A Power Designs Inc. History

Power Designs designed and build DC power supplies for electronics laboratory and instrumentation use. Power Designs bench power supplies are appreciated by many electronics hobbyists for their simplicity, repairability, utility and industrial design.

This page is an attempt to compile information about the history and fate of Power Designs Inc based on available information. Much of it comes from crawling through versions of the Powerdesigns.com website on the Internet Archive spanning a decade. The first archived version is from 1997.

Timeline

  • 1952
    • Founded in New York state
  • 1959
    • First Power Designs Constant Voltage / Constant Current supply.
  • 1996
    • Power Designs acquires assets of Variac and Technipower, a manufacturer of military power supplies.
    • Factory relocated from Long Island, NY to Danbury, CT.
  • 1997
    • Product Line as of 10/9/1997 (the first date the website is recorded in the Internet archive.
  •  2003
    • March 24
      • Last time PowerDesigns.com home page “splash screen” reads “Technipower Systems” a Power Designs Company.
      • Site has a section for PDI Instrumentation that lists three product lines.
        • The LPS line appears to be formed of the final generation of Power Designs single, dual, and triple source supplies.
        • The PCS line includes a high-voltage precision power supply, and the last generation of Power Designs precision, low-ripple, power supplies, which traded the familiar aluminum knobs and metal cases for plastic cases and decade dials. Some of these have been listed on eBay.
        • The MPS line consists of modular high-voltage power supplies with magenta-anodized aluminum heat sinks. i’ve seen this listed on eBay.
    • July 13
      • Site redesign which addresses recent corporate changes
        • TECHNIPOWER LLC was formed January 1, 2003 following the acquisition of Integrated Power Systems LLC of Corona California by Power Designs (DBA Technipower) of Danbury, Connecticut. This dynamic new organization continues its distinguished 50+ year history of serving the Defense, Aeronautical, Aerospace, and specialty industrial markets.” (press release)
      • Section covering benchtop power supply product line includes some but not all model numbers listed in March. No reference to “Power Designs”
      • HQ in Danbury, CT
  • 2004, May 20
    • Power Designs website Website redirects to Technipowerllc.com
    • References to Power Designs removed
    • Technipower laboratory power supply line continues, preserving some Power Designs model numbers
  • 2006
    • August
      • Solomon Technologies, Inc. announced that it has completed its acquisition of Technipower LLC, a Danbury, Connecticut-based manufacturer of power supplies and related equipment for the defense, aerospace and commercial sectors.
    • Nov 10
  • 2008 – Power Designs trademark registration expires.
  • 2011 Technipower becomes part of Unipower LLC.
  • 2014, Dec 8 – Last time powerdesigns.com redirected to Technipower Systems according to the Internet Archive.

Glossary

  • Ambitrol: Power Designs’ trademark describing their constant voltage/constant voltage technology
  • Robotec: Power Designs’ trademark describing their automatic current-limiting features
  • Uniply: TPD Tradename for their seamless, automatic, solid-state tap-switching technology to enable linear regulation across a wide current and voltage range while minimizing dissipative heat generation.

14 thoughts on “A Power Designs Inc. History

  1. I need export compliance information, such Schedule B and ECCN for an old Power Designs model TP325. Does anyone know where to ask? I have tried Unipower to no avail.

    • I don’t have anything like that. With any luck, though, someone will stumble by with an answer.

  2. Pingback: A look at a Power Designs TP340 | kj6aku's back burner

  3. Thanks for putting together this PDI timeline.

    August 2006 – Solomon Technologies, Inc. announced that it has completed its acquisition of Technipower LLC, a Danbury, Connecticut-based manufacturer of power supplies and related equipment for the defense, aerospace and commercial sectors.

    My research shows that Unipower LLC acquired Technipower in 2011, not 2012.

  4. Hi, I am looking for help repairing a model 5015. Do you have any leads to documentation for this one?
    Thank you!

  5. Michael,
    Did you ever find the manual for the 5015 that you were repairing? If not, and you still need it, I have a PDF of the manual that I can email to you.

    Cheers,
    DaveM

    • David,

      I read your post to Michael and was hoping you would help me as well. I have a 5015T and the constant current function has failed. If you would be so kind as to email me a copy of the manual it would be GREATLY appreciated!
      Thanks,
      JohnS

  6. Hi,
    Found the article looking for information about the 6010. None to be had, I know the article you wrote is super old, but do you happen to recall the rating for resistor R58 the one pretty close to the SCR. Mine is scorched beyond believe, I can’t tell it all the rating.
    I hope you can help with this, I already order a few parts including a new SCR.

    Pretty cool stuff about the company, but impossible to fine schematics.

  7. Do you have schematic for Power design 4050 D, this model has digital meter and looks like UNLIKE earlier models does NOT include variac to “preregulate or adjust” the raw DC prior to series pass transistors

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