Need Chinese designer/manufacturer of power supplies

[Flyback]

We have designed a fog detector for roadways…it’s a power supply which charges up to 300V, then flashes over a bank of IR LEDs…..this pulse is received by the detector…if it isn’t received, then it means there’s too much fog in the way.
Thing is, there is no offtheshelf power supply that does this charge up to 300V then flash over (where it discharges down to ~50V every second) , so we need a Chinese designer/manufacturer.
Which “go-between” company in UK (or Europe/Aus or USA) can we contact to get through to a reputable Chinese designer/manufacturer of power supplies?

 

[gophert]

Sooooo, there are many well-known power supply companies like CUI or Meanwell or any other common source of power supplies, how about contacting their custom departments. They have standard enclusers and open-frame designs. I'm sure you can find contact info on their web pages quite easily. Check Digikey for a list of power supply manufacturers in their search filter.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

This sounds like a strobe or flash gun, so that's the kind of power supply you're looking for. Basically you simply charge a capacitor up (10uF 450V or so), usually direct from the mains via a limiting resistor and bridge rectifier, and discharge it to the strobe tube via an SCR. In your case replace the strobe tube with the 300V LED array, and replace the SCR with an FET switch (as the LED's won't discharge the capacitor as a strobe tube will).

 

[Externet]

Ask Alibaba and they will rain on you.

 

[DerStrom8]

What's wrong with using your own brain and designing your own? It won't be that complicated, as Nigel suggested.

 

[gophert]

What's wrong with using your own brain and designing your own? It won't be that complicated, as Nigel suggested.

Wow, the "use-your-brain-and-do-it-yourself" response. I got a temporary ban and my post was deleted for such a suggestion on another site.

 

[Flyback]

What's wrong with using your own brain and designing your own? It won't be that complicated, as Nigel suggested.

We must go to China, as otherwise a competitor will take the power supply and do it with a cheaper Chinese version and blow us out of the market.

Chinese power supplies have Chinese IC’s in them, which are some ten times cheaper than Western IC’s. And western engineers cannot design with Chinese IC’s because they only have Chinese datasheets….or datasheets that are only available in China.
Not only that, but even if a western engineer learned Chinese and somehow got hold of the Chinese datasheets, it would still be useless , because the western engineer would not know the logistics behind any particular Chinese IC…so could end up designing in a chip that was always in low supply…or was more expensive than an alternative Chinese IC.
Only a Chinese Electronics Engineer can use a Chinese IC.
That’s why we have to go to China to get this done (or rather , get it designed and manufactured in China)

 

[DerStrom8]

Wow, the "use-your-brain-and-do-it-yourself" response. I got a temporary ban and my post was deleted for such a suggestion on another site.

My apologies, that definitely came out wrong. No offense intended, flyback!

 

[DerStrom8]

We must go to China, as otherwise a competitor will take the power supply and do it with a cheaper Chinese version and blow us out of the market.

Chinese power supplies have Chinese IC’s in them, which are some ten times cheaper than Western IC’s. And western engineers cannot design with Chinese IC’s because they only have Chinese datasheets….or datasheets that are only available in China.
Not only that, but even if a western engineer learned Chinese and somehow got hold of the Chinese datasheets, it would still be useless , because the western engineer would not know the logistics behind any particular Chinese IC…so could end up designing in a chip that was always in low supply…or was more expensive than an alternative Chinese IC.
Only a Chinese Electronics Engineer can use a Chinese IC.
That’s why we have to go to China to get this done (or rather , get it designed and manufactured in China)

I think you and I have had this discussion before. Generally you trade quality for cost. The problem with cheap Chinese suppliers is their quality is usually very poor, and the products do not last. Most customers will notice this and opt for a more expensive solution that is of better quality. Reliability is more important to most customers than cost, in the industrial field. If you can design a more reliable solution than the cheap Chinese suppliers, then your company will come out ahead and the investment will be paid back in a very short amount of time.

 

[gophert]

I think you and I have had this discussion before. Generally you trade quality for cost. The problem with cheap Chinese suppliers is their quality is usually very poor, and the products do not last. Most customers will notice this and opt for a more expensive solution that is of better quality. Reliability is more important to most customers than cost, in the industrial field. If you can design a more reliable solution than the cheap Chinese suppliers, then your company will come out ahead and the investment will be paid back in a very short amount of time.

I would be cautious of using a supply chain that includes parts with datasheets only in Chinese (I.e., I cannot validate) for an application involving outdoor/fog/condensation/thermal cycling/... intended to sense environmental conditions and announce life-saving warnings. That just doesn't seem ethical.