As part of a multi-year business strategy to grow our European business, the decision was made to attain CE certification on some of our products. Although our products are REACH qualified, there is now a mandatory requirement for CE Marking for each product shipped to Europe. In early 2020, we received a number of strategic customer requirements for the purchase of standard products with CE Marking, associated primarily with civilian products. Compliance with the requirements for product marking in CE includes EMC and SAFETY tests (dielectric strength tests at 4.25kV) according to IEC62368-1 and other standards beyond compliance with MIL-STD requirements. Enercon Technologies then went to work on getting three customer-driven products CE certified in 2020.
The products achieving the CE Certification are M1986 300W AC/DC Power Supply, M3916 500W AC/DC Power Supply, and the M4916 AC filter. Standard requirements require a completely different design solution in each design parameter from that known in the military and aviation field from the PCB to a connector level. For example:
- PCB - Constraints between input to output of the order of 5 times at PCB layout in high voltage areas
- Mechanical design - Maintaining creepage distance of 5mm per IEC 62368-1
- Input Connector - Setting up a D-TYPE military safety connector for high voltages that customers prefer can be difficult to find
- Components - Use with approved components that meet SAFETY requirements – Units were redesigned with TUV certified components
- Magnetics - Use of approved magnetic components, not Enercon's custom made magnetics
- Coating - Designing the unit for parylene coating instead of the standard Humiseal 1A33 coating
Given the full range of requirements, we were able to preserve the unit's size, rigidity and functionality while at the same time improving EMI performance, productivity and more. We were able to meet IEC62368-1 while at the same time still meeting MIL-STD-461 EMI requirements.
The design process included intensive learning of the new standards requirements, an accelerated design process (electrical / mechanical / PCB design), characterization and procurement of LLI components, coordination of laboratories for certification tests and more.
