ROCHESTER, N.Y., May 8, 2018 — High-speed electric trains crisscross all over Europe, and pass through and consume electricity from various power grids in their travels. To ensure the involved utilities companies are compensated accordingly, it is essential to accurately track power consumption in each area. For more than five years, the leading manufacturers of these power meters have relied on high-voltage resistor dividers from Ohmcraft to significantly improve the accuracy of their devices’ measurements.
Due to the harsh electrical environment in which the meters must operate, as well as the high rate of speed at which the trains travel, the resistors utilized must be highly durable. In this case, Ohmcraft developed custom, high-voltage resistors able to withstand high-voltage spikes of up to 200kV while maintaining high accuracy.
“The resistors leveraged for this application require extremely tight ratio tolerances to ensure accuracy of the measurement of power usage within individual power grids,” said Eric Van Wormer, Vice President of the Ohmcraft division of Micropen Technologies. “We worked closely with our customers to develop custom, high-voltage resistors that enabled them to increase the precision of their measurements and ultimately, meet the needs of their railway customers.”
Electric trains have gained widespread popularity throughout Europe, where rail transportation is already heavily used as a means of public transportation. Electric railways present significant advantages over traditional alternatives—most notably by offering lower emissions and potentially lower operating costs.
Ohmcraft’s technology utilizes the proprietary Micropen electronic printing system to print precise, narrow, serpentine lines with resistive ink on a ceramic substrate, producing higher performance resistors that can withstand high voltages.
About Ohmcraft
Ohmcraft’s thick-film resistors are engineered to meet application specific needs. Our proprietary Micropen printing technology is the foundation for Ohmcraft’s family of resistor products. Ohmcraft precision resistors are manufactured with our patented Micropen® technology to create a unique serpentine design that withstands voltages up to 100kV and provides an unmatched level of performance and stability. For more information, visit Ohmcraft.com.