OMICRON electronics

Majority holding of German technology leader in the field of electrical partial discharge measurement

"The chemistry is perfect!", says Martin Pfanner, Managing Director of OMICRON electronics GmbH, and continues: "By taking over the majority of the German business mtronix, we not only extend our range of services in the field of test and measurement engineering for electrical power systems, but we also provide access to new market segments. With a highly motivated team of experts, mtronix achieved international technological leadership within a few years in the niche market of electrical partial discharge measurement. This reminds us strongly of our own business development, in which OMICRON managed to take a leap to become the world's market leader through highly innovative solutions".

mtronix, based in Berlin, Germany, was established in 1997 and focuses on research and development of measuring systems for astronautics, power and medical engineering. Specific features of the mtronix product platform are the extremely energy saving design and the optical potential decoupling of several up to nanoseconds synchronous measuring points. Within the field of research mtronix particularly works together with the Technical University Berlin and the Fraunhofer Institute.

OMICRON, based in Klaus, Austria, with subsidiaries in Europe, America and Asia, enjoys the reputation with its users as a manufacturer of technologically world leading test solutions for electrical power systems in more than 120 countries. Apart from the customers, the employees also enjoy a high status within the company. The lived corporate culture was recognised this year with the award for the best European employer in the electronics industry by the Great-Place-To-Work-Institute (GPTWI).  Martin Pfanner says on this subject: "Only employees that enjoy their work, who can identify with the company and show a readiness for innovation and duty enable us to inspire our customers and be successful in the future as well".

OMICRON now offers a new FRA (Frequency Response Analysis) measurement device for detecting possible damage to the windings or the magnetic core of a power transformer after transportation or after very high short-circuit and inrush currents.

OMICRON´s FRAnalyzer utilizes the frequency sweep method, providing the following advantages: The input amplifiers work with a very small bandwidth to prevent interference signals being superimposed on the measurement signal. This increases the accuracy particularly in the lower frequency range, where faults in the core can usually be detected. For higher frequencies, where the condition of the windings is investigated, this principle is also very sensitive as the generated signal has constant amplitude over the whole frequency range. The internal 24 MBit AD converter of the FRAnalyzer enables it to operate at very a high accuracy.

To identify changes, which can be quite small, the FRA measurement results are compared to a fingerprint of the transformer taken in a healthy condition. For the essential improvement of the reliability and repeatability of the measurement itself, OMICRON has developed an innovative connection technique using a pair of aluminum braids instead of the error prone connection with a wire. A patent for this technique is pending.

FRAnalyzer is controlled by a versatile, powerful software package. The connection between FRAnalyzer and the PC is established via the USB interface and can be operated over a distance of up to 30 m. The software also includes complete vector and network analyzer functionality that supports the measurement of transformer short circuit impedances.

The battery operation of the unit allows a mains independent operation of FRAnalyzer for up to 4 hours and also eliminates possible interferences by avoiding a galvanic connection to the 50/60 Hz mains. Using leading-edge technology, FRAnalyzer is the smallest and lightest instrument on the market, providing excellent value for a competitive price.

Competence in the power industry

OMICRON is an international company providing innovative power system testing solutions. With sales in more than 100 countries, offices in Europe, the United States, and Asia, and a worldwide network of distributors and representatives, OMICRON has truly established its reputation as a supplier of leading edge technology with highest customer orientation.

OMICRON’s automated primary and secondary testing capabilities are important benefits in light of the changing market conditions resulting in restructured organizations required to "do morewith less". Services in the area of consulting, commissioning, testing, and training make the product range complete. Specialization and visionary leadership allows OMICRON to continue with revolutionizing developments for its solutions to meet the customer needs of the 21st century.