OMICRON Magazine

Magazine | Issue 2 2018 tory for us. however, we found it highly motivational to create something new with unconventional ideas and a great deal of freedom to make decisions.” Initial success The CMC 56 quickly became a global success, as it consistently relied on the cutting-edge technology of the time, which included signal generation and amplification. In combination with advanced, user-controlled operating software, it took the testing of digital protection relays and high-precision measurement conversion to a new level. Weighing barely 15 kg (33 lbs), the CMC 56 provided 15 vA at each of the three current outputs and 1 × 100 vA and 2 × 10 vA at the voltage outputs – a comparatively modest performance compared with today’s CMCs. On the other hand, the outstanding quality of the product is still paying off: our cus- tomers are still using test sets from the first range of models. Does it do what it says on the label? At this point, we have to confess: The code “CMC” was conceived as an acronym to describe the original plan for the main application “Calibrator for Measurement Converters”. It only became clear after the product was launched that the correct English translation was actually “transducers”. So the name itself was somewhat incomplete, because it didn’t take long before it could no longer cover the rapidly expanding scope of the test set. Martin Pfanner, who was managing the hardware development team at the time, was calm and pragmatic about it: “The catchy abbreviation CMC had already become established within the company and with our customers so we knew we had to stick with it. Whenever new customers question the meaning of the name, its origin story usually makes them smile.” Increased power, decreased weight When the CMCs direct successor, the CMC 156 was released, the output power of each of its three current outputs was increased to 40 vA – the weight, on the other hand, was reduced by a third, to below 10 kg (22 lbs). Thanks to our high quality standards and talented development teams, we are continuously able to explore the limits of our technology and set re- cords within the industry. Our current portfolio includes extremely power- ful (e. g. CMC 356 with 6 × 430 vA and 3 × 860 vA) and remarkably compact and lightweight protection test sets (e. g. CMC 430 at only 8.7 kg or 19.1 lbs). We are constantly working on ways to optimize our products by means of hands-on experience and maintaining a lively dialogue with our users. regu- lar model updates also include devel- opments to the operating software, while making sure that there is always downward compatibility. This means that users of older CMCs can always rely on contemporary testing solutions, while still holding a piece of OMICrOn history in their hands. 23