Lincad, a leader in the design and manufacture of specialist batteries and chargers, has been awarded three new Research and Development (R&D) contracts by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). This will provide the funding required for the company to take the development of three key new products through to the production stage.
Lincad has been at the forefront of developing specialist solutions for the MoD’s battery and charger requirements for over 12 years. Over that time, through a process of mechanical refinement and the use of cutting edge cell technology, the company has consistently delivered products that have helped to reduce the load that soldiers in the field have to carry, with no loss of efficiency or reliability.
"We’re delighted that the MOD has decided to fund the further development of these three new products," commented Brian Soden, Lincad’s Managing Director. "We have every confidence that our continued work will bring significant benefits to soldiers deployed in operational roles."
Lincad has been at the forefront of developing specialist solutions for the MoD’s battery and charger requirements for over 12 years. Over that time, through a process of mechanical refinement and the use of cutting edge cell technology, the company has consistently delivered products that have helped to reduce the load that soldiers in the field have to carry, with no loss of efficiency or reliability.
"We’re delighted that the MOD has decided to fund the further development of these three new products," commented Brian Soden, Lincad’s Managing Director. "We have every confidence that our continued work will bring significant benefits to soldiers deployed in operational roles."
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| This summer, Lincad released its CARAVEL Mk2 Charger, designed to meet the battery charging and management requirements of Lincad’s LIPS (Lithium Ion Power System) suite of batteries, as well as a wide range of other battery types and technologies. The CARAVEL Mk2 Charger is an enhanced, cutting edge replacement for the in-service CARAVEL Charger, which has seen front line service with British and international armed forces for over 13 years. (All Photos: Lincad) |
Lincad is a privately owned UK company with over 25 years’ experience in the design and manufacture of specialist batteries, chargers and intelligent power management systems. The core business of Lincad is the supply of batteries, chargers and intelligent power management systems for military applications. Its main customers are the UK MoD, UK Defence Primes, and Strategic Military and Defence Partners. More recently, Lincad has been involved in developing new battery, charger and power management systems for specialist applications across a range of different sectors.
The company’s reputation as a leader in its field has been established by working closely with customers to ensure they receive the optimum power solutions to meet their operational requirements. First registered in 1986, Lincad is an ISO 9001 accredited company and operates out of two sites in Surrey in the South East of England. Design and manufacture of all Lincad products takes place on site. With expertise in battery chemistry and systems engineering, and a commitment to research into established, new and emerging technologies, Lincad continually aims to develop more powerful and lightweight battery systems that can be charged faster and more flexibly, to provide the best possible end-user experience. The company also has expertise in developing products where electromagnetic
compatibility (EMC) may be critical. In addition to its specialist engineering services, Lincad offers a wide range of off-the-shelf products and is able to supply large quantities of primary batteries. Since 2010, Lincad has been supplying the MOD with a major proportion of its primary battery requirements.
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| The LIPS 14 Battery is the smallest in Lincad's LIPS range of batteries. It offers a capacity of 9Ah within a 620g package and communicates battery information using a standardised smart battery data protocol. |
Batteries
Lincad produces a range of LIPS (Lithium Ion Power Source) batteries that have been designed in conjunction with the MoD to reduce the physical burden on the soldier. The LIPS 5 battery was one of the company’s most successful intelligent battery packs with over 17,500 supplied to the UK MOD as well as other customers worldwide.
The core LIPS products are now the LIPS 9, 10, 11, 12 and 14. The LIPS 9, 10, 11 and 12 are 24V batteries, offering a range of size and capacity options as well as IrDA optical communication, whilst the smaller 12V LIPS 14 has a reduced capacity with SMBus communication.
Other smaller batteries not in the LIPS range include the 18V battery and the 11V tactical man pack communications equipment battery with twist lock mechanism.
Lincad also produces high power batteries such as the battery designed for Northrop Grumman to power the CUTLASS remote operating vehicle used for explosive ordnance disposal, and a battery for a submersible remote operating vehicle. Lincad’s high power batteries are all capable of high discharge rates and fast charge times and have the ability to communicate accurate battery information to the host system.
Lincad’s sealed lead acid batteries are designed for a variety of fixed placement systems. They offer a high depth of discharge and can cope with heavy loads and wide operational temperature variations.
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| The Lips 10, 11 and 12 batteries provide flexibility with different size and weight options. The LIPS 10 provides the highest capacity whereas the LIPS 12 offers the lowest weight. |
Chargers
Lincad produces a range of chargers for its LIPS range of batteries with various charge state display and PC connectivity options.
The single channel CARAVEL Charger is the company's longest in-service LIPS charger. It charges one battery at a time and, like all Lincad’s chargers, is software upgradable for new LIPS products. The four channel LIPS Charger and LIPS Fast Charger allow simultaneous charging of up to four LIPS batteries, with the Fast Charger offering reduced charge times, full battery recalibration and fault diagnostic features.
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| The Single Channel CARAVEL LIPS Charger is Lincad's longest in-service LIPS Charger. It is software upgradable for new LIPS products and provides a detailed LCD display and status LEDs to display battery status during operation. |
The LIPS Vehicle Charger is a three channel charger and uses a DC input from a vehicle to recharge LIPS batteries, whereas the Solar Charger connects to solar panels to enable LIPS batteries to be recharged when a mains or vehicle supply may not be available.
Now in development, the new CARAVEL Mk2 Charger is a multi-chemistry charger that can charge other batteries as well as Lincad's LIPS range, and the next iteration of the Solar Charger, the Power Scavenger, allows charging from a range of DC inputs.
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| The LIPS Fast Charger has the capability to charge up to four batteries simultaneously. It is compatible with all of Lincad's current range of LIPS Batteries and software upgradable for all future LIPS products. It offers reduced charge times on the company's high capacity products and full battery recalibration and fault diagnostic features. |
Power Management Systems
Lincad’s intelligent power management systems generate a managed DC output to host systems with battery back-up in the event of primary power failure.
The LIPS 10 UPS (uninterruptible power supply) system is an easily portable power management system that can be configured to use up to four LIPS 10 batteries to provide a regulated, un-interrupted 24V DC power supply to a host system. The UPS is ordinarily powered from a universal AC mains input and will automatically manage the recharging of any connected batteries whilst AC voltage is present. Full user feedback on battery and system status is provided via an LED matrix display.
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| The LIPS 10 UPS is an easily portable power management system that can be be configured to use up to four LIPS 10 Batteries to provide a regulated, un-interrupted 24V DC power supply of up to 92Ah to a host system. |
The BPMS (battery power management system) is a high capacity UPS system offering the ability to regulate a nominal 24V DC power supply from an external DC source to host equipment. Simultaneous recharge of the on-board batteries is achieved by means of an integrated charger. The BPMS is engineered to the highest mechanical and environmental specifications and provides a robust and reliable power source for mobile and stationary placement systems, such as the LINAPS self-contained gun-mounted navigation, pointing and weapon management system. The BPMS may also be used in a stand-alone battery configuration.
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| The LINAPS BPMS is a high capacity uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system offering the ability to regulate a nominal 24V DC power supply from an external DC source to a host equipment. Simultaneous recharge of the on board batteries is achieved by means of an integrated charger. The BPMS is engineered to the highest mechanical and environmental specifications and provides a robust and reliable power source for mobile and stationary placement systems. The BPMS may also be used in a stand alone battery configuration. |
The LIPS 6 PMS is a 24V DC battery system designed for use in a rugged deployed environment. Like the BPMS, it is engineered to the highest mechanical and environmental specifications and provides a robust and reliable power source for mobile and stationary placement systems. It can be recharged using the standard Caravel Charger or configured for use as a rechargeable power supply in a UPS system.
The LIPS 8 PMS is a higher power version of the LIPS 6 PMS for applications demanding a heavy supply current.
Other Products
Lincad manufactures a wide range of battery interface adapters (BIAs), enabling its batteries to interface with any system. The Power Scavenging BIA allows the residual capacity retained within a fully discharged LIPS battery to be harnessed and used to re-charge other battery types.
Lincad also manufactures training batteries, designed to reduce the cost of training the end-users of clients’ systems, and a range of field test rigs to diagnose the state of health of LIPS batteries and perform battery resets where necessary.
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| Lincad's power scavenging BIAs allow the residual capacity retained within a fully discharged LIPS battery to be harnessed and used to re-charge other battery types. |
Product Support
Lincad has developed a support infrastructure for all of its in-service advanced portable power management systems, right through to disposal at the end of a product’s lifetime. Wherever possible, the company provides remote software upgrades for its products as well as a worldwide, in-the-field product repair and upgrade service.