Fourth Generation Ground Support Equipment Design

Power distribution and control are essential for efficient operation in various applications, including power delivery, equipment testing and product launching. The ability to selectively switch power on and off for multiple channels improves flexibility, safety and efficiency. The largest bottleneck with these systems is procurement and component manufacturing. As demand increases, manufacturers are seeking new designs that emphasize modularity, component and wiring consolidation onto
PCBs, part interchangeability, sustainability, and reduced lead and build times.

This project achieves these goals by enhancing an existing power switching design. It adds features to the schematic, refines the PCB layout and adds advanced communication capabilities. The complete design is also much easier to assemble and rework. The team’s updated system consists of three identical 16-channel power switching assemblies housed within a standard rackmount enclosure. All components used in the assembly will be available for the foreseeable future and adhere to Automotive Electronics Council standards. Each assembly is controlled by an easily removable microcontroller on a daughterboard that communicates with an external GUI. This allows users to toggle individual channels remotely via ethernet for secure communication.