Today's electronic applications demand not just more power, but more power delivered from smaller packages, all while maintaining high efficiency and robust thermal performance.
XP Power's VP of Product Management, Simon Wheeler, examines how fully digital power solutions are setting a new benchmark for performance, intelligence, and user experience.
Overview
Fully digital architecture is transforming power supplies into intelligent, data-driven system components
Wide-bandgap technologies enable higher efficiency and greater power density in a compact design
Real-time diagnostics, predictive maintenance and shutdown event analysis are now available in the FLXPro series
Secure, multi-level password protection enhances power supply security and regulatory compliance
From “dumb boxes” to intelligent systems
Historically, power supplies were regarded as passive devices – “dumb boxes” that simply provided power. But a new generation of fully digital power architectures is transforming this view. Modern digital power supplies now act as intelligent system components, capable of providing rich diagnostic data and real-time insights into system health and performance. None exemplifies this more than our FLXPro series, which redefines what a power supply can be through digital innovation, configurability, and embedded intelligence.
Digital by design: a fully integrated architecture
The shift to a fully digital power supply architecture marks a foundational change. While many “digital” solutions only feature limited digital communication, FLXPro offers full digital control both on the input and output stages.
This end-to-end digital design, built on internal CANBus communications, enables faster control, deeper data analysis, and improved reliability. It allows for accurate monitoring and predictive diagnostics, which are simply not possible with analog-based systems.
Enabling compact power: wide-bandgap technologies
One of the key enablers of smaller, more powerful power supplies is the use of wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor technology. FLXPro integrates both Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN) FETs to achieve superior switching speeds, allowing for smaller passive components and higher efficiency.
Fig.1 SiC FETs power FLXPro's front end, while GaN FETs drive the output stages
As a result, the FLXPro achieves an impressive power density of 23.2W/in³. It delivers up to 1.3kW in a unit just 40.6mm x 254.0mm x 88.9mm (1U x 10" x 3.5"). With efficiencies up to 93% and full power operation up to +50°C, it leads its class in both performance and size.
iPSU: turning data into actionable insights
At the heart of FLXPro's intelligence is iPSU Intelligent Power technology. This platform turns raw data into actionable diagnostics for users and control systems.
Predictive diagnostics
The system monitors trends like fan speed versus temperature to predict failures before they happen. This proactive approach increases uptime and reduces maintenance costs.
Black box snapshot
A unique “black box” feature captures not only the moment that a shutdown event happens but also the three minutes leading up to it. This data is stored independently from the main system in non-volatile memory, ensuring critical insights even under the most severe of shutdown circumstances.
This allows engineers to answer not just what went wrong, but also why and when it happened, giving a new level of system transparency.
Security first: secure multi-level password protection
With rising cyber threats and evolving regulations, security is a major concern. FLXPro addresses this with a market-first multi-layer password protection scheme:
Level 1: Configuration changes
Level 2: Firmware updates
Level 3: Factory recalibration
These layers protect the system from unauthorized access and tampering. Custom 8-15 digit passwords allow customers to comply with standards like the EU Cyber Resilience Act and the US Cyber Security Act, while potentially reducing compliance burden in sensitive applications by up to 50%.
XPInsight: intuitive control through Human-Centred Design
Advanced functionality means little if it's difficult to use. That's why FLXPro introduces XPInsight, an intuitive user interface based on Human-Centered Design (HCD) principles.
Unlike legacy systems that show one output at a time or only support direct digital communications, XPInsight – which leverages the direct PMBus communications available on the FLXPro – allows users to view all four outputs simultaneously, complete with diagnostics, alarms, and key trends.
Fig. 2 XPInsight's user-friendly interface based on Human-Centred Design principles
An integrated oscilloscope makes it easy to graph, monitor, log, and export data – accelerating product development and troubleshooting.
Visual simplicity and accessibility
XPInsight uses a red-amber-green (RAG) status system, enhanced with patterns and text for color-blind users. Greyed-out indicators clearly show inactive features. Tri-color LEDs with accessible labels ensure critical status information is always interpretable, even without color.
For applications that require outputs in series or parallel, color-coded connections and consistent naming conventions make configuration simple and foolproof.
Flexible and safe for complex applications
FLXPro is as flexible as it is powerful. Users can configure outputs to suit specific application needs, saving development time and simplifying integration.
Outputs can be switched independently without shutting down the entire unit. This makes it easier and safer to test or troubleshoot individual subsystems.
To further enhance safety, FLXPro features “touch-safe” ES1-rated comms, ensuring voltages stay below 60VDC under single-fault conditions. For medical use, it meets strict 2 x MOPP isolation requirements, aligning with the most demanding safety standards.
Conclusion
The FLXPro series from XP Power is not just a power supply – it's an intelligent system component to build faster, safer, and smarter systems.
Find out more about the FLXPro series of compact, intelligent, configurable power supplies.
Simon Wheeler
Simon Wheeler is Vice President of Product Management at XP Power. He has decades of experience in design engineering and in leading global product management for blue-chip instrumentation, electronics, and software firms.
