Where do you go for Chinese power supplies in your country? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: ocset
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2019, 10:58:52 am
content: In UK, if you want a good-value-for-money custom designed, bespoke power supply, and you want it pretty quick, (ie from China) and your sales volumes are predicted as medium to high, you go to Stontronics.Which is the equivalent company in your country.?Or, if you dont have one, please state this?

author: Nusa
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2019, 11:12:52 am
content: I dig in my box of salvaged power supplies and usually find something good enough for the project. Even some fairly beefy 40A 12V supplies that were pulled from old servers.

author: ocset
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2019, 11:13:39 am
content: thanks, sorry i meant for this to go in "general chat", so i hope i dont offend by posting it here.

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2019, 11:18:56 am
content: Mean Well is available internationally and has a decent reputation. Taiwanese though, hence not an exact match to your question.

author: panoss
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2019, 11:42:15 am
content: Quote from: treez on April 19, 2019, 10:58:52 amYou 're a seller?

author: ocset
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2019, 12:03:26 pm
content: QuoteThanks, but i mean when Meanwell dont have anything to the spec required.

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2019, 12:05:36 pm
content: So you are referring to customized supplies? Sorry; didn‘t get that from the OP.

author: ocset
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2019, 12:19:14 pm
content: QuoteYes thats right...thanks, ive changed the OP now...you're right , i should have stated this first

author: ocset
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2019, 11:06:31 am
content: So everybody in the world is buying from Stontronics?Or you make/design them yourselves?

author: dmills
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2019, 11:43:50 am
content: I sacked off Stontronics (Now Stadium Group) as a vendor due to poor reliability in some of their off the shelf 12V line lumps in 24/7 service.Turns out Meanwell will do light customisation for you at volumes of a thousand per year or so, and our field failure rate has gone way down. Price went up 20% or so, but the kit actually works properly, and power supply price was a small fraction of our BOM so pretty much irrelevant.I am far from sure that Stontronics are by any means the goto vendor if you need custom stuff, but I am also of the view that if you need custom stuff and are not doing tens of thousands of units a year, you are probably doing it wrong.Something standard in a common form factor, then a buck to whatever you really need is usually going to be cheaper and makes field replacement much less of a pain. There is much to be said for a simple 2"x4" PCB with nothing special, because you can get a spare from any industrial supplier anywhere in the world.Regards, Dan.

author: ocset
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 27, 2019, 09:42:29 am
content: QuoteThanks, and i agree with your other points too.....but as we know, Meanwell can't promptly service the requests ofmultiple companies simultaneously for custom power supplies. As such, a vendor like stontronics is needed, which hasclose links with large numbers of major Chinese power suppply designer/manufacturers, and is "up to speed" with allof them and knowledgeable about which Chinese company is the best one to go for, given a particular spec.I used to work at a company that got an offline 70W SMPS done via Stontronics, and after years of shipping it, theywere happy with it.(BTW i am not advertising Chinese design/manufacture of SMPS for eg UK etc, i actually believe its a bad idea, but thepoint that i conceed isthat many companies dont share my views, and just want a custom power supply pretty quickly and at a relatively low price,and really dont care where it comes from).Germany , France, USA , Aus, etc etc , must have a "stontronics equivalent" that they go through.....do you know of it?Or do they all just use Stontronics?QuoteThanks, but some would say, .."had you asked stontronics to source you a power supply which was up to 24/7 service?.....was the "Line lump" specifically designed for 24/7 service?."...

author: ocset
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2019, 08:48:59 am
content: This is very interesting and appears to show that only UK is sourcing SMPS in really significant numbers from China.....so how are all the other companys in the world making SMPS's cheaper than the Chinese are doing it.?...or do they just have trade tariffs?Stontronics appears to be the only "go-between" company in the world that sources SMPS's from China...can this really be true?Is this perhaps why companies come to UK in relatively high numbers?....ie, because in UK they can buy SMPS's from China through Stontronics?...because in their own country, they dont have a "stontronics"?

author: dmills
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2019, 10:29:46 am
content: Get real!I usually use Sunpower as a default distributor, but there are plenty of others, and almost ANY major power supply vendor will do custom stuff for you if you dangle a few thousand units per year in front of them.I probably get a call a week from someone wanting to be our semi custom power supply supplier.Nothing UK specific about this, similar companies exist in pretty much every country for obvious reasons.Regards, Dan.

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2019, 10:56:17 am
content: - Take 5 power supplies around your house you consider decent quality- Turn them around- Read the label- Contact the companiesAt least half of them will be willing to do (semi-) custom stuff if you have the quantities to back it up.

author: ocset
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2019, 08:00:08 pm
content: Thanks, but individual power supply design/manufacture companies have limited resources, they cannot take in unlimited work at any given time……….they may try to, but will run over schedule……….there is a need for a “command centre company”….ie,a company that is in touch with hundreds of large smps companies…..and can give the right contract, to the right smps company, at the right time…..in UK, that “command centre” company is stontronics….and they deal with loads of Chinese smps companiesI am not saying I agree with the west getting smps ‘s designed in china……but many business people in the west want it.(if you want to see what i think about it..here it is...https://massey276.wixsite.com/government)Stontronics is the “command centre” company for smps design/manufacture in Uk……..who does it in other countries?…or does nobody do it?….do trade tariffs exist to stop it?I am sure you understand that plumping on some indivudal company and hoping that they have the resources available at that time to do the custom design and manufacture work that you want is not realistic.....it might work some times...but you see the advantage of having a "stontronics"....who are always in touch with hundreds of enormous , high quality chinese smps companies, and can give the right contract, to the right chinese smps company, at the right time.QuoteThanks but I just dont think they do....nobody can ever name one...is it because they operate in some sort of secrecy?......feeling guilty about trashing their own country's jobs etc etc...creating "rust belts" etc

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2019, 08:12:00 pm
content: Quote from: treez on May 25, 2019, 08:00:08 pmHint 1: that would be exactly the same as bringing it to "Stonetronics" or whatever.Hint 2: there are solutions to projects not working out. They are called "Project Managment", "Contracts", "Supplier audit",...

author: tkamiya
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2019, 09:15:28 pm
content: I'm in US. Companies like Nemic Lamda will make anything you want. But quantity has to be substantial for a custom job.I'm sorry if I sound biased and prejudicial, but I would be afraid to order custom anything from China. I know they are capable of making great projects, but I would have to personally visit them, make personal connections, then start business transactions. Japan is kind of like that, too. That will only make sense if quantities are very VERY large.So, question for you. Are you talking about one off, or a large projection scale? What kind of special quality do you need that cannot be met by what they sell?

author: ocset
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2019, 09:39:56 pm
content: QuoteI am talking of ..well, it could be either one off, or large scale…But as an example…take this power supply…………...shown here at 00:29 of this….….I am not saying this was arranged by stontronics…but it’s the kind of thing they can arrange…its nothing special, but there is nothing for it offtheshelf.(the power supply is in her right hand, seen at 00:29.).....This power supply is 70w, offline, and charges a capacitor up to about 350V repetitively every second, at which point it flashes over a xenon tube.You speak of Nemic Lamda….i am sure they are great, but what if 10 or more companies approach them at the same time…..they are only one company..they have finite resources.,…and this is why a company like stontronics wins the day…because they have close contact with hundreds of enormous Chinese smps companies, and can allocate the work to the right company at the right time.QuoteThanks, Right!...thats where stontronics comes into it...they have already made those relationships for you, with multiple enormous chinese smps companies, and have a long list of happy customers who have benefitted.They will also arrange you to have a personal visit to the chinese company if you want........and you will be confident that it wont be wasted time.Now that i have explained what stontronics is about.... may i please ask who is the "stontronics" of your country?Or dont you have one?Do you have trade tariffs which makes "stontronics" impossible in your country?Does your country just use stontronics in UK?Do you have a "stontronics", but they keep themselves secret so that no-one else hears about their Far Eastern Bounty and jumps on the bandwagon?

author: ThomasDK
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2019, 01:19:56 am
content: Arrow and Avnet

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2019, 05:44:04 am
content: Quote from: treez on May 25, 2019, 08:00:08 pmBut that is not at all how Stontronics describe themselves on their website. They claim to have their own manufacturing site in the UK (Hartlepool) for low to medium volume production, and their own production site in China (Dongguan) for medium to higher volumes. They are not a small shopp. part of Stadium, which in turn has recently been acquired by TT Electronics.http://stontronics.com/manufacturing-facilities/That looks like a reasonable business model, and indeed one where I would not expect to find a handful of similar companies in every European country. But it is quite different from the model which you had described, i.e. acting as a go-between who interfaces with loads of independent Chinese manufacturers.

author: ocset
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2019, 07:24:38 am
content: QuoteThanks, In fact It would be just like that...thats how stontronics is......all Chinese industry, despite appearances, is essentially owned by the chinese government......no Chinese company is allowed a free reign to do entirely its own business...it must report back to "HQ"...this is how stontronics have connections to many of them.Sure Stontronics want to keep their hand in manufacture aswell, because it only enhances their prescence in the power supply sales world.QuoteI know a company who got a power supply done via stontronics...and it wasnt and isnt designed/manufactured in hartlepool or dong guan...it is designed/manufactured in Shenzehn at a massive chinese smps company called Mass Power.

author: mzzj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2019, 07:45:41 am
content: Salcomp if you need volumes.Changes are that almost every forum member here has at least one Salcomp manufactured charger at home.

author: ocset
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2019, 09:27:59 am
content: QuoteThanks, you mean because of EU trade tariffs?

author: dmills
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2019, 11:39:24 am
content: More that that model needs a fair amount of scale to work at all well, and is highly capital intensive to set up.If Stontronics/Stadium/TT are reasonably efficient at it then there is probably no reason for anyone else to try to compete (There are other more easily profitable things to do with the money), that may change come October, we will see. I would bet the Hartlepool office will move to somewhere still in Europe if the infants in the westminster creche don't wind up with a competent nanny, quicktime.Not really somewhere I play because for industrial kit, standard, off the shelf is just better.

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2019, 11:47:21 am
content: Quote from: treez on May 26, 2019, 09:27:59 amNo, because there is some non-trivial infrastructure behind their operation. Not just a simple brokerage/outsourcing shop.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2019, 12:25:03 pm
content: Quote from: treez on May 26, 2019, 09:27:59 amUse Occam's razor instead of going right away into some government/EU/whatever conspiracy. Did you consider that the market for low volume custom PSUs is not that large to support X businesses doing this, especially given the EU single market - an UK company/importer competes directly with e.g. a Polish or German one.Either you have the volume and then you contract directly with a good supplier in China or you don't and then you use standard supplies, perhaps with some minor mods.

author: ocset
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2019, 03:35:40 pm
content: QuoteThats a lot easier said than done...thats why Stontronics is very wealthy...because they can get you into china straight away...without you getting ripped off.QuoteThanks, but "conspiracy".....Putting trade tariffs on Chinese smps woudl be a good idea, not a conspiracy, in my view at least...as ive already said here..https://massey276.wixsite.com/government