested in a matter of weeks to meet a critical shuttle launch date.

Vivid Technology contacted CPS concerning their need to power a TV set, a cable converter and a 2 way data link on a conventional coaxial cable. The key requirement was to keep the peak cable voltage below 30 volts for patient safety and to accommodate the varying losses with the existing cable runs. Custom Power Systems designed a wide input range DC/DC converter for the system, which is based on a single coaxial cable carrying the cable TV RF signals as well as the power to for the DC/DC converter. This system was installed in several hospitals and is being used with great success.

McDonnell Douglas was involved in a classified program which involved precisely controlled fluorescent lighting. They were unable to find a source for a dimmer which would have the required control range as well as small size. Custom Power Systems was able to devise a modulation scheme to meet the required control range and which was simple enough to be packaged to fit the available space.

Stead Aviation was under contract from Raytheon to outfit a small business jet as a test bed for anew Raytheon missle seeker assembly. The missile seeker was essentially attached to the nose of the business jet to allow Raytheon engineers to fly the jet to test the seeker's capability to "lock" in a realistic airborne situation. However, the missile would normally be powered from a short-lived thermal battery, impractical for extended flight tests. Custom Power Systems designed a 5000 watt liquid cooled linear power supply which operated at 94% efficiency and had output rippile of less than 2 millivolts peak to peak.

Ford Motor Company, as well as all the major automobile manufacturers, were designing electic vehicles for use in California and other environmentally sensitive areas. Since several key CPS personnel had been involved in earlier electric vehicles, we were able to step in and assist Ford in this ambitious program. CPS delivered a prototype 1200 watt DC/DC Converter for use in the pre-production vehicles. This converter operates from the 330 volt DC traction battery and outputs 14 VDC at 88 amps to operate the vehicles' accessory loads (headlights, wipers, etc.). CPS has also done various studies in support of other parts of the Ford EV program.

TV Answer was developing a system for interactive video. The system would provide a 2 way link between a user and a hub. Their home unit had been designed with a linear power supply, but they needed additional power in the same package size. Potential RF interference was a major concern. CPS designed a switching power supply which met all their requirements.

Westinghouse was designing a very high resolution video monitor for use in a military radar display. Noise was critical, as were stray fields of any type. The 7 output power supply was "tuned" by trying various EMI schemes and grounding configurations with their system on site and in real time.

SRL had an application which was similar to the Westinghouse application. The SRL system was a 10 output 500 watt supply with 3 synchronized separately controlled inverters. Again, on-site "tuning" was required to obtain maximum monitor performance, as well as to locate obscure interference problems.

Ericsson/GE Communications decided to integrate a power-line carrier current modem with one of their VHF radios to create a system which could be used to control load shedding and meter reading in the field. With the power line carrier frequency in the range of 100 to 450kHZ, it was imperative that the power supply have very low emissions in that range, but a switcher was required for efficiency. CPS deigned a low-cost switcher which met all their requirements without affecting either the high or low frequency communications systems.

Fibercom had a difficult application involving fiber optic network communications for the Boeing 777. They needed a high reliability power supply with a 65 ms holdup time. CPS was able to deliver a unit with exceeded all their requirements while using all commercial parts.

Nav-Com/Magnavox was looking for a power supply company which could work with them to develop a multi-input (AC or DC), multi-output power supply to fit into their latest briefcase-sized satellite terminal. CPS responded by working closely with their engineers to develop a system which fit into the available space, operated from any available voltage, and incorporated the various interface and control functions required.

After reviewing a number of "off the shelf" solutions, Interdigital concluded that a custom rack-mounted system would have lower initial cost and lower life-cycle cost for their latest communications system. CPS worked with them to define the various interfaces required and designed the hardware to meet the required international EMI and afety specifications, as well as those of the Bell operating companies.

Honeywell was looking for a custom DC UPS system for it's latest industrial control application. CPS was able to supply them with a "standard" DC UPS with all the features they required.

When CDC needed a 377 watt 7 output power supply, they came to Custom Power Supply. CPS was able to successfully deliver their product for use in a difficult video monitor application where any interaction between outputs would be instantly apparent on the video display.

Westinghouse had just won a large contract to supply hardware for a high quantity mobile Satcom application. CPS was selected to design the supply after reviewing many competitive proposals. After winning the job, CPS was invited to review the overall topology. By making a few changes to the system specification, CPS was able to suggest an alternate power distribution topology which reduced system power dissipation, reduced size, and resulted in longer battery running time.

Ultre was working on a very high resolution laser phototypesetter. CPS was selected to design a multi-output supply which combined logic supplies, motor drive supplies and software controlled variable output supplies.

Hughes Network Systems had a large order for telephone handsets for the AirOne Airphone system. A tiny DC/DC converter was needed to power the LCD display and card reader in the handset. CPS designed a unit which met all specifications and fit in the remaining space inside the handset.

Mobile Teleystems, Inc. was building anew satellite terminal and needed a new power supply. CPS designed a new supply which met all their specifications and was useable in both land and marine environments.

IBM needed a power supply for an "office in a briefcase" type application which would run off of AC or DC power. Their schedule allowed only 6 weeks to design it and build prototypes. CPS was able to meet their specifications and deliver hardware in the required time frame.

AMSC had a problem with radio interference on a group of satellite communications terminals they had installed. CPS evaluated the problem, designed a filter assembly for one specific installations affected, and built the filters in a compressed schedule.

Comsat was developing anew earth station and needed high density modular plug-in power supplies to match the system form factor. CPS designed a special filter to allow the use of high density DC/DC converter modules by Vicor to meet their requirements with only a minimal design effort.

IDC needed a consumer-oriented power box with a battery charger and batteries for their newest wireless telephone system. CPS designed a plastic box which contained a high efficiency temperature compensated battery charger and a pair of sealed lead-acid batteries.

NEC was designing a new cable-to-telephone system. CPS designed a power supply which operated on 60 or 90 volt cable systems and provided dc voltages and AC ringing power for the system.

GI was designing a new cable TV hub system. They needed a very low noise power supply to power the analog, digital and RF sections. CPS designed several low-cost power supplies which met their requirements.

Sanders was designing a cable strand mounted node for PCS use. They needed a high efficiency, light weight, low cost power supply. CPS designed one on a very tight schedule to meet their contractual requirements.

As DirectTV became more popular, Hughes decided to design their own version of the subscriber decoder. With expectations of huge production volumes, CPS designed several versions of the supply for evaluation. Hughes evaluated them all and selected the best version for production.

Picturetel needed a t volt 12 amp aupply for a new video conference system. The supply needed to be located at the end of a long, thin cable. CPS designed a supply with high compliance remote sense capability for the application.

NAD was developing a new anesthesia machine which required 7 outputs with a power factor corrected 1500 watt battery charger. They had very complex logic requirements as well as the need to meet the latest UL requirements for medical equipment. By designing a modular system and assigning separate design teams to the various modules, CPS turned out a complete integrated design in less than 10 weeks.

Cellnet needed a small power supply with line monitoring capability and battery backup. The CPS solution to their requirements was a single board unit which met all their interface requirements.

Teleflex was pursuing a military contract fr fuel-operated field stoves. CPS designed a rugged but cost effective unit which met all their military requirements by using commercial parts in a military-type of design.

When True Position decided to address the 911 cellphone locating function, they needed a low-noise power supply developed which would fit into the existing rack space. They chose Custom Power to design a compact supply which featured discrete supplies with a high density "brick" for the single high power output.

The engineers at Digital Lightwave needed a compact yet rugged supply for a telecom test set. CPS designed a small, rugged unit which met all their requirements.