Latest / Hardware Startups with Fexingo: Devices, Robotics, and Manufacturing Tech Companies / Why Hardware Startups Are Turning to Modular Power Supplies
Transcript
- Lucas: So I keep seeing this pattern in the hardware startups we talk to, and it's almost like a quiet shift in how they think about power. Instead of designing a custom power supply from scratch, more and more of them are going modular, pulling off-the-shelf units and integrating them into their products. Luna: Yeah, I've noticed that too. Is it just about saving time, or is there something deeper going on? Lucas: It's mostly about time, but also about risk. A custom power supply can eat up months of engineering and certification, and if you're a three-person team trying to hit a launch date, that's a huge bet. Modular units are already certified, they're proven, and you can swap them out if you need a different voltage or current. Luna: That makes sense. So what's the catch? Because there's always a catch. Lucas: The catch is size and efficiency. A modular unit is rarely as compact or as efficient as a custom design tuned to your exact load. For products like drones or wearables, every gram and every percent of efficiency matters. So it's a real trade-off. Luna: Right, and I bet that's why we see modular power mostly in bigger devices, like industrial equipment or robotics, where there's room to spare. Lucas: Exactly. But the interesting thing is that the modular market is evolving. You can now get modules with integrated thermal management, and even some that are potted for harsh environments. So the gap between modular and custom is narrowing. Luna: Give me a concrete example. What did that drone startup you mentioned end up doing? Lucas: So there was this drone startup, they were building a heavy-lift drone for agriculture. They initially spec'd a custom power distribution board and a custom battery management system. They figured they needed precise control over the power rails. But they were six months behind schedule, and the custom design was a major bottleneck. Lucas: They finally decided to switch to a modular approach, using an off-the-shelf power module for the main rail and a separate module for the logic circuits. It added about two hundred grams to the total weight, but they cut their development time by five months. That's enormous for a startup. Luna: Five months is huge. How did they handle the added weight? Did it hurt performance? Lucas: It actually didn't. Their payload capacity was already over-spec for the typical agricultural job, so the extra two hundred grams was negligible. And they saved thousands of dollars in engineering time and certification costs. Luna: So the lesson is that sometimes the right decision is to give up a little performance for a lot of speed. But I'm curious, what about thermal management? Because modular units can generate a lot of heat, especially in a confined space. Lucas: That's a great point. Thermal management is often the forgotten piece. A lot of modular supplies are designed for open-frame use, but when you put them in a sealed enclosure, heat becomes a problem. We've seen startups add heat sinks and even active cooling to keep junction temperatures within limits. Luna: Yeah, and that adds complexity, which kind of defeats the purpose of going modular. So how do you pick a module that won't cook itself? Lucas: You look at the derating curve. That's the spec that tells you how much power the module can deliver at different temperatures. Startups often ignore it and then wonder why their module shuts down at sixty degrees Celsius. But if you plan for the real operating environment, you can choose a module with enough headroom. Luna: And headroom usually means a bigger or more expensive module, right? So there's a cost trade-off there too. Lucas: Absolutely. But the cost is still lower than a custom design when you factor in the engineering hours. And there's another angle: the supply chain. A modular supply means you're not dependent on one custom chip or one custom board. You can source from multiple vendors. Luna: That's a huge benefit, especially now. We've seen how supply chain disruptions can kill a product. So modularity isn't just about speed, it's about resilience. Lucas: Right. And that's why I think we're seeing more hardware incubators and accelerators recommending modular power from day one. It's almost a default best practice now, unless you have a really specific requirement like ultra-low noise for medical devices or something. Luna: Let's talk about the future. Is there a technology that's going to change this equation? I've heard about gallium nitride, but I'm not an expert. Lucas: Gallium nitride, or GaN, is a big one. It's a semiconductor material that can switch at much higher frequencies than silicon, which means you can shrink the magnetics and capacitors in a power supply. So a GaN-based module can be smaller and more efficient than a silicon-based one, even at the same power level. Lucas: That could make modular supplies even more attractive for space-constrained devices. Some companies are already shipping GaN chargers for laptops and phones. I think we'll see more GaN modules in the next couple of years, especially for the 48-volt architectures that are becoming popular in robotics and data centers. Luna: So if I'm a startup founder listening to this, what's the takeaway? Should I just go modular right now? Lucas: I'd say start modular, but don't stop thinking. Use modular to get to market fast, but keep your architecture clean so you can replace a module with a custom design later if you need to. A lot of startups treat modular as a permanent solution, but it's really a launchpad. Luna: That's a good way to put it. And I'm curious, have you seen any startups that went modular and then regretted it? Lucas: One example: a medical device startup needed a very low noise power supply for a sensor, and they initially used a modular unit. But the noise floor was too high, and they had to redesign with a custom linear supply. That cost them a couple of months. So for high-performance analog, modular might not cut it. But for digital logic, motors, and most loads, it's fine. Luna: So it's not a one-size-fits-all. But for the majority of hardware startups, it seems like the smart move. Lucas: Exactly. And the numbers back it up. I've seen surveys that say over sixty percent of hardware startups now use some form of modular power in their first product. Ten years ago, that was probably the opposite. Luna: That's a big shift. And it's not just about power, I think. It's about the whole philosophy of using proven components instead of reinventing everything. You see it in software too, with open source libraries. Lucas: Right, and we've talked about that on the show before. But with hardware, the stakes are higher because you can't just push an update. So modularity is a way to de-risk the physical product. Luna: And that's what this show is all about, helping you de-risk your hardware journey. Quick honest thing, a handful of listeners chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that's literally what funds making this many of these. Lucas: Yeah, it's a small group, but it keeps the lights on and the mics on. If you're getting value from these conversations, you can join them. No pressure at all. Luna: Okay, so back to power. I want to talk about the certification side. Modular units come with certifications already, but does that mean you're done with certification for your whole product? Lucas: Not entirely. You still need to certify the end product, but using a certified module simplifies the process. You can reference the module's certifications in your documentation, and that can save weeks of testing. It's not a free pass, but it's a head start. Luna: Got it. So the bottom line is, modular power supplies are a smart strategic choice for most hardware startups, but you have to think about the trade-offs, especially thermal and noise. Lucas: And the trade-offs are getting smaller as the technology improves. I wouldn't be surprised if in five years, more than eighty percent of hardware startups use modular power on their first board. Luna: That would be a nice change. I remember when I started, everyone wanted to design everything from scratch. It was a point of pride. Now it's more about being smart with your resources. Lucas: Exactly. It's about bringing a product to market before your funding runs out. And modular power helps you do that. So next time you're speccing a product, take a look at the modular options first. You might be surprised at what you find. Luna: And if you're curious about the specific modules out there, we can do a follow-up episode on how to choose one. What do you think, Lucas? Lucas: I love that idea. We'll dig into the specs, the vendors, and maybe even some failure stories. That's a good one for the list. Luna: Great. Well, that's all the time we have today. Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time.