The Many Benefits of SCR Power Control

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In today’s competitive, cost-conscious industrial landscape, semiconductor and general manufacturing industries need a reliable, flexible, and precise way to control electric-heating processes. These applications require precise control, ease-of-use, and excellent reliability. SCR power controllers are ideal devices for this purpose.

Silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) power controllers were developed in the late 1950s, and since then their power capabilities have changed from a few hundred watts to several megawatts. Their use in industrial applications has dramatically increased and they are now used in almost every major industry. These controllers consist of thyristors and a control circuit and can switch electrical loads within milliseconds, billions of times.

Power Controllers Offered by Advanced Energy Industries

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (AE), a world leader in precision power and control products, offers several SCR power controllers that meet the toughest design challenges. AE’s Thyro line provides accurate temperature control for leading semiconductor and industrial manufacturers. The products include:

• Thyro-S® (newly enhanced)
• Thyro-A® (newly enhanced)
• Thyro-AX®
• Thyro-PX®

Thyro-S and Thyro-A SCR power controllers have been improved with features that significantly improve the customer’s ease-of-use experience.

Advantages of SCR Power Controllers

SCR power controllers are more reliable and cost-efficient than other controllers such as variable transformers, contactors or other mechanical devices. They also offer a finer degree of control and need less maintenance. Some advantages include:

• Infinite resolution. SCRs can control the main parameters—voltage, current or power—from zero to 100 percent with almost infinite resolution, allowing for accurate, stepless control of the process.
• Reliability with minimal maintenance. As solid-state devices, SCR power controllers are inherently wear-free, so they require little maintenance and have a high mean-time-to-failure rate.
• High efficiency. At 99.5 percent efficiency, SCR power controllers offer a distinct advantage over alternative devices such as IGBT-based power supplies and converters.
• Very fast response. SCR power controllers—because there are no moving parts in the device—can switch power on and off extremely fast.
• Selectable parameters. An SCR power controller can control several electrical parameters: load power, RMS of load voltage and RMS of load current. Also, it can limit current or voltage.

To read more, visit http://www.globalspec.com/AdvancedEnergyIndustries/ref/Advanced_Energy_SCR_Power_Control_White_Paper.pdf.