InfoPower

Deep inside the bunker of Interpower’s testing facility in Ames, Iowa, (Area 51²?) is an array of testing apparatus for the testing of electrical cable and components to push both newly manufactured and warehoused cable, cords, and components (and cutting-edge prototypes) to extreme limits, often well beyond UL and IEC standards for product compliance. For much of his 20 years, Ron Barnett, Interpower’s Product Development Manager, has procured specialized testing equipment to ensure Interpower’s power cords, cords sets, and components exceed all testing criteria standardized by worldwide agencies such as UL and VDE while personally conducting thousands of tests.

Determining the correct plug for your mains power and electrical design is essential in ensuring safe electrical continuity. Interpower offers a Guide to Worldwide Plug and Socket Patterns and Power Mains (Single-Phase) which shows specified plug patterns by country.

Years in the making, Interpower® rolled out its 1-week U.S. lead times for power cords in 2008. To those acquainted with power cords, 1-week lead times may not sound that impressive. However, industry professionals know that countries and continents have their own worldwide plug patterns. Though much more standardized today, amperage and voltage ratings may vary from continent to continent, country to country. And plug bridges contain blades and pins which vary in dimensions and configurations per each country’s standard.

Whether caused by an ill-conceived electrical design or other nearby frequencies, electromagnetic havoc can interfere with or cause damage to sensitive equipment. While electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI) are often used interchangeably, EMI is typically the more comprehensive term. A basic example of EMI is the effect of lightning and its electrical discharge causing static across multiple frequencies. While atmospheric discharges are nearly impossible—if at all—to suppress, there are many methods to suppress EMI in machines that use AC power.

When searching for cord-locking mechanisms to prevent accidental or abrupt disconnects from IEC 60320 power inlets such as the IEC 60320 C13, beware of the type of metal locking mechanisms (one unfortunately approved by a well-known agency) that tightly clamp onto notched grounding blades, a tight metal-on-metal retention resulting in a dangerous loss of material on the grounding blade. This friction, similar to striking a flint to produce sparks, creates carbonized buildup around the terminal after repeated disconnects, which could lead to an electrical fire through repeated arcing. Carbonized buildup may also appear on alloy pins if those pins are molded a fraction too close together, the narrow space between them providing small enough air gaps for the current to jump from one pin to the next. This would also apply to metal screws on the plug face of rewirable cord sets.