InfoPower

Bunkered deep inside Interpower’s testing facility in Ames, Iowa, 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 prototypes) to extreme limits, often well beyond UL and IEC standards for product compliance.

The new Swiss standard series SN 441011 for plugs and socket-outlets for household and similar purposes has been applicable since March 1, 2019, and replaces the previous standard SN SEV 1011. The manufacture and import of products and appliances incorporating plugs and socket-outlets that are regulated by the previous standard SN SEV 1011 will remain permitted until February 28, 2022.

Whether it’s a hospital in a city or a clinic in a small town, reliable power is critical to medical facility patients, families and staff. Interpower Hospital-grade plugs can be molded or hand-wired in several colors. The color of choice for many hospitals and clinics, however, is the clear, see-through Interpower hospital plug. The clear plug allows medical staff to see if plug wiring and other components remain intact.

In comparison to the fireworks of traditional welding’s molten metal, ultrasonic welding is more a wisp of smoke and a tip of the magician’s hat. In the mid to late 1990s, ultrasonic welding had ventured well beyond its plastics and automotive roots of the 1960s and 1980s respectively. By the dawn of the new millennium, ultrasonic welding had expanded far beyond toys and automobile subsystems—it was wired into the consumer electronics industry, including medical devices and components. Though lacking the cachet of robotics and CAD-CAM, ultrasonic welding was already well versed in the language of manufacturing.

Underwriters Laboratories’ (UL) 94 Standard for Safety Tests for Flammability of Plastic Materials for Parts in Devices and Appliances defines acceptable flammability ratings of plastic materials for parts in devices and appliances in North America. The First Edition of UL 94 appeared in September of 1972. And on September 16, 1988, the Department of Defense (DoD) adopted UL 94. Since then, there have been several updated editions of UL 94.