| Interpoint To Qualify Facility and Produce DC/DC Converters for Space Programs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Redmond, WA February 22, 1996 - Interpoint Corporation has announced plans to qualify its Redmond, Washington facility to the military's standard of "Class K," to allow for the production of DC/DC converters fully qualified for space applications. Interpoint has formally notified DSCC of its plans to obtain certification as a full Class K production facility this year, and plans to ship its first Class K products by the fourth quarter of 1996. Work has already begun on certifying Interpoint's Class H qualified facility to Class K.
"As the traditional leader in the high reliability power conversion market for military/aerospace applications, this move represents a natural growth for us. We will be the only facility in the country who will manufacture a standard line of products fully qualified to Class K for commercial and military space applications," announced David Uvelli, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Interpoint's Power Products Division. "Previously," he said, "Class K converters were manufactured on a custom basis at astronomical prices. The design engineer will find our standard line of products easier to purchase and much less expensive than custom-built power converters for space." Interpoint customers will be able to order products with either the full Class K certification, or, if they prefer, they will be able to order products built to Class K specifications without the official certification and without the cost of that official certification. The facility qualification and new planned product offerings are based on customer demand, Uvelli said. The explosive growth of the space market over the past year contributed to Interpoint's decision to provide Class K products. "Numerous customers with space programs have requested Class K converters, and in fact we are currently taking Class K orders on a custom basis," Uvelli stated. Class K and Class H manufacturing, environmental screening, and documentation are defined by MIL-PRF-38534. Class K (formerly known as Class S) is the final step above Class H (formerly Class B) in product reliability qualifications. Products designed to Class K standards are specifically for programs where a component must perform without failure for ten years or the life of the mission in harsh radiation environments. There are several differences between DC/DC converters designed for the traditional Class H MIL-STD-883 applications and for the Class K MIL-PRF-38534 applications. Class K products are designed with higher radiation tolerance levels and with deratings, which allow a larger performance margin for components at the high stress levels of commercial or military space programs. Additionally, each element utilized in the Class K converter production is selected from Class K qualified lots which have undergone rigorous testing. Class K products also require tighter manufacturing controls, with full lot traceability and more extensive visual workmanship requirements. However, the biggest difference between Class K and Class H products occurs in the environmental screening. Class K requires more extensive screening on some Class H processes, and adds some additional screening processes as well (See chart on attached page). For additional information on Interpoint's Class K production capability and upcoming products for space programs, contact Interpoint's Customer Service Team at 1-800-822-8782.
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