Manufacturers of power transformers invest continuously in machinery, R&D

Rising demand in the automotive, new energy and smart home markets spurs undertakings to boost automation and product development in power transformers line.

Power transformers suppliers in China are acquiring more automatic equipment to boost manufacturing efficiency and keeping up R&D to update their selections. They are taking advantage of opportunities, especially in the export market, as requirement in the automotive, new energy and smart home sectors climbs.

Xiamen YKM Electronics Co. Ltd is allotting $500,000 to automatic winding, testing and packaging machines. It expects overseas shipments will be higher by 20 percent in coming months because of the above applications and LED lighting. In 2017, the growth rate was 15 percent YoY.

Tianchang City Yun-chen Electronic Industry and Trade Ltd spent $200,000 for new automatic equipment, including four winding machines and 20 units of another type in 2H17. It anticipates greater demand for power transformers will come from the PV and new energy industries this time instead of power controllers and LED lighting, which led demand in 2017.

In the years ahead, Dongguan Yinli Electronics Co. Ltd will allocate more than $3 million to increase the number of automatic production lines from one to seven. This is to bring its monthly capacity to 2 million units. The supplier is counting on rising shipments, albeit slowing to 10 percent in coming months from over 20 percent in 2017.

Meisongbei Electronics Co. Ltd forecasts 15 percent export growth, citing smart home and new energy as the applications that will contribute most to this trend. Dongguan TNK Electronic Technology Co. Ltd looks to a 10 to 15 percent increase in 2018 and anticipates the major impetus will come from the latter market and the automotive industry.

To sustain the release of new products, Tianchang City Yun-chen sets aside about $50,000 every year for product development efforts, while Xiamen YKM has an annual budget of about $300,000. Both introduce at least one model monthly. Other companies do so every two months or twice a year.

In the future, R&D will continue to revolve around miniaturization, and higher power and frequency.

China suppliers export their power transformers mainly to North America, Europe, Australia, Brazil and Southeast Asia, and hope to penetrate Russia, Iran and Ukraine in the next few years.

There are more than 3,000 makers of power transformers in China, based mainly in the provinces of Guangdong, Anhui, Jiangsu and Fujian. The majority consists of locally owned companies. The foreign-invested operations are mostly in the first province.

The region's production for the line accounts for more than 30 percent of the global total. This share will climb further with the Belt and Road Initiative and despite competition from emerging manufacturing hubs such as Vietnam.

Product range

The local power transformers selection is as varied as the target applications.

Planar and chip types collectively represent half of Dongguan TNK's exports for the line. Most are high-frequency units with power ranging from 1 to 300W and used in automotive and new energy applications, and power supply modules.

Dongguan Yinli's products are mainly for small home appliances. The low-frequency variants have power below 65W.

At Tianchang City Yun-chen, 10 to 400W kinds constitute output for export. These come in 80 to 250kHz models, which suit lighting, automotive, medical and communications products.

Xiamen YKM specializes in 6 to 200W and 1 to 200kHz power transformers for the automotive, PV and LED lighting fields. Dominating shipments are 20 to 150W and 10 to 100kHz units.

Typical low-frequency models use silicon steel sheet, while high-frequency counterparts have ferrite cores.

China suppliers' products are CE-approved and UL-listed.

Frames, magnetic cores, enameled wires, insulation tape and chemicals usually come from the domestic market. Some companies import the second from Germany and a few turn to TDK, Ferroxcube and Epcos.

Interviewed makers predict prices of power transformers will go down by 3 to 5 percent in 2018 as improved manufacturing efficiency will help reduce production cost.

The products in this gallery have been handpicked by our China-based market analyst for representing current trends in power transformers from China makers.

Power transformer with 2VA maximum rating

The model EI-28 power transformer from Dongguan Yinli Electronics Co. Ltd has 100 or 120VAC 50/60Hz or 220, 230 or 240VAC 50Hz input and 3 to 24VAC, 50 to 500mA, maximum 2VA output. On standby mode, it consumes up to 0.5W. Efficiency is more than 60 percent.

The unit with class A or B insulation operates in -10 to 60 C and stores in -10 to 80 C. It meets EN 61558, GB 19212, REACH, RoHSand UL 5085 standards. Applications include A/V and IT equipment, control panels and home appliances. Price is $1.50.

The minimum order requirement is 3,000 units. Delivery takes 20 to 25 days.

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Power transformer has 4,000V insulation voltage

Meisongbei Electronics Co. Ltd’s power transformer, EI3813 model, comes in variants based on voltage rating, with insulation voltage at 4,000V. It has two bobbins and a vacuum-filled encapsulated housing. Dimensions are 41x35x28mm and weight is 150g.

The CE-approved unit is quoted at $1.

An order of at least 500 units is required and for delivery within 21 days.

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Power transformer in 2 to 2,000W variants

This power transformer from Tianchang City Yun-chen Electronic Industry and Trade Ltd, ETD39 model, is available in 2 to 2,000W versions with dielectric strength of 1,250, 2,500 or 3,750V rms hipot. It uses class B insulation and has a UL94V-0 rating. Price is $0.75. Applications include mobile chargers, computers, TVs, and lighting and telecom equipment.

The minimum order is 1,000 units. Delivery takes 7 to 15 days.

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20 to 500kHz power transformer

A high-frequency power transformer, the EE17/10 model from Xiamen YKM Electronics Co. Ltdoperates on 20 to 500kHz and has 4kVAC/min withstand voltage. Insulation is class B or F.

The passive component meets CE, RoHS and UL requirements. Dimensions are 27x17x14mm and weight is 9g. Price is $0.50. OEM and ODM orders are welcome.

The 100-unit minimum order is delivered within 12 days.

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