The Difference Between Industrial Grade and Automotive Grade of CODACA Molding Power Inductors Chokes

Customers often ask, CODACA inductors & chokes include automotive products and industrial products. Some products look similar in appearance. What is the difference between them? In response to this question, today we will talk about it from the perspectives of product naming, standard information, quality management system/documents, product performance, appearance design, etc.

01 Name

Automotive grade products, as the name suggests, refer to automotive grade inductor products used in the field of automotive electronics that can meet the high reliability requirements of the automotive industry. Industrial products mainly refer to industrial-grade inductance products used in industrial power supply, industrial control, new energy, communications and other fields.

CODACA automotive inductors chokes start with V (V = Vehicle). For example, Molding Power Choke VSAB, VSHB, VSHB-T, VSEB-H series, Atomotive Grade High Current Power Inductor VSRU, Automotive Grade Rod Inductor VRKL0740, etc.

Speaking of industrial products, CODACA industrial-grade inductors have a wide range of product models and applications. Basically, except for automotive-grade inductors, the rest of CODACA products are industrial-grade inductors chokes.

02 System/Quality Requirements

Industrial products and automotive products follow different quality management systems. Relatively speaking, the product development process, reliability test items, quality management system, production process control, raw material requirements, etc. of automotive products are more stringent, and more documents need to be provided to customers.

According to industry standards and customer needs, Kedajia industrial products need to provide data sheet recognition, 7 national standard reliability test reports, environmental protection materials (RoHS, REACH, halogen-free), FMD/MSDS, etc.

In addition to providing basic information such as data sheet approval, environmental protection information, and flow charts, automotive regulatory products must also meet the following system and quality management requirements:

1. The product development process follows APQP (Advanced Product Quality Planning);
2. Must pass AEC-Q 200 reliability test;
3. Manufactured on strictly defined production lines;
4. The quality management system needs to pass IATF16949;
5. Standard process control, the German system adopts VDA6.3;
6. Provide PPAP (Production Part Approval Process), CODACA can provide PPAP3;
7. IMDS/CAMDS (raw material composition) system;
8. Important performance CPK ≥ 1.67.

03 AEC-Q200 Test

AEC-Q200 is a standard and definition for testing passive automotive components. It is defined by the Automotive Electronics Council and is an application standard followed by the automotive industry. All automotive grade inductors must pass AEC-Q200 testing. AEC-Q200 mainly tests the reliability of products. Test items include: electrical performance test, mechanical impact test, vibration experiment, terminal strength test, solderability test, high humidity test, temperature cycle test, high temperature storage test, etc.

AEC-Q200 has four grades according to the product application temperature range.

Level 0: -50℃~150℃

Level 1: -40℃~125℃

Level 2: -40℃~105℃

Level 3: -40℃~85℃

All CODACA automotive grade products have passed the AEC-Q200 test. The products have reached the highest level of AEC-Q200, Level 0. The operating temperature can reach up to -55℃~165℃, which is higher than the working temperature of Level 0.

CODACA has a CNAS-accredited laboratory that can independently conduct various reliability tests according to the AEC-Q200 standard. In order to provide customers with high-value products and services while adapting to complex and harsh industrial application environments, some CODACA industrial products have also passed the AEC-Q200 test, with operating temperatures up to -55°C~+155°C and temperature resistance levels and the product quality is comparable to that of automotive grade products (but they are still industrial grade products).

04 Product Comparison

The following is a comparison of the CSAB series of Molding Power Choke (industrial products) and the VSHB series of Molding Power Choke (automotive products), so that everyone can have a more intuitive understanding of CODACA automotive products and industrial products.

04a. Product appearance and terminal size

The terminal widths of CSAB and VSHB series products are significantly different. VSHB resists the high-intensity impact and vibration faced in automotive electronic operation by widening the root and hardness of the electrode. The terminal strength is higher and the product has better vibration resistance.

04b Core materials

Both CSAB and VSHB use low-loss alloy powder core materials. CSAB uses cold press forming technology, and VSHB series uses innovative low-pressure hot press forming technology. Compared with conventional cold press molding, the resin and magnetic powder can be more fully combined in hot press molding, which greatly enhances the strength and density of the powder and has stronger voltage resistance. In addition, since the hot pressing molding pressure is much lower than the cold pressing molding pressure, it can effectively reduce the deformation and deviation of the internal coil of the inductor, fundamentally solving the problem of product "cracking".

04c Electronic specs

Due to the innovative production process, the VSHB series has higher magnetic permeability, can design fewer coil turns, and uses larger wire diameters, so the DCR and temperature rise current will be better.

04d Others

The application frequency of CSAB series inductors is up to 800kHz, and the application frequency of VSHB series inductors is up to 1000 k Hz, which is more suitable for high-frequency application environments such as automotive electronics;

CSAB series operating temperature is -40 ~ 125°C (AEC-Q200 level 1), and VSHB series inductors have passed the application verification of -55 ~ 165°C (AEC-Q200 level 0) to meet the needs of wider temperature applications;

VSHB series terminals have higher strength, stronger vibration resistance, and mechanical vibration resistance up to 10G.

05 Product Design

CSAB adopts inner and outer winding design and laser spot welding (some models have resistance welding spot welding); VSHB series coils adopt an outer and outer winding design to avoid the risk of short circuit and have higher reliability. Welding uses 100% resistance welding spot welding to avoid miswelding.

06 Marking

The CSAB series uses ink marking, which can be easily erased over time; the VSHB series uses laser marking, which is not easy to erase and can be clearly legible for a long time.

Compared with industrial products, the application environment of automotive electronic products is more complex, requiring products to withstand high temperatures, high voltages, strong vibration resistance, higher reliability requirements, and higher quality requirements for inductance components. This requires manufacturing companies to have a complete product quality management system and strong process control, manufacturing and product testing capabilities to ensure the high quality of products.

CODACA has focused on inductor research and development for 22 years, providing low-loss, high-reliability inductor solutions for industry, new energy, automotive electronics and other fields. In terms of inductor development, CODACA insists on strict selection of raw material suppliers, and product development strictly follows APQP; it has passed the automotive quality management system IATF16949 system certification; it has a CNAS-accredited laboratory that can independently conduct AEC-Q200 testing and certification; it independently develops inductor core materials , the experienced magnetic component R&D team can quickly customize and develop inductor products according to customer needs.

To learn more about automotive-grade and industrial-grade inductor products, please visit the CODACA official website www.codaca.com to inquire or apply for samples.